CIVIL REHABILITATION LEAGUE.

Otago Witness, Issue 3996, 14 October 1930, Page 7

CIVIL REHABILITATION LEAGUE.

MEETING OF EX-SERVICE MEN. A well-attended meeting of members of the Dunedin Returned Soldiers’ Association and ex-serviee men was held in the South Dunedin Town Hall, the president of the association (Mr J. S. Skinner) occupying the chair.

The chairman expressed pleasure at seeing such a satisfactory attendance, and explained that the meeting had been called to allow ex-service men to hear from those who were closely connected with the .work of the association what it was doing to assist its members and returned men generally.

Mr E. J. Anderson spoke on the report of the Soldiers’ Civil Rehabilitation Commission, and stated that he regarded I it to be of the utmost value to all ro- . turned men. It had been at the instiga- ; tion of the association that the comniisi sion .had sat. One of the principal findings of the original commission had been that returned men sufferin. from war dis- ' abilities, should be pensioned, and the I commission had also recommended that ■ these men should receive in addition what was known as an economic pension. The speaker went on to say that as time -ent on it had been found that the economic pension had not been altogether what it was. hoped to be, and many anomalies were discovered A deputation which had waited on the then Minister of Defence (Sir Thomas Wilford) had been well received, and he thought that the Minister had been impressed by the arguments put before him. He had then promised that an .inquiry would be made into the condition of the men who had served th-ir country, and his efforts in this direction had led .to the. setting up of the recent commission, which consisted of Mr J. S. Barton, S.M. (chairman), Sir John Luke and Mr S. Harrison. It had been found’ continued Mr Anderson, that in the Dominion no fewer than one in every twenty returned men had not successfully fitted back into the niche in lift he had occupied before going overseas, and for the benefit of these the commission had recommended that a soldiers’ civil rehabih" tation league should be set up. At present the economic pension cost the country about £90,000 annually, and if by distri bating this sum the league had nursed the men receiving it back to a state in which, they could again take up active life, it would surely have justified its existence. Mr Anderson then dealt with various clauses of the report, giving a lucid explanation of each. At the time the report came out it was pigeon-holed by the Government, and it looked as if it might lie there forever. The New Zealand Returned Soldiers’ Association, however, became busy, and within the past fortnight it had been reported that the Government had the commission’s report under consideration. Nevertheless, if the New Zealand Returned Soldiers’ Association did not keep up the pressure there was still a possibility of its being completely shelved. It was not a question of party politics or of unemployment, but of seeing that the promises made by the country to the men who served would be kept. Canada had formulated a scheme whereby assistance would be given to everj returned man irrespective of any question of attributability. This was practically what the chairman of the commission had recommended should be done in New Zealand. In conclusion, Mr Anderson suggested that at the forthcoming election campaign returned men could perhaps help by reminding candidates of the commission’s report,, and asking them to support its being brought before Parliament.

Mr P. S. Anderson explained the organisation of the association, pointing out that it was a unit of the British Empire Service League, of which Earl Jellicoe was the present president. He then detailed the various activities of the association, making particular reference to its work in connection with such matters as pensions, attributabilitv. Anzac Day, Poppy Day, and land settlement, and mentioned that it was principally through the agency of the association that the War Pensions Appeal Board had been set up. The secretary of the association (Mr J. M. White) dealt briefly with the work of the local office, and emphasised the valuable services the association was rendering to returned men generally. Ip conclusion, the chairman stressed the fact that the association was doing everything in its power for all returned jnen, whether New Zealanders, Imperial men, or Australians, but to give the greatest help to these it was necessary that the membership should be strong. He therefore appealed to those who were not already members to join the association and to use every endeavour to persuade others to join. The meeting closed with a vote of thanks to the speakers.