WAR GRATUITIES.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 2044, 21 October 1919, Page 4

WAR GRATUITIES.

PROGRESS’ OF PAYMENT.

Wellington, This Day.' Applications for the war gratuity continue to arrive at the Defence Pay Office in thousands/ and payments are, also going on. though necessarily al a slower rate. Each application approved as being in order is acknowledged, and it has meant a large amount of overtime by a big staff of typistes to deal witirtbis portion of the.work.' Approved applications go to the ledger department, where a careful review of the soldier’s account takes place. Here, there is sometimes a delay if the account is intricate or incomplete, or has not been cleared up to date. This has caused some gratuity applications to be held up, which, will account for men who have got their applications in early to the Officer in Charge of War Expenses not being paid as quickly as some whoso claims hear a later number. Following the ledger work, the gratuity application has‘to->be sent to the Audit Department for checking. Thus it will ho seen that the process is not one which can he put through all its stages in a few hours. However, up till October 1 !tlf. .1,512 claims had been paid, representing- mi expenditure tof £99,855, This shows that tlm average gratuity so far paid out is nearly £7O per man. An arrangement' has been made with the New Zealand Banks to make the deposit of the gratuity in Wellington to (lie credit of the soldier who desires a bank credit of this kind, the amount: being remitted free of'exchange to the branch of the Bank at which his account is kept. Advices are always scut to the soldiers when lodgments to the Bank or Post Office Havings Bank are made.