TAKING THE NATIONAL REGISTER.

Press, Volume LI, Issue 15421, 28 October 1915, Page 6

TAKING THE NATIONAL REGISTER.

HOW THE WORK IS PROGRESSING. MISTAKES TO BE AVOIDED. (special to "the press.") WELLINGTON, October 27. The work of taking tho national register has now been fairly begun, and already the Government Statistician has received packages of completed schedules from as far away as Christchurch. He has received, however, only some 2000 in all. In the course of the next day or two he expects to receive many thousands more, and by the beginning of next week a staff of 30 or 40 officers will be engaged in the examination and classification of tho cards.

The Registrar said to-day that the questions were being answered fairly satisfactorily, but some fow had volunteered information for which they were not- asked. Others had omitted to supply information, chiefly about dejicndents, and a small number had given allegedly funny answers. A frequent omission made, in filling in tho card, is for the signatory to leave blank tho spaco for tho name of the town or county in which ho resides. Fortunately this omission is not serious, because the space can usually l>o filled in by a clerk from the address given in another part of the card. Some men have given too wide a moaning to the term physical infirmity, and when asked to state whether thoy are suffering front any physical defect, have filled in such entries as "varicose veins." Tho question bearing on this point is meant only to refer to blindness. deafness, lameness, loss of a limb, or something of this sort, because obviously men so afflicted must bo classified as unfit. Those who have such defects as varicoso veins, merely, will be classified as fit.

Another mistake that has been made is that men above the age of <15 years have answered questions addressed to men of military age. Still other men who have expressed their willingness to serve as soldiers have also answered questions about civilian service. These latter questions are intended only for those men who for cannot volunteer for active service. No individual register is to be compiled from those cards, so that no useful object can be served by a man giving information .about his own case for which he is not asked.

Tho information supplied bo used only for tho completion of statistics. In all' there will l>e -'1 classes into which men ivill bo divided according to ape. nationality, capacitv to serve, and willin guess to servo. It is understood that fit men of military tage willing to serve w ill Ik- divided into five classes—unmarriod men without dependents, unmarricvi men with dependents. - widowers with dependents, married men with a wife living hut no other dependents, and married men with a wito and other dependents.