CARE OF DISCHARGED SOLDIERS

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2620, 16 November 1915, Page 6

CARE OF DISCHARGED SOLDIERS

GOVERNMENT SCHEME PRELIMINARY ORGANISATION IN TRAIN BRANCHES OF INQUIRY A statement as to the progress being made with the organisation of tho Discharged Soldiers' Information Departmont was made to a Dominion reporter t yesterday ,by the Minister in Charge (the Hon. A. L. Herdman).. "Despite tho fact that the undertaking is a novel one," said Mr. Herdman, I "and that we have, had no precedent, ' to guide us, the preliminary work of the Discharged Soldiers' Information J Departmont is proceeding apace. The fitting together of the Departmental r machinery has occupied much, time 6inco ® work was commonced about two months ago, but now that mcst of tlio intial 0 difficulties have been overcome the staff of the offico will, it is hoped, be able 1 to devote most of its time to the really 1 special work of the oflicc—tho finding 1 of employment for 6oldiers who .return r to New Zealand. 6 ■ Work Already Done. i "On November Bwe had recorded in , our register-1232 names, not including l recent arrivals by the Tofua and Willochra, numbering 981. I think I ex--3 plained before that- on the arrival of i a troopship each soldier is seen by an officer of my Department and informed of. the functions of the Department; but we are not content with this necessarily hurried and perfunctory interview; so we arrango that later on a public officer shall call upon a soldier for the purpose of compiling a report; 734 returned soldiers have" been individually interviewed, by theso officers, i and reports have , been obtained about i the health, circumstances, and wishes . of the men who have been seen. In all, , 293 reports have been issued by the De- . partment, but have not yet been re- [. turned to us by the reporting officers: , 114 cases riro under further inquiry, 147 : are awaiting notice of discharge from the Army, and 4GI eases havo been : dealt with and disposed of. Some of | tho men have left Now Zealand. Others havo re-onlisted. Some have intimated that they aro not in need of any assist- ; ance from the _ Department, whilst others have obtained suitable employment through the medium of the Department. No doubt some of tho men who_ have come back have succeeded in finding civil employment, and have not. thought it necessary to notify the De- i partment, of this circumstance.. Thesiv. cases will he discovered by the Local) Committees and reported to the Head Office in Wellington. Local Committees. ■v "Shortly after the House rose I pa? 3 a visit to Auckland for the purposo of enlisting tho services of business mem in that City to help the discliarfjcid soldier. Tho Mayor (Mr. Gunson), Jjfr. Parr, M.P., Mr. Elliott, and others, wero interviowed, and a working agreement was arrived at with the sub-com-mittee of tho Auckland Patriotic League. The Department on its mart agreed to supply to the Auckland ■ Committee lists of tho soldiers resid'iag In the Auckland' District who havo intimated that they want work, andl any other information which may be.c/f use to tho committeo in perform/iug its functions. Tho Auckland Committee on its part undertook to have tlits men interviowed either in Aucklfund or ; wherever they may bo residing; in tho Auckland Province, and further. agreed to; make an effort to,find employment suitablo to each man's condition . Weekly reports of work done are to bo forwarded by the committee to tf/ie Head Office in Wellington. In carrying out its work, the Local Committee, in Auck- ! land will have tho advanta/rrp of the assistance which officers of t'he Labour Department can render. Thi'se aro the principal features of tho arrangement made with tho Auckland Committeo. In Other District;;, "After visiting the north, 1 journeyed to Southland, . Otago, and Canterbury, and eutored into agreoinon.t s, similar to the ono made with tho Auckland Committee, with gentlemen w'h o met me at Invercargill, Duncdin, Tiwaru, Ashburton, and Christchurch. iSinco returning to. Wellington, tho Diepartmont has been in communication, with Nelson Blenheim, Napier, Gisborrie, Masterton' Palmerston North, Fei Idling, Wan'rami!,, and New Plymouth!. Mr. Brown,M P., of Napier, has supplied mo witha list of gentlemen willing to act upon a. local-committee. The Mayor of Palmerston lias intimated Ikis willingness to become responsible; forr his district. So havo the Mayors of Feilding, Masterton, and Blenheim. The Mayor of Now Plymouth is to p lat® tho proposals 4or the organisation <if his district before a meeting of T* iraaiaki delegates and I have no doubt that we shall be able to come to a satisfactory agreement with him. Wl.ieii the Mayors of Nelson, Wangamii, undl Gisborno havo intimated that they hre propared to act for us, in their resp eetivo towns, NewZealand will then tie divided up into sixteen . districts, i nth properly accredited patriotic business men a<rtinc as agents of the D epartment in each district. / Wo have: arranged with the officers of the Labour. Department to assist all the district committees. her the organisation established will successfully accomplish tho work which it is undertaking remains to be seen, but if tho success of-the efforts of local committees is 'proportionate to the enthusiasm with wlndi the gentlemen we had the pleasuire of meeting have entered upon their arduous duty, then I think that tlio soldiers can look forward to getting valuable help from the Departme nt and its agents."

