WAR PENSIONS BOARD

Southland Times, Issue 17866, 17 January 1918, Page 4

WAR PENSIONS BOARD

SITTING IN INVERCARGILL

SOME INTERESTING FIGURES,

The War Pensions Board, which is visiting Invercargill, is constituted as follows; — Mr D. G. A. Cooper, S.M. (chairman), Colonel R. .1. Collins (who is Controller and Auditor-General), and Dr H. Pollen (Port Health Officer in Wellington), while Mr G. C. Fache performs the secretarial duties. The Board has its headquarters in Wellington.

So far as a soldier’s pension is concerned, the procedure is this; Before a man who has been invalided home is discharged he is medically examined, the examiner filling in medical papers. If the soldier passes for discharge, he is given a form of application lor pension, which is filled in there and then and forwarded to the Pensions Board, which also receives the man’s medical papers. The first granting of pensions is always made on those medical papers, and is usually for six months. From 70 to 80 per cent, of the total applicants are granted the full {tension for six mouths. At the end of that time their cases come up for review. They are again examined by a military doctor and may, in addition, appear before the Board. Then they may have their temporary pension continued unaltered—this is usual if they are still in hospital or, perhaps, if they still have discharging wounds; they may have a reduced temporary pension granted for the next term ; they may, if they tire held to be permanently unfit, be granted a permanent {tension (in rare cases this may be granted at the outset ) ; or, if they are perfectly fit, their pension may cease altogether. A great number are granted renewals of temporary pensions, which have again to come up for review. Besides applications from soldiers, the Board deals with those of dependents of the maimed and fallen. While all the initial grants arc made in Wellington, it is necessary for the Board, whiic it Is engaged on review work, to travel round the country, and already there is sufficient business to keep it for three months employed outside of Wellington. The Board sat in Invercargill on Tuesday and yesterday, and will deal with a few cases before leaving by (he express to-day. A dozen cases were handled in Gore on Monday. This is the Board's second visit to Southland, the first having been in August, 19X6. Really, the visit should be an annual one, but the lengthy Parliamentary session and the bringing down of the Pensions’ Amendment Bill have thrown this round late. The Board has hopes, however, of being back in twelve months again. By that time one of the members will be a returned soldier, as the Government has decided. For the present tour, the personnel of the Board has been slightly altered. Mr Cooper is just now acting as chairman of one of the Wellington Military Service Boards and is consequently not with the Pensions’ Board, of which Colonel Collins is the present chairman. Mr Fache, the secretary, sits as a Board member in Cooper’s absence. Fifty cases is a solid day’s work for the Board. On Tuesday it put through 49. Of these, 36 were granted renewals of their temporary pensions of varying amounts, eleven had their temporary pensions converted to permanent, and two of those who waited on the Board were the wives of soldiers with temporary’ pensions. Yesterday, IS war pensioners came before the Board. Thirty-two were granted renewals of their temporary {tensions, eleven had temporary' pensions converted to permanent and three were cases of soldiers’ wives. In addition, there was a new claim from a mother, while another claim that came up for review was that lodged by the guardian of a deceased soldier’s orphan children. In this latter case, the Board had been unable previously to grant a pension, but under the provisions of last year’s amending Act, which came into operation on January 1, it was possible to yesterday make a grant of £1 per week. As orphans, the children arc allowed their pension of 15s per week, so that this case has now been very favourably met. Not many cases of badly battered soldiers came before the Board locally, but there was one man who had had one leg amputated, who had been wounded in the chest and whose right arm was damaged. There was no hesitation about granting him a permanent pension. Another exsoldier was granted permanently 35s per week —the old maximum. Practically every- part of his body had suffered. His eyesight and hearing were affected. He was partially disfigured. He was wounded in a leg and an arm, and altogether was as near to total disablement as it was possible for him to be, although still retaining some of his capabilities. Until the amending Act of last session came into force this month, 35s per week (the pension granted to this man) was the maximum, The new maximum, however, is £2. On top of this, if he is totally disabled and requires an attendant, a soldier may be granted a further £1 per week or, if lie is married, his wife may get £1 per weak and each child 10s. In conversation with Mr Fache, a Times reporter was given .some interesting figures of the Board's business, since its formation. From the time the Act came into force, until the end of 1917, the Board heard 14,481 claims. Of these, 9301 were by soldiers and 5180 by dependents. The gross annual value of the pensions granted was £757,114. This represents the value at time of granting, without deductions for subsequent reductions in pensions. By making these deductions, however, it is liossible to arrive at the country’s net annual {tensions liability. The net amount payable ( annually i as computed to March 31, 1917, was £257,771. The gross annual value of the grants made during the nine months Apn 1- December, 1917, was £414,919. Subtracting £58,000 as representing the value of reductions made during the same nine months, and adding the remainder to the net amount payable at March 31 last, gives £614,690 as the Dominion's annual pensions liability' on December 31, 1917. Part of this amount is being paid to past soldiers of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force who are now resident in Australia, England, New Guinea, U.S.A., South Africa and Canada—a list which gives striking proof that the spirit of adventure which has built up the glorious British Empire is strong in colonial hearts.

The number of war pensioners sharing ;n this £614,690 was 10,450, giving a general average of £SB per annum. Averages of the various particular pensions were: Soldiers’ permanent, £59; soldiers’ temporary, £74; soldiers’ widows and deceased soldiers’ children, £9l; other dependents of deceased soldiers, £34; dependents of disabled soldiers, £4B. These totals are being increased by a constant stream of new claims. For the past six months these have averaged over 200 per week. Last week, when there was such a rush of men returning, there were 392 soldiers’ claims alone. Claims from dependents are every week between 50 and 100. The new claims are now accumulating in Wellington while the Board is on tour. The papers are sent on and members keep abreast of their headquarters work as they go along.

DR SHELDON’S DIGESTIVE TABULES Is the remedy that everyone should take when there is anything wrong with the stomach. Poor Appetite, Loss of Strength, Nervousness, Headache, Bad Breath, Heartburn, Indigestion, and Dyspepsia are quickly banished by the use oi Dr Sheldon’s Digestive Tabules. These Tabules represent th£ natural juices of digestion, combined with the greatest known tonic and reconstructive agents. They simply do the work of the stomach, relieving that weakened organ, and permitting u to rest and recuperate. When you take Dr Sheldon’s Digestive Tabules, everything you eat tastes good, and every bit of the nutriment that the food contains is assimilated and appropriated by the blood and tissues. They are the only safe, reliable, certain remedy for all stomach troubles. Dr Sheldon’s Digestive Tabules, 1/6 and 2/6. Obtainable at W. Lewis and Son’s.

" Worth five times its price,” is what everyone says who tries “NAZOL” for colds, catarrh, sore throat, and hay fever. “Naxol” quickly gives relief. 60 doses cost 1/6.