CONVALESCENT HOME

Southland Times, Issue 18829, 24 May 1920, Page 7

CONVALESCENT HOME

MEETING OF RED CROSS SOCIETY. NO DECISION AS TO ITS FUTURE. At a meeting of the Red Cross Society held in the Returned Soldiers’ Association hall on Saturday morning to discuss what should be done with the Invercargill Convalescent Home, about thirty town and country delegates were present. Mr R; A. Anderson presided. The chairman reviewed the circumstances 1 which had led up to the proposal to close : the Home and stated that a good many ! people had received the impression that the j committee had decided to close the Home. This was no! so. The Home had been : closed by the Defence Department. A letter recently published under the signature of Sir James .Mien pointed out that ail over the dominion the necessity for these homes had ceased to exist, and the number of i...-, ; deem had been reduced to such a small compass ;ha! it had been found advisable to concent rate them into one home. That was evidently the reason why the Home ba d been closed by the Department. Every patient was under the Department and it was within the department's power to remove any or ail of the patients at anv time wi.i.out consulting the Red Cross Soviet v's committee. ’Hie most the committee cudd have done w:i> to have raised a protest. At the ['resent time there were riot mere than two or three soldiers in the Home aivi the committee felt that the Department- was justified in closing it. Although the committee had publicly asked that if any lied Cross workers knew of a single ease of a soldier who should be in tlie Home they should inform Ihe committee, no replies had been received. It was the duty of anyone knowing of sueh cases To make the committee acquainted with them. Ar the present time the Home was jjnder the charge o: a caretaker, and if a •aumber r-i T-atK.*nr> were wmiin'-t to occupy ifl, it would, th.cn be fur the Society to take '{he necessary steps for keeping it open. Thev had been accused by writers of having no feeling :f. all for the soldiers, but when The Hone- was projected and they were looking round for a place. Mr Hawke and he iMr Anderson' negotiated for the purchase of the oiT-vnt Home and made arrangements with Mr bbming. They also guaranteed the payment of the purchase money. He v.::> sorry rhur- it ha<l been necessary Or him to make that explanation. fcecau.-o he uid not sue for self-adver-tisement am! Ite was sure that Mr Hawke felt the same. The executive had not spared themselves in any way and it was not fair that they should be criticised by some peoole who. lie supposed, had not helped the Society, otherwise they would have known more about it. In regard to a question asked in a letter whether it had been a cut-and-dried policy that three members of ttu‘ committee were to take charge of the Home am! under rite Red Cross, he Could only say that ir was the first he harl heard of any such proposal and he did nor think that any of the committee had ever heard of it either. He was certain that no member of the committee had any thought of doing hole and corner work in regard to a: muniments. In explaining the present i osition the chairman stated the ?oeierv had tsmUi cash in hand and before it could be spent the sanction of the Min-i-mr of Inicrmd Affairs would have to be obtained. No member of trie executive Would have any say in the disposal of the fumis. He had been informed by Dr Wilffon tha r morning that on the patients attending the h-i-piial for treatment, not one would be .-enr to the Convalescent Home. He was sorrv thar tilt' bad weather harl prevented many country delegates from attending, bat there was a sutlieient number present to e-.ore-s an opinion as to what should Pc done. If it was t os.-ible to canyon the livin' - it must be a.--umed tnat there would be a Mdtnm-nt nura-cr of patients to warrant saadi a eour.-e. tu conn-ec ion witu The application of the Y.M.C.A. to purchase The Home as a hostel the committee had p .ssed a re>'-.lnt:«n ’hat they were in favour of the Y.M.C.A. hewing it provided soldiers were gw-m tim' c m-aa-ra timi, out the matter would have to go belore the Mar I-dimi; Association. Any suggestion from tlm Red IT'--, that soldiers might be pro-■vid-’d for the;--' migtii. however, receive Cor. -ddera t ion. Mts-s H. Bir-s stated that the chairman and Mr Hawke v. ere entitled to the gratitude of all for their work in connection with tb n Ib-me. After listening to Mr Anfi..;-.,,.; -he had eo;v,. p, \ h-- conclusion that The chairman, in reply to a question, stated 'hat a number of rh ■ endowed cots harl been given on the uiaa-r-randing that they should afo'rwar-b be handed over to the Southland Ho.-pbal. It was only right thar, j-..,. vd-h of :1a- donors should be carried on- The morm- ambulance would have to I- . end I lie proceeds handed in. C.'umrv d--legates referred to several car ■- v.da-r- men were unable to work owing to war di-abilities and were only receiving Small pensions. The lion, a. [•’. Hawke, in reply, stated that in suelt case.- representations should be jn eie pi tin- Pensions Board tor larger pen- - 9; , ;;s ■■{“ moved that the Society should what terms could be come to with the Y.iI.C.A. am! thar another meeting be called at a lat r date to deride what should J,.-. dope with the Home; also that the proposed, terms -hotihl be submitted to country im-mbem before the me'Eng. The morion was seconded and carried. Tr. was also decided that the country rrmmb.-rs be asked, to supply the committee vd'h th“ names of any soldiers who they tm ucht -lamb Ibe scut to the Convalescent Horn'.