REPATRIATION.

Taranaki Daily News, 5 February 1921, Page 6

REPATRIATION.

TWENTY-THREE MONTHS’ OPERATIONS. A progress return covering 23 months' operations of the Repatriation Department as at January 20, shows that the Departmental register now contains the names of 78,889 demobilised soldiers, and that assistance has been rendered in 48,127 cases. The Department has placed 22,080 men in suitable employment, and there are at the present time only 108 men awaiting placement, of whom not one has been on the books of the Department for more' than one week. Training. —The vocational training schemes inaugurated by the Department have been most successful, and 5397 men have been trained in special .soldier classes and technical schools, or in the workshops and factories of private employers, whilst an additional 1229 students attending evening classes at universities or commercial colleges have been assisted with grants towards fees and text-books. Trainees have been carefully “shepherded” by experienced officers, and the percentage of failures has been negligible. Some 3530 men have finished their courses and have secured employment as “skilled” tradesmen. The total expenditure to date on training facilities, sustenance of trainees, etc., is £243,384.. After Care.— A. good many seriously disabled men resumed occupations now rendered unsuitable owing to war disabilities, and the reports of the aftercare officers indicate that a great measure of success is attending their efforts to place such men in more congenial employment. Up to the present these officers have dealt With 1005 chest cases, 339 amputees, and 601 men suffering from other serious disabilities. Tn addition to this they have inspected and reported upon 247 subsidised trainees during the past month. Financial Assistance. —Up to January 20, 4760 loans for the purpose of acquiring or establishing businesses had been approved by the Ministerial Board, involving an expenditure of £1,079,880. An additional 10,036 men had been granted loans for the purchase of household furniture, tools, etc., and a further 4025 had received financial assistance in other directions, the amount paid to or on behalf soldiers under all headings, totalling £1,708,547.

Repayments. —Loans have been advanced to some 16,000 discharged soldiers, and the great bulk of the men are meeting their obligations loyally. The amount collected up to December 31, 1920, on account of loans granted totalled •£405,185, ' and the average monthly collection is now £35,000, a rate of over £420,000 per annum.