HELPING RECRUITING

Evening Post, Volume CXXIX, Issue 31, 6 February 1940, Page 8

HELPING RECRUITING

(To the Editor.)

Sir,—On January 28, the Prime Minister (the Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage), hi a stirring broadcast, appealed lor recruits for the New Zealand armed forces. He wondered if the thousands who had been camping in our innumerable beauty spots, and the crowds who thronged the racecourses, knew or realised that if Britain were beaten, the good times were over for ever. I doubt it. I was present at Trentham to witness the running of the Centennial Cup race. Behind me, on the steps of the grandstand, one man said to his friends, "Look at those 'mugs' over there." I looked, and he was pointing to a fence near the camp, where our soldiers were quietly waiting to see the race run. I turned and said, "Yes, they are there, going to fight for their country, and so enable mugs like you to attend races." I did not see which way they went, neither did I care. The first echelon has departed, the second is in camp, and it is about time these others lounging round the beaches and picture shows sat up and took some notice of the international situation. The women of New Zealand can help, too. It is not brave to say, "My Jack is not going. They know where to find him if they want him. Don't make it hard for your boy. Every woman can help her country. As I write this, the Prime Minister is making his second appeal .and is asking again for recruits, saying the time has now come for men to fight. New Zealand is at war, because there was no honourable alternative. Men are needed. —I am, etc.,

A NEW ZEALAND WOMAN,