WAR RELIEF

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 68, 13 December 1917, Page 6

WAR RELIEF

WHAT THE WELLINGTON ASSOCIATION IS DOING A NOTABLE RECORD OF WORK PRACTICAL AID FOR SOLDIERSDEPENDANTS

The scope and value of the work that is being dono by the Wellington War Relief Association are indicated in the annual 'report of tho organisation. The work lias grown rapidly during tho last year, and it continues to grow. The committee states thiit while considering the Government's amended scale of pensions and allowances to be as liberal as is compatible with the financial stability of the Dominion, it feels that there will remain very many special cases requiring the assistance of tho association. Loans to Soldiers. "Since it is, at the present moment, impossible to accurately gauge the number of claims wo shall receive, since it is considered expedient to conserve our funds as far as is legitimately possible, and since your executive recognise that the dependants of the men, and the men themselves who are still fighting'at the frontr, have at least as strong a claim upon us as those who are already returned to New Zealand, it has been tho policy of your committee to decline applications for loans of large sums," says tho report. "A considerable number of applicants, have, however, been assisted by the advance of smaller sums, and it should he noted that tho method when a success is an economical one, as the money when repaid can be again handed on, and assistance rendered other men. Unfortunately, it cannot be reported, speaking generally, that our debtors recognise it is incumbent upon them to •repay the sum advanced, and this sometimes reacts unfavourably upon other applicants, whose conduct might prove to be most satisfactory. Soldiers on the Land. "The association still adheres to its policy of following its mpn into other districts, but with regard to financial assistance to soldiers goina: on the land it has been decided to conform to the recommendation of the Advisory Board, that since only a verv few societies could afford to make large rrnnts or loans ,to financial! l -- assist soldier settlers, no society should advance other than small sums for this purpose. Rnbsennentlv tho Government amended the Soldiers' .Settlement, Act _of ■ 1915. increasing the amount Available thereunder from P.m to £750. and it is now considered tho later should generally be a sufficient, sum, and the patriotic societies could with creator advantage to all concerned divert what would otherwise have been cranted to returned men +nkin<r up to the_ purpose of rehabilitating soldiers in their former and o+her occupations in the cities, no provision havin'i* been made for {his object by the Government. Scale Allowances. . "The ordinary scale allowance at present remains unaltered. An attempt to produce uniformity of relief was inaugurated by the Advisory Board, and confidential copies of tho existing scale and that proposed, the latter being practically analogous to that adopted by the Soldiers' Financial Assistance Board, were handed to members of the Relief Committee. In view of the increased allowanq.es sanctioned during the recent session, no final decision has yet been arrived at. "It is apparent that upon the mobilisation of the Second Division, hardship will be experienced by the dependants of men who were earning incomes considerably in excess of their military pay and allowances, and some provision, if only of a temporary nature, will have to bo made to deal with tho position. . The whole matter is now under consideration. Advances on Pay. "The association has co-operated with the camp paymasters at Featherston and Trentham Camps, War Expenses, Base Records, and other departments of the Defence, by granting advances on pay. Entries in pay books have been made, the applicant has signed special authority form, and in the great majority of cases a refund of the loan has been received. As the result of the increased scale of it has now been decided to discontinue the practice of making advances against pay, as at the last day preceding that on which the amended allowances take effect, i.e., December 31, 1917. ' Hospital Treatment. "Arrangements have been made whereby free' dental treatment, and attention to eye, ear, nose, and throat, as well as general cases, is extended free to soldiers' dependants, approved by the association. A supply of cards entitling the recipient to that particular ■ form of assistance required has been supplied to the association. Emergency Committee. "AH claims demanding immediate attention are referred to tho emergency committee, which meet evory day at noon, and beforo whom many applicants appear personally, Should the circumstances of tho case necessitate it, our honorary visiting staff, with or without reference to this committee, are requested by telephone or telegram to call personally upon lhe_ applicant. The visiting staff are authorised to disburse whatever financial assistance may, in their opinion, be urgently required. By this means the association is enabled to take immediate action, and it frequently happens that one of our honorary lady visitors, or District Nurse Martin, has called upon an applicant within less than half an hour of receipt of her letter or message. Applications Received. "A comparison of the number of applications received during tho first and sccond years of our existence shows that at November 30, 1916, 1756 claims had been dealt with. During the present year we have received 3301 applications, including renewals and reconsiderations; 1337 of these were received during the first half of tho second year, and 1964 were under action during the latter half. These figures show an increase, comparing the sccond with the first year, of 88 per cent., and the latter half of the second year shows an increase of 47 nor ccnt._ as compared with the number received during the first half.

