DEFENCE ECONOMY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18078, 1 May 1922, Page 4

DEFENCE ECONOMY.

Retrenchment of the defence system was explained by Sir Heaton Rhodes last week by the necessity for economy, to which be said other departments have been compelled to yield. There is, however, a wide difference between the treatment of defence and of all other national affairs. The Defence Department has been given a definite allowance and told to make the best of it. Other departments have been told to do their best in the way of economy, but none of them has been nit on rations. The worst feature is that the ration for defence is purely arbitrary, fixed without consideration of the size and the character of the forces that are necessary, or whether there is need for any training at all. One of the consequences of this lack of policy has been the abandonment of the principle of universal training. Another has been that the Minister says that "as had been shown in the war, a force could be trained in a comparatively short time," if there were the nucleus of a highly-trained staff. That is an utterly misleading interpretation of experience, unless it is qualified by reservations that do not appear in the Minister's speech. The view of military authorities was recently stated by Sir Charles E. Callwell, formerly director of military operations, in. the following terms: —

One of the most striking lessons taught by tho bitter experiences of the world war was that, whereas it is possible nowadays when working under great pressure to turn out private soldiers and non-com-missioned officers, and even officers, more rapidly than expert 8 had believed to be practicable beforo the great emergency arose, a period of several months is required ere new units improvised in times of danger can bo brought up to such a standard of efficiency as will justify their being placed in tho field. That was shown to bo the. (aso at Suvla Bay and at Loos; and the experiences alike of our Allies and of our enemies in this respect wero tho same as our own.

This lesson can be ignored only if there is a sufficient standing force of fully-trained men to hold the enemy in check while the " new army" is being trained; if the nation does not grudge the cost of the heavy casualties suffered by hurriedly trained troops, or if, dui-ing the period of economy, there are reserves of trained men. It is in respect of the latter that General Callwell finds consolation for the reduction of the British Army. Ho says: —

As a consequence of tho world war there are great, numbers of men of the military age in this country in civil employment who ha.ve undergone, ample military train-ing-in ;l;e best of all possible schools, that of opera';ions in the field in face of the enemy Given a permanent nucleus, serviceable units could be produced at comparatively short notice were an emergency to arise.

New Zealand also has a largo reserve of men trained "in the field in the face of the enemy." It is, however, a question for the national conscience whether the Dominion will rely, in an emergency, upon men who have already served or require all the youth of the country to be prepared to share in its defence. Until international relations become clarified it may not be possible to decide all the questions that are involved, but eventually they must be fully examined. Otherwise what is offered as economy may prove to be waste —either because no military organisation is necessary or because the provision that is made is inadequate and inefficient.