UNFIT MEN.

Greymouth Evening Star, 13 March 1917, Page 2

UNFIT MEN.

FOR THE FSRING LINE.

COSTLY EXPERIMENTING

Following upon the interviews bearing upon me question uf sending unlit men to can!]), which recently Appeared in the "Star," a letter lias been nan-led id .Air. -\. Alfred Nathan, of Auckland, by a"hi(ly wli i has ji sou in the medical service in England. The letter, which is dated from ylir.j; Camp, Salisbury Plains, makes some remarkable statements regarding the unfitness of a number of the men who are leachirif'. Kruiand lrom New Zealand.

"1 could write at meat length," says ih? letter, "on the laxity ul the authorities in New Zealand m permitting men unlit for service to .come forward with reinforcements for ttie want, of a lit lie weeding out before they leave. 1 have worked jt out roughly mat in tlie past four or live months we have handled and sent back to New Zealand men who have not seen service, being of mi use to the cause in any way, and who have cost ttie Government m pay alone a round sum of iJoU.UUO —that l«, taking into consideration cost of epttipnient, naming, and food. You can imagine what twelve months' figures woimt be, at.d the matter will u<u improve Willi time, unless steps are taken in New Zen land. The standard of the men is not on the improve.

UNFITS NOT WANTED. "Notwithstanding what the papers say about: tiie Eighteenths ben;>, such a line bjily of men," the writer continues, "1 will guarantee that at least 50 per cent are rejected as unlit for service overseas. Tnere are no vacancies at any of the base camps for unfit men who have seen service, and have become unlit through service, and not because they have a chronic complaint to winch they have been subject for vears and which cannot stand the test

here as is so often the case with newarrival-. One fit man is worth 100 unfits, and it would be better far to cut the number down in New Zealand than io do it here after each man has cost the Government from £IOO to £153 to land. If the reinforcements are short, what is the use of filling the gaps with useless men ; better far to be short in the first instance at a small expense than in the last at treble the cost. If they intend to bleed New Zealand of all her manhood who are fit, let them ensure that they are worth the sending before they leave, because they are sure to be found out here. What with the severe climatic conditions and the stringent medical examination both here and in France nobody can escape the detection of their disabilities. A new order lias been issued that no man over 42 will go over until after the winter, and none over 45 at any time. This is sufficient proof that onlv the lucked men can stand the strain."