SOLDIER TOPICS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 12707, 31 July 1919, Page 5

SOLDIER TOPICS.

ITEMS OF INTEREST TO “DIGGERS.” (Written for the Star.”) Thfl ■writer of the following notes will wan tribute a weekly column to the “Star,” Sealing with subjects of topical interest to returned men. Inquiries may be addressed to “ Dugout,” care of the “ Star” Office, and returned men desiring information or advice are invited to communicate with the writer, who will do his best to help them.

! It was stated in a North Island paper recently that practically all of the recommendations of the Returned (soldiers’ Conference, held in Christchurch, with respect to repatriation, had been agreed to by the Government. This is not the case, and it seems unlikely that many of the recommendations will bo adopted. The general tone of the discussion on repatriation at the conference, conveyed the impression that the delegates found it a hard matter to discover any faults in the general scheme, and the committee which was set up to go into the matter produced a report which bears out this contention. The conference made three important recommendations, none of which seems likely to be adopted by the Government. v Theae were;—(l) That the loans for setting soldiers up in business should be increased from £3OO to £SOO, and that £IOO instead of £SO should be gfree of interest; (2) that the 'maximum grant , for furniture should be increased from £6O to £75, free of interest, and (8) that increased sustenance allowances for unemployment and training should be granted. Of these three proposals the one regarding furniture has been before all the Repatriation Boards in New Zealand, and Canterbury was the only one in favour of it. The other matters have not yet gone before the boards, but the consensus of opinion is that when they do they will be turned down.

Speaking of Repatriation Boards, t&e Canterbury board has proved itself by far 'the most# democratic of all the boards in New Zealand. The members all seem to be actuated by a genuine desire to assist the soldiers by all means within their power and there are very few “ Diggers ” who can complain of receiving harsh treatment from the board. Perhaps the democratic tendencies of the hoard may he ascribed in a certain measure to the fact that it is the only Repatriation Board in New Zealand whoso meetings are open to the Press. Why the othor boards exclude the Press from their meetings is hard to understand. 12sperience_ hae shown that the members are inclined to give far more sympathetic consideration to the work of the board when they know that reports of their deliberations are likely to be published Hi the newspapers. In this respect, the “Diggers” of Canter-bury-hare a pull over those of the rest of New Zealand. Furthermore, in regard to giving publicity to little difficulties with which the hoard is confronted, the publication of reports in the nfewspapers has been a great help.

For a considerable time past the Returned Soldiers* Association has been clamouring for greater representation on the Oanterburv Repatriation Board. At present the Returned-Soldiers’ Association has only one representative on tho board, Mr N, B. M'Oallum, but in order to give it a greater say in matters relating to repatriation, tho Government appointed Mr W. B. Leadloy, secretary of the association, as its nominee. The board as at present constituted consists of fourteen members, made up as follows;-—'Mr A. W. Jamieson (’chairman), representing the .Industrial Association; Mr A. F. Drayton; the Employers* Association; Mr,P. W. Hobbs, War Belief Association; Mr W._.Qosß,, Y.M.0.A.; Mr D. Jones, Farmers’ Union; Mr E. J. Howard, Trades and_ Labour Council; Mr J. A. Clarke. United Friendly Societies; Mr P. Davidson, Chamber of Commerce; Mr F. T. Eldridge, Military Service Board;-Mr 0. H. Hewlett, Efficiency Board; Mr H. S. Goodman, Second Division League; Mr J, D. Million, (httzens’ Defence Corps; and Messrs M’Callum and Leadloy. It will thus be seen that tn© metnbers of the hoard represent wide and varied interests. If it were re-constituted end the Returned Soldiers’ Association given, say, half of the representation, the association might defeat its own ends by foiling to enlist the sympathy of employers’ The whole of the office staff of tho Repatriation Department in Christchurch, with the exception of the typistes, are returned soldiers, and the board and department as at present constituted appear to be carrying out the work of repatriating the soldiers as satisfactorily os can reasonably be expected.

_ The Americans are a very Imaginative people, and evidence of their wonderful powers in this respect is to be seen in the numerous American war dramas which flit across tho movie picture screens in Christchurch. To men who have seen war at its worst and know exactly the conditions which pertained at the front, these amazing tilms are utterly ludicrous. It is not long since I saw a picture in whioli American soldiers, nurses, tourists, heiresses and a few others were mixed up in a fight in tho front line trenches, and the extraordinary thing about it all was that none of them seemed to “ g©t the wind up” or even get their elaborate dresses soiled. This sort of stuff may append to impressionable Yankees but super-heroic actions performed on the screen by men who, in a great many ■cases, did nothing more patriotic than join in the chorus of “Over There” only bnng the war into ridicule and convey a wrong conception of what the soldiers have been through at the front*

The Government has displayed a commendable, desire to assist the returned soldiers on practically every wav th ? i they may be speedily repatriated ,and become useful citizens of the country again. But there is +kf r M imjwrtant question which the Government has not yet tackled in a courageous _ manner, and that i s "the > is is • wiS affects returned soldiers, and it is the plain duty of the Govem- ££ r U ate S ? me definite scheme whereby the present acute shortage of houses may be obviated. Under the repatriation scheme the Government will advance money to soldiers for the put pose of . acquiring or building dwellings and while every credit should be riven to the Government for, this measure of relief, tho provision does not seem to go far enough. As everyone knows land is at present at an inflated value’ and the cost of building material makes the erection of new dwellings almost prohibitive. > “DUGOUT.”