MONEY TO TROOPS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23861, 11 January 1941, Page 12

MONEY TO TROOPS

REMITTANCES BY CABLE COMPLAINT ABOUT DELAY OUTLINE OF PROCEDURE The complaint- is made by a correspondent that inordinate delays are occurring in the delivery of remittances sent to soldiers in the Middle Fast by relatives in New Zealand. Jn her ease, she says, she made arrangements to cable some money to her husband on November 23. She liad since received a letter from him dated December 18 and up to that time lie had not received the money, although because he wanted it urgently she had paid the necessary os fee to have it cabled. "It was supposed to reach him in less than one week," she says in her letter, ''Several of my friends have been 'had' in the same way—denying themselves something to pay the cable rate so the soldiers might benefit by getitig the remittance quickly, only to find that they are doing nothing more than making a present to the Government, of os a time. Correspondent's Conclusion

"On inquiring, the impression one gets is that it is sheer waste to cable as it is really only sent air mail. Itis disgrace enough to New Zealand that our men overseas are allowed only £2O from their friends without the added | insult of it taking over three weeks | to reach them." i The complaint, was referred yesteri day to local postal and banking officials and the procedure for remitting the money was outlined. It was stated that arrangement for remitting was undertaken by the Bank of New Zealand and the remitter of the money was required to fill in three forms, one of which was retained by the bank, the second was sent by the remitter to Army Base Records at Wellington, and the third remitter retained. Base Records apparently made appropriate Treasury inquiries to discover i that the remitter had not exceeded the : amount of £2O allowed to lie sent out |in a year. If the remittance was in I order, Wellington then sent a cablej gram to the hank in Cairo authorising ; the payment of the remittance to the I soldier. The cablegrams were not sent | individually, hut were retained for joint j despatch once a week. Possible Cause of Delay It was stated that numerous complaints had been received from persons who had neglected to send the necessary ! form to Base Records. However, in the I correspondent's case a receipt had been received from Base Records for the form sent to that office. It was also suggested that the correspondent's husband might be serving at some point at a considerable distance from Cairo. The correspondent stated on inquiry that her husband had been stationed at I'M Maadi base camp, very close to Cairo, ever since his arrival. One reason for the delay in the receipt of the remittance was probably, it was suggested, the congestion on all cable lines before Christmas. Business had been extremely heavy and as a result messages paid for at tlie higher rates had taken precedence over those for which special cheap rates had been arranged. The suggestion that the remittances were being sent, hv air mail was discounted. So far as is known in Auckland they are cabled, and all arrangements made locally are based on this method.