WAR RELIEF

Dominion, Volume 20, Issue 53, 26 November 1926, Page 5

WAR RELIEF

LOCAL ASSOCIATION’S POSITION

APPLICATIONS INCREASE GREATLY

The monthly meeting of the Wellington War Relief Association was held yesterday, Mr. L. O. H. Tripp presided, and there were also present: Messrs. A. Veitch, C. Watson, C. M. Luke, and tlie secretary (Mr. A. O. Leach). The applications aud emergency committee reported that during tne 22 working days which had elapsed since last meeting, there had been 242 cases under action; of these 39 were new claims and 203 old cases, whilst there were 102 cases still under action. The remainder, comprising 140 cases aud embody, ing 159 applications had been disposed ot. The total number of applications dealt with during the period, inclusive of those considered by the emergency bnauce committee and ordinary finance committee, was thus 264. During the period under review the emergency committee dealt with 56 out 159 applications. The number of persons who culled al the office during the month was 252, of these 139 applied tor direct and 113 .tor indirect assistance. There had. been no alteration in the general activities of the committee. Assistance differing widely in description had been given to partially disabled soldiers, to others who were discharged first and subsequently developed a war disability, to the widowed mothers and widows of soldiers who fell in action, and in other directions. , liiese thirteen were old cases, and nine were new applications. The former were revised in connection with amendments to tne original terms of repayment, Hie amount intoned being <£1392 155., and the unpaid balances £bOu. The gross LOial suouivided as lollows: Liesidentiai property £oba las., unpaid balance £2*B; Commercial miau, unpaid balance ami ; agricultural menu, unpaid balance £-01). i,ie new applications wore oi tne aggrea<e value ot £1426. Three were apt.,oved, anu six, disclosing no evidenced «ar aisaoiuty, were uecuned. luese claims suuuivided as iouow; Approved; commercial am>, agricultural mmo, domestic mid). Declined; liesidentmi property Arad, commercial a-lOU, domestic <*Joo. Tne total vaiue or tne twentyt,wo applications dealt with thus amounted' to a,aiis las. During the nvu montnly meeting, dune to Uctvuer, 1926, a; tue finance committee, no less than 193 "loan' cases nad been dealt with, tins number was grouted'by 2a per cent, than tne nuuiuer ot "loan" cases considered by tne committee during any pievious year of its existence. The sum oi <£2165 mid been recovered irom those woo, Wuilst quite able to pay, had shown no lUleiitiuii to meet their obligations to n.e association. Statements tabled showed that the expenuilure lor the month ended October jf was A 537 Ls. LOU. and income <£544 lie. ud., tne excess of income over expenditure (credit to capital accouni) being «£6 465. id. Barauces at tne bank uc mo eml oi last munUi were: “di land account, fund A (overdrawn), <£396 19s. bd., war fund account, fund B> XMS Us. Bu.; total mans Its. imprest account, fund A, £7lO 13s. 3d.; imprest account, fund li, <£l2l 19s. id.; total <£1162 12s. 4d.; grand total, <£l4ll 4s. 4d. investments as at October 31, 1926, were s.rnwn as lofmw;—Fund A, Buuuc Trustee, <£23,935; Fund B, Public Trustee, .£2065; total A26,u01>. The total available iunds at tne end oi last month were:—investments, <£26,ooi>; current accounts, .£l'lll *s. id.; petty cash, £3O; total, <£27,411 4s. 4d. Accounts amounting to £l7O 14s. lid. were passed tor payment. The reports were all adopted. Mr. C. M. Luke: How much have the applications eaten into our capital this yeurf The secretary: About £4OOO. Mr. Luke: 1 suppose the impaired men were the first to sutler Inrough the scarcity of employment? The secretary: Yes; we have been get; ling requests for assistance from people we have never come into contact with before. ' ■

in reply to Mr. Luke, tho secretaiy explained that the association always gave a rebate of 10 per cent, to applicants who met their obligations, borne people who had obtained loans made an honest attempt to repay them, in some instances tlie wives going' out to work. Where small amounts were involved they were returned to the borrowers when repayment was offered, 'i'liere were many eases, however,of people who could well afford to repay loans and who absolutely refused to do so. The sum of £2OOO had been recovered from such people within the past five months.

Mr. Luke: 1 see our capital is steady, round about £27,000.