War Relief Funds Almost Exhausted

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 465, 21 September 1928, Page 16

War Relief Funds Almost Exhausted

UNEMPLOYED SOLDIERS ASSISTANCE FOR FIT MEN I* a short time, it is predicted, no money will be available for use for the relief of fit unemployed soldiers in Auckland. Owing to the heavy drain that has been put upon it during the past two or three years, the fund, which is used expressly for that purpose, is running low. This was reported at the meeting of the Patriotic and War Belief Association yesterday. It was suggested by Mr. W. B. Leyland that mohey be transferred from the A fund to the B fund. The question arose out of the report of the Claims Board. The A fund is a fund used only for sick and wounded soldiers, and their dependents, or dependents of soldiers killed in action or who died of wounds or sickness due to the war. It has a balance of about £200,000. The B fund is for general patriotic purposes for disbursement in the city of Auckland, and is also used only for returned soldiers. Out of this fund, fit returned men who are unemployed receive relief. It has a balance of only £3,750, of which only £2,850 is available for relief. Mr. Leyland asked whether some scheme could not be introduced to assist the unemployed generally. It, might not be the function of the board, but people could not be allowed to starve. The chairman, Sir James Gunson, pointed out that the association could do nothing about the unemployed who were not returned soldiers. Neither could the money be transferred from one fund to the other. Money gathered for the A fund had been donated for the express purpose for which it was now being used. A great help would be donations from the Canteen Fund, but that body would not disburse any of the money that actually belonged to the returned soldiers.