COMPULSORY SERVICE.

Press, Volume LI, Issue 15449, 30 November 1915, Page 3

COMPULSORY SERVICE.

f TO THE EDITOR OK "THE PRESS." .Sir, —The question of the expediency of the introduction of compulsory service—military and otherwise—in the immediate future, is one that is cxercisit.g tho minds of many people, not i only in this country, but throughout ; the Empire. Jn your article to-day you remark that '•nobody can say that the voluntary system h'us failed, and nobody can confidently predict its failure in the future.*' L'p to the present time it certainly has not failed to provide the men required, but i in the immediate future we are faced I with a marked shortage «f recruits in several of the military districts. "What can we say of the remote future? Will it produce sufficient reinforcements till ; the end of the war:-' jf nobody can I confidently predict the failure of 'the I voluntary system of recruiting in the 1 future, can anybody confidently nrej diet the date on which recruiting of ■ any kind will cease to be necessary— j the date of the end of the war:* j As compulsion cannot be introduced land applied without considerable delay, the interval between the time when it becomes apparent that voluntaryism has failed, and the time of j lull development of a compulsory sys- ; tern, will necessarily be a long one, • and the question must be anxiously 1 asked: What will happen to our men '■ at the front in that interval? The j "wastage" is bound to continue, they j will be dangerously weakened, and ; their efficiency, as a force, bound to I deteriorate. 1 We are still well behind in our race jto a successful finish in the ivar and iwe shall require all the men we can equip throughout the Empire to j emerge successfully. If a shortage of : recruits is threatened now what will I be the state of affairs one, two or i even, possibly, three years hence? It j is obvious, surely, to* the most opti- ; mistic that our enemies hare, at pre--1 sent, tho better of the position on land. It is dangerous to take for granted any particular limitation of their resources, either in men or money. .Before any claim to victory (can be made they will havo to bo d'V ' possessed of the great areas of tho Allies' countries they at present occupy. This cannot bo done without great sacrifices, and a constant stream of men must be in training to fill the places of those who fall by tho way. With compulsion these will be called up when required, and the fittest will ,be selected, at probably a higher standard of physical development than j is accepted at present, and wc shall 1 hear no more about shirkers and young ladies with white feathers. Xe.w Zealand, which, if the Allies lose the war. will certainly bo demanded by Germany as a gem in her new colonial Empire, and which, as the Hon. Dr.« McXab says, has thus more at stake than even Britain herself, should be willing to lead the way. The national registration will shortly reveal the opinion of those most nearly concerned—the single men. "We all confidently expect the. great majority will express their willingness to serve if called upon. If n majority arc willing, then a minority should not be I permitted to share in the triumph I without sharing in the danger.—Yours, i etc.. SERVICE. Xovember 27th. ipio.