DISABLED SOLDIERS.

Temuka Leader, Issue 10588, 23 August 1930, Page 3

DISABLED SOLDIERS.

A I)f >l>' i ,SS TO K.V-SKiiVHTA! KS’. C Is It A HH! X I'i ICS.A, AIFHTIXC I’ASSK:; I; IvsOl.i TUiX. ICS, A, M i n ,\ 1 ItKKS Wild, .NOT IiRKAK FAITH. A. a large galherhig of members of the Cei'aidiip' blanch of the Returned Sold lei s' Associa I ion, on Tuesday evening, Air \V. K. Headley, a Dominion vice presidenl ol the organisation, made a stirring appeal on behalf of Hie thousands of disabled unemployed ex-service-men in Xew Zealand, Air W. AlcClure, president of the Ceraklinc brunch, presided. lit opening itis address, Mr Headley said that lie was pleased lo welcome the Ceraidine ex-service-men hack to the R.X.A. of the Dominion, and he hoped that they would he i'c presell i ed ill Hie annual conference in .Inno next. It was his intention lo talk primarily about ihe Rehabilitation Commission's report Hint evening, and to do t hilt ii. would he wise to sketch ver\ briefly Hie work of Cue Association since its inception. 'Pile history ol (lie IDS.A. in New Zealand was indeed a remarkable one. In the early days, 1917-21), Hie urgent need of Ihe Assoeial ion to look alter the, interests of the returned soldiers, and lo assist them in their return to civil life, was generally recognised, and the membership made a rapid .jump to ti-MObT Cradnally. however, (he fellows had married and settled down, and. feeling that' the then success of the Association had been sufficient, they had dropped out. The success ol the Association in having legislation effected had been considerable; in fact, no oilier portion of Hie itritish Knipire could compare witn it. H included the War IVnsioms Act, (he Discharged Soldiers’ Settlement' Act, Hie Repatriation AM (which gave advances lo (rain and establish men in business who. through injury, were unable (o lotlow their former occupations), the Dominion Re-valuation Hoard, and Ihe War Pensions Appeal Hoard. .Ml these had been the outcome of persist cut agitation and work on the part of the IDS.A., hut unfortunately, two of the best Acts —the Discharged Soldiers’ Sellleinent Ac' and Hie Repatriation Act-—had ceased to operate in 1 923 and J 921 --closed down before thousands o! ex-servicemen, through Hie ravages of ill-health and disability, had het'ii aide to take advantage of them. In the larger cen. res it was absolutely astounding Hie number of men that were breaking down in health, hut were unable to attribute it directly to war service owing to Hie lapse of years. The need Dm an active RX.A. was again realised, and membership tigures were aunin mount in.”. A KSKKKH (’OAIAIISSKJX, It; was as Hu: result of these post-war break-downs in health Hm Hie Government had been approached to set up a commission to inquire into the coiui Dions under which ex-soldiers were living to • day. Air Wilford, the Hum -Minister of Defence, had been very sympathetic, fully realising the position in regard to Hie "attrihiitildiity’' of these break-downs to war service. As a result, a commission consisting of .Mr ■!. Darton, S.AI., of Wellington (who acted as chairman): Sir John Hake, representing the various war funds of Hie Dominion: and Air S. .1. Harrison, Dominion genera! secretary of the R.S.A., was set. up. Tlte Commission travelled the length and breadth of the Dominion, taking evidence from In 3 witnesses, representing all classes of disabled soldiers; it visited insiilnlions, considered schemes for Ihe employment of returned soldiers, and presented its report to (he G'ovenunent this year. The U.S.A, thoroughly approved of the report—it was one of the most important statements that' had been made in the history ol the Association. This document was a fearless s'.'aiement of Hie conditions under which relumed men were living today, continued the speaker. if si at ed lhal there were adiU! disabled mmi, and of these men. Hm big majority were living just ahoiu on, hut frequently below, the bread and butler line. This statement was made by a set of thoroughly competent men after full investigation. “Von all know of Hie promises lhal were made when Hm war was on. when men and mitt more nmn were wanted,’’ said Air Headley. "It was slated tip and down I lie Hot li tslu mis of Hie 1 )ominion, by poiii icians, by Hie public, by everyone, that no man who made the sacrifice of going awa.v would suffer when im came back been use he had made Unit sacritice. Dill . At present' there is a state of affairs Unit we should leave no slone unturned to put right," WIIKX lIKAHTH DItKAKS. One of the lirsl Hanses in Hie Commission's report urged that old nee pensions lie made eligible for South .African veterans and ex-ser-vicemen at (he age of Mi, in-tead of (FA .veal's. This would relieve a great deal of distress . . . i’remaI lire ageing was no',' recognised as a war disability, lull it was one of Hie greatest nf posi-war problems. and it would be a M'lendid tiling for these men if rimy ennid lie eligible for the peir-don at lib instead of (13. AXOAI AHIES, There were many anomalies eon-

