JOINING THE COLOURS

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2499, 28 June 1915, Page 6

JOINING THE COLOURS

LATEST RECRUITS

AMBULANCE MEN CHOSEN

The latest list of names of Wellington recruits is:—

Arthur James Gillman, Civil Servant. Donald Budgo, labourer. Charles M. Kirkland, plumber. Joseph M. Preston, clerk. M. H. M'Cabe, labourer. H. S. Manning, clerk. J. G. Brittain, custodian. E. J. Nilsson, labourer. On Saturday morning the following ambulance men wero sent into camp at Trentham:—B. Broock, H. Clarke, W. G. InneSj A. G. Hay, C. 11. Gardner, H. R. Ryan, F. H. Johnson; A. F. Waugh, \V H. Powell, C. H. Burke, 0. A. Mangiu. To-day or to-morrow: H. Firth, L. Mann, P. G. Paget, M. Badger, P. S. Babone.

In the Trentham camp —Captain Stout, N.Z.M.C., has been appointed len-porary major, and Acting-Prinoipal Xedical Officer. The following are the medical officers in charge of the various branches of the Camp Hospital, under the P.M.0.: —Hospital surgeon, Captain Fergnson, N.Z.M.C.; officer in charge of infectious diseases, Captain Harris, N.Z.M.C. THE RECRUITING SYSTEM NOT AN UNEMPLOYMENT RELIEF. MEDICAL TEST DISCUSSED. Some comment on more recent complaints about the working of our recruiting system were made by the Hon. James Allen (Defence Minister) on Saturday. "There are men," he said, "who complain that we will not take them into camp immediately after they enlist when they are out of work, and who eay that they have left their work to enlist. I am not saying for a moment that there are not cases of this kind, but I do know that there are cases of another kind. 1 hav& one before me now. This man was sent to me by a publio man in an important position, who had been told by -this man that he had left work in order to enlist. This is the truo story. The man admits that he registered because he was out of work, and that he is not out of work because lie registered. The Staff say, and I quite agree with them, that men of this kind should not be givon preference to men who have registered their names earlier than they. That is my view, and I stand by that."

Mr. Allen also referred to tie agitation in somo centres in favour of relaxing or varying the regulations defining the standard of physical fitness required for the Expeditionary Force. "The evidence given to me," ho said, "is that our medical test is not too high, but that, if anything, it is too low. The proof of that is that men who have come into camp and undergone a part of their training are. discovered, after the Government has had all the expense of bringing them into oanip, and feeding and trainin" and paying them there, to be medically unfit. Some actually get through the camp and are proved on the transports to be unfit. It is waste of time and money to take men like this into camp, and then find that they are not fit to send to -the front. This happens even with our present medical test,_ so that it can not be said to be too high. AVe want men who remain efficient until they got to the front."