CAMP REJECTS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVII, Issue 17428, 15 March 1917, Page 8

CAMP REJECTS.

GOVERNMENT INDICTED

UNFIT MEN SENT TO CAMP. BECOME UNFAIR CHARGE ON. PATRIOTIC FUND. , At yesterday* s meeting of the Patriotic Committee, Mr F. Horrell referrea to the fact that recruits were constantly being passed as fit, sent into carppj and then rejected as being unfit. >He said that, as soon as a man went into camp the Patriotic Fund began to pay; his dependents. borne steps should be taken to, stop that state of things. A man might n even go to England before he was found' to be unfit, and then he became a charge on the fund. ’

“It seems to me, said Mr Horrell, “that there is something _ wrong. Whether the men are lax in their duties 1 do not know, but they are sending men away who are never likely to be secretary (Mr R. T. Tosswill) stated, that the matter affected the. fund considerably, and he would like ” t o see .it referred to "tlio Advisory Board There should be a uniform medical test ' Dealing as he did'with the 1100 odd cases that came before the committee, ho knew that men went into camp as many as three or 'four times, and—-were, rejected time after time. . In ono| caso" three days was sufficient to pasa n man out of camp, but he re-eptisted and got, in again, and managed to stay ten months before he was passed out again. Meanwhile the Patriotic., Fund was supporting or helping to support wiv~»3 and children, and if a man contracted a disease through going into camp unfit he became a quasi-pensioner on ,the fund for life .-'.y , Mr J. J- Dougall said that the mat-

ter was of' considerable importance. Unless rumour was.altogether false, since conscription came in there had been too largo a proportion of men rejected from tho military camps, and . the number was said to be as high as forty or fifty a week. In his own knowledge there were many cases, of the kind. He knew one man" who had been in business, earning £7OO or £BOO a year. He had a ‘wife but ho children, and. he enlisted, telling the doctor that he had had hemorrhage of

the lungs, and desired , a special \ examination. Evidently the doctor .gave him a superficial examination, and declared him “as’good as gold.” .On his first route march in camp ho commenced to spit blood, and op 'tho second ,he fainted on the road. He was discharged after six weeks,. of which forth weeks had'been spfent in hospital, end he came back to Christchurch with no business, and with his home, sold up. There were too many instances of the kind, and it led to tjie inference that the doctors had been instructed not. to he too strict, aiid to pass any. man who had a hope of getting through.,,; It/as

a very unwise policy. Mr H. B. Sorensen, in moying Ahafe the. matter sliould be referred tdHhb/Advisory Board, said that he knew>pf 'men who had sold their farms and property, and had gone into camp, only to be sent out again without a living. Horitnew of one man, rejected four times, ,w®o, on being drawn in the ballot, h'ad been accepted by the very doctor who had passed Mm out before,. This 'showed either laxity or culpability on the part of the Government. It was unfair ,to the men, unfair to the people of England, who expected fit men to ho sent,; and it was grossly unfair to the families. He would represent the matter jn' very .. strong terms. Colonel Chaffey said that the matter was one which the Government'had pried to grapple with. .Thereiwere very. r,: f-iw doctors available .to/dd’the work, although Ifo did hot mean io say that those left behind were not as good as those who had gone. At the start of the war the ] doctors were ordered to pass none but the soundest men, but ad time went on, and .men became short, the Government asked the 'doctors to relax the examination td a certain, extent', and men with one eye,poi* minus a finger A were allowed to go through, but'not men with heart or lung trouble. There was a relaxation for a while, and men got through who should never have been'allowed through. Evidently the doctors had overestimated their, instructions ; hut/ latterly the medical men had received strict ■ instructions to nass nobody ' but absolutely, fit men. One Medical Board recently bad examined forty men, of whom only seven had passed as fit. _ The Mayor remarked, that the Department evidently went to extremes. It started with'the most drastic regulations, and. finally passed every I om, Dick and Harry.' Mr Hobbs said that a,young returned soldier-who had enlisted last January, when only fit men were being taken, had informed him that when the men cot to England 1 they were started ,on from twelve to sixteen lidiirs training a dav and marly of them broke down. Mr Sorehsen'offered to withdraw his ■ motion in view of Colonel Ohaffey’s explanation, but (Voxel. Chaffey urged hl Mr t SoTOisSi’s was carried for transmission to the Governmen well. >

A CONCRETE CASE.

JO .THE ETOTOU.

Sir—l would like to ask, “‘What i, th 3, object of th*. Metol BojrdJ For what purpose is it appointed. Is jt / to ascertain whether a recruit> is physically fit to undergo training and efficiently serve in the Force, or is it created to provide a nice fat soft' job for some lucky members of the medical profession? Is it intended that a man should be propel lj and sensibly examined before going to camp, or is the man to be properly examined in camp? I -read with interest your leading article on this subject in to-day’s issue, and would like to quote my own case. I was called up recently for medical examination. Previously I had enlisted three times and had been rejected oh .account of hammer toe, iodnev ; and' bladder trouble and hernia. 'During the examination I mentioned my troubles, but was informed that my rupture was' cured and I was passed as fit. .and instructed: to proceed to camp. ~Glad,to bedrid of my most Jinnoying trouble I discarded my lupture truss. Carrjing out my ordinary civilian ' duties next day I was quickly undeceived as to my cure. I found that my “trouble was as bad as ewer. Possibly the medical officer, having failed to'find traces of hernia in li s cursory -examination, wds too conceited to admit, when it was pointed out to him, - that rupture existed. It seems to me that, in this district at any rate, the medical examination 's a mere farce. Now, could uot this pretence be profitably done away with, ahd the large sum of money now spent upon this luxury, tho Medical Board, diverted to some more useful channel, leaving the decision‘of fitness entirely to the medical.' officials in camp ? I have to proceed to camp, leaving my civilian: .employment, where I am carrying but efficiently very essential work. I will be fitted out in camp and, after spending some weeks of pain qnd-‘ discomfort, and possibly impairing what little health I now 1 enjoy, sent back home again. , Tllis medical farce is, it seems to me, a wilful waste of good public money.—l am, etc.,

“FIT” SUBJECT.