THE HANMER TROUBLE.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume II, Issue 617, 1 February 1916, Page 11

THE HANMER TROUBLE.

| THE REAL CAUSE. MEN OBJECT TO DISCIPLINE. RULES HABITUALLY BROKEN. DRASTIC ACTION TAKEN. The trouble at the returned sol- . diers' convalescent home at The Lodge, Hanmer, which was reported in a special telegraphic message to The Sun last evening, resulted in the dismissal from the home of 32 men. Three of the men were ordered to proceed to Trentham, 11 were sent down to Christchurch for treatment at the hospital, and 18 v/eie summarily discharged. The whole trouble seems to have arisen through the failure of many of the soldiers and of certain persons in charge of the conduct of The Lodge to realise who should control it. For certain reasons the Defence authorities found it necessary recently to appoint a military commandant in the interests of discipline, and it was consequent on this that the trouble arose which has resulted in such drastic action being taken. HISTORY OF THK LODGE. • The history of The Lodge as i convalescent home for returned sick and wounded soldiers is simple. Some months ago, when soldiers first began to conic back to the Dominion, Mr Duncan Rutherford and the residents of the Ainuri district offered The Lodge to the Government as a home, and undertook to run it at their own expense. The Government accepted this generous offer, and placed the home under the control of the Public Health Department, the Defence Department having nothing to do with it. The men who go to The Lodge for treat ment go there under orders from the local District Health Officer. TROUBLE ARISES. Quite early in the history of the .institution trouble was experienced with certain men, who were in tin habit of taking more drink than was good for them, and Colonel Chaffey paid a visit to The Lodge, with ! the result that several "bad eggs" were sent away. This effected an improvement for a lime, but trouble recurred later, and the matron oi the home, who had no male slafl to call to her aid was unable t deal with the situation. The Public Health Department then appointed a doctor io take medical charge of (he home, and the men were placed under his orders, hut still things did not work as smoothly as was necessary in the interests of the soldiers themselves . Different men kept coming and going, and there always seemed to he some in the home who would not submit themselves to discipline. Orders with regard to bathing and dieting were consistently disobeyed, and there was a regular daily march by a certain section to the nearest hotel. Men were obtaining drink to whom drink was absolutely dangerous, and finally the Public Health ; Department appealed to the Defence Department fo appoint a military commandant, to require the men to obey the orders of the doctor, and to stop misbehaviour. MILITARY HEAD APPOINTED. The Defence Department, after many communications between District Headquarters and Wellington, appointed Lieutenant-Colonel A. E. Loach, who had himself returned from the front, to take military charge of The Lodge, and a proper set of rules and regulations was drawn up for his guidance. These rules were distributed to the men, who raised no objection to them. Still the drinking trouble did not cease, and Colonel Loach found it necessary to keep the men in The Lodge grounds in the evenings. Ac- ; cordingly on Wednesday last he issued an order that on and after Thursday no man must leave the grounds after 6,30 p.m. RULE DELIBERATELY BROKEN. This rule was the cause of the trouble which has had such unpleasant consequences. On Thursday evening, all the men at the home, with the exception of eight or nine, deliberately broke the rule, marched out of the grounds, and spent the evening in the town, returning at it p.m. This breach of discipline was ■ immediately reported to District Headquarters, which got into communication witii Wellington, ultimately receiving instructions to have the men examined by a Medical Board. A properly-constituted board of three medical officers was therefore set up, and on Sunday all the men at The Lodge were brought forward for examination. The result was that three men were classed as lit, and ordered to proceed to Trentham forthwith. Eleven, who are still unfit, but not permanently so, were marked down for treatment at the Christchurch Hospital; and IS, who will never be able Io serve again, were handed their discharges, and became from thai moment civilians. The men for Trentham and the Christchurch Hospital came down by train last evening, accompanied by most of the men who had been discharged. The train was met by a detachment of military police, who took charge of the hospital cases, and removed them from the station in taxi-cabs. DISTRICT COMMANDANT DEFIED. The men who were to report at Trentham did not go north. One of ilxein was willing to continue his

