VICTIMS OF THE EPIDEMIC.

Taranaki Daily News, 17 December 1918, Page 4

VICTIMS OF THE EPIDEMIC.

In Parliament the other day tlie Minister for Public Health stated that the Government would do the right thing ■by the. women and children who had been bereft of their breadwinners as a result of the epidemic. It is ft solemn duty, that should be kept before the Government, which, seeing that it voted millions for other and no more pressing purposes in a few minutes may j have found time before the close of the | break-neck session to translate its professions into action and made the necessary provision for the widows and children. The pension under the Widows' Pensions Act of 1913 is utterly inadequate. A woman with four young children who has lost her husjKi.mi and in unprovided for is toi&sd

to only £3O a year, not enough to pay house rent, let alone live upon. Now it is highly undesirable in the interests of the State, apart from the humanitarian aspect, to condemn a woman who haa lost her husband to a life of penury because she lias several young children to rear. She is discharging a Tery important duty to the State, and she should be encouraged to bring up her children, to ha useful and respectable members of the community. It may be argued that the father should have inade provision for his wife and family by life insurance, etc. No doubt it is an obligation that, should be Kindertaken by every wage-earner, especially when the way is made so easy for him by the National Provident scheme; but because he has failed to make this provision, that is no justification for ignoring the case of the unfortunate widow and children. They, have a claim on the State, which should see that they are all brought up in decency and respectability. Compare the lot of the widow who has lost her husband in the epidemic. with the widow whose husband succumbed to its ravages in camp, both having three children. The former is helped by the State to the extent of 10a a week; the other, if her husband were a private, receives a minimum of £3 Ids a week, and ifl also entitled to claim aa additional 15s a week if she can prove that the pension ,will not permit her to enjoy the standard .of living to which she was accustomed befoi'3 iher husband left for camp. There is a marked difference in their respective treatment. The first is handicapped and condemned to a life of struggle and poverty; but tl» other can clothe and feed and properly bring up her childrea. Both perform the «ame service to the State, and therefore are deserving of similar treatment; at any rate, the former should be accorded a pension thai will enable her to live and bring up her children properly, The solution of the problem will no doubt be found in bringing ia compulsory insurance in one form or another; but, meantime, there are many widows and children who iave suddenly lost their husbands end fathers through the epidemic who as* in dire want, and it i 3 the Government's clear duty to relieve iheir necessities without wasting further time. Actions and not words are wanted. (Since the above was in type the Minister of Health has intimated that Cabinet has decided that orphan children and children left in a condition of distress by the death of father or mother will practically become wards of the State, payment being made on the basis of 10s 6d per week per child. This is as it should be, and will meet with the approbation of the public.)