in tI ed with pensions for d isa Id mi soldier,:' W:V’e:i ii ml widows, and lie ( oin in i" ioa lia d i|t a 11 in an a hi l ina an r w il li I liese. 1 n nia ny cases vvivea and widows were deprived ut I heir pensions owing, to simple tech ■ nical points. The Commission recoin in ended Hint Hose red tape reg n !a I ions should be aboli.died and 11 1 a l only two renditions should conn,, I 1 ) That tile AA’a r Pension ' Hoard s 1 1 o 11 hi be salistnui Him Hie pa i'i ie ; were in a I'casona h 1 ■ ■ slat e ol liealt il win n they were married: and ( X i that Hie pa rl ies had a rea, ■ sellable chance of living logeilier as man and wife. It canned out, the Com miss ion's r eco m me ttdu lions would relievo much distress. The speaker quoted further anomalies in regard to disabled soldiers’ widows, and pointed out that the rule (hut they must be married at least two years alter discharge, or have been engaged prior to leaving for the from, was a most, unreasonable one. This had been placed before the Commission, which recommended Hint the tilin' limit should he abolished. Continuing, the speaker said tint it would surprise many to know that I here were 2b,MU) ex-lmperial soldiers in Hu: Dominion, and quite a number of lim'se were really up against il. There was no war fund for Hie relief of these men, who had to apply to Hto -Xalional AX’ a r Knuds Council for relief- These men were now citizens of our connin'; they fought for oar Umpire of which Xew Zealand is a part; they had done their duty, and now il was our duty i'o assist them. Tim Commission recommended Hint our t lovermiienl shot! id get in t oitch wilii Ihe imperial Government to abolish I he lime limit of seven .veitrs for war pensions. In addition io litis, there were Xew Zealanders who had enlisted in other coil n l ries this more especially atfected airmen—-and now Hmi: they had re! urned to the Dominion, it was only fair that they should he I rented on Hie same lines as Hie other Xew Zealand soldiers. PRODCCIXG lIAPPIKR (TJTZKXiS. The major recommendation of the Rehabilitation Commission was Hie set ling up of a Soldiers’ Civil Reesi a.ljlishmenr League in Wellington, wild lira imhes in the larger centres. This would consist of two Government representatives, two representatives of trade and commerce, two representatives of organised labour, and two representatives of Hie IDS,A. Tin's League would function on similar lines lo the old ReliabilitaHoii Hoards, and would study every case, wind her physically or economically disabled. In see if il would not lie possible 10 place (the ex-sei'vieeme-n ciiiicerned in a situation where his remaining earning capacity could he utilised. The Government was paying out 31M1.0M) annually in economic pensions alone, and if these disabled men could be trained to utilise this remaining earning ca juicily, they would lie happier men, heller citizens, and the country as a whole would ben e ii t. "Surely,’’ pleaded Air Headley, "there should be found work for ilm-e 311110 men who are just aide io exisl in Hm land for which they fought.'’ “A DIKKKRK.X'T STORY XOW." "How can ihe R.S.A. get. these recommendations carried out by the Government?" —(lia-l was Ihe next problem that faced Hie IDS.A, They had waited on Hie new .Minister of Defence (the lion, Air Cobhol.who It rid been sympathetic, hut who hud stated that the Government had lo cur its coal to suit its cloth, and wa.s unable to tiring down legislation this year. “Because of the present. stall 1 of finance in the conntry,’' continued the speaker, “the country cannot set 1 its way clear to do justice lo the returned men and to carry out. Hie promises made when the men went awa.v, Xo tines(ion of li nance was raised when boatload after hoatioad of men were shipped to (he ha((lc/ields oi’ France--it a pride,O' lead been made 11 would have been considered disloyal— but when it came lo hatching up the war wrecks, (lie country could not afford it." It was a very unsatisfactory position, but the IDS..A. still knew how 10 light, and (hey could not leave 11 at that'. The Government had introduce!) its Unemployment Hill everyone knew what it meant-—it set mi an I' 11 <■ 1111 >I(> y ) 1111 F Board which would supervise a sustenance allowance, or what some peoplecalled a "dole." This Board would consist of eight men, one of whom was lo be appointed to represent Hie R.S.A. The .Minister said that Hie IDS.A. representative was to Im responsible for Hie rehabilitation of I ho ,3bbu disabled men mentioned in 1 lie report. Xo one man could do mncli to alleviate such hardship --il was a herculean task. Tin 1 R.S.A, contended liml the disabled soldier was a problem of its own, ami I hey needed someone to handle i, wlio understood I tie psychology of llm "digger"-- someone who knew what he had hern through. A Select Committee was al present sitting, taking evidence on the Unemployment Dill, and it was Hie hope of | lie IDS A. lo have nit amendment moved, selling tip a Disabled Soldiels' I D '-es; a hi is 11 111 ell I Board, lo give effm'l lo the Reliabiliinlioii Comm ission’s reporl, when the Client ploy menl Bill goes 1)1 fore I lie House for its t It ini rea ;l i uu. i’i) AA’ K i! IX .MKMl’.KßSiili’. Tim v, "l fa im of 1 li 1 qr h'-s fort 11 n ■ ate comrade,-; was an iniere.q ilia; the Assoeia! ion had math' it its duly to look atjer. and the strongest argument in any negotiation

