REPATRIATION

New Zealand Times, Volume XLVII, Issue 10816, 4 February 1921, Page 8

REPATRIATION

LATEST PROCRESS REPORT RESULT OF 23 MONTHS’ OPERATIONS. ONLY 103 UNEMPLOYED. Mr J. R. Samson (Director of Repatriation) reports, in his latest progress report, that the register of his department now contains the names of 78,889 demobilised soldiers, and that assistance has been rendered in 48.127 cases. The department has p.laced 22,080 men in suitable employment, and there are at "the* present time only (03 men awaiting placement, of whom not one has been on the books of the' department for more than one week. During the past twelve months thare have never at any time been more than 130 men on the "employment wanted register,” and the total number to whom it has been found necessary to pay unemployment sustenance since the inception of the department is only 1072, or little more than 1 per oent. of the number demobilised. VOCATIONAL,TRAINING. The vocational training Schamas inaugurated by the department have been most successful, and 5307 men have been trained in special (soldier classes and technical schools or in the workshops and factories of private employers; whilst an additional 1220 students attending evening classes at universities or commercial colleges have been assisted with grants towards fees and text hooks. Trainees have been carefully "shepherded” by experienced officers, and the percentage of failures has been negligible. Some 3530 men havd finished their courses and have secured employment as, “skilled” tradesmen. The total expenditure to date on training facilities, sustenance of trainees, etc., is ,£243,334. AFTER-CARE. A good many jseriously disabled men resumed occupations now rendered unsuitable owing to war disabilities, and the reports of the after-care officers indicate that a great measure of success is attending theii eflorte to place each men in more congenial employment. Up to the present these officers have dealt with 1005 chest cases, 339 amputees, and 601 men suffering from other serious disabilities. In addition to this they have inspected and reported upon 247 subsidised trainees during the past month. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE. Up to January 20th last 4760 loans for the purpose of acquiring or establishing businesses -had been approved by the Ministerial Board, involving an expenditure of 301,079,980. An additional 10,636 men had been granted loans for the purchase of household furniture, tools, etc., and a further 4025 had received financial assistance in the amount paid to or on behalf of soldiers, under all headings, totalling £1,708,547. Loans have been advanced to some 16,000 discharged soldiers, and the great bulk of the men are meeting their obligations loyally. The amount collected up to De- , cember 31st last on account of - loans granted totalled .£105,185, and the average monthly collection is now £35,000, a rate of over £420,000 per annum. The following is a summary of the assistance rendered by the department:—Placed in employment, 22,080; trained or in training, 6626; financially assisted, 19,421; total, 48,127. "WONDERFULLY SUCCESSFUL.” SIR W. FRASER GIVES INTERESTING DETAILS. * PEB I-RFSB ASSOCIATION. DUNEDIN, Febrnairy 3. Speaking at the complimentary banquet which was tendered to him at Cromwell, the Hon. Sir William Fraser, ae chairman of the Ministerial Repatriation Board, gave some interesting figures showing how wonderfully successful the repatriation scheme has been. He mentioned that 15,713 returned men had received in loan money £1,400,000, and of that sum a total of £405,000 has already been (repaid in mtombhly instalments. That meant that in another two or three years the money used for the repatma-tio-i of these men would all be paid back to the Dominion, and that was something to be very proud of. Proceeding to give some details, Sir William stated that loans had been granted for 'men entering upon small businesses, Amounting to £965,272 ; 9445 loans, amounting to £431,868. had been granted for furniture, (and 976 loans, amounting to £19,323, had been granted for tools. No fewer than 6557 men had been trained at a cost of £243,456, and the large total of 21.461 fhen had been placed in employment or otherwise provided for at a total cost of £1,669,000. The speaker added that in proportion to the great number of men who had "made good” (under the scheme thefailures had been very few indeed; in fact, considered in theyr proper relation, they were almost negligible.