MEN MEDICALLY UNFIT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 16434, 10 January 1917, Page 8

MEN MEDICALLY UNFIT.

MATTER OF APPEALS. DIFFICULTIES' OF POSITION. [BY TEIiEORAFH.— CORRESPONDENT.] CHBISTCHUECH, Tuesday. It has been evident tliat the work of the military service boards has been rendered more arduous than would otherwise have been the case owing to some appellants putting forward as a ground of appeal the allegation that they are medically unfit. In numerous cases throughout the Dominion, where the boards have sat, adjournments of appeals have been madein order that the appellants may be medically examined. It has seemed to many that the procedure might with advantage bo reversed, and, -as in the case oil brothel's summoned under section 35 of the Act, the .medical examination of those called up under the ballot might precede appeal, thereby saving a good deal of the time of the boards, and decreasing the inconvenience to the men called up. This view of the question was submitted to the Hon. James Allen, Minister for Defence. "It is an open question," was Mr. Aliens reply. " Whichever way you have it there will be some waste or other. If yon have the medical examination first you will have men examined who will be exempted because they are required for essential industries. On the other hand, it would relieve the military service boards, but it would throw mow work on the medical We will do what is most suitable to the public and ourselves. In two districts, Auckland and Nelson, we are medically examining men who enlisted some time back, and were rejected then as medically unfit. We are asking those men to re-enlist and we are hairing them medically re-examined in order to ascertain whether, under the now lesii stringent requirements, they are able to pass the doctor, in which case they will go to the front. We shall extend that system wherever possible throughout the Doi minion. In respect of these men the object is to clear the ballot boxes of the names - of these men by putting them on a reserve ■ list. In other cases the ballot boxes are ) cleared automatically, as we draw three I times more than we want" > On mention being made that it had been I argued that, comparatively speaking, the . time of the Military Service Boards was > more valuable than the time of the Medi- . cal Boards, tho Minister replied: " I don't I agree with that. ' The time of each class ■ of board is equally valuable. The Defence > Department's methods are flexible and ! elastic. We are not tied hard and fast • to anything. We have carefully thought out this matter and decided that it is best 1 that appeals should be dealt with first I by the Military Service Board."