BALLOTED MEN

Evening Post, Volume CXXX, Issue 127, 25 November 1940, Page 9

BALLOTED MEN

MEDICAL FITNESS

POSITION IN WELLINGTON

OVER HALF REJECTED

Medical examination of men drawn from the Wellington and Hutt Valley area in the second Territorial ballot has now been proceeding for a fortnight, and an analysis of the figures shows that approximately 54 peF cent, of those examined have been rejected as permanently or temporarily unfit for service—24 per cent, as temporarily unfit and 30 per cent, as permanently unfit.

The figures are as follows: —Total examined during two weeks up to Saturday, 2383; fit, 1111; temporarily unfit, 564; permanently \xnZl. 708.

When considering ttie apparently high rate of unfitness disclosed by. these examinations, it must be borne in mind that the ballot is drawn from all men within the age group regardless of their condition of health. But more important still, the reserve does not include many thousands of single men who have been passed fit and are already serving in or have been accepted for the three branches of the service—Navy, Army, and Air Force. It will be obvious that if all those fit men were included in the section of the population from which the ballot has been taken the medical examinations would show a much more favourable result.

For the same reason no fair basis of comparison between medical examinations of balloted men and those who enlisted under the voluntary system can be arrived at. Generally speaking men who were puilering from some disability which they knew would preclude their acceptance into the armed forces did not volunteer, but they have been liable for selection by ballot.