Weekly Cheques, "From tho inauguration of the association, 10,164 separate payments, involving a cash valuo of £23,077 os. 9d., have been made, of which 6816, representing an increase of 104 per ccnt., and an expenditure of £12,309 10s. 10d., have beeVi paid during the last twelvo months, tho average number of cheques per week being 131. The grunts ho other bodies in 1916 amounted to £5351 Bs. 4d., as against a sum of £1596 17s. 3d. voted for similar grants in 191.7, the latter being £3754 lis. Id. less in comparison, so that excluding tlieso sums the detailed expenditure direct by the association represents ap increase of £5267 lis., or 97 per cent;, as compared with the previous year.

"The principle of considering each application on its own merits has. never been deparfcod from, as practical cxperi-

once has proved it to bo impossible to do so without inflicting hardship; it nccossitates closo inquiry into tho circumstances of each application, and as a result many perplexing and complex problems have to be _ solved. Many anomalies in the provisions made by the Government for tho dependants of soldiers have thus been detected, and tlioso of an oft-recurring nature have been placcd beforo tho notice of tho Hon. Sir James Allen, and ultimately remedied. Other Duties. "With the permission of the war expenses branch, the association has consented to receive warrants for allotments and separation allowances, and to disburse an equivalent sum in weekly payments to those soldiers' depondauts who spend a month's money in a fow days. "Very good work is being performed in caring for the children of soldiers' wives who die during tho absence of tho husband at tho front. One such case in particular is still under action. The mother died while the sixth child was but a few hours old, and arrangements had to bo made for tho funeral, the administration of tho estate, and tho care of tho children. Applications for pensions on behalf, of the children were made, and the money applied to their proper enro and attention. Many hours of careful thought have been expended on just this one case. "Particulars of hundreds' of cases of many and varied descriptions could be given, but enough has been said to prove that though it is essential our operations be regarded as confidential, and the general public of Wellington is thereby precluded from having' the faintest conception of the great work accomplished by the association, yet it will readily believe tho statement that wo have literally hundreds of letters of thanks from soldiers' dependants, and others written by the men themselves from 'Somewhere in Bolgium.' 'Somewhere in Mesopotamia.' otc. We have received many visits from applicants who from emotion have hardly been able to convoy their gratitude for what +lio association has achieved for them."

ANNUAL MEETING OF ASSOCIATION. Tho second annual meeting of the War Relief Association of Wellington was held yesterday. The president, Mr. J. P. Luke, C.M.G., was in the chair, and there were also present Colonel J. G. Hughes, D.5.0., and Messrs. L. O. H. Tripp, J. Lewis, D. M. Yeats, E. J. Collio, H. Davidson, A. Maofntosh, C. A. Ewen, H. A. Cook, T. Wilson, F. W. Manton, and C. M. Luke. Mr. Luke said the work of the association during tho year had been very successful, and ho was sure the public would realise that the association was a live body. It was a pity that during the year the association /had not been able to raiso at least enough money to cover current expenses. He had discussed this matter with Mr. Tripp and other members of the executive, and had reached the conclusion that the time was not opportune for a new appeal to the public. But early in 1918 a scheme would be developed for increasing, the funds of the War Relief Association. He would like to see the association receiving during cacli year of the war at least enough money to cover the current expenditure without encroaching upon capital which might all be required after the war. He moved the adoption of tho report.

Mr. Tripp said the report was a very interesting one, and the information it contained ought to be widely known. The public was not fully informed regarding the work of the association, which was not only granting relief, but was acting as advisor to soldiers and dependants in very many cases. The dependants often did not know what their rights were, and the association had been able to assist them materially. In other cases, where dependants were receiving larger incomes than they would have received if their men had stayed in civilian employment, the association was encouraging the dependants to open hank accounts. This system had worked well, and had encouraged, many people to save money. Ho agreed that the association should try to raise additional funds with the object of conserving its capital for the period after the war. A sum of over £70,000 was in hand, hut the members of the executive felt that this money ought not to ho depleted seriously at the present stage of the war. The report and bakince-shect were adopted. ' Messrs, J, Lewis, A.- R. Atkinson, E. J. Colle.v, J. Hutcheson, C. M. Luke, A. Macintosh, I l '. W. Manton, G. Shirtcliffe, C. A. Ewen, and S. Kirkealdie were re-elected - unopposed to tho executive. A hearty vote of thanks was accorded Mrs. J. B. MacEwan for her active assistance during the year as visitor. A vote of thanks was accorded also to Mr. H. Davidson for honorary assistance in the accountancy work of the association. Tlie meeting recorded its appreciation of _ the services rendered to the association by the trustees, the honorary auditors, and others, and gave warm thanks to the staff for its excellent and unflagging work during the year. On the motion of Mr. Lewis, seconded by Colonel Hughes, the meeting recorded its sense of the valuable services rendered by the chairman of the executive, Mr. L. 0. H. Tripp. A final vote of thanks was accorded the president, Mr. J. P. Luke, C.M.G. A meeting of the executive was held subsequently.

Mr. L. 0. H. Tripp was re-elected chairman, and Mr. C. M. Luke was elected vice-chairman.