Have You Evidence Of Soldier Aitken's Fall?

NZ Truth, Issue 985, 11 October 1924, Page 5

Have You Evidence Of Soldier Aitken's Fall?

If So, Please Forward It:

Because He Ban Get State Help If Injured On War Service

Impoverished On Farm, tiow In PWs4r In Melbourne, He Has Two DependantSvAnd No Money

From causes apparently small, great ;■. bodily ills may accrue. S?aTrth"ng«?arS P not medically reported as a rule, therefore ,t is nS to be ! expected that all the war service causes of future trouble are inscribed m v/ar service records.

At the same time, a'bland assumption that every illness m a returned soldier is due to war service would be impracticably expensive and would., be a temptation to fraud. Therefore the military medical authorities require some chain of evidence leading from cause to effect. How can such evidence be procured.-? The appended letter to the editor of "Truth" describes a typical case. Coming as it does from the Gore Returned Soldiers' .Association, with that body's guarantee of good-faith, Truth is glad to give it the widest possible publicity,. . This human document speaks for itself: : Sir I have been instructed by my executive to write and ask; you if you could see your .way clear to publish the following m your paper: 40858 Aitlcen J. returned N.Z. Raranga" April, 1919.. Fell while stowing hammock. Now crippled m Melbourne Hospital. Evidence wanted from anyone who remembers Aitken's accident on morning of arrival m Wellington.. For some considerable time this Association has been endeavoring to get information of the fall m order that we may conduct this man's case with success before the Appeal Board. So far we have met with no" success, and as your paper has a large circulation, and has the returned .man at heart, we would be very grateful to you if you could publish v same. ; This is a most appealing case. Apparently when the above mentioned was stowing his hammock," he fell and injured his hip, but, like. the rest of us who were anxious to get home, he did not parade sick. »The result,/ of course, is that his medical . history .sh^et does not show any record of the fall. . ' '■■■".■..•. . '■; After arrival home this man became a soldier- farmer, but his hip! began to trouble him, and/ he eventually had to walk off the , farm without a penny. From here he proceeded to Melbourne •for his health, but his hip became T.B. The result now is that the unfortunate man is lying m Melbourne Hospital m plaster of Paris, where he has

to lie for the long period of IS .months. As he has a wife and one child to keep, he is m dire straits, and unless we can find someone who witnessed the fall we have little chance of getting for him a pension, to. which he is justly entitled— if we can prove the case.' V' Trusting that you will be able to see your way clear to do us this favor. Yours faithfully, . . G. L. GERKEN, Secretary. BRAI NS~OR~Tg"n"6rANCE? : ' — » ' v ' An Incident m Parliament. It was during the discussion on the Gaming Act Amendment Bill:'.' Mr. Parry (Labor 1 ) said there was no clause iti the Bill dealing with the number of horses which should start m a race. Mr. Nash (Reform) : What is the limit? ■; ' > ■ Mr. Parry: I would leave that to a committee of intelligent ■ people to determine, and the -honorable gentleman would not be one of them. (Laughter). . We leaye' the awarding of honors, m this brilliant exhibition of Parliamentary pleasantry to our readers. Some, of course, may not know whether there is or,is,not any limit to the number of,. horses that may start. in a race'j but despite this appalling ignorance, they may possess more intelligence than, those who do know.