Schemes for Slpo Dial Training. In referring to otlier steps taken to promote the objeeffcs *of the Department since its origin, tihe Minister said that all the local bodie! i iri the Dominion had ' been circularised, ex plaining the objects of the Department t, a.-nd inviting co-oper-ation. An excel'len t response had been received, and I ho thought from this source the most, coirdial support could be expected. T lie education boards of the Dominion In id >also been communicated with in a ' liko manner, and offers to instruct maim ed men in trades usually taught', in technical schools and colleges had been, recieived, and would be taken advantagi > of by the Department when the ocoasi on arose. The* Jubilee Institutefor th< j Blind in Pa.rnell, Auckland, had been visited by Mr. Hudson, who has been insisting in the organisation of the not w Dopartmont, and wlio was received . in a most sympathetic manner by the socretary of the institution. So far, uo case of total blindness had como to i lie. knowledge of the officers of the De -pa.rtment, but should any be brought t< i their notice ho did not think that tlii ? 'Government would have any difficulty iin making satisfactory arrangements fi Dr the helD of soldiers so afflicted with <tlw gentlemen wlto controlled tho .u ckland Institute for the Blind. It is at present being considered how best to nrrango for tuition in book-keeping find -accountancy work to ho given to soldiers who desiro to follow this call ing. It may interest people to know that a number of privato employers throughout the Dominion have made dlefinite offers to sivo employment of various kinds. Thcso offers had be ei.i dulv recorded in a register kept it i the Department for tho purpose of ijuture reforonco. !io| t'/sment on tho Land, - Asked #/4 jta wtat jjregress was beings

made with the solieme for the settlement of soldiers upon land, Mr. Herdman said that the Discharged Soldiers' Settlement Act, baing a measure dealing with land, its administration came ,l fK • i of Lands and his omcials._ "The mscessary regulations," lie continued, "fpr giving effect to its provisions have been prepared and gazetted, and tlie Under-Secretary of Lauds, Mr. Brodrick, informed me that there is even now, land available for soldiers who caro to apply for it, and who are fitted .for country lifo. I would like it to 'be understood that the Act has been dlrawn so as to enable the land boards to make easy and reasonable conditions for soldier settlers, and disabled men who have been granted a pension, and who wish to supplementl their pension incomes by cultivating small areas should get into touch with the . Lands Department, either directly or indirectly through the agency of my Departmont. Although the duty of carrying out the provisions of this legislation rests with the Lands Department and the Land Boards, the officers of the Discharged Soldiers' Department will always be ready to hfllp, and they will make it their special business to bring the advantages of; the settlement scheme prominently wider tho notico of the returned soldier. : A leaflet has been prepared by tl/ie Minister of Lands, briefly setting out'tho object of the Discharged Soldiers' Settlement Act, and soldiers who desire : to secure land should obtain a copy of: this publication and fill up the application which is printed on the inside of this sheot. When transports with returned soldiers arrive in the future a copy of the leaflet containing an application form will be included amongst the other papers containing useful information which we hand to men on their arrival in New Zealand. 'Up to the present sis soldiers have expressed a wish to settle upon land, and their cases have been notified to the Lands Department, who will no doubt take farther action.

Instruction In Farming. "Th'e permanent head of the Agricultural r Department was communicated witli shortly after the Discharged Soldiers' Department was constituted, and we havo been advised by him that he can accommodate a number of suitablo m(;n at tho experimental farms,, and instruct them in the work of fruit growing, poultry farming, and in other work usually taught at these institutions. When soldiers express a wish to be taught work of this kind there will bo no difficulty in making arrangements for tine instruction of a limited number. T,lie head of the Agricultural Department also informed us when he was ■•approached upon the subject that men 'taking up_ sections near to Wellington 'could bo instructed in the .business of I market gardening, flower growing, fruit culture, and poultr.v farming by officers of the Department in the head office at Wellington." , A Heavy Task. 1 Concluding, the Minister said: "Tho short experience we have had of the work performed by the Department has convinced me that the task that has been set lis is ono of great difficulty, and that as time goes on and the army of returned soldiers grows in size, our. duties will increase in weight and complexity. But I have great faith in our system of recording cases, and the keen desire to be helpful evinccd by gentlemen who havo become members of the local committees set up throughout the Dominion leads me to believe that we will succeed in rendering valuable help to tho men who deserve so much at our hands."