SOLDIERS OVERLOOKED

NZ Truth, Issue 604, 13 January 1917, Page 4

SOLDIERS OVERLOOKED

Soft 4 "Snaps" for Superannuated "Snivel" Servants

When "Truth" last week took exception to tho appointment, by tlio Wellington and District Charitable Aid Board, of a recently-superannuated Post O moo servant, to the position of Registrar of Wellington Dlßtriet Hospital, it did so for what it considered three good and sufficient reasons. Firstly: Although not a contravention of the letter, it Is, without doubt, contrary to the spirit and Intontton of the Public Service Superannuation Act. Secondly; It Ik unfair to the boys who have been to tho front, and, after having* done their "bit," have come back more or less unfitted to make headway to cam a sufficiency for the needs of Hfo m the rough and tumble of the competitive labor market, though quite qualified to fill with every acceptance just such v position as that under discussion. Thirdly: It Is contrary to equity and the best traditions of public polity In a Democracy, first, to creato a pensioned class and then to allow it to securo for Itself tho soft seat* and sweet snaps m tho public or semi-public service, and, It Is equally objectionable, to permit of Its monetary advantage, drawn from the public revenue, being used to tho economic hurt of, financially, loss fortunate individuals. Such wero tho reasons which animated this paperMn calling attonUon to the appointment In question. For tho samo reasons wo bring It forward again for further consideration. Whnn wo wroto last v.'cek wo knew that tho individual receiving the coveted appointment was not a returned soldier, but a superannuated public servant. • • ■ •

At another time, and had tlio appolntoo b««n tha recipient of a small pension, "Truth" mlgh t bavo pa»«cd tto* nmttar ov«r without further cotnm«ai, ooatant with ttuUdnc ih» protest

It did last week. But when It learns that the new Hospital Registrar has filled a well-paid Government position for forty years, and has retired upon a pension of £202 Gs per annum, "Truth" simply cannot remain silent. Under such circumstances, tlyj appointment is little short of a grave public scandal, and every member of the Charitable Aid Board, who was In, any way a party to its consummation, ought to bo asked to resign. "Truth" is not concerned about the rumors that aro current that the job was prorniHod to tho present holder weeks before the vacancy was declared or the situation advertised. That is a statement which it would be very hard to prove, but, fortunately, our objection to tho appointment m question la not based on such unsubstantial material. The members of tho Hoard aro all publiclyprofesscd patriots. Every ono of thorn has repeatedly declared hi public how hIH and her heart' bled for the Anzac heroes; of how they would fall not to do all that m thorn lay to mako things easy for the bravo boys who came back from tho mouth of hell. That; wna tho promise, publicly pledged. What of tho performance? The very first time it was m their -power to help—lckU!--matvly, and without doln« violcnco to their conscience or injury 10 Rtiy of their fellows— one of these returned mon into a comfortable position, they aro ovcry one turned down with a n?soumllmT filash, arid"'. the job bestowed upon one who already hn» v suftlclenry of thin world's tfopd. thing*!, and who, moreover, haw been provided for by si n.n.-it yi'norous Government -employer ■with a.pcr.slon of £4 por week (or llfo In thrro ono member of th* 1 Hoard ho oblique oi moral vision, at lost to a Hcuse of th« lUncss of things. oh to defend It* action ia this particu)mx etUM? *T&ittU»" ttouwt bft)Uv«

there Is. The blunder is too palpable, the facts too damning, Jf it is claimed that the appointment having been made, though now "admittedly inequitable and unfair, it must, m justice to the. person appointed, be allowed to stand, we reply to such a contention is as crafty as the act is unprincipled and indefensible. The blunder has been made, but that is no reason why the Board should continue to perpetuate it, by refusing to undo what it has done. The position 'was advertised as a temporary one. Whether this was an accurate description, it is not necesary here to determine, except to remark that the vacancy being so advertised, the appointee can express no surprise at the termination of his engagement, however early, should the Board decide to make other arrangements. The quicker the wrong is righted, the less injury is done to alland the sooner it is forgiven and forgotten. . . . _

