UNLIMITED VOLUNTEERS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20969, 4 September 1931, Page 10

UNLIMITED VOLUNTEERS.

AN UNWISE APPEAL. TOO MANY SEARCHERS. * HUNDREDS COME POST HASTE. ORGANISATION DIFFICULTIES. [BY TELEGRAPH.—SPECIAL REPORTER.] THE CHATEAU. Thursday. An aspect of to-day's search that requires attention,, not only in relation to tho thing of the moment, but to the future, is the result of issuing a general appeal for reinforcements. Last evening an app<tel to King Country people was broadcast from 2YA, Wellington, and 'there was an immediate response. Soon after dawn parties numbering several hundred men had entered the bush from the Erua-Pokaka frontage and ,from the Mahuia Bridge on the Tokaanu Road. The response had been magnificent, and one stands in admiration of the spirit which brought so many willing helpers from every point between Taumarunui and Raetihi. Some 400 men operated through the western stretches of the bush in which Mr. Warwick Stanton is believed to be hidden. The fact must be stated, however, that there existed no organisation that could possibly cope with such a large force in such difficult country A slight knowledge of military staff work is enough to convince anyone that the calling up of an unlimited number of helpers was unwise. There is no doubt that this researching of bush areas was entirely to the good, but what must be said is that the essence of to-day's search was confined to three or four parties working upon a system. Men Standing Aboufc' At the base at the forks of the Makatote Stream, 200 to 300 men were standing about at one p.m. All had come in since dawn over the six-mile track which, by reason of deep mud, bogs, barriers and declivities, is a fair day's march for the average man. They had-done some bush combing, but entirely over country already searched. They had returned for a mug of tea and, as many bluntly stated, they felt that, in the absence of direction that would be in co-ordination with previous work, they were wasting their time. By one o'clock numbers were moving off to the railway. By 2 p.m. the majority were on the gruelling outward journey, and none dared to stay much longer, because darkness would have fallen before they issued from this terrible track.

Limitations of Staff Work. Obviously Buch a force could not have been kept at the base for the night, because the supplies which had been sent up had been consumed, and, -seeing that one-day searchers were bound to spend sixth-eighths of the daylight in-travelling to and fro, it is quite clear that numbers do not count for much. The real search .must be credited to the small party which has camped each night in the area, but their supply service hag been inadequate and the fault all comes back to the limitations of what a sbldier would call the staff work. It is realised that in a case of this kind, where time is of the essence of the contract, there cannot possibly be staff work of studied efficiency, but that does not excuse the broadcasting by radio of an appeal which brought hundreds post haste and threw them into difficult bush where, apart from the limitations of a one-day effort, some of them might easily have been lost. In such circumstances an exceedingly dangerous situation might be created. Few civilian organisations have the capacity for marshalling and properly using hundreds of men assembled at a moment's notice. This capacity was lacking to-day, although it must be repeated the- men did their best in the circumstances, and had cause for satisfaction in re-combing the hush areas. But the real search to-day was the systematic continuation of past work by old parties. Point to the general argument is given by the fact that one searcher reached the road very lame and on the verge of collapse and another, who hurt his knee, had to be carried out by exhausted men over the last part of the journey.