The Grey River Argus MONDAY, November 23, 1942. DRAFTING N.Z. SOLDIERS.

Grey River Argus, 23 November 1942, Page 4

The Grey River Argus MONDAY, November 23, 1942. DRAFTING N.Z. SOLDIERS.

Questions of manpower which in other belligerent countries had earlier become acute are now beginning to do so in New Zealand. On the one hand there are complaints of industry, and commerce being deprived of essential personnel, and on the other there i.s the still growing demand for servicemen. In addition, the issue is raised in some quarters as to whether not a few men drawn in earlier ballots should not be, drafted for service in preference to men with families drawn in the later ballots. In several directions authorities are subjected to /criticism, but it is manifestly an utter ini possibility for any administration or tribunal to reconcile demands which are mutually contradictory. If some industries must remain completely essential, such ; : >s those on war production, a,nd especially food production, as well as transport, adequate staffing, whether of fit single or married men, must be retained. It is a question almost every time of making distinctions which are I not at all h'rtfad or general, but I which are very fine and often very circumscribed. There i.s some objection to younger recruits being drafted for oversea ■ service, in contrast witli which there is the latest United States legislation for lhe compulsory recruitment into the services of youths from eighteen years upwards. The Dominion Prime Minister now announces the War Cabinet’s decision to enrol eighteen year olds, explaining that it is to the ranks of these the Dominion must now look for the best material for the most vital fighting forces. It is occasionally forgotten that the higher age groups do not yield anything like the same proportion of fit men as that obtained among the younger classes. Three quarters of those drawn in .present ballots are stated not to be fit for war service, and the next group is expected to yield only one fifth its number as fit men. Mr. Fraser points out that the effect of a decreasing service draw from older personnel is favourable for industry, and thus discounts some of the alarmist criticism on the part of industrialists. It recently was revealed that at least ten thousand fit soldiers had been released from camps to. meet seasonal and other needs of production. It has al-

so been stated that of the men i passed as fit since the first ballot, ] there probably are twenty-five thousand who have not been incorporated in the forces on account of industrial and agricultural needs. Possibly these cases will require yet to conic under further review. Where there is a broad distinction to be drawn, that between single and married men with children naturally suggests' itself to the civilian. The Army, however, when it draws a general line, has .an eye to age, and naturally looks in the direction whence the fittest recruits may be expected, thereby putting 'a. premium upon the earliest training of youths. The Government looks at the matter from the standpoint of meeting all demands, military, and economic, in the greatest possible degree, but there is yet another standpoint which it ialso must take into account. ' When it appeared that the Japanese might evep approach the Dominion, there was a civilian commotion, with a cry that everybody should be turned instantly into a soldier of some sort. The Government was being told -what it ought to do in the. way of raising quite a big 'army for internal defence. As the Americans and Australian forces began to put it over the Japanese, those amateur army organisers folded up their wings and the fluttering ceased. As in the case, however, of Australia, where it is now proposed to send more men against the enemy, so also in our case, the Government 'has to have regard for what are properly in ter-Allied, as distinct from purely national, obligations. If the invasion danger is beingscotched, the country is in a position to spare more fit men to continue the work by which that danger has so appreciably been liquidated. There was an assurance when the enemy was still advancing southwards that, if the need arose, Australian soldiers would be drafted for the definite defence of the Dominion. Then the Americans have put their Navy and Army between us and the enemy. Consequently it is to New Zealand, as far as she is able, that our allies look for cooperation. when it is a matter of carrying the fight beyond the defensive, and towards a victorious conclusion. The public realises this, and doubtless felt recently that preparedness had been a first desideratum, so that this realisation ought now to be allowed to vanish in order that some lesser consideration might obtain attention. New Zealand in this war, certainly has excelled her effort in the' last war, but her effort then was sustained- to the. end; and, if it is now to remain relatively better, it has still tp be maintained. It is announced that New Caledonia has become a new field of military operation for New Zealanders, and as it may be anticipated that the enemy must soon begin to vacate more occupied territory,, more Allied troops must be available to replace the enemy in that territory. In addition the Middle East expedition must be maintained. Ally anomalies, real or apparent, regarding priority of service or drafting, will certainly come more quickly under review as the reservoir of manpower grows emptier, so that complaints on that score may be expected to' be. rectified in those instances where they are warranted.