MILITARY TRAINING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19388, 24 July 1926, Page 9

MILITARY TRAINING.

Sir,—The main reason behind the protest against the concentration of territorial training into three months, which is being prepared by the Council of Christian Congregations, appears to be the 'Jaiigor of boys learning impurity. If think that , this would follow it is their, duty to say so. What I object to. is their readiness to drag the New Zealand Expeditionary Force and its mora] conduct into the question. Everyone knows that moral standards felt during the war, not only among soldicJrs for whom there was excuse, but also among the civilian people of all countries, Mr. Herron is aware that " behind the barbed wire" there were many who had not gone to the war as boys. Senior commissioned ranks and even the chaplains' department represented proof that the breakdown of the standards of social conduct was universal. Surely at this time of day moral delinquency among a section of the fighting men may be forgiven and and in discussing territorial training the present moral standards of civilian life be accepted as the basis. Assuming that clergymen do_ 50,,, why, in the name of reason, must" the term, immorality always mean impurity ? Breaches of the moral law apply to a multitude of things. I think Mr. Herron will admit that if the army was not a white ribbon league," its standards of self-sacrifice, brotherliness, toleration, courage, honesty, cheerfulness against odds, were miles ahead of the standards of civil life of the time when sordid- commercialism, greed, vain-glorious boastihg Uhrf funk,"'envy and malice all had vigorous' 'play. As to territorial training; I have no firm views, but I do know that whatever dangers there may be for wholesome boys, there is equal chance of unwholsesome minds learning something of decency from comrades. I could relate surprising results to the outlook of immoral men under the influenco of a crowd of decent tent mates. For tne first time in their adult lives, perhaps thev discovered someifoing about selfrespect. Some of the utterances of critics suggest that wherever bodies of men are tLown together, the M n^ y alwavs dominate. Sheer rot as every soldier There are an?b!£> 4 for "them anrf'set"definite restraints upon Ih J Can Mr Herron, who knew our forces as well a* any ™n. jmagjne rt.e come into" the open, without sitfferimz the sentence of court-martials 3TtK g ranks. I personally court-martial by the ranks and I ..WW saw official punishment i«e « nwh effect Let the territorial 4ep&te con tinue but let the men who did dsfcg and the bleeding be kept