ADVENTURE CALLS

Evening Post, Volume CXXIX, Issue 64, 15 March 1940, Page 8

ADVENTURE CALLS

SERVICE OVERSEAS

CHANCE FOR YOUNG MEN

RECRUITING APPEAL

An appeal to the young men of New Zealand to grasp the opportunity for adventure and comradeship offered, by war service overseas was made by Colonel C. H. Weston, K.C., speaking at the recruiting rally and community sing held in the Town Hall today. The aim of the recruiting rallies was to induce the young men of New Zealand to enlist for overseas service, and to do so now without delay, the colonel said. To every man his motives were known to himself only. "Today, what I should like to emphasise, is the motive of adventure — the spirit of adventure," he said, "Since the end of the last war, the advocates of peace in New Zealand have urged upon its people the futility of war, its waste —its horrors. And rightly so. We all look forward to the day when there will be no more war, but these advocates of peace, and some 'of them were and are today advocates of peace at any price, have overlooked the fact that war is one of the greatest of human paradoxes. It is futile, it.is wasteful, it is, horrible, and yet to wage it successfully the soldiers of a nation must possess and use the finest , 1 qualities of which the human race is capable: not so much material or physical qualities such as strength and fitness, a quick hand and a keen eye, but the great spiritual qualities of courage, unselfishness, loyalty, endurance, and patience. The best soldiers have a good measure of these qualities, and without them the physical qualities are useless. "So there we have the position that to be, a complete soldier a man has to be like Captain Oates who went out into the snow, and whom Captain Scott described as a very gallant gentleman. War brings out the best in men, and those who have had the privilege of being on active service cannot adequately express the respect they have for their comrades-in-arms. In all weathers, *n all difficulties, in all dangers, they never fail their mates. A LURID PICTURE. "Our advocates of peace in their enthusiasm have drawn a lurid picture of war. Especially they have painted in dark colours the fear, the risk of death, the pain and penalty of being maimed. And again they are right; the great majority of soldiers admit, at any rate at times, to a sense of fear. A great many were killed, and still more were wounded for life. We can't vouch for the feelings of our dead comrades, but at a gathering of old soldiers do you ever hear talk of their wounds? The thoughts uppermost in their minds are of the enduring comradeship, the interest, the excitement, the thrill of it. They say, weighing up everything carefully and solemnly, that they would never have missed the great adventure whatever the price. They regard it as a gift of the Gods to have had a part in it. There are many who for some good reasons, health or family ties, cannot go. They are the unfortunate ones, and in years to come they will curse their luck. "To our people the spirit" of adventure has been the most powerful of motives. New Zealand itself is the result of that spirit in our grandparents or- the great-grandparents ofthe younger generation of today. It was ,mainly the spirit of adventure that some 600 years ago took King Richard and his Crusaders to Palestine, where today the Australians are. It was that spirit that sent Drake-and his merry men to the West Indies of I Golden Lure. British soldiers, sailors, explorers, and merchants throughout the centuries have been urged by it to try their luck in the adventures Ox our j race. They did not wait for adventure ■'. to come, they sought them. - ] "THE LIFE APPEALS." 'Even to those of us who are not heroes born, the life appeals. Fresh I air, good exercise, happy companions, j food and clothing found, well paid, and no worries, strange countries and i strange peoples to' see and mcct —the | life is packed full of thrills and ! fascinating experiences. y . \ "And what chances for young men. j I know a man who asserts the last war was won bY the office boy, and I agree with him. We saw boys of 25 commanding battalions with all the re-| sponsibility that entailed —boys of thatj age charged with the comfort and health and lives of 1000 men. Names occur such as Colonel Mead, Colonel Hargest, Colonel Barraclough, Colonel Jardine, and there were others, mere boys, but great commanders. "War uncovers men's character with searching fingers; fighting alongside them you see them as they are. Men benefit by having to shoulder responsibility, and in the New Zealand Forces there are no class or social distinctions. Every man gets his chance of promotion. If he deserves it he gets it and in my experience very few proved incapable. "I believe, for some unknown reason, there was a greater . percentage of lawyers commanding battalions than any other profession; some ill-natured people said the reason was that they know how to charge. But, generally speaking, all classes and all occupa-1 tions and trades were represented amongst the officers. The New Zealander is a natural leader and does not fail when the job of leading is given to him. "BETTER FOR THE EXPERIENCE." "I believe every man who has beeni a soldier and on active service for) even a few weeks is the better for that experience. For the time being he is face to face with the deep realities of human existence, and in after years his measure of the values of life is a more accurate one. - "One or two of my younger friends have asked my advice as to what they should do, and I have told them to seize the chance of going, with both hands, while they have it. The war is not of their making and they are not responsible for its commencement, and they can go with a clear conscience. There is an insistent call to all who can go, and their plain duty is to fight for everything they hold dear, for all they hold dear is at stake. I As Providence has presented them with a Great Adventure clothed with duty, let them take it with gratitude that the opportunity is theirs. "It is harder for our womankind who must stay behind, but I say to mothers and sweethearts, and in some cases wives, encourage your boys to go. Many of them want to know that you, too, can face the decision they wish to make that you, too, can share with them'in giving to a Crusade for principles on which our Empire stands. Help them to make the decision." Fines of £5 on one charge of a breach of the , Oil Fuel Regulations, and £2 10s on four others, were imposed upon Progress Motors. Ltd., by i Mr. W. F. Stilwell, S.M., in the MagisI trate's Court. Three other charges [were dismissed. The cases were heard I last Friday, and the Magistrate then - reserved his decision*