Evening Post FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 1942. ARMY AND PUBLIC

Evening Post, Volume CXXXIV, Issue 99, 23 October 1942, Page 4

Evening Post FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 1942. ARMY AND PUBLIC

A civilian army, such as New Zealand's, has so many close points of contact with the general public, personal and otherwise, that accounts of its activities and explanations of its difficulties are welcome. This is especially so when the source of the information is fully authoritative. There is no one better qualified to speak of the Army's problems than the General Officer Commanding, Lieutenant-General Puttick, and the public will appreciate the frankness lie has displayed' in the interview published yesterday. When men are taken from their civilian occupations and placed under military discipline they encounter an entirely new set of conditions, and often they and the public behind them are puzzled. It is well, then, that the man responsible for the training and welfare of the men who make up New Zealand's large civilian Army should occasionally take the public into his confidence. In this way much can be achieved to bring about that co-operation between Army and public which is essential. On the question of the accommodation provided for trainees General Puttick was eminently reasonable. He admitted quite frankly that some of the criticism was justified. Of course, the Army cannot be blamed for many of the conditions that have sometimes obtained. Provided its needs have been made known, the responsibility for meeting them rests, on the Government. Some probably j could not have been avoided; others no doubt could have been if there had been a greater measure of foresight. The point that the public will J be interested in, however, is that! General Puttick and the officers associated with him are genuinely concerned to assure the comfort and welfare of the men under them, and that, in spite of the difficulties, every effort is being made to improve camp conditions. The General's statement that an improvement in the conditions in certain types of camps should be effected by next winter will be particularly reassuring. General Puttick's references to the training difficulties experienced by the Army owing to the withdrawal of men from camp into essential work will also be appreciated. The loss of 10,000 men in three months naturally must have had a very upsetting effect on training schedules and added very materially to the Army's problems. Under the circumstances probably this could not be avoided, but there is one aspect of the matter on which the public are entitled to feel some concern. Certain men, because they are engaged on essential work, are exempted from service in the Army. They retain all the privileges and pay of civilian life. Others are put in khaki and then called on to assist in certain classes of work —on the waterfront, for instance —at Army rates of pay. Whether the difference between Army pay and the rates normally paid for such work is, as has been suggested, paid into regimental or similar funds or not, the fact remains that the men are placed in an anomalous position. Such a procedure is inadvisable as tending to cause dissatisfaction, and the sooner that overlapping between Army and civilian duties is eliminated the better it will be.