WAR RELIEF ASSOCIATION.

Taranaki Daily News, 28 July 1921, Page 5

WAR RELIEF ASSOCIATION.

SPECIAL MEETING OF EXECUTIVE. A QUESTION OF POLICY. | A special meeting of the executive committee of ihe Taranaki Provincial War Relief Association waa held at Stratford yesterday morning, in order to conaider correspondence forwarded by the Auckland War Relief Association to the Advisory Board in connection with the rssietrnce of Taranaki sick and wounded who are reriding outside of Taranaki. Present: I Messrs. W. P. Kirkwood (chairman), Tos|land, Atkinson, G. young, Stevenson, A. E. [Washer, W. J. Chaney and W. A. Power (secretary). Apologies for absence were 'received from Messrs. H. B. liurdekin, C. 'A. Larcombe and Taylor. On toe motion i f the chairman a vote [of sympathy with the relatives of the lace j W. E. Percival u as passed, uiembcrs standling. 1 The chairman said that from the re- ; polls which had gone through the Press •it would appear that the association was neglecting the ictumed men, but this was 1 not the case. The. association had spent £22,000 on relief grants to returned men, and £32,000 in helping oermanently disabled men. In . asea where men showed a 40 jier cent, diaability the aseoriution would provide them with ntcessitiee, but th,e association was not going to provide things r or perfectly fit men. The War Funds Council to-day had a fund of over £loo,ooo| so that there would be sufficient money to derJ with cases su?h as did not come in the scope of the Taranaki Association. The Taranaki policy to provide for the permanently disabled men and hold a rei /e if possible. Unforkmately this wad not possible. There was a

(tendency by the GovenjUrtiit o cucoursig* the hoarding of fuiu’s throughout Naw | Zealand. Thera was an alleged policy of conserving funds. Ho thought that the i fact of the administration of funds being 4" high proved 1: nr the Taranaki ;>oLcy of paying oul inijneffiately should be adupt|.’d throughout Ntw Zealand. It was wrong . of the Government to encourage hoarding of funds. Unfortuni rely the men whq [were to be assisted by the money were passing to the Great Beyond. Re torrs 'showed that of the men who bad returned ten a.cr-.ige of 1 in 60 had died, and the j matter of distributing the money should I be gone into at the meeting of the Adivisorj’ Board. I Mr. Atkinson said the association .should •endeavor to obtain assistance for men outj side of Taranaki from the War Fund Councih A case came before tho last emergency | meeting of the association which was ■ quite a deserving one, but quite outside I rhe scheme A man, after long service, ihad returned fit, but owing to an accident (in private life, had become partially paralysed. This man snould receive relief from I the money which the War Funds Council ■ was holding. The chairman said that many of the cases placed before the association were of men "down on their luck" lor the time being. The association could not afford to help these men. The War Funds Council was not the only oody that was hoarding. One association had a sum of £75.000 placed out for 25 yeara. Mr. Toslaud said that a good many civilians, as well as soldiers, were feeling the stress of hard times, and the I association could not help soldiers who | were only suffering in this way. Ide I thought the association should persevere in its policy. The chairman said that he had been in- . formed that the members of rhe com mitI tee of the Taranaki Association would be (personally liable for any further moneys paid out. Mr. Stevenson said that he was quite satisfied with the policy of the association. It w’as absurd to hoard up money for people to use in fifteen or twenty years, when there was not enough to go round now. The Taranaki people subscribed to the War Fund Council’s £lOO,OOO and should have a say in the disposal of it. The chairman said that the Taranaki Association was the only one in New Zealand which had adopted a definite policy of administration and a practical policy. Other associations were marking time aod looking for a policy. The chairman said that the meeting would reassure the Taranaki people. The Auckland Association had stated that the Taranaki Association was not helping sick and wounded soldiers. As a matter of fact the Taranaki Association was doing more than any other association. Mr. G. Young said that the Taranaki policy had proved successful, and the action of the Government in encouraging hoarding was deplorable. In reply to a question by Mr. Chaney the chairman said that as soon as every man who applied was proved to be 40 per cent, disabled he received assistance. Very few applications for necessitous cases were received from outside districts.

On the motion of Mr. Atkinson, it was decided to appoint Mr. W. P. Kirkwood as the Taranaki Association’s delegate to the War Funds Advisory Board, Mr. W. A Power to represent the association if Mr.. Kirkwood is unable to be present. On the motion of Mr. Atkinson it was decided to place the following remit befort the Advisory- Board: "That in the opinion of the association the time haa_arrived when the funds controlled by tfie__ Wat Funds Council should be admiiumeiad.. ta necessitous cases ihrtyre jjg,