journey, but the other two refused. All three were therefore ordered to appear before the Officer Commanding the district (Colonel 11. A. Chaffey). The, man who had been willing to go forward appeared, and notwithstanding thai he had served for some time on Callipoli was found to be still under age, and was sent off to his parents. The other two called at the Defence office, but on being informed that Colonel Chaffey was engaged refused to wait, and promptly disappeared. Colonel Chaffey promptly ordered their arrest, and they will be taken to Trentham tonight in custody to be dealt with. "When men come before me Io be dealt with," said Colonel Chaffey to a Sun representative this morning, "I never forget that they are returned soldiers, but when we are openly defied—well, the gloves have got to come oil." CAUSE OF THE TROUBLE. The cause of the whole trouble is that the men at The Lodge objected to being placed under military discipline, being of the opinion that they were at Hanmer of their own free will, and that they were the guests of private people. They draw comparisons between their own ease and that of returned men in the city, many of whom have been here for months, without any restrictions as to hours, diet, or drinking having been placed upon them. • Colonel Chaffey made it perfectly clear this morning that the men were mistaken in thinking that they were not subject to discipline. Men who went to The Lodge for treatment, he said, went under orders. No man could go of his own free will. It was competent for a man to go to the District Health Officer and suggest that a stay :il Hanmer might do him good, and should his case be one that, in the opinion of this officer, might be advantageously treated there, be would be sent to The Lodge. Nevertheless, the soldier went there under orders, and in such circumstances must abide by the rules of the institution. Most of the men at The Lodge have been sent there by Medical Boards which examined the men in the various liansports and the hospital ship Maheno when they arrived. MEN STILL "SOLDIERS.

"The men at The Lodge," Colonel Chaffey went on, "must remember that they are still soldiers, and are hawing soldiers' pay. It is our thity to see that the men are restored to health as soon as possible, so that they may again take their daces at the front. That is essential, and we must see that (he men 10 not do anything to prejudice their hances of recovery. That is why a stilitary commandant was appointed a! Ilanmer to see that the doctor's orders were obeyed. If the men : boose to cause trouble and openly defy us, then they must take the •onsequenecs. It has been said that, ilvc present ditliculty could have fen overcome by the exercise of a 'iille tact. The time has gone by for tact, and the gloves are off." POSITION OF DISCHARGED MEN.« The position of the 18 men who have been summarily discharged is ihat they are no longer soldiers, and cannot further claim soldiers' pay. They must now apply to the -Pensions Board, which will deal with their cases in the ordinary way, and 'iiake such allowance as they may be entitled to, according to their condition. There may be a weak spot in the action ol the authorities. If all accounts are true, some men have been discharged from the forces who are not yet healed, and who are not capable of earning a living. Several of tbese men are said to have bullets still lodged near vital parts, and in some cases an operation will be necessary before the man can hope to recover. However this may be, the responsibility lies, not with the local defence authorities, but with the Medical Hoard, which was a properly constituted body, fully seized of its duties and responsibilities. NEED FOR DISCIPLINE. "So far as the necessity for discipline at Ilanmer is concerned," said a medical officer this morning, "it should be patent to everyone. These men have been sent to The Lodge in order to give them a chance to recover from very severe wounds or illness. One would imagine that their own common sense would be sufficient to tell them that they must do what the doctor orders. In any hospital, patients are subject to very strict rules, which must not be departed from. What chance of recovery has a man suffering from disease if he deliberately and habitually indulges in practices which must do him harm? "Take Ibis very instance of Ilanmer. Here we have a large number of men, all of whom have been seriously ill, or have suffered severe wounds. The doctor carefully observes each case, and orders treatment accordingly. Is it fair to him that his orders should be deliberately flouted? Take the case of a man who has been suffering from enteric. 11 is necessary that be should be carefully dieted, but what do we Hud? Instead of eating the food which the doctor knows will give him his only chance of recovery, he eats all kinds of stuff given lo him by kindly but misguided civilians, often dines outside on food which must do him harm, and, worst of all, goes frequently to the hotel and indulges in strong drink. Now, what chance has Ihat man of ever returning to his place in the ranks? RESTRICTIONS WILL BK INCREASED. "Ilanmer is not the only place where we have had trouble," continued the officer. "It is practically universal. You have only lo keep your eyes open in this very city, and you will see dozens of instances of what I mean. Men have been about here for months without showing the slightest improvement; many of them, indeed, are worse than when they came off the boat. It stands to reason that, while a glass of beer never did a healthy soldier