"The Digger."

Digger (Invercargill RSA), Issue 15, 25 June 1920, Page 8

"The Digger."

FRIDAY, JUNE 25, 1920. T.B. MEN. The position of T.B. men throughout the Dominion is one that must not be lost sight- of. There is a tendency, and a very natural one, that these men sink into a degree of isolation when they become absorbed into civilian life. In the interests of themselves and the public health, no effort should be spared which will help to restore these men to health and enable them to enjoy the good things of life and make them self-supporting. Those of us who have been more fortunate are apt to forget th? suffering of these men and the miserabie existence a large number of them must have, These men's difficulties have arisen from standing day after day in water and mud and they must receive special attention to ensure effective repatriation. The R.S.A. Conference interviewed the Minister of Lands regarding these men being repatriated on to the land, and it would seem that the most effective method of repatriation would be to place them on small farms such as fruit, poultry, and bees. In a medically certified climate -and under satisfacto^y conditions it would be of immense" value to these men and make them self-support-ing. Notwithstanding anything we have said regarding the duties we owe to these men in seeing that they are adequately provided for, the men themselves should also consider it a duty to avail themselves of the repatriative measures available. Mr Gunion, who is actipg under the jurisdiction of the Dunedin Repatriation Department, assured our representative that very few of the men knew what provision was made for them. This set of conditions has necessitated his trip to Southland, where he will personally interview as many men as possible. There would be no need for this procedure if the men

themselves were to ascertain the facts of the case. Mr Guthrie has stated thst these cases were difficult to deal with, especially as there was always a grave risk of the men breaking down and being unable to meet their obligations. In such fcases Ihe Land Board has power to make concessions in the way of postponement of rent or interest, which is ultimately collected cn the instalment system. This is all very well as far as it goes, but our faith in Ministerial statements has. been somewhat sliaken of late, in fact both Mr Massey 's and Mr Guthrie's promises come within the category of a "scrap of paper," and no longer have the value of assuring returned men that the right thing will be done and that their promises \Vill be carried into practical effect. Mr Gunion stated that the principal obiect of his mission was to acquaint all T.B. men of existing facilities. At Tauherenikau there is a State Farm where these men are specially provided for. There are shelters, libraries, and places of amusement for them. In the daytime information is imparted to them on bees, fruit, stock, poultry, and other kindred subjects associated with farming. This knowledge is an extension accompanied by practical demonstration of lectures given at the sanatorium. Up to this point the State has adopted vhe right line of action in providing their. with a requisite amount of knowledge essential to successfully prosecute any of these branches of the farming industry. Here is the real difficulty. The State has trained the man and the State has robbed him .of the opportunity of putting his knowledge into operation and of making him a self-supporting producer. By lts own ill-considered action and the sacrihce of the value of a promise it has curtailed the Discharged Soldiers' Settlement Act to such an extent as to make it practically ineffective as far as the repatriation of these men 'are concerned. The operations of the Act when Parliament meets and a further allocation is made for settlement will not be the same as in the past unless every returned soldier stands by the Association and "four shoulders square." It is -possible that we will find Ministers sheltering under whatever may be meant by their pet phrase' "Special circumstances." But this can only be meaningless in viewing the Government 's recent action in curtailing the provisions of the "Discharged Soldiers' ' Settlement Act." T.B. men throughout \Southland should lose no timo in getting into touch with Mr Glass, secretary of the Invercargill Repatriation Department, and getting full particulars as to what is available. The Department will er,ect shelters, glass in verandahs, and, as previously indicated, provide for their training. Applications for shelters, etc., should be made to the medical officer of the district, and in the case of men being broken down in health and requiring further treatment, application to the Defence department is necessary.