The Daily News. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1919. HELP FOR RETURNED SOLDIERS.

Taranaki Daily News, 22 February 1919, Page 4

The Daily News. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1919. HELP FOR RETURNED SOLDIERS.

The draft regulations recently issued by the Central Repatriation Board appear to have been framed on lines that should meet with general approval. Hitherto the Government has largely availed itself of voluntary workers whose patriotic spirit has been of great service, but in dealing with the returned soldiers' problems it would seem that they have assumed such a serious aspect that a system of payment for services has been instituted. While there is little doubt that voluntary administration of repatriation could have been found, yet when the whole of the circumstances are considered it will probably justify the large expenditure involved. Certainly, if the important work is carried out as it should be, there will be no ground for objecting to payment of members of boards and committees, and the mere fact of services being paid for should impose on the Central Board the I duty of selecting only such men as fire thoroughly fitted for the task. The main system is based on the radiating principle, the Central Board being assisted by four district boards at Auckland, Wellington, Christchureh and Dunedin—corresponding with the four military districts into' which the Dominion has been divided—each district board having not less than ten and not more than fourteen members, who are to receive a guinea a day for attending meetiaaStJJtig;travelling exgejises and

ten shillings a night when necessarily absent from home on the board's business. Local committees are to be established in 53 towns, and at such other places as may be approved by the Central Board. When the Central Board deems it necessary a paid officer of the Department will be appointed as secretary, but in all other cases the committee will appoint an honorary secretary. Presumably the local committees are to be graded according to the importance of their work, for where l a paid secretary is provided the committee members are also to be paid at the same rate as members of district boards. Power is also given in certain approved case's for the appointment of paid industrial committees to advise on matters concerning the training or employment of soldiers or their widows. It is obvious that the system will be expensive, but so long as good value is obtained no one will grudge' the outlay. It is, 'however, on the scale of help to be given to soldiers and their dependents that the chief interst in the regulations will centre, and even a casual perusal of the details will convey the impression that exceptional thought lias been devoted to solving one of the most difficult problems the Government has had to face. It would be unwarrantable to assert that the scheme is perfect, but it can honestly he claimed that the merits far outweigh the defects, most of the latter being capable of being remedied by the practical test of experience. The Government was pledged to reinstate the returned soldiers in as good a position as they occupied before enlistment, and there are points in the scheme which indicate that the Government is not only prepared to carry out that pledge, but to go further and fit the men for attaining a better prospect than before they went to the front. With this view free tuition is provided, together with money aid wherewith to provide sustenance for the men and their families. The grants for unemployed soldiers range from 42s for single men up to 6Gs for a soldier with a wife and four or more children—sufficient to provide bare necessaries, but not to encourage a man in remaining idle. Soldiers and their widows may be granted a loan without interest up to £SO for purchasing furniture, and a similar limit is fixed for the purchase of tools or instruments used in the applicant's calling. Larger loans, for ten years, at five per cent, interest can also be granted. Without doubt the most striking portion cf the scheme is that which deals with promoting industrial and professional training. It is fashioned on the English lines. As the work is commenced in some cases before the soldier embarks and is carried on during the voyage back to the Dominion there must be many of the returned soldiers who will have the opportunity of striking out in a new career which offers the prospect of improved status and prosperity. Lastly there is porvision for soldier settlement, and possibly over that the most trouble and disappointment will arise, but while a returned soldier is waiting for land he can secure employment and experience in farming or take up such work as he is fitted for. The regulations ensure that none cf those who have served in the war shall he stranded unless by their own folly. The Department even pays second class fare to men going to take up employment. We have only given a general outline of the proposals, which, taken as a whole, appear to be an honest endeavor to grapple with the problem. It is the desire of the public that our returned soldiers should get a fair and square deal, and the scheme propounded goes a long way towards carrying out what is due to the men who\ave clone their duty to the Empire.