WILL YOU JOIN?

Auckland Star, Volume XLVII, Issue 30, 4 February 1916, Page 6

WILL YOU JOIN?

NEW RECRUITING SCHEME. HOW WILL CANVASSERS WORK? NO PLEDGE TO MARRIED MEN. PREMIER AND THE GROUPIST SYSTEXJ. Within a fortnight's time, according to the statement of the Prime Minister, reported elsewhere, the "personal appeal" recruiting scheme will be in full swing, and the new type of recruiting sergeant, j n the elinpe of a house-to-house canvasser, will be calling at the front door to definitely usk whether and when the members of the family of military ago ar? prepared to join the forces. The result of the "persona! appeal" in Britain is now too well known to need further comment, and much of the success of Lord Derby's effort may fairly be attributed to the conditions pledged to the men from whom promises of enlistment were extracted. The main condition, and the one which resulted in Britain's first experiment in compulsion, was the pledge to married men that all eligible single men would first be called upon to discharge tho obligations of citizenship. Tho result was that, interpreting the qualification "if required" in the same sense that thousands of New Zealanders judged it in filling up the National Registration card, hundreds of thousands of married men with families enlisted, trusting to the pledge of the Government to call them up in groups, according to their ability to go, as storn necessity required them to quit their calling's, homes anc families. NO PLEDGE GIVEN. A "Star" representative called on the Prime Minister with a view to ascertaining the principles upon which tho ) canvassers would work — whether the Government of New Zealand was willing to give a similar pledge to that associated with enlistment under Earl Derby's scheme, and whether enlistment would be conditional in any other respect. Mr. Massoy said that it was intended ■J to ask all men of military age whether ' i they wore prepared tn servo, and on ,I what date they would go into camp, ii With regard to the position of married s, men with dependents, the Government ,; had given no pledge at all to call upon I j all the available single mon tirst, but it . I followed as a matter of course that they expected single men to enlist first. He , I did not intend that to be a cast-iron I statement, for naturally there were ''many married men w!\o wanted to go, ■and who could see their way clear to ''enlist, and the country was very glad ' to have them. THE GROCPIN'G SYSTEM. Tho Premier declined to intimate his intentions in regard to the grouping system associated with Karl Derby's scheme, adding that the full text of the circular and instructions sent to the Canvassing Committees would shortly bo made public. "You cannot make a hard and fast rule between married men and single men." reiterated Mr. Maesey. "There are certain married men who are anxiotu t-o go to the front. and are able to make sufficient provision for their dependents to enable them to do bo. Very well, we are not going to shut thorn out. On the other hand, there are single men with dependents and responsibilities who are not able to leave New Zealand, so that a great dea! nf discretion requires to Iμ- exercised on the part of the new recruiting organisation, and on the part of the direct Government representatives." When the position of tho-e married mon wilh families, who would answer tho canvassers, "Yes, if required," in the same sense that they answered the question in the Registration Census —that they were willing to go when the more eligible resources of the country had been exhausted— was put to Mr. Massey he stated that th.it proviso would prac tically obtain here. Married men in that position would only be required to go when the supplies of single mm were exhausted. It should be emphasised however, that tho answer to the vital question in the Registration i-ard was treated as strictly confidential by tli< Government, and the canvassers would not be in possession of the information, as to the reply made. WILL DEVELOP SATISFACTORILY. Afiked again whether, as a guarante< to tho married men who desired tc serve their country when necessity dictated it. there would not be som< grouping system for them under whicl they would be called up according tc age", family obligations, etc.. without having to voluntarily specify a date or which" they wore willing to go, Mr Massev replied that he would not dis ras-s the grouping system, but he l>ai not the slightest doubt th.it the schem< would develop and work out satis factorily.