• When this journal made its- first protest against what It -considered, and still; considers, a flagrant piece of job - bery, it had no idea that the case m question was only one of many similar. A representative of this paper interviewed Ministers and high Government departmental, officials concerning' this particular appointment and the circumstances surrounding it, and one and all characterised the, action of the Wellington Charitable Aid Board as one of crass stupidity or grpsV favorltlsin and worse. " One Minister said' he, astounded and his astonishment bordered on stupefaction when he was told the amount of superannuation the new Registrar was drawing from the Postal Department. He frankly admitted that the Superannuation" Act had not contemplated such a development or that its provisions, meant to benefit the old servants, would be turned into a public abuse. The idea was to provide v for time-expired servants an annuity sufficient to procure for them comparative comfort during . their . declining years, a commendable 'objective and; one which found favor from every quarter of the House. But the cose brought /under his notice by "Truth" convinced him that" a drastic amendment would be necessary to keep the Act functioning within the limits of its original purpose. We feel convinced that, when the Minister, whose opinion, we have quoted, and his colleagues,, who share that opinion, so freely expressed to our representative, have read what "Tru.th" has to say further anent this abuse of the Act, for abuse it undoubtedly is, he, and they, will Conclude, not that an amendment of the Act m the direction indicated will "become necessary," but that such an amendment is long overdue. :

As we have stated, we thought that this case, when first brought under our notice, was, if not an isolated instance, at ', least, one of a very small number m which favoritism or jobbery could be N suspected of playing any part. The opinions expressed by those public men interviewed were such as to confirm us m this view. A few days after the publication of our previous article, however, we were subjected to a rude awakening. Evidence was placed before this paper which convinces us that such appointments as herein (complained of, ; are by ;no means rare. It has been stated, on what appears to .us, after careful investigation, to be strong evidence of its truth, that not only local public bodies, but that the Government itself, through the much-boosted Public Service Commissioners, has been guilty of even more flagitious .'filling of jobs by pensioned persons from the public service, Not one, but several similar instances were, brought under the notice of this journal during the past week. And these cases are not confined to Wellington, but are scattered all over the Dominion from the North Capo to tho Bluff, and jn almpst overy conceivable situation from Government .insurance agents to town clerks. Ono most monstrous instance of this form of maladministration which was promulgated^recently, it was pointed out by "TruthV 1 representative, was a deliberate contravention of the Superannuation Act, which provides that when a superannuated public servant Is re-appointed to a position carrying a salary under the Crown, the said superannuation shall cease to accrue as from the date of the re-appointanerit taking effect. It was admitted by the party interviewed that suoh obviously was the purpose and intention of the legislature when it passed the 'Act, 'but, 'someone, alive to the- vole. ot the large body of public servants, had secured the annulment of this very righteous and unjust Intention either when the bill was boing drafted m the State law foundry, or when it was being licked into shape m the burnishing department— Parliament— by tho insertion of ono slnglo word. That was tho word "permanent," so that the clause reads to the effect that the payment of superannuation Bhall cense on tho "permanent" ro-appolntment of a superannuated person to a paid position under the Government. If then, the powers that bo desire to pitchfork one of their "Royals" into a "cosy corner" on hia attainment of the ago limit and his retiral on a pension of not moro than £300 per annum, all they havo got to do is to give him another job labelled "temporary." That brings it within the bounds of legality. As for equity that is neither here nor there.

When ono remembers that those things arc being done, not only under the very noses of tho Public Servk'o Commissioners, but, It Is asserted, with their deliberate sanction, if not co-op-eration, ono wonder** what was the purpose for which the Public Service Commissioner* received their own appointments? Are not those tho very gentlomon, who, shortly after assuming;- the functions of their ofNec, In thoir new-found seal for purity In tho public scrvlco Issued an edict forbidding any civil .servant to engage m any form of 'remunerative work other thim that m which they wore officially engaged, no. not even In their own time? Uy ihl* rigidly, righteous, regulation public scr. vtmts who were acting :u* aeereUirUM or other olncjuls of friendly j-oriotici; and clubs, far which they wens hi recoljtt of small, annual honorariums, were compelled to resign their positions, or stoop to some form cf subterfuge to evade the purport of tho now regulation. Yet If all stories* fire truo these same su per- \n: rims havo permitted, or, at l^ast. huv«» done nothing io put a fctop to Iho jmioh more svriou:; ovit which Is the subjucl of s his articji'. If ever there was a caso of s\vu.Uo\v-= Ji:K Mount Cook n:id cry Ins; bopsrlo :•.'. Urooklyn. moat assuredly »hl« U« ono. "Truth" m of opinion that. t\.c< rutwKr Of .such cose» Is BufOclont to war rani a pv.hjlc protviil ajralnft tln« oont!::unlion t,t tnich evuiiiou of the spit ii of the Suporannuation Act. more evjwciully «t tho present Umo when th" r?:-appoint-xneni of micli ihm'-i?.\ulreO publk* !<;r« vttnta to the po.«lM»:t:5 rofcrretJ to, nwanH tho r.hunUri:; <<t x<min fs:ll;.---qunliftcd returned troopor who |».i» dono hl« bit for his country and til.o