WAR GRATUITIES.

Hokitika Guardian, 23 October 1919, Page 4

WAR GRATUITIES.

PROGRESS OF PAYMENT.

Wellington, This Day

Applications for the war gratuity continue to arrive at the Defence Pay Office in thousands, and pay ments are also going on, though necessarily at a slower rate. Each application approved as being in order is acknowledged, and it has meant a large amount of overtime by a big staff of typistes to deal with this portion of the work. Approved applications go to the ledger department, where a careful review of the soldier’s account takes place. Here there is sometimes a delay if the account is intricate qr incomplete or has not been cleared up to date. This has caused some gratuity applications to be held up, which will account for men who have got their applications in early to the Officer - in-Charge of War Expenses not being paid as quickly as some whose claims bear a later number. Following the ledger work, the gratuity application has to be sent to the Audit Department for checking. Thus it will be seen that the process is not one which can be put through all its stages in a few hours. However up till October' 14th, 1,512 claims had been paid, representing an expenditure of ,£99,855. This shows that the average gratuity so far paid out is nearly ,£7O per man. An arrangement has been made with the New Zealand banks to make the deposit of the gratuity in Wellington to the credit of the soldier who desires a bank credit of this kind, the amount being remitted free of exchange to the branch of the bank at which his account is kept. Advices are always sent to the soldiers when lodgments to the Bank or Post Office {Savings Bank are made.