THE CALL FOR RECRUITS

Dominion, Volume 33, Issue 87, 6 January 1940, Page 10

THE CALL FOR RECRUITS

It is not at all surprising that the official local send-offs to the various sections of the first echelon of the Special Force for oveiseas service should have stimulated recruiting. At Christchurch and at Auckland, as well as at Wellington, citizens gathered in their tens of thousands to pay tribute to the men ,who had so readily answered the call to duty. The sight of the troops marching through the streets of the cities must have stirred the hearts of many young men uncertain as to where their immediate duty lay; just as the parade of splendid manhood filled with pride and confidence those of an older generation who recalled similar scenes of a quarter of a century ago. No doubt recruiting will be stimulated by the fine example of the members of the first echelon, brought so prominently under public notice by this week’s parades. It is certain, too, that the manner in which citizens have seized the opportunity to pay tribute to the sailots of the warship Ramillies and other vessels which have called at our ports must have a useful effect in directing attention to the urgent need for pressing forward with the country’s war measures. Ihe proposal just announced by the Government to provide financial assistance for those soldiers who may have fixed obligations for which their pay on military service is inadequate, is another step which should prove of value in encouraging enlistment. There are no doubt many men who have incurred obligations by way of mortgages, insurance policies, etc., which could not be met out of their pay as soldiers and the decision of the Government to meet these payments up to a reasonable amount is a proper one. Conceding all these things as likely to encourage recruiting, there still remains the objection to the voluntary system of enlistment that it does not afford the opportunity to make the most effective and equitable use of the nation’s manpower, such as would be possible under a planned system of compulsory universal service based on a national register of the adult population. The Government, however, has made it plain that it is determined to continue for the present with voluntary recruiting and it may be hoped, therefore, that with the assistance it is receiving in a variety of new directions the response will be sufficient to meet the immediate needs of the situation.