PAYMENTS FOR SOLDIERS’ CHILDREN

Southland Times, Issue 24818, 10 August 1942, Page 4

PAYMENTS FOR SOLDIERS’ CHILDREN

Sir,—lf “Ex-Digger” and The Southland Times get through this war with nothing more to complain about than the matter of allowances for soldiers and their dependants they can consider themselves very lucky. A soldier with a wife and five dependant children will receive £6/13/- a week, tax free, plus the soldier’s keep and clothing, which should easily be equivalent to £8 a week, tax free. How many soldiers when in civilian life got that wage, irrespective of the fact' that they may have more than five children?. It must be remem-

bered too, that the wife and children are provided with free hospital service, and most of the expenses relating to medical service, maternity benefits and medicine are provided by the State. NOT GRUMBLING. Sir, —You must be thanked for drawing attention of the public to the serious anomaly in the Government s refusal to make any provision for a soldier’s children after the fifth child. That fine statesman, the late William Massey, predicted the disastrous effect of the increase of motor cars and also the fall of the. birth rate. He stated that each child reared up was worth £3OO to the Dominion. I consider (1) that the family allowance should be paid for the sixth child and every other child that adds to our depleted population. (2) That a mother with six children or more should be given at least two hours’ free help daily. (3) That a father and mother with six or more should be given concessions on tram cars and the railways. I can remember several fine people in the early days who reared large families and were respected and admired by all who knew them. One family of twenty-one children with their parents lived in Herbert on a farm near Oamaru. They produced most of their provisions, including meat, wheat, oats, potatoes, vegetables, honey, milk, cream, butter and cheese, poultry and eggs, jam and preserves, fruit wine and cordials. Then I remember a fine family living in Dunedin who could produce a strong cricket eleven among their own sons. I am told it costs about £8,000,000 to build a battleship. Twenty-five thousand young men would be better for our Dominion’s needs OLD SETTLES