The Dominion MONDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 1915. A WAR INSURANCE SCHEME

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2625, 22 November 1915, Page 4

The Dominion MONDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 1915. A WAR INSURANCE SCHEME

The scheme outlined by Mr. James Macintosh for insuring the. lives of married men who feel it their duty to go to the front should command prompKind sympathetic consideration. Mr. Macintosh has evidently given a good deal of thought to the matter, and the memorandum which he has submitted to the War League states his proposals and' the arguments in support of them in a clear and businesslike_manner. The insurance principle might well be applied in connection witn the very im-portant-problem of making provision for married men who volunteer for service, and Mr. Macintosh has carried the matter out of the region of generalities, and has suggested the outlines of a practical scheme. It is not too complicated, nor is it overambitious. The proposal is to take out ah insurance policy of £250 for cach married man. This it is estimated would probably involve the insurance of five hundred men a month, and on Mr. Macintosh's figures would mean a total cost of about £75,000 a year. The estimate of the cost is based on the assumption that as the insurance offices at the present time arc prepared to insure at the ordinary rates plus £7 10s. per cent, per annum on the amount insured ; the State, if it undertook the whole of such insurances, could do it for much -less. Mr. Macintosh eliminates altogether the ordinary risk, taking tho view that as the men are all comparatively young and in good health, and as the risk is only a temporary one, it can be ignored. Ho further suggests that the war risk might bo reduced by 33 1-3 per cent., that is to say from £7 10s. to £5 per cent., as the cost to the State in connection with the working of the scheme would be less. These estimates may require rc--vision, and the cost may be rather more tlian iB suggested, • but oven should such be the case, the advantages of the scheme are such as to commend it to the serious consideration of the Government.

The financing of the proposal should not present any serious difficulties. In ouf opinion, the Government should be affle to provide the money without the least difficulty by way of a special rate, such as is suggested by Mr. Macintosh, or by some general form of taxation, in which all would willingly share. ' The amount per head of the population would be so small that it would hardly be felt at all, and no one would begrudge the money collected for such a purpose. If the Government will not undertake to carry out the whole, scheme itself, _it might at any rate signify its willingness to accept the insurance risk at the lowest possible ratc,_ and share the cost with tho patriotic societies, ( or if necessary a special organisation treated to'raisc funds for the purpose. There is not the slightest doubt that here, as elsewhere, cial considerations as affecting those dependent on him are a very real hindrance ,to many able-bodied married men who would be glad to offer their services could that obstacle be removed. London papers _to hand by yesterday's mail contain references to this difficulty as it confronts tlw recruiting officers in England.

"What I notice now," said one recruiting officer to a representative of tho "Daily News," "is that a largo number of men hane back because of the money difficulty. • There are tens of thousands of young married men of the middle-class who would enlist at onco if we could tell them that they would not bo sued for rent by their landlord or that their life insur-, ance policy would not lapse if tlioy were unable to pay tho premiums. I was talking yesterday to a typical caeo—a married man of .'l4 with two cliildroii. He came in to ask me whether if lie joined the Army lie would still bo responsible for his rent aiid rates—about ,£GS a year. His tenancy had still two years to run. His income would stop if ho enlisted, and neither ho nor his wife had any resources, He ofTewd to jpl« Wib A I'ray u lie conlif be relieved w »U iwppftsMlty. to Jus

landlord and if it could lie arranged for his lifo policy to fcx> Jvopt open. lie was just tho sort of wan wo want," added the recruiting officer, "but I had to loso him because of the money difficulty. I should say there are at least 1(10,0(10 men in the same boat. What is the good of making speeches to them or expecting them to bo influenced by bands? But if the Government would take over their responsibilities they would coino ia by thousands." This no doubt touches on a bigger question than that of provision for dependents in the case of death, but there is no doubt that in the cose of married men if it could be made financially easier for them to go they would gladly enlist- The duty of those who remain at homo to provide for the maintenance of the dependents of those who go to the front is just as imperative as the duty of every able-bodied man to fight for his country when the call comes. The people of New Zealand realise this, and have no desire to be niggardly in a matter of this kind. The call for the married man in this Dominion has not yet become pressing, though it may become so at any moment, and any scheme which would lighten the burden of financial responsibility would give an impetus to recruiting ■by making tho way clearer for enlistment in the caso of a considerable number of good fighting men who are at present faccd with a conflict of duties —a clash between their duty to the Empire and their duty to thoir families. The executive of the War League has gone into the matter, and has decided that the Government should' be asked to consider the advisability of undertaking a scheme of the kind suggested by Mr. Macintosh. _ If action is to be taken on the lines, indioatcd, there should be no delay in ascertaining the probable cost and the means by which it might be met.