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Hokitika Guardian, 13 February 1922, Page 2

| Onk of those pleasantly spontaneous hearty greetings for which Hokitika has something of a reputation, was tendered to General Russell and his party at the Town Hall on Friday night. It was no small honor to have in our midst the outstanding hero of the New Zealand army which served in France during the Great War. General Russell was a citizen soldier who rose to the highest rank and responsibility and did his work with special care and success. T?;e reputation gained by the New Zealanders, and the magnificent services they renderd, are testimonies to the general excellence of the leadership under which they fought. General Russell is one of those easy, winning speakers who carry a charm within themselves. He has a magnetic personality, and this was evidenced during his speech on Friday night, when lie held his audience so pleasantly. General Russell is hero on a mission akin to that to which Field-Marshal Haig is devoting himself at Home—the care of his more unfortunate comrades in the late war who have to battle against difficult circumstances in civilian life to achieve success. General Russell was frank in his statement that on his return from active service he sought for what he needed, rest. But after resting awhile he felt the call to help his comrades and so took up an active position in the Returned Soldiers movement. It is necessary for the men to combine and organise for tho benefit of their weaker comrade®, and so help hem to tide over the trying times whJoh

will beset some through recurring sickness or lack of employment. (There are of course other organisations eager and anxious to do the same work, but we dioujbt if they can do it as well, or understand as completely just what fits the case of the broken down (soldier who will remain very properly a charge on his country.

Apart from the fact that it was ne- ( cessary for a delegation of the Returned goldiei-s Associaton to tour the Dominion to stimulate interest in the desirable movement, it has been apparent that there is a declining interest among , the men themselves in their Association j One fact is that on the whole the country has treated them exceedingly well. Another fact is that the Patrio- , tic Societies have discharged their self-; imposed task generously—thanks to the , liberality of the public. Another factor is that the men are now drifting back into civilian life and are being ■ more absorbed in the problems of to- . day than the memories of the past, j Men who arc fit and well, and back lo the work a day life, do not wish to parade their war services, or carry on the “flag-wagging” as one of them termed it. That is their natural modesty and independence. On the Coast there are many such men who have settled down, and want to forget the war. The Coast produces this modest type as a matter of course, but the speakers brought home the fact the other night that there was another side to the question. That the independent and stout of heart should bear in mind the ills of their loss fortunate (.'onirdaes, and by a common association help to keep up a system of relief whereby none need go empty away, and no deserving case will be neglected. Actually, to meet the case not so much for this year, as for the years to come, there should be some sort of fusion between the Returned Soldiers’, Association and the Patriotic Societies. It has been clear more than once that civilian help would be a. great aid to the Re turned Soldiers. If then the Returned Soldiers sought help from accredited war workers of the Patriotic Societies, greater stability would be assured to the soldiers movement, and between he soldier and the civilian there would be a lasting link holding the rights of the soldiers stronger than ever to the attention of the general public.