MORE MEN

New Zealand Times, Volume XL, Issue 9174, 14 October 1915, Page 5

MORE MEN

THE NEW APPEAL MONTHLY DRAFTS BEGIN AT ONCE. The announcement made in the House of Representatives on Tuesday night by the Defence Minister with regard to tho decision to increase the reinforcements appears to have given general satisfaction in tho city. The call for recruits will now he more imperative than ever, hut the response in Wellington during the last few days is regarded as an indication that the men can be induced to come forward promptly when they are made to understand the situation.

Tho drafts for the 9th Reinforcements and the two new battalions of the New Zealand Rifle Brigade are now, going into camp. When the mus-ter-is complete, the Defence authorities will bo able to check over their lists and see how many registered men are still in hand. It is known that there will be a surplus, since the number of men required for the 9th Reinforcements and the extra battalions were available several weeks ago, and registrations have been proceeding in the meantime. But some 3000 men are wanted to enter camp early next month, and it is certain that special efforts’will be required to secure this number in time.

, The Defence Minister, mentioning the new arