PLACING THE SOLDIER

Wairarapa Times-Age, 15 July 1941, Page 5

PLACING THE SOLDIER

IN FARMING OR OTHER INDUSTRY MR MULHOLLAND’S PROPOSALS. ALTERNATIVE TO PAYMENT OF GRATUITY. IBy Telegraph—Press Association. I WELLINGTON. This Day. In his address at the annual conference of the New Zealand Farmers’ Union, the Dominion president (Mr W. W. Mulholland) dealt with many aspects of war and after-war problems. Dealing with the re-establishment of soldiers in civil life, he discussed landsettlement questions, observing in part that the concentration of the demand for land which, had the war not intervened, would have been spread over a number of years into the time immediately following the discharge of soldiers upon the termination of the war. would, apart from anything else have a tendency to inflate land prices. “Added to this." he continued, "is the fact that, because of their war service a large number of soldier seekers after land will have little recent knowledge of land values to guide them. Some positive action to prevent the undue rise of prices is necessary. This is a delicate and difficult subject, and emphatically should not be handled by doctrinaires.

“I must express my disagreement with the idea held in some quarters, that we should proceed now to prepare lands for soldier occupants so that they may step into completely appointed farms on their discharge,” said Mr Mulholland. “To do this under present conditions is far too costly, and would result in an indebtedness attaching to the land which its production could not possibly meet. But more important are the twin considerations that, at the. moment, wo need all the labour and material that we can possibly spare from our bare necessities for the fighting of the war. and when the rehabilitation time comes, we will then need the work and other opportunities which the development of these lands will give in order to absorb, in profitable employment with a prospective future ahead, the discharged men foi whom otherwise we may have difficulty in finding occupation.” Having expressed the opinion that high costs in this country would limit the expansion of manufacturing and processing industries, Mr Mulholland went on to contend that: “The system of paying a cash bonus on discharge, adopted after the last war, should not be again adopted, except that it is' the duty of the State to see that the soldier has a reasonable amount of money to enable him to get civilian equipment and to have the opportunity to obtain employment, or otherwise establish himself in civilian life. A better proposition, even though it may involve a very much higher initial liability, would be to make a capital sum of say, £5OO available to each soldier, at the discretion of a proper authority, on his taking up some enterprise. In this connection it might be well to encourage groups of soldiers to take up cooperative enterprise in secondary industry and commerce, provided they have the requisite skill and directive ability and reasonable prospects of success. I would again urge that a period of at least two years from their discharge should elapse before they enter into any permanent undertaking. Those who did not immediately require this capital provision for use in a venture should not have the right tc handle the money. Nor should they lose their right to it by effluxion of time. It might be held at interest for them until such time as they might require it, and in the event of their not requiring it, it could be regarded as the purchase of an annuity becoming available at a reasonably early age.”