LABOUR AND CONSCRIPTION

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23340, 8 May 1939, Page 10

LABOUR AND CONSCRIPTION

Logic is almost completely lacking in the attitude of industrial and political Labour, both in England and Australia, to the questions of compulsory military training. In England, of course, Mr. Chamberlain and his Government have refused to be influenced by Labour agitation and have gone quietly and efficiently ahead with their plans for demanding from all young men between the ages of 20 and 21 a period of army service. The cable news this morning indicates that the unions are still organising protest meetings, but of such firmness is the general British stand against European aggression that it is doubtful whether protests will take a more serious form than the passing of resolutions. The Australian Labour Party, which a few weeks ago opposed a compulsory national register for defence purposes, has now rejected a motion for compulsory physical and military training. The resolution was brought forward by the Tasmanian delegates, whose Parliamentary leader, Mr. A. G. Ogilvie, seems to be one of the few Labour men prepared "to apply to national defence what his colleagues consistently advocate in the industrial sphere. Compulsion can be accepted by Labour without a murmur when it is a question of industrial unionism, but the acid democratic test of universal training to meet a community need is quite another matter. Compulsory training embodies equality of effort and of sacrifice and rests solidly on the argument that those who enjoy privileges must also accept responsibility. It is, as the Tasmanian Labour delegates have vainly endeavoured to persuade their colleagues, the only practicable preparation for defence.