The Press. Monday. February 14, 1916. The Recruiting Campaign.

Press, Volume LII, Issue 15513, 14 February 1916, Page 6

The Press. Monday. February 14, 1916. The Recruiting Campaign.

There are now published, in a telegram from "Wellington, some particulars of a highly important feature of the recruiting campaign. AYo aro surprised that this information was not made public at the time of the first definite announcement that the scheme "was about t-j be put in hand, for, while there aro details "which can be settled only as circumstances arise, the broad principles d, : the schcme ought obviously to bo aorked out before anything is done. It aow appears that the canvass is to ex:end to the married as "well as to the n.married, and this is very Tight and proper. The campaign will aim at se:uring two classes of men—Class A, sensisting of men who enlist for definite and. Class. Tl. "onsistinjt of

I men who are willing to come up at four- • toon days' notice as required. iShouKI I there be any defieieney in a particular draft, or should men he required "to | " meet a sudden demand,'* a call will be made upon the men in B. These wiil be called up in the following older, as far a.s possible:—l'll Single I men without, dependents: "-in.—' <■' men with dependents and married men without children ; < : ') married men with two or fewer children: 1!) widowers | with children : and <">> married men | with two or more children, 'liiis subdii vi.-ion might, pc.s?ibly be improved upon, but it is on the whole, a reasonably successful attempt to grade fairly tho various decrees <ii responsibility amongst men v. i tli dependents. I. nless there are details which are still withheld, or which have not been settled. | we can foresee a possibility of difficulties and injustices, Jf, in any particular district, the enlistments for the next half-dozen drafts are small —if Class A. consisting, on the whole, of men cnlistin.** for the drafts of the distant future — it will becomo necessary to have recourse to the men in Class J3 at a very early date. AA'o might see crowds ot single men without dependents, who have enlisted, for the distant drafts, going about with their badges, and regularly seeing off at the railway station married men and single men -with dependents who have been called up at a fortnight's notice to make good tho deficiencies in current drafts. The unencumbered unmarried man "who, without really being unwilling to serve., is anxious to put off doing his duty until tho latest, possible date, might enlist for, say, the 2-lth lleinforccmcnts. The encumbered man who is desirous of doing his duty, and unwilling to put his name down for service at a date later than the date upon which he ma wbo really required, will enlist in Class 13, and, apparently, he may be liable to be called up before his unencumbered friend i'l Class A. If there are safeguards against this manifest impropriety, they do not appear in tho telegraphed explanation of the system, nor in the slightly longer explanation given to the Wellington newspapers. The only real safeguard, it •will be found upon reflection, is tho adoption of the principle of the' Derby campaign, which was this: That the obligation of the married man (.hm'c wo recognise the equivalent status of tho single man with dependents to support), will not begin until all but a negligible proportion of those with less responsibilities or no responsibilities have been called up. If they are convinced that voluntaryism will give U3 ali the men we want (and wo believe it will) the Government ought not to have any hesitation about copying the essentials of the Derby scheme. The Auckland "Star," which supports us in this matter, has made a point to which the new particulars of the impending campaign give an added force. "Supposing," it says, "that a married man "with a family is asked if he is will- " ing to enlist, and when he can go into " camp. His answer in most cases will be that he is willing to serve " when bis turn comes, which is what " the Government knows in many cases " already. through the National Regis- '■ ter. Something more definite is wanted." There ought, clearly, to bo a limit to the qualifications for enrolment in Class A; men should not be so enrolled unless their enlistment is lor tho current draft, or, at any rate, for an carry draft. Moreover, something more definite than the phrase j '"as far as possible," or "as far as prac- " ticable," should govern the calling- j up of the grades of Class B in order. i