EXPEDITIONARY FORCE BONUS.

Taihape Daily Times, 18 December 1918, Page 5

EXPEDITIONARY FORCE BONUS.

‘ (To the Editor) ' sh-,—Evel'y returned soldier will, no doubt, welcome the decision of the Government to grant 3- bonus to GVOTY discharged soldier; but there is likely to be a great deal of dissatisfaction‘ with the intended method or allot-‘ ment_ It is claimed that the bonus will .be simply a reward for services rendered; but it is intended to dis criminate between the respective services of married‘ and single men, and also between the services of officers, ?n.c.o’s and men. According to the ’de-‘ tails which have been published, mar-a ried men will receive as a bonus one week’s pay for every thirteen weeks’ service, and single men one Week’S Ipay for every eighteen weeks’ service. ‘ Superficially, the scheme appears to‘ be a good one, but if we consider the details we must come to only one conclusion: namely, thatvthe long-service 'men are not being fairly treated. The pay of a Main Body Soldier who is still a private, and unmarried, amounts to 35s per week, and his bonus will ‘be, on the basis of four and a-half‘ years’ service, £22 15s. A corporal,‘ in similar circumstances, would be en- ‘ titled t-o a bonus of £27 6s, and a‘ sergeant to a. bonus of £3l 17s. Then ‘ follow the graduated ranks from ser-i geant-«major up to brigadier-general,‘ which, if single, are to receive one week's pay for every eighteen weeks’ service, An officer whose salary is £5 per week would -receive a bonus of £65 for four and a-half years’ service, and one" whose salary is £lO per week would be entitled to £l3o_ If the firsbmentioned officer had a little less than.two years’ service to his credit he would receive the -same amount by way of a bonus as a private with tour and a half years’ service. In other words, the oflicer could have remaincd in a good civilian position in New Zealand until drawn in the ballot ‘and still be entitled to the same amount, as a bonus, as the private who had got in two and a-half years of hard service on a pay of 45s .Dcr week while the former was earning a good salary in a civilian capacity in New Zealand. On active service, the oflicers were free of practically all [the hardsihps endured by the .'EIOII. |They lived under better conditions in ‘the training camps; they were treated !as saloon passengers on the transfports, while the men had to put up ‘with badly-ventilated sleeping places, ‘bad food, an endless succession of "guard duties, and even had to hose ‘down and holy-stone, the decks. On ‘the transport on which the writer :ravelled, fatigue parties were compelird to do ‘practically all the work wllic'n should have been done by members of the crew, They had to swab the decks, assist the cooks, act as pantrymen, clean brass-work, scrub out cabins and lavatories, and some even ha-:1 -to assist as coal-trimmers. None of ‘this labour cost the Union Company anything, except that men assisting ‘as trimmers received the “han.dSo:n(—:" ‘remuneration of 2s per day extra pay. ‘Each day a. whole company of infan‘try was detailed for sentry duty, as -there were no less than thirty 's3!lL‘.‘y posts on the ship, and in some <‘.:IS(:S senfries were placed withina. few yards of each "other. There was a ,shortage of water on board, and the men could not obtain sufiicient water ‘to drink; but ‘there was enough water ‘on board to ‘permit of the officers Le‘ing able to indulge in freshwater baths. Drinking-water not being a.n-.il-‘able for the grea.tel*‘p‘art of the day in the tropics, the men could onlz. quench their thirsts by pur:-...aslng luke-warm soft drinks at the canteen Had there been mutiny on board that vessel, it would have been due to the fact that our officers could often be seen imbibing iced (ll‘i'l(S r-hrcugh ‘straws. Similar relative co~.:.:£itio:;s prevailed right through, and in L-‘gvpt ‘the officers reserved for themselves ithei right to travel first class on the ‘railway, and also the right DC‘ Gritlk ‘at the best hotel in Cairo. VVhvn there were no wot canteens for the ‘men, the sergeants and officcrs were allowed to have la-rs at their respec‘tive messes, and could piircttase ‘liquor in the camps, but it was regarded as a serious offence it‘ a car‘poral or a private brought a bottle of liquor into a camp. Even in the firing line the officers were allowed the scr‘vices of batmen, who performed for .them the duties of a man-servant. ‘There was also preferential hospital ‘and convalescent treatment for ciliccrs. Even among the men being in‘valided home, the officers are segregated and are the flrst—class passenigers. Some of them may be onlv returning on duty, but it is an offence ‘for a one-legged private to sun himself -on the officers’ deck The writer ‘was inv'alidcd home on a liner on ;which the food was bad and the ac‘comrnodation worse. As usual. the imen had fatigue ‘duties to perform, being compelled to act as stewards, ‘scrub out the mess rooms, assist the ‘cooks, and do other work of a simna, ‘nature. .’l‘here were also sentrics to

keep the third-class passengers (corporals, lance-corporals, and privates) from associating with the second-class passengers (sergeant-majors and sergeants) on the latter's special decks, and sentries also prevented any encroachment on the officers' space, the .result being that about five hundred "men were confined to a smaller deck space than that allotted fo thirty officers. This particular shipping company was paid so much per head for every invalided soldier carried on its vessels as passengers, but the wounded men had to assist in working the ship, which also carried civilian passengers. It was not that the company demanded any labour from the men, out because the military officers considered that if the men were not made to wovk they may show a lack of dis-' cipline. I have endeavoured to illustrate the difference between the respective services of officers and men in the expeditionary force. From start to finish, the officers get all the "strawberry" and the men are usually handed the "Deakin's apricot." When the Government decided to allot the bonuses on the proposed basis, it decided on an extension of the principle of discrimination. The bonus is not a necessitous grant, and in its allotment only one thing should be considered: namely, length of service. Therefore, why not dispose of the sum set aside for the bonus by giving each member of the expeditionary force a certain sum for a certain length of service, irrespective of rank or whether married or single. The married men in the early drafts would not be penalised, as there is no question of necessity in "this case, and if there was, it will be met by the separation allowances being made retrospective. Probably the Returned Soldiers' Association will have something to say j regarding the bonus, and may suggest something better than the present scheme; but in my humble opinion the only factor worthy of consideration is length of service. Personally, I think J that if the Government allotted for each man a certain sum for a certain length of service, and paid the money into the National Provident Fund to the credit of each soldier entitled to a bonus, the scheme would leave nothing to be desired, as each member of the forces, in addition to receiving \ ordinary benefits, , would 'he able to J provide for a substantial annuity on attaining a certain age. | Thanking you, sir, in anticipation, j and apologising for the length of this letter. —I am, etc., | FRAY BENT OS. !