OLD-AGE PENSIONERS

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 62, 7 December 1918, Page 3

OLD-AGE PENSIONERS

' LESSONS OF THE EPIDEMIC. In the co.ursQ of their, inquiries during the past fortnight the' inspectors of the Wellington City* Corporation have ascertained that in many case the houses founds to be- in an undesirable condition from a hygienic point of view have been those occupied by old-age pensioners. "Tho position is this," said, the inspector. "These old people, who are sometimes past any sort of work, are given this money by the Government, which, just enables them to keep themselves in Iho barest necessities of life, for which reason they do not, as a rule, come under the notice of the Charitable Aid authorities, to whom necessitous people have to formally ajsply for assistance. As the result of no supervision they drift along in a very miserable way. I do not say that there are not many very deserving, cleanly, and decent living people among thoso who receive the old-age pension, but, on the other hand, there arc those who would be infinitely better off in a home. In any case, it would be a mercy if there wore some kind of supervision exercised over these old peoplo in order to prevent tho awful conditions which have. come 'to light during the past week or 50. Someone should be given authority to secure a complete list: of the people in receipt of tho pension, and visit them periodically in order to see that their conditions of life are -decent. "This may appear to be an intrusion on the privacy of pensioners,, but it ,woiild be in' tho pensioners' own interest'.' I could name cases of homes which were cleaned jup a week ago, and are now as bad as «ver .again, showing the utter incapacity of some people to look after themselves."