NEW ZEALAND RECRUITING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 15931, 31 May 1915, Page 6

NEW ZEALAND RECRUITING.

The statements of the Prime Minis ter. and Minister for Defence make it clear that tbjro is no' lack of recruits to fill all the contingents at present being raise;! in New Zealand. This is gratifying, becauso it. enables the community to look forward with confidence to the success of further effort which must be continuous till the close of tho war. As the Prime Minister has pointed out, New Zealand leads the British Dominions in the number of recruits she has raised in proportion to her population. But can we content ourselves with this? Is it enough that we have done slightly better than Australia and Canada when twe know that in proportion to population the United Kingdom has given three men for every man given by New i Zealand"? The Herald has frequently urged that New Zealand should increase the strength of her force to 50.000 men. • This would call for no greater sacrifice than has already been made in Great Britain without the conscription which is nov being advocated by Englishmen of all shades of politics. It has been pointed out by the Mayor of Auckland that many men are offering here whose services have not been accepted. The same complaint comes from Christchureh and Gisborne. Nobody would wish to minimise tho strain that has been placed upon the Defence Department, but it is evident that unless the officials of the Department make an effort to deal at once with men who for good reasons are . seeking immediate enrolment many desirable recruits will be lost. The rule that all who hand in their name.? must hold themselves in readiness until called, upon should be unhesitatingly waived in the cases of men who at the time of application have no employment. A great many can comply with the Department's rule, but many others may have to leave the district in search of work. Under such a system it is not surprising that the Department has frequently been unable to find men when the call has been sent.to them. The Defence Department's organisation and training difficulties are beyond question, but a strenuous effort to surmount them would be more satisfying +han their mere enumeration. Some reference has been made to recruiting from the Civil Service, and if we can take as typical of the J service the views expressed by a senior -officer in an interview published to-day there is room for improvement in the attitude adopted towards men who are willing »o serve at; the front. ' This officer put forward til® opinion that 'so many men had gone from some of the Departments that if many, more went it would be difficult, if not impossible, for the Departments to carry on; in another portion of the interview he defended a prohibition which is actually in force against the enlistment of railway servants. Had private employers taken no more patriotic ground than this the recruiting to date would not have been creditable to. New Zealand-' Were our railways being used to carry troops to the front, as are the railWays of' France, the prohibition might lje necessary. It is absurd to say that it is required in New Zealand, or that the suggestion of difficulties in other departments of the public service is any more defendable than the refusal of a private employer to release his servant when the Defence Department called upon him. If New Zealand is to send her 50,000 men to the front sacrifices will have to be made in every walk of life, in public and in privato service, by those who stay at home as well as by those who go. Wo can never do it if petty inconveniences are quoted and magnified into insurmountable obstructions whenever a man finds himself impelled to answer the call of his country,