OTAGO PATRIOTIC ASSOCIATION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17088, 21 August 1917, Page 3

OT AGO PATRIOTIC ASSOCIATION

The usual monthly meeting of tho Otago Patriotic and General Welfare Association was held yesterday. In the absenco of the Mayor, who is in Wellington, Mr J. B. Shaddock presided, and there was a good attendance of members. Tho Secretary of the Kelso Patriotio Society wroto asking to bo permitted to amalgamate with the Otago Patriotic Association.— It was agreed to accede to tho request, a notification to this effect to bo sent to tho secretary. Tho Hon. Secretary of tho Advisory Board of tho Federation of New Zealand Patriotio Societies wrote forwarding an extract of a letter received from the Minister of Defence in rospect to tho Soldiers' Financial Assistance Board, in which he stated that ho did not think it advisable to send copies of tho decisions of tho Financial Assistance Board to the Patriotic Societies. In his opinion it might disclose information and names which applicants for assistance might not wish disclosed.—Tho Chairman suggested that this letter migh bo sent on to the Soldiers' Welfaro Committee. —Mr Speight moved accordingly.—Carried. The Secretary of the Dunedin Chamber of Commerce forwarded a copy of tho tranlation of a letter received from tho Coordination of Assistance to Combatants, Paris, asking for help in the matter of providing hot douches for soldiers at tho front, and commending the scheme to the sympathetic consideration of tho association.—Tho Chairman thought it was a matter for tho Finance Committee.—Mr D. E. Theomin said ho thought that tho matter was ono of urgency. Ho suggested tho forwarding of a sum to tho High Commissioner. He did not approve of money being sent direct on an open appeal, however genuine it might appear on the face of it. He moved that a sum of £100 bo forwarded through tho High Commissioner, with a request that he hand it over conditional upon Sir Thos. Mackenzio being satisfied as to the genuineness of tho appeal.—Mr C. Speight seconded tho motion.—Mr J. A. Johnstone suggested that the matter be referred to the Finance Committee. He would like moro information on the point.—Dr Harrison said the apparatus was required to counteract tho eftectsof vermin, which were most prevalent. He did not think £100 was too much to vote. —At tho suggestion' of Rev. R. S. Gray, it was resolved to add to the motion that the co-operation of kindred patriotio associations bo invoked.— Tho motion, with the addition suggested, was oarried. Tho Minister of Defence, in replying to the letter forwarded to him by Mr George Fonwick and the Mayor (Mr J. J. Clark) with regard to certain cases of men who had been discharged from the New Zealand Forces, some of whom had not left New Zealand, pointed out that all men called up in tho ballot were required to be examined as to their fitness S.ir service. Many concealed their defects, and in other cases defects were not apparent (especially in nervous and rheumatic eases). Medical men know_ from experience that some ailments or slight defects would probably bo improved or cured by camp life. They were also aware that in a small percentage of cases the ailment would become accentuated by camp life. It was impossible to lay down an infallible standard. The medical men could only decide how such cases were likely to be affected in camp life in the light of their experience. It was inevitable that in a certain number of cases, however careful may have been the medical examination, the expectations of tho medical officers would not be realised, and that camp life, instead of building up tho soldiers' health, as it undoubtedly did in the majority of cases, would injure, it.—Mr . Fenwick. in moving -that this correspondence be referred to tho Mayor and himself for a reply, said that it was clearly 'impossible for tho • inQniDGrs of the Gxscutivo to got 3- grip of it. Some of the replies no doubt exculpated the department, and others were more or less unsatisfactory, and only those to whom thoy wero aaaressed could reply.—Mr Johnstone seconded the motion, which was carried. •

The Hon. G. W. Kussell forwarded a circular relating to the audit of patriotic funds, which in many cases disclosed the fact that War Loan certificates held by trustees of war funds were deposited in bulk at the bank and a receipt taken by th<* trustees acknowledging the custody of the package. _ This acknowledgment did not, however, in any way vouch for the number and value of the certificates deposited, and could not, therefore, be ao eepted without question by the Audit Office. Full and adequate provision existed for the custody of War Loan certificates, and the giving of a receipt fully sotting forth the number and value of each certificate deposited. This receipt would be accepted without question by the Audit Office. It was suggested that the trustees of war funds having War Loan certificates on deposit with any outside institution should make arrangements for their early transfer to the Post Office Savings Bank.—The clerk said the circular had been submitted to the Finance Committee, which had reported that the association held no War Loan certificates.—On the motion of Mr Fenwick, the circular was referred to tho Finance Committee. In moving the adoption of the Public Appeal' Committee's report, Mr Johnstone said the compartively poor response that had been made to tho latest appeal for hclri to augment the Soldiers' and Dependents' Fund had shown them that the majority of the neoplo, both in the town and in tho country, were content to leave it to the Government to do all that might be necessary to meet the needs of every case requiring assistance. To ask them to believe that the Government would ever do so of their own free will,-or that the people themselves would rise up "en masse" and compel the Government to make anything like adequate, provision for our soldiers and their families, imposed too great a strain upon our credulity. Never had the soldiers and sailors of the countries engaged in previous great wars been decently recompensed for their priceless services, and he ventured to say that although in this war the scale of pensions and grants would _ not be so niggardly as in past years, still, it would be utterly inadequate. He could' tell of instances of neglcct and extreme hardship which had already come under his own notice, and for which existing regulations made no provision whatever.- _ Consequently, in snite of the many unkind and unpatriotic things that had been said about the effort to place the Otago Soldiers' and Dependents' Fund on a sound footing, he maintained that those who believed that any Government would do all that should be done, were trusting to a broken reed. Whilst most people had said that the support of the soldiers, their women folk, and families I was the bounden duty of the Government, |