was a sirans membership. Realising tlie need for .such an Association. ex-servicemen wore amain joinin;;- ini, sonic find in.-; that their comrades wore breaking down in health o win;; lo old war disahiliiics. Coraldinc could hol|i innteriall v l)v increasing ils membership, and lie sue,bested ihal the local branch should send a ehalieiibe to Tcinuka tor a membership race during the next twelve months, They would be surprised how it would si miniate i'llcrest. "A I ’SKKi'L Kl’Nl'TlOX ’id) KILL.” The Associal boi still bad a useful function lo till, ami a happy future. The work of the Association would include llio care -of the children of the ‘'dibbers” who -had "bone West.'' It was a phase of the worl- that the Association should concent rate on. for there were- hundreds of children who warned someone to fake (ho- place of the falher in guiding and helping them in their start in life. It was sheer hypocrisy if they did not do so. LXAXI MOTS R KSOLI'TIO.V. A!r Leadlev cave several examples of tlo 1 appeals for help that had come before Ihe K.S.A., ami alter several p uesi ions had been replied |o, ,\lr A. A. I total die moved, and fir -1. 1L Stewart seconded, the foblowinb resolution, which was curried unanimously: "Tim! (liis meet in;.; heartily ’ supports the propo-als for Ihe apjmin Cm ein of a Soldier.--’ Civil ito-c;- in b| isli meat Hoard. It is of opinion that the re-eslalilishmenl ! of disabled soldiers is a problem i|iii(e distinct from that of benera! unemployment, ami Lo cToc ■ urges (he Covernmoii! to briny down legislation tills session In ■ deal with this problem on lie' lines proposed by Ihe Xew /ea- ! land Rijtimed Soldiers’ Associu(ion."