The Times WEDNESDAY, MARCH 12, 1941. Motor Truck Impressment

Manawatu Times, Volume 66, Issue 61, 12 March 1941, Page 6

The Times WEDNESDAY, MARCH 12, 1941. Motor Truck Impressment

War is war and not a Sunday school picnic, and cannot be waged with kid-glove methods. Inevitably, even manoeuvres result in upsets and hardship cases of greater or lesser degree. Such has been widely illtistratcd by this week’s experiences of motor vehicle impressments. To some extent the experience has been a useful one for the public. It will awaken consciousness to the fact that this Dominion is actually at war. So much for the public and vehicle-users in particular. They had a lesson to be learned and it has been learned in the hard school of practical experience.

But the schooling there required appears to have been doubly, or trebly, required by our military authorities. It is recognised that they had to secure vehicles, but, too, it is known that they knew of their needs for some considerable time. Why then the frantic last-minute rush'/ Owners advised as late as Saturday evening to provide trucks on Monday morning. That was shockingly poor staff work.

The economic upset and wastage arising therefrom runs sorely counter to the Dominion’s war effort. The whole question of classes of vehicles registered and those available under varying progressive stages of emergency should have been investigated and planned weeks ago and, finally, proper notice should and could have been granted their owners. Advice also should be given of the time vehicles will be required. The military authorities should at once remedy the obvious existing state of disorganisation, or lack of organisation now revealed. All vehicles should be listed, in proper consultation with bodies of users and individuals also. This so far as peace manoeuvres are concerned. In event of actual war on our shores, wholesale impressment would, of course, bo regarded as proper. Though even as to this, prior organisation should provide for orderly calling up to avoid wastage of precious petrol.