others had stated that because of the heavier taxation about to be imposed they were no longer in a position to subscribe to patriotic funds. As for this excuse, all ho needed to say was that so long as there were tens of thousands of our people wasting their money as if they had never hoard of the war, he was certain that in many cases it was an invalid excuse. Although many people professed their inability to give to patriotic funds, yet, if there was a chance of winning something by lottery or otherwise, our people, speaking in the broadest sense—collectively and not individually—would give something to almost any object. By no stretch of the imagination could giving, with an ulterior motive at the back of it (and that a sordid one) bo regarded as an act of patriotism. It wa3 the unwillingness of those who could afford to give that was • doing so much to create class feelings and prejudices, and to cause many to agree that a State which demanded and took the lives of the best and bravest of our sons, should not hesitate to tax us even until wo had nothing left. He did not intend to particularise cases, but everyone knows that in this war no one had made sacrifices comparable with those mad'e by the young men wno naa tnrorr,- tnemseives into the breach for us; and surely it was our duty to see that privation and want should never enter the homes of those they had left behind. He quoted as follows from an account of the Canadian Patriotic Fund:— "The £2,600,000 which the people of the dominion were asked to give this year (1917) to the Canadian ratriotic Fund has been more than subscribed'. In pledges alone, the fund has so far (June 1) obtained something like £2,700,000, and has therefore an assured income for tho next 12 months. As an instance of the splendid way in which the citizens of the dominion, are supporting tho fund, a four da7"s' campaign, held in Toronto, with the object of raising £500,C00, _ realised £152.000 more than tho sum desired." -The population of Toronto was between 350,000 and 360.000. In Otago with a population of 142.000, the effort of ; this association during tho whole period : of the war, had resulted in less than' I £.00.000 being; raised, and so far as he | could gauge public opinion, tho majority ; appeared to be quite satisfied with and | proud of what had been achieved. In i view of tho facts just stated regarding Canadian generosity, there was good ground [ for a contrary view, and he most earnestly I hoped that the cit : zens of Otago would yet bestir themselves to help in tho effort to place the Otago Soldiers' Fund on a better footing. —Mr Speight seconded tne motion. —The IVv. R. S. Gray asked if there was anything that the executivo could do to carry through the proposal to raiso £100,000.. Air

Johnstone had been round the city, arid by some of those whom ho had waited upon he had received a very chilling reception, while from others ho had reooived substantial Amounts. The committee was practically at a doad end to know what to do. The question was, were they going to let this appeal go, or were they going to try to get £100,OCQ. —Mr Loudon said that Mr Johnstono had made refcrenco to extravagance. Sorno time ago he (Mr Loudon) had brought forward a motion protesting against extravagance, in which ho had included motor cars and Mr Johnstono was primarily responsible for smothering that motion. —Mr Johnstone: I'll do that again to-day. You don't dis crirflinate between commercial .-uid extravagant cars.—Mr Loudon: My protest is that when I brought forward this motion against criminal extravagance going on in our midst that means should be taken to kill it. My motion was that a protest should bo sent on to the Government, and I specially mentioned motor cars, and Messrs Sargood, Johnstone, and the Mayor killed it.—Mr Johnstone: Tho meeting killed it. —Mr Loudon: Yes, led by you.—Continuing, Mr Loudon said ho agreed with what Mr Johnstone had said just previously, but he protested against the action Mr Johnstone took when he referred to the same thinpr some time ago. If extravagance were curtailed they would have more money subscribed to the association.—The Chairman: The people will not havo the money by and by to be extravagant with. —The motion was carried. The report of the Finance Committee was adopted on the moti6n of Mr Theomin, seconded by Mr Glendining.—Mr Theomin remarked that it had been found necessary to leave the funds in the hands of the City Council, the banks having failed to meet them. The Soldiers' and Dependents' Welfaro Committee's report was adopted on the motion of Mr Speight, seconded by Mr Conn.

