MEN WHO NEVER TIRE

Evening Post, Volume LXXXVII, Issue 103, 2 May 1914, Page 6

MEN WHO NEVER TIRE

THE ARMY SERVICE CORPS 'AN INTERESTING INNOVATION. IN THE NEW ZEALAND ARMY. (From Our Special Reporter.)' TAKAPAU CAMP, This Day. It is said by some that they never tire} it 'is' said by others that they never sleep ; It is said by everyone that tlley are the hardest-worked men in the army. The men referred to are the Army Service Corps., They are not super-humans, as the things said about them perhaps would lead the reader to suppose, but just a fine set of fellows with the, gifts of organisation and almost incredible endurance, who provide for the feeding, clothing! and housing of the army 1 . When there is work about they don't hold any stop-work meetings ; they simply get into it, and continue until their particular task is done, no matter how long the hours—whether they be fifteen, eighteen, or twenty-four. The Reason for this is that .they are the men upon whom the army depends, for an army, as everyone ought to Know, depends largely on food supplies. in England the Aimy Service Corps has been brought to such a pitch of perfection that it is the admiration of everyone who is connected with or ' knows, anything about the Army. ■> SOME DOINGS AT TAJKAPAU. New Zealand in the past has been without .the services of an Army Service Corps. Its 'duties hitherto , have teen carried on by specially-deputed officers, who, in addition, have had othei'^ duties to perform, but, with the building up of our present citizen army the establishment of such a corps has become an absolute necessity. It is now in the making. A start Was made last year with the importation of staff ser-geant-majors from tlw Army Service Corps at Home. T/iis was followed by the appointment of Army .Service Corps captains with ' Imperial training at each of the district headquarters, and a few weeks ago it was decided to form two Army Service Corps companies in each of the four Wg military districts. HW essential it is that specially trained men should be employed in this vital branch of the Dominion Defence Forces is now being demonstrated at. the present big encampments, ,and especially at that at Takapau, the biggest of them all. To provide for the transport and doling out of supplies for close upon 6000 hungry men and 1500 horses is no small order, but that is the duty which Captain H. C, Hamilton, Assistant-Direc-tor of Supplies and Transport, and Staff Sergeant-Major Ostler, his assistant, both of them Imperial Army Service Corps men, ai'e inquired to discharge. And they are discharging it successfully, ,so far as the means of transport at their disposal will allow. In order to transport the supplies from the railway station to the camp and distribute the day's rations and numerous other requirements to the various units Captain Hamilton' has a staff of 62 men,' most of them civilians,, and twenty large wagons, which are constantly employed, both officers and men working thirteen and -, fourteen hours a , day and upwards. A special ,Army Service Corps supply depot has been established on the ground, with separate offices, meat store, and butchers' shops combined, grocery store and forage department, in which daily supplies are being received, checked, and doled out according to the requirements of the respective units- The day's rations are generally sent out about 3 p.m., and it is an interesting sight to watch the wagons going out laden with provisions, all j weighed out to the exact pound. BEWILDERING PERPLEXITIES. The fact that nearly 6000 men and 1500 horses have to be fed daily at Takapau gives but little idea of the difficulties that beset the transport officer. His troubles are enough if lie does not know his business and' is not a specially capable ma& to worry him into the asylum or perhaps the next world. The explanation is simple. The Army Servic^ Corps officer, when dealing with troops in the field or in camp, especially the former, never knows where he -is. The requirements of the men in the Army vary every day ; they depend quite as much upon the work they are required to perform as when they perform no work at all. After a hard day's work in the field ot on the parade, ground i the men's appetites develop in proportion, and have to be appeased, whereas if the weather happens tt be "Wet and the men are kept under :anvass they eat less. Add to this the fact that supplies have to be sent out and delivered a day in advance, and some understanding is given of the perplexities that surround the Army Service Corps officer! But the difference in the men's appetities by no nmans mtis his difficulties. He is alike the victim of the unit officer, who does not order his proper supply of rations, and of the man who gives misleading information for the loading and delivery of goods. In the former case it sometimes happens— 'not necessarily at the Takapau encampment — 'that the qualtermaster of a regiment finds himself just before breakfast short of say 100 loaves of bread or 500 chops, and he immediately rushes to the Army Service officer and expects him to deliver the goods at once ! Again, an officer may ring up saying that he wanls' a ton or half a ton of goods delivered from tho railway station, and when asked if he, is. certain that the good? arc there says' that he has just received advice by wire. The A)'my_ Service Corps officer or the man who is supposed to be at the service of everybody forthwith despatches the necessary wagon, only for the flr ver to find that the goods have not arrived. Tbe intelligent regimental man has omitted to mention that the wire he received slated that the goods had just been despatched by train ! And on top of this " the man who never tires " must have due respect for, the pockets of the ever-grumbling taxpayers by seeing that nothing goes to waste. ,If anything goes wrong he is the man who is blamed, j He must make no mistakes, and if anyone else makes them he must discover the fact at once and make the necessary provision- It is a position which few men would care to undertake, but they are to be found nevertheless, and although the butt thsy are at the same time the pride of the Army. Upon the services they have performed up to date, at any rate at Takapau, New Zealand is to be congratulated upon its Army Service Corps officers. With the present men to cfirect New Zealand should soon iwve an Army Service Corps to be proud of. It is hoped to have the corps fn the different districls fully established before the next annual encampments, and their operations will be watched with not a little interest, At the Takapau encampment up till Thursday last Captain Hamilton and his staff nud tlie none too pleasant task of catering for the requirements of the camp with insufficient transport. This deficiency, happily, lias now been remedied.

Mr. J. T. Johnson, who was left in the second ballot for Chalmers at last General Election, has been adopted as the Liberal candidate for the seat (telegraphs our Dunedin correspondent).