WAR RELIEF

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 32, 1 November 1919, Page 8

WAR RELIEF

WELLINGTON ASSOCIATION

'The Executive Committee of tho War Belief Association of Wellington met yesterday, -Mr. L. 0. H. Tripp presiding. There were also present: Messis. D. ul'Laren, ,A. li. Atkinson, C. AI. Luke, J. Hutcheson, C. A. Kweu and AV. Ferguson. The report of the Finance Committee ■ stated that four cases submitted by the Applications .Committee were dealt with, a>iri loans totalling i3SS and graints of ,£'[ lo were authorised; these were claims in which the applicant's prospect of success was large'.y dependent upon supplementary assistance being given lo loans advanced by the Crown Lauds Department and the Kepatriat.on Department. The claims were lodged by a soldier and his wifo establishing themselves in the grocery business; by a soldier purchasing au up-to-dato boarding establishment, partly financed by and to bo conducted under the joint managership of h:a father; by a soldier launching out, after four years' service, as a poultry farmer— and making excellent progress; and by a dairy farmer. In each case grateful letters of thanks and appreciation were addressed to the committee. Six additional claims from soldier settlers atul others remained to bo dealt with. The statement of total funds as at. September lit), 1H1I), was as follows:—investment;, ■£67,090 Ms. r>d.; current accounts, .£2207 13s. Id.; petty cash in hand, =020; total, i(io,ni3 7s. 6d. The income for the. month of September was <£2695 Os. 10d., and the expenditure, ,£2378 15s. 9d., the excess of income ovei' expenditure being ,£311! ss. Id. This was the result of the exceptionally heavy receipts during the month of 'September, 19)9, indi tided in the total being .£IBO4, representing tnc balance of funds handed over by the Countess of Liverpool Fund, whose operations have ceased.

Tho report of tho Applications Committee stated that since tho last meeting of the Executive Committee GUI applications wore dealt with. The total number of claims received during the period September 2-1, 1.919, to October 30, 1919, inclusive, was 5212, comprising 257 now apphcations and -lit) renewals and revisions. Tho sxerago number of claims submitted to each bi-weekly meeting had risen from 49 in June last to 60 during the month under review; and whilst it should be noted that t.he present average represented an annual total in excess of SOOO applications, yet there was every indication that for some considerable time to come there would be a steady increase in applications received. A most important feature was the exceptionall'.}' heavy increase in the requests for assistance emanating from men who were discharged two to . four years ago. Many of them took part in the landing on Galipoli, and were 'badly wounded then, and, as the result of such wounds, or of illness directly traceable to their war service, as well as to domestic misfortune of almost every description, havo thoroughly merited monetary grants and loans authorised—frequently by telegram —by the committee. The point was that had prompt action not been taken tho success of the busines venture, to which these men—assisted in many cases by those dependent upon them—had so assiduously devoted themselves, would have been very seriously imperilled. There had also been a v<Jry heavy increase in the number of claims placed before the committee by men permanently maimed for life. To this type of applicant quite exceptional treatment was extended by tho committee. Owing to the prevailing pressure of work it had not been possil/le fo do nioro than to relieve the immediate wants of these men whose cases, however, have been followed up by the committee; but, at a somewhat later-dale special provision would be made for tha men, their cases having been already recorded for such act-ion and in accordance with a policy su'bscqueiit'iy to bo presented by the committee for approval. The committee was maintaining contact with the Red Cross Society, the Women's National Reserve, the Society for Protection of AVomen and Children, and other organisations through, and in eo-operation with whom, various forms of assistance had been given to, both tho soldier and his female dependants—in some instances both man and wife being in hospital. The services of the lion, legal and hon. medical advisers had been solicited to an unusual extent during the period under review. There had been an increase iu the number of temporary grants lo widowed mothers and also to tho parents of soldier sons, -returned and discharged aii-l not yet rehabilitated into civil life, hi some c.isos all three sons had served. One had been killed in action, one had had a leg amputated, and the '.thc-r son had also been wounded, and the family was suffering hardship partly resultant tiljon lack of knowledge of the provisions of the Pensions Act and its amendments under which tho board would have certainly granted further assistance to file parents had they applied for it; whilst ttmpsrary mints were given tinder the special circumstances warranting them, in "implementation of maximum pensions. In other cases, warrants for retrospective married and children's almvunces were received and disbursed at the request of tho AV.tr Expenses Department. The committee hud again to record the assistance extended to it by tho Department of Medical Services. A largo number of grants for tools of Irade to cai pc-nters. plumbers, cabinetmakers, luass moulders, tinsmiths, and others vero made to men awaiting immediate employment, who had made heavy allotments'to dependants; clothes of all descriptions had been given lo sundry other manual workers, whilst payment of a large number of union fees, and of sma'.l grants for incidental travelling expenses en route to (miployment, wero iiiads-. In other cases tho soldier's preservice employers having notified the committee of their desire lo re-employ the applicant, he. had 'been helped to commenco civil life again both by direct and indirect assistance, in some cases removal expenses having been paid for the soldier and his dependants. It was not possible within the limits of tho report lo give other t.lian a rudimentary outline of some of file, main activities of the committee, and thcro were very many other aspects of i!s work not referred to: but the committee added that some idea of the work if was accomplishing might be gathered from ilia fact that its inward and outward correspondence, as recorded in the mail books, showed a weekly average of fi'iglitly more than 1000 letters, Ihe varying from Singapore to Canada.