HELP FOR EX-SOLDIERS.

Taranaki Daily News, 27 May 1921, Page 6

HELP FOR EX-SOLDIERS.

PROVISION FOR THE FUTURE. APPEAL TO TARANAKI W.R.A. At the annual meeting of the Tara . naki War Relief Association on Wednes day, Mr. H. B. Burdekin (R.S.A, delegate said the Returned Soldiers’ Associatior had been faced with the necessity foi taking up some attitude in regard t( the patriotic (funds, and had come tc a decision—re-affirmed at three sue cessive conferences—that the Government be requested to retain a certain amount of the patriotic funds for thf benefit of cases which would occur ir the future.

Mr. Burdekin said he was not criticising anything that the association had done up to date—the soldiers thanked the association for what had been done—but he desired to point out that numbers of men were only now beginning to suffer the full effects of their war service, and other cases would crop up in the future. He therefore appealed to the members of the association not to expend all their funds, but to hold a balance for future purposes. His appeal was on behalf of the Dominion Council of the N.Z.R.S.A., which was in possession of information which prompted them to make the appeal. The R.S.A. wanted to see some funds retained for future cases until such time as the machinery could be put in motion for providing better pensions. for such men.

The chairman (Mr. W. P. Kirkwood) said he was personally quite sympathetic with Mr. Burdekin’s views, but the association was definitely committed to a scheme which they intended to carry out as the funds were available. Mr. Burdekin seemed to have got the idee, that the association’s P.D.S. scheme covered physical disabilities only, but that was not the case, and he desired to make it quite clear that the scheme covered every possible disability that soldiers were suffering from, and not only the physical disabilities suck as the loss of limbs, etc.

Mr. Burdekin explained that he was not under any misapprehension -in regard to that matter, but was referring to disabilities which were not yet apparent, but which would develop later as a result of the men’s war services.

Mr. Kirkwood said it was impossible to get any scheme that was ideal in every respect, and he maintained that a number of the funds were being hoarded up and were not being paid to the men for whom they were collected. That money was being paid out to an army of paid officials, and the Taranaki Association had endeavored to see that the money went to the men for whom it was collected, and not be eaten up in salaries and charges. In his opinion the funds should be paid out now; they should be paid to the men while they needed it now, and he knew of numbers of men who had died without receiving the money they were entitled to receive. The association was absolutely committed to the P.D.S. scheme, and intended to carry it out. It was the duty of the Government to provide for men likely to break down in the future, and the R.S.A. should bring all its pressure on the Government in order to see that that was done.