NEW RECRUITING SCHEME

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXXI, Issue LXXI, 19 February 1916, Page 5

NEW RECRUITING SCHEME

THE. PERSONAL CANVASS

WHX IT IS NECESSARY

The present allotment of quotas for the.reinforcement drarts up tul December, .1916, ; under the iiecrujtaig iioard's scheme, has been based on the preliminary results of the National Registration figures of all classes of men of military age in eacii military group H is expected that this allotment will be subject, to perhaps considerable alteration, particularly when the present figures are checked and amended as a result of the personal canvass provided for by the'new scheme.

So, apart, altogether from the flow of recruits that it should bring, to the enlistment office, the great talue of a thorough and systematic personal cappeal lies in the fact that tile precise numbers furnished by it will enuule the Recruiting Board to review, and, if necessary, re-assess the aWiuent 01 quotas of the several group areas on a more assured and reliable basis than is at present available.. The. Board will thus be able, in. arranging for future requirements, to give due credit to the groups which have loyally responded to the cal,l and supplied their full or even more than, their full quota. Similarly the Board will be in a position to discriminate, against fhe areas which have tailed at any given, date to send forward their, proportion of men and to ask these groups to supply an increased quota for. the tuture..

It has always, to be remembered, of course, that in alloting tfcese quotas | tha Board will; be guided not only by the number .of men volunteering to serve with the Expeditionary Force but also by the number of eligible men available as shown by the personal canvass \n conparctioa with the figures of the .National Register. Another great advantage to be derived fraas the exhaustive personal canvass is outlined ancF provided for under the new recruiting scheme is that it will supply the Board with the information necessary to enable it to deal with the question of migrating popula- ; tion wuie the National Register was taken and to adjust the&e fluctuations on a basis that will be equitable to each group area But the personal canvass under the Board 3 scheme has another and still ifi#re important function. The only Uafornjatiori that the Recruiting Board has in its possession with respect to fchfr mea of military age who are eligible tor service in the Dominion is that provided by the National Register. The accuracy of the particulars in each registration form returned to the Governmen Statistician was governed only by the conscience and loyalty of the individual. There was practically no check on the man who failed to "give the information directed by the National Registration Act, or who deliberately refrained from doing so. The Board looks to the personal canvass under the recruiting scheme and to the scrutiny of the local alphabetical rolls by the local authorities and committees of each district to enable it to verify and amplify the National Register, so that in the event of compulsory measures being necessary at any time the Government will be in a position to make that compulsion operate in the fairest possible way according to the family and financial obligations of each man of military age. "It :« obvious, therefore, that without this systematic and thorough personal canvass the unwilling will still be able to evade their duty and responsibility, and will still be able tn shelter behind the men who have loyal it responded to the caii of duty. It :'.s thus in the interests of I o^erv man who has conscientiously com- j plied with the provisions of the Na-1 tional Registration Act, an 3it is doubly in the interests of every man who hn.? intimated bis willingness to serve, when the call comes, to see that a complete and thorough personal canvass of the men of military aso is mnr] e from end to end-of the Dominion, be- i cause if that is not done, tbe willing j and loyal men of New Zealand may still have to carry more than' their j fair share of this terrible burden even should coirrnilsion corns. I

It is very cv Merit that tiiis aspect oi , the personal canvass has not been appreciated by those local authorities wJtio are declinkiij to co-operate with the Hecruitmg Jtsbard and carry out the scheme, and who are urging that com- 1 l>uision is the only fair method by which our Expeditionary Forces can be maintained at lull strength. Compulsion may be the fairest and best way of securing recruits, but a compulsion that was based on the National Registration figures alone, without the necessary check that is only to be obtained by a personal canvass over every portion of the Dominion, would fail to achieve the very object that those fa-.voi-ing compulsion have in view. The only effective method by which the available information with respect to the men of military age can be satisfactorily checked in*order that compulsion—should it ever comer— may be I enforced on a fair and equitable basis, I is _by the local bodies and citizens in eacH district undertaking the work of j personal canvass, as they have the ne- > cessary local knowledge to enable the ] data as compiled from the National Register to be made as perfect as possible. Every citizen, therefore, who wishes to fill the gaps left by the men who have already paid the supreme price of patriotism, every citizen who wishes to stand by our soldiers at the front, who are waiting expectantly, every citizen who wishes that the sacrifice should be made by those best able to make it and by the unwilling as well as by the volunteer, should be prepared I to help in the fullest possible degree to make this canvass a', thorough and .searching one. It will thus be seen that, the personal canvass as outlined by the Recruiting Board is of ihe most vital importance. That is why the Board hns appealed to every local body and every public-spirited citizen to work si-cad-1 fastly and whole-heartedly to ensure the success of this scheme. Th"s is p work" that for the time froir.p; shmild ' pnnerserlo all other duties. The Nation:;! ! Gnr°rnni(>iit mrst have a trustworthy --fWunkinjr of its manhood of military fly;e go tliat it may be m a position to prepare for any "eventuality in this crisis. And who knows what the murrow may bring forth ? The Recruiting Board therefore v.rgentlV appeals to every local body, to every public man. to every citizeit to give- the netr recruiting; scheme the fullest possible support, and particularly to see- that the personal ennvass is in no * wsiiv" relaxed until an absolutely definite i kn-owledac has been obtained of tfco po-1 srckxii of every man of luilitaiy age in. New Zealand.