The honorary treasurer, Mr G. A. Lewin, reported that the total receipts to date amounted to £277,237 16s. Tho rece : pts since last meeting were:—Wounded soldiers and depmdents' fund. £3874 Is 9d: Belgian relief fund, £24; Red Cross fund, £11 16s 6d; unconditional fund. £83; Serbian relief fund. £19 5s 6d; Y.M.C.A. fund. £11 19s 6d; Women's Association fund. 10s; —total, £4024 13s 3d. The outgoings since last meeting were:—Soldiers and dependents' fund, £1000; Belgian relief fund £SCO; unconditional fund, £10 5s 3d; Exped tionary Force fund, £100;— total, £1610 5s 3d. The following statement shows the balance of the respective funds under the control of the association: —Belgian relief, £7027 17s 3d ; local relief and refunds, 9s 9d; Great Britain and Ireland, £138 14s lid; Serbian relief fund, £145 Os 8d; Poles' relief fund. £79 4s 6d; Soldiers and dependents' and Quern Carnival, £17,446 7s 7d; ambulance, £39 19s lOd; Expeditionary Force, £331 2s 8d; Uncondit onal, £2434 18s lOd; Y.M.C. Association, £107 15s 7d; sailors' dependents, £13 18s 9d; Royal Mcdical Ben., £9 Is; Women's Association, 12s.—The report was adopted. iho Hon. J. T. Paul wrote from Wellington, under date 17th inst. : "As the Otago representative on the Advisory Board of the Federation of Patriotic War Relief Societies, _ I have to report having attended the meeting of the board on tho 15th inst. The _ understanding arrived at between the Advisory Board and the Financial Assistance Board is now on a definite basis. The Financial Assistance Board has accepted our assurance that tho allowanoes made by patriotio societies are of a temporary nature only, being subject to review when the Financial _ Assistanco Board has dealt with eaoh application. Grants made by patriotic associations will not, therefore, bo taken into consideration by tho Financial Assistance Board when determining the responsibility of the Government in respect to their responsibilities. It will be necessary for the Soldiers' and Dependents' Committee to obtain statements from applicants showing thf assistance, if any, received from tho board. The grants now being made by tho board should relievo tho association's funds in such matters as rent, insurance, interest on mortgages, etc.. Tho balance of tho money raised for the relief of 9iok and wounded ! sol diem serving abroad, amounting to over £6000, is now in tne hands of the New Zealand War Contingent Association (London). This amount, it will be remembered, was held by the Government in New Zealand, to which our association took strong exception. However, tho .money is now available for the purposes for which it was voted. It would seem now that, largely through the_ magnificent efforts of the Red Cross, our sick and wounded l soldiers abroad are well provided for. -Tho position of men on furlough in England engaged the attention of tho Advisory Board. In July last this matter was before the Soldiers' a,nd Dependents' Welfaro Committee on a letter received by Mr Mitchell from the secretary of the New Zealand War Contingent Association. In- that letter the. need for helping _ 'well_ men' was stressed. After full consideration the board agreed that ample provision should be made for New Zealand soldiers who are not sick or wounded and who are on furlough in England or fighting in the trenches, and that the charman make inquiries by cable as to tho provision being made for such mon, and report to affiliated societies. The .important question of uniformity of relief was considered at length. Absolute uniformity is impossible, as individual cases differ, but it, was felt that.a uniform basis was desirable, and proposals will bo put before tho association towards that end. In the meantime it has been unanimously agreed to make tho following recommendations to tho various societies: (a) That there should bo no grant by right of service in money or kind, but that any grant in money or kind must be in the discretion of each society, taking each case on ita merits, (b) The grants for mufti should bo. mado only in deserving cases, (c) As it is impossible for all societies to mako grants for taking up land or starting in business, it is recommended that no society make large grants for either purpose. A question of considerable importance was raised by a_ letter from the Returned Soldies' Association. The association asked that a representative or representatives of tho Returned Soldiers' Association should be placed on tho board of administration for grants. The board had the advantage of conferring with a deputation from the association. Several misunderstandings were cleared up, and the conference was valuable. After consideration tho Advisory Board decided to recommend that a representative or representatives of the Returned Soldiers' Association should be add'ed to tho Relief or Soldiers' Committees. My own opinion is that the step_ would_ bo very wise, and'will make for efficiency in administration. It has already been adopted in Chistohurch and Wellington with beneficial results. The board registered its dissent from the proposal of the Returned Soldiers' Association that the Government should take over patriotic funds. A number of minor matters wero dealt with, and further representations are to be ro-nde to tho Government on certain other questions which the board has in hand." It was resolved that the report be-referred to the executive, and that copies be forwarded to members.