Subsidizing Soldiers’ Pay

Dominion, Volume 33, Issue 3, 28 September 1939, Page 11

Subsidizing Soldiers’ Pay

Sir, —Should public bodies make up soldiers’ pay to its peace-time level? Should a similar movement among private concerns be encouraged, as suggested in a contributed article in Tuesday’s “Dominion”? I say, emphatically, no I Private concerns, in this war, do not know what is ahead of them in regard to taxa-; tion, or to what extent they will be allowed to run their own businesses..' To encourage enlistment by subsidy would be foolhardy and the promise may be unable to be kefrt. Whatever the public bodies and some private concerns do, the large majority of the soldiers will ibe dependent entirely on the soldiers’ pay. What right has a public body, with the taxpayers’ money, to aggravate that undemocratic, economic distinction? Recruiting may be retarded instead of encouraged through young fellows hanging back for this employers’ subsidy. If the war proves a long one, and. married -men, specially with families, are called up, that presents a somewhat different picture to the position at the moment. —I am, etc.. EQUITY. . Palmerston North, -September 26.