HOSTEL FOR SOLDIERS

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2680, 28 January 1916, Page 2

HOSTEL FOR SOLDIERS

WAR RELIEF ASSOCIATION'S GRANT EXECUTIVE DISCUSSES SCHEME. TIIO executive of the War Relief Association of Wellington, at a meeting held yesterday, decided to grant £300 towards the establishment and maintenance of a soldiers' iiostol in Wellington. . Tliis action was in response to a request made in a letter from a member of the committee which has the matter in hand. The chairman, Mr. W. Ferguson, said that the building it was proposed to use was situated ac tbe comer of Rintoul and lliddiford Streets. It bad twentythreo rooms, and would take in thirtytwo men. It had been suggested that additional accommodation could bo provided by having tents on the flat roof, but he had visited the place in company with the -Mayor, and considered that thirty-two men would be all that could bo taken, without increasing the present sanitary . arrangements. The rental would bo £5 10s. a week, or, if the furniture was bought at a valuation, it would be £4 a week. The committee of management would consist of tho following:—Mesdames Boden, Lcvvey, R. Fletcher, Kirby, Weston, Radclifr'e, Botkamley, Stewart, Misses Arrow, Craigie(2), and Phoebe Myers. The trustees were: Messrs. Lcvvey, Hindmarsh, Wilford, and J. J. M'Grath. Tho staff suggested were a matron, a sub-matron, and a cook-general, whoso weekly emoluments would total £6. Mr. Ferguson expressed the opinion that this staff would not be sufficient. In connection with the proposed charge of los. a week, which it was proposed to make, Mr. Ferguson was supported by other members in the view, that it could not be done at that price. A returned soldier's pay and allowance amounted to £2 9s. a week, and he should be able to afford more than los. a week for bed and board. Mr. Tripp said ho had discussed the matter with Mr. Lcvvey and Mrs. Boden. The hostel would be for tho use of returned soliders who bad not been discharged. He moved: That Mr. Lcvvey be informed that tbe War Relief Association is willing to grant a sum of £300 for tho establishment of a hostel in Wellington for wounded and sick soldiers, subject to the following conditions:— . (1) That an incorporate society . be formed to establish and carry on a hostel, and that its constitution be approved by the executive of the War Relief Association. (2) That thn oxecuiivo shall have tlio right to nominate two moriibers of the board, which shall consist of four members, appointed to control and manage the affairs of the society. Mr. Hutchinson: We givo them tho grant, and let them manage it themselves, or we insist upon having control? . The r.hairmin: That is tlio question that I want you gentlemen to decide. Mr. Ferguson' added that the executive were the trustees of tho funds, and must see - that the returned soldiers received full value for tile money expended. Ho thought that perhaps, instead of establishing a. hostel, it would be better to arrange with hotel and boardinghouse-keepers, people who are used to the_ business, to put tho men up at a tariff to be agreed upon. After all,, the members of the Committee of Control of the hostel were all amateurs, and, with the best intentions in the world, might not make a success of JJie hostel. Mr. Hutchinson said there appeared to be a lot of politics in the question, judging by the names of the committee which was moving in the matter. Mr. Tripp said that there were some cases in. which hotels and boardinghouses objected to returned soldiers, whose .nerves had been so shattered in the.trenches that at night they wero subject to recurrence of the horrors they had undergone, and shrieked in their sleep. He instanced the case of a soldier who was arrested as having de. lirium tremens. It was found that he was suffering from the horrors of recollection, and had become a nervous wreck. The committee of the hostel had taken him in hand. Mr. Tripp considered that they ought not 1 to wait. There was nothing binding in granting the money. If the hostel was not a success, the executive need not go on with it. ' Tho motion was carried, and also ft motion by Mr. Kirkcaldie, to the effect that in forwarding the money to Mr. Levvey, ho should be informed that the granting of the £300 wan not to be taken us an indication that tho association would make further grants.