PATRIOTIC ASSOCIATION.

Wairarapa Age, 18 May 1932, Page 6

PATRIOTIC ASSOCIATION.

ANNUAL REPOET OF CLAIMS BOARD. PAST YEAR’S OPERATION'S. The annual report of the Claims Board of the Wairarapa Patriotic Association for the past year states, inter 1 alia:—-The total receipts from all i sources, from the inception of the fund, in 1915, down to March <3l, 1932, amount to £225,194 3s 2d, and the total payments for the same period are £lB9914 Gs lOd, leaving a net balance of funds in hand at this date of £35 279 16s 4d. During the war period, and particularly before the commencement of demobilisation of the Army, funds continued to increase, and your Board took advantage of the best offers of investment, and by this means the surplus funds (for the time being) were made interest-bearing. The accretion to the fund down to Marh 31, 1932, derived from interest is £35,488 3s 2d. From the commencement of demobilisation and for the three years following, the numbers of returned men seeking the aid of the association by way of temporary financial assistance and loans, caused such a drain on the funds (which were at that period mostly invested) that recourse to a bank overdraft was inevitable. Your board decided that interest on the overdraft was more a debit against interest earned than a charge on administrative expenses, and interest account was therefore charged accordingly. The overdraft was gradually reduced as investments matured. After meeting the incl'arge for overdraft, namely £668/ 16s, interest account shows a profit over seventeen years of £28,800 2d, an average annual accretion of £1694 3s 4d. Subscribers will note with satisfaction that interest derived from investments, ' after deducting overdraft charges, exceeds the total cost of administration to date by £21,1385 17® 9d. In other words, the total cost- of collection and administration of the fund over seventeen years has been met from interest earnings, the interest account still showing a surplus of £21,385 17s 9d. Interest received for the past year amounted to £914 16s 9d, derived from the association’s investments and from advances to soldiers. Interest is only charged on soldiers’ loans in cases where applicants are classed as “Fit A. ’ ’ Your board has endeavoured to administer the funds in trust to obtain the maximum result at a minimum cost and expenses have been kept down in every way possible. Included in the total costs of administration, are the costs of collection, advertising, and all outlay for office equipment. The ratio of expenses, £7,414 9s sd, to the total receipts and contributions, £225,194 3s 2d, over seventeen years, is 3.29 per cent. only. The total administrative costs and charges have absorbed 20.89 per cent, only of the interest earned on investments for the same period. The balance sheet discloses a balance of funds in hand of £35,279 16s 4d less overdraft, £2431 3s, or £32,848 13s 4d net, a decrease of £ll9O 12s 7d on the balance brought forward at the beginning of the year. As the association has no income other than interest from investments (which is less than the average expenditure) it is obvious that a steady dram on capital must result. During the past ten years the capital tun’d has been depleted by £20,-855 13s id, equal to an average annual expenditure of £2085. Assuming, however, the annual charge to be £2OOO, and after allowing for probable loss of 50 per cent, of -soldiers’ loans outstanding, the fund should not be depleted inside 11 years.

The number of loans awarded during ’o? 7, hlvolvi,| g the sum of £l9ll 13s 2d, as against 17 loans the £oX°i- y o°? r ' T lnvolvin S aa outlay of 17s _d. Loan repayments for the J ear amounted to £1431 9s 7d as against £1846 0s 5d the previous ’year, „h;„ fl falI1 ? g J" being dl > C t he economi « depression thiough which the Dominion is passing. Ihe total amount advanced by the board to date by way of loans to soldiers is £87,178 Is 10d. The board soldVer U s eS f T eiVe a FP Uc .ations from soldiers for advances, and though no strict TU 6 haS been laid f 1 0"" restricting advances to disabled men only “ given t 0 a PPHcations coming within this category. The renavments of advances has reached the satisfactory total of £57,890 15s lOd or • PCr r ent - Of total advances. Conversions of grants and writings off as irrecoverable through economic condiai?ad d6bts aeco ” nts for totaf L s’ ° r 19165I 9165 P" of lid oi ? i n i«? dVanCed ’ and £24) ’ 663 128 inn THa PCT CenL is now outstanding. The response of the borrowers to their respective covenants and contracts entered into is reflected in the bMrd ntage ° f repa y ments , and the made bv S prec ! a ! ive of the efforts oblfgatiLs S ° MlerS t 0 ° bserve th oir At present, 205 known eases of ner disablement are recorded in P the t ?® lr respective disabilities being Shown below:— Totally blind, 1; loss of leg H 0 ey< ? 1 . 4 ’ amputation of one g; 11, amputation of one arm 6- am 3 bodß ° f ® U ?° rS ’ 4 ’ fa " al inlurie” O, bodily injuries, 95; T.B. eases 2318o al5 i SlS ' j’ ° ther diseases, 27; total’ 189 > dependents, 16; grand total. 205 ’