UNIVERSAL TRAINING.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 320, 6 October 1908, Page 11

UNIVERSAL TRAINING.

■i, ' * :— ■ SOME SUGGESTIONS. (BT TELEGBArH.—SI'ECIAI COKUEsroNDEHT.) Ounedin, October's. " itif. ,le "' s cabled from Melbourne that the Military Hoard has approved of a system" of universal training, tbe "Star" ha* collected .the opinions of a number of men who are entitled to speak on the subject as applied to New Zealand; I append one as a readable and instructive sample. "Here is.a district with a population of 6000. We can't raise sixty-three men, and then it is a most 'difficult matter to- get them to turn out; to: parades. Everything comes before volunteering with them. In the winter there is football, and two nights a week (Tuesday and Thursday) are dovoted to training. Wednesday seems to be the recognised night for courting, Friday for dancing, and Saturday for doing the town. ' That leaves Monday, as the only night available for parade. This defence question is going to be a good thing. Good men won't take up volunteering:;.; A lot of men wo have now can't stand any strain. A day's marching, and they arfi'dbile. ' A number of officers have dropped out of'the service disheartened. .They never Beenied. to get any further forward after working for years. ■ The universal system would not. necessarily be more expensive. At present the Government are not getting vdlue for- the money spent on volunteering. They .need not have more corps than at present, but merely to keep all corps up to full strength: Universal service need not interfere. with a man's business either, except once a'yenr,..when lie goes into camp. A man fhoulii'.'-eive two years, and then go into the Trservos. Keep on drafting the men so that everyone #cU trained. This is a.qucstiim .that tile politicians won't iface. They have ' I lie idc<» thnt they would lose votes, .but 1 believe the people would go for it if they..,had it put before them, for they realise thnt volunteering lias had its day. One of the objections to volunteering is that the whole year round the volunteer has to give up all his spare afternoons and holidays to parades, rifle ,-witches, etc. AVith universal service a man could get the necessary training at parades held, say. ; three nights a week for, say, six months in the year, finishing ud wich manoeuvres ill tho field.