SUPERANNUATION.

Timaru Herald, Volume XC, Issue 13289, 18 May 1907, Page 6

SUPERANNUATION.

THE RAILWAY FUND. To the Editor ofthe" Timaru Herald." Sir, —in your article of Thursday last, headed "Unlimited Liability." you have not been .suiticiently -seized of the facts of the railway fund, when you include it in, the category of others that are receiving superannuation allowance, when you assert that the railway fund will levy toll upon every person in the colony to provide retiring allowances for members ot the official cluc-s. A few facts.—The railway suwST«r::iv.i'.tion fund has not, up to the present, received one single penny of the taxpayers' money. The fund had a credit balance of £90,954 at the close of last financial year, accumulated by contributions and tine*' •of members. The Superannuation Fund received no commencement from the State by way of subsidy, like the teachers' fund. The fund relieves the State of the annual payment of some £4OOO by way of compassionate allowances previously granted to members' widows. Recent experience has made the Fund liable for the State's obligation by way of compensation to those members or their widows, who joined or were in the service prior to the Commissioners taking office. The Board resisted the claim, and took the case of Fasiier v. Superannuation Board to the Appeal Court and were mulcted in tie costs, which means saddling the- fund with a, future liability of many thousands of pounds, which neither the m .-.inbers who joined the fund nor those who are responsible for its inception ever anticipated in their wilder dreams. The basis upon which the fund wan established was that of the combined railway companies of Great Britain, termed the Railway Clear-/ ancc Housf\ which also at- the commence-' ment of its career was deemed actuarily unsound, but experience has proved that they have such a plethora of cash that they liardly know how to dispose of it. The railway fund if left to work out its own destiny can easily achieve a successfci career, but if loaded with liabilitiera that propeidy belong to the State then that is a totally different affair for the fund to grapple with. The railway men offered the Siate the sum of £IOOO to buy the lost service of ;; handful of men «"ho suffered through the maritime strike, the cause and means c.f existence of the present liberal regime. Their offer.was refused. At the banquet tendered to the late Premier by the railway mri of Tim-iiu cr.e of the speakers, Mr Holme*-, stated thai the fund had not cost the taxpayer a chilling, and it was not anticipated .that it- would do so. Another phase" is instead of levying toll on the taxpayer the railway men levy toll upon themselves. The general manager pays £125 per annum to the fund, and many mechanics 30s per month, and labourers from l&s to 20s per month in contributions. The contributors have not even the preponderance of representation upon the administration of their own affairs, dealing with their own money. If, an you quote, the Hon. Hall-Jones states that there is ;; probability of. a serious demand on the taxpayer, this assertion is only conjecture, and was used, probably wisely, to frustrate the demands of a clamorous body of workers who do not probably realise what they a re'demanding.

In conclusion, I enclose a copy of the last balance sliest of the Railway Superannuation Fund, to prove my statements, and contend that the railway men of Nev.Zealand, neither require, nor wish, if left to work out their own destiny independent of undreamed of claims by way of compensation promised them in the days of the Cons?rvatives, to levy 101 l on any taxpayer of the State., and those members of the railway service who are superannuated in the word-.-, of a favourite poem, " Can look the whole world in the face, for they o'.ve not anv man."

I am. etc.. MAKIKIHI.

NO FALSE RETURNS. HERE ARE PLAIN FACTS ENDORSED BY AN ASHBURTON CITIZEN. Few people wiil admit failure-while there is a chance for argument. Many people claim success when no one rises to dispute. What we want to do is to place cur claims where di'iibc is out of the question. We are doii'g this every day and people are beginning to appreciate it. Many step forward and testify publicly to the merit of "The Little Counselor." They unhesitatingly teJi how burdens have been remore.i from bucks IT-.az bore them patiently for years. Surely more convincing proof cannot be had than testimony like the fol'/wicg:—" Mr T. Alexander, Moore street, Ashburton, says:—"For about seven years my kidneys have been disordered. At times the tortures I have had to put up with have been nearly unbearable and I often had to knock off.work. Tn fact, work at such times was impossible. The pain was right in the small of my back and it seemed to strike from there at times all over_ my body. The secretions were also disordered, red in colour with a brick dust like sediment and scalding considerably. When these attacks were severe 1 was compelled to go to a doctor about the matter, but somehow his medicines did not act up- to the mark. I was pretty bad when I first saw Doan's Backache Kidney Pills advertised, and as this seemed a likely sort of medicine for my trouble 1 obtained some. Soon after I started using them relief came and after a course the pain went completely and my secretions contained r,o foreign substance! They are tip top pills and should be made known to all sulfarers frore kidney trouble." The above testimony was given two yearn ag6. Mrs Alexander confirms it in April, 1903:—"Tha annexed statement is perfectly true. In fact, more might be added ■sow." as my husband is still well. Three boxes of the pills cured him at the time he made the statement, and he_ had a return of his complaint since." See that the word "backache" is in the name You want the remedy which permanently cured Mr Alexander, therefore be sure you ask for Doan's Backache Kidney Palls. ■ L They are sold by all chemists and storekeepers at 3s per bor (sis boxes 16s 6d), or will be posted on receipt of price by Foster McClellan Co., 76 Pitt street, Sydney, N.S.W. But be sure they are Doan's.