THE URGENT CALL

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2588, 9 October 1915, Page 6

THE URGENT CALL

LONG DELAYS

BLAMED FOR LOSS OF RECRUITS

CAMPAIGN PHASES

Among those who disagree entirely with the New Zealand military 6ystem in 60 far as it keeps willing recruits waiting a. considerable timo before they commence their: training, are some prominent Wellington members of the Labour Party. A certain- Trades Hall secretary considers t'ho. present system of onforced delay very costly. . "They're losing recruits by tho dozens," lie says, "and - : air the time they're crying out for men, and . saying, they are short. Of .course they're short, but there's no need for it. Everyone knows that our section of the public, have done .their s'haro of what has been done, but there are plenty of others who would have been in camp; too, only for the long wait. : If they would let men go into camp Tight away, as they do in Australia, there would be no shortage._. Another thing—the delay here 1 is driving men over. ; : to Australia. ] I know!'.personally. that lots of; men have • gone across, because . they can get into camp there right away.",.. ...

"Some men,", ho continued, "h'aTe gone because they have not passed the standard here; and they have passed' it there. That is another feature of our New Zealand system which is losing us meu, and good men, too. A riian isn'tsft., 4in. . or 35 inches round the chest, and they reject him. I : say they' ought t6 lower the standard immediately. The present position is simply ridiculous. A man-six ! feet, high with a 35in. chest .comes along and they accept him, and -what; good is , a man.,of that buikl.' A man' sft./3Jin. in'height,'with a 38-inch .chest, wotdd ho rejected, and he would be' a- miicE bettor soldier than the. tall man."

- A rccoiit' visitor to Wellington was a voung man who had come to New Zealand as one of the Sedgwick boys. He had'been, passed as fit, and bad been on-the . waiting list at Wanganui' s for reonihs. He had got tirod'or'the eternal, wait, and was off to Australia to join there. With. liini. weretwo, other men, leaving, here for the same reason. The following on the'subject of waiting, is from the Auckland "Herald":—

"Afterwaiting for months to.be called into camp my .son is being sent to tho. front with only five, weeks' training," was the statement mado by a well-known Auckland* merchant. "Un-

til ho went into camp he had never had any military training nor i'a service rifle in his life. VThe' father of

this • reoruit explained that some weeks ago eighty men who had volunteered for. service in the mounted rifles from the

Waikato were dispatched"to Trentham' for the; Eighth . Contingent; . •Immedi-' ■ ntely after they entered the camp they were/transferred to' the,'Seveiith. Contingent. .Shortly aftorwards these men returned on final leave, and among them liis 60n, : who spent'about'a ;week .at home and' about threo days in travelling..':. Ho had just'. received , a letter in. which his son stated that lie would, be leaving Wellington' .with- 1 tho .next tingent., From tho day'lie.ehtered camp until the day named:for his departuro would .be exactly six weeks,; aiid; during more than a ,week -Ho'" had' been,absent from 1 ca'mp\on : leave.- "My son. is. •24 years of age,' and, ;I believe, just : r,he;stamp of man who is wanted," isaid clie father of .this volunteer;-* -.''But''lie.

has, not received' sufficient training- to equip him for. the firing line. It has been, stated; that 'the .next contingent will receive further training in . Egypt; ■ but the fifth and sixtli contingents

were sent straight into action,.and we can only conclude later contingents will •bo- equally'.'needed; •■'•My" son tells' me ; that some of his companies' have had no more military knowledge than lie' has.' Thoy have been kept waiting for months to begin their training, and 'now _they ; are. being hurried away : with practicallynone. "Ap_art from' the question' of' the, waste involved by such methods, there is the fact that such'inexperienced men will. not have .oven a. fair . chance of guarding themselves against the dangers of the battlefield."; The . shortage of recruits in Christchurch and the necessity of something being done to encourago enlisting was the subject of a ; discussion' -at a meeting of . tho Executive- Committee of | the Citizens' Corps. The president, Mr. George Harper, _ said that the % necessity, for obtaining . more' recruits , had been . apparent ;.frbm the statements which had been made by the Minister of Defence during the past few days. Canterbury, was a good many 6hort, and" the corps should try and' make. up the deficiency'. The suggestion of having a local camp had been made, and the .Government was to be approached in-connection with -ho matter. The proposal liad: mudh to . commend "it, and he was heartily in favour of the idea, as it would serve to show t'he public what was going on and' would encourage the people to take a greater interest in the men who onlist. At present the only opportunity which i the public had of showing its_ interest in the men was when. the reinforcements went away and the send-off had nover been a success as far as Christclhirch was ooncerned'. In Wel-

lington large numbers of men fre-] quentlv marched through tho city, and' such clisplays . served as an object-les-son to the people and stimulated recruiting there, but in. Christchurch no siich functions wero held. .It had been said that there wore not sufficient drill ''instructors in the country to. permit iof local camps being started, but he felt sure that Christchurch would soon find sufficient instructors to train its men if the local camp was granted. _ The idea was not to have a big training camp'in Christ-church, but just'a-small camp where the men could go as soon as they enlisted, instead of waiting weeks aud even mouths before .they could go to Trentham, where the more rigid training would bo undertaken. If such a camp was started ho felt that .it would greatly aid recruiting, and would also hold the men together better. At present miny, men/were out of work when they enlisted, and it was'a great strugoi* to them to keep, themselves until. the. time when, they

could go away. The local camp would overcome this difficulty,-, and' it, would also enable the men to be taught the elementary principles of drill before tliey left for the larger camps. The following recruits handed in their papers' in Wellington yesterday' Alex. L. Milne', farmer, Gisborne. Daniel Galloway, miner, City. , David 0. Slater, postal clerk, City. ' Harold Thomas, Customs officer, City. N. Barker, labourer, City. F. J. K-. Heath, labourer, Karaka Bay. Norman Hamilton M'Kenzie. Alex. Forbes. Geo. Palmer. John J. Benge. James H. M'Laren. Harold C. Cottrell.