The Bay of Plenty Times TUESDAY, APRIL 6, 1948. COMPULSORY TRAINING SIDE-STEPPED

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXXVI, Issue 14638, 6 April 1948, Page 2

The Bay of Plenty Times TUESDAY, APRIL 6, 1948. COMPULSORY TRAINING SIDE-STEPPED

In announcing New Zealand : s defence policy, after nearly t nee years of verv uneasy peace, the Minister of Defence has not ei reu on the side of haste.' In side-stepping the issue of compulsory tiaming Mr Jones has skilfullv evaded the risk of making his government unpopular "with a hundred thousand or so. voters and potenuai voters, throughout the country, , . It is a matter for widespread regret that the government ha., not seen fit to reintroduce training for all boys m their late teens and for young men up to the age of twenty-five. Apart from ine physical and mental benefits which the trainees themselves would derive from such experience, it is a fact which is often overlooked that the fighting traditions of the New Zealand soldier were hrmij established, in the war of 1914-18, by men who had had such training as boys and in their early manhood. The smallness of the number of enthusiasts who continued to give their time to fit themselves for military service, in the volunteer days between 1930 and the outbreak of the last war, is an indication of the support likely to be accordedjhe present scheme. _ At the same time it must not be forgotten that those same few enthusiasts provided the nucleus of experienced men for the first, echelon m 1939. .Unfortunately for the success of the volunteer system today most young men are too well provided for financially, and with leisure time, for them to see the necessity of giving up either advantage in the service of their country in peace-time. The war of 1939-45 served'to bring the islands of the Pacific above New Zealand's defence horizon. It is in keeping with our experience during those years that we should establish bases nearer to the equator as bastions of the Dominion's defence system, and that we should provide the necessary lines of communication and the means of defending them. The projected increases in the_ strength of the Navy and the Air Force, while erring on the side of caution, are nevertheless sound strategy. It is' reassuring that, in both instances, measures have been taken to co-ordinate our efforts with those of other Commonwealth countries, particularly with those of Australia. Two world struggles within thirty-five years have demonstrated the increasingly important part played by science in modern war. The extent of the contributions of our scientists in the last war is not as well known as it should bo It is pleasing therefore to see that their knowledge and experience are to be utilised now to ensure that New Zealand does not lag behind in technical development.