The Dominion WEDNESDAY, APRIL 30, 1919. HELPING THE DISABLED

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 184, 30 April 1919, Page 6

The Dominion WEDNESDAY, APRIL 30, 1919. HELPING THE DISABLED

• In some countries the wor£ of reeducating disabled soldiers has been much hampered by a disinclination on the part of some of the men concerned to accopt the opportunities offered them, of qualifying for a' new start in life. A gratifying indication that no Such trouble is likely to be experienced in 'New Zealand appeared in a report from Auckland which was published yesterday. It stated that a meeting of permanently disabled soldiers passed the following remit to the annual conference of New Zealand Returned Soldiers' Associations:

That the Government be asked to appoint a Royal Commission of three men, of whom two are to be permanently disabled soldiers, to inquire into the employing of permanently ..disabled soldiers in Government Departments.

It goes without sayinjj that dis-. ablcd soldiers are 4 entitled to'all possible sympathy and assistance, and that no more than a first step towards providing for their welfare has been taken when, each man has been allotted a pension proportioned to his disability. It is in every way desirable also . that _ disabled men should take an active intcr'cst in the spccial measures needed in his behalf. While these things aro to be taken for granted, it is not clear that the Auckland remit points the way to such a policy and such results as are desired by all who have the welfare of the disabled men at heart. The terms of the remit suggest, indeed, that the problem has been considered from an unduly narrow standpoint, and with an imperfect of tlio facilities already opened to disabled men in this country, and of the varied occupations for which it is within their power to qualify. It is possible that insufficient energy has been shown in systematically promoting the re-education of the disabled—the whole question is oneupon which the authorities ought, • regularly and periodically, to throw more light than they have been in ■ the habit of doing hitherto—hut a more or less perfunctory inquiry by a Royal Commission, even, if it were not restricted to the narrow scope of possible employment in Government Departments, would hardly forward _ matters much. Where there is suitable and remunerate employment for disabled soldiers in Government Departments they ought, of course, to receive the preference. But it would be anything but a kindness to these men to suggest that the chief effort should be to instill them in such positions without regard to other, and perhaps much more promising, avenues of employment. In the experience of other countries where the problem of providing for disabled soldiers is of much greater magnitude, though not more urgent, than in New Zealand, nothing is more wonderful than" the extent to which they are able to defy and overcome their apparent limitations in selecting and entering upon new occupations. All who take a reasonable' view must concede that in this country a good beginning has beeri l made in the matter of enabling disabled men to qualify for suitable employment. In the first place, there is statutory provision that a soldier's pension, once granted, is not to be affected by any subsequent increase in his earning power. Any danger of a man being penalised as a result of his own enterprise is thus obviated._ At the same time, training facilities are offered at technical schools, State farms, and elsewhere, and reasonably liberal allowances arc made to soldiers and their dependants during the train- ■ ing period., Allowances are available also an the case of ex-soldiers who are undergoing a course of training in the establishments of private employers. On the whole, the Government seems to have laid a foundation upon .which it may confidently base such further measures as may prove to be necessary in the interests of disabled men. The essential test of the measures instituted will appear, of course, in the proportion of disabled men enabled to take up suitable and remunerative work and in the proportion of failures, if there are any. The fullest possible information on these points, and generally in regard to the re-edu-cation of the disabled, ought to be made public at frequent intervals. ! That this policy of publicity has j not already been adopted may bo in ! part accounted for by the fact that a considerable proportion of our disabled soldiers are still being carecl for in England. An article from qur London correspondent which appeared yesterday mentioned that out of a total of more than 800 limbless soldiers (i.e., men who have lost at least a foot or the whole of the lower po'rtion of a hand) about half were, when he wrote, still in England undergoing' special educational courses. The category of disabled men is not, of course,, confined to the limbless. In America it has been _ found that the problem of vocational re-education is by no means wholly that of the cripple or the maimed. ; "It is a problem," to quote an official publication of recent date, "of the man who has a complication of troubles or injuries that, while surgical, do not amount to dismemberment. The most numerous cases will be those requiring medical rather than surgical treatment." No-doubt New Zealand's experience in this matter will parallel that of the United States. The numbor of men classed as disabled and still to be provided for miist be considerable, and no more sacred duty rests upon the people of this country than that of seeing that every _ ono of these men is given all possible assistance , towards resuming the battle of life

under tho best conditions his remaining powers will permit. In wliatever steps are taken to broaden and extend_ existing ■ measures on behalf of disabled soldiers our authorities, of course, ought to give full heed to what is being done in other countries. In Canada and the United States, as well as in European countries, the re-educa-tion of the disabled has been organised and_ (greeted with' creditable enterprise. It may bo worth emphasising that the practice of these countries is marked- generally by a fixed determination, while opening the greatest possible variety of employment, to avoid fanciful experiments, - On this point we may quote the official journal of the Canadian Department of Soldiers' Civil Re-establishment. This Department has a splendid record of successful work in the _ interests of the disabled. An article in its journal dealing • with vocational training observes that

Industrial re-education was established as a means of saving disabled men being a loss both to themselves and to the country. It is intended lur disabled men who are so handicapped by their 1 disabilities that they cannot return to their former occupations. There is no desire to take all the square pegs in the Army and to' fit them into round holes for the sheer fun' of changing things uround. Amplifying its own observations the Canadian publication quotes with approval the following statement by the United States Federal Board for Vocational Training:

There appears to exist in the minds of many people a total misconception of what vocational re-education is, as applied to disabled soldiers and 6ailor6. The Federal Board for Vocational Training ... . is constantly receiving communications from people who have this, that, or the other supposed art or craft which is offered'as being just the thin# to teach tho poor dear wounded soldiers. These suggestions run all the way from making artcraft out of sealing wax, making paper flowers, and gilding pine cones, to constructing alleged ornaments out of putty. Tho Federal Board does not propose to teach any such rubbish. Tho education to' bo given will, in tlie main, be in highly specialised occupations which are good Haying, recognised, and limnly oallings which have a definite, useful place in tho business world, and a steady demand for such work or the products thereof. In this country, also, the aim unquestionably should be to enable as many disabled ( men as possible to become productive workers.' This might bo urged on economic grounds, but the object aimed at .primarily in training the disabled is not to enhance production. The strongest reason for giving the training a strictly practical turn is that the disabled men who are enabled to resume the status of efficient productive workers are far more likely to be happy and contented than if they arc diverted into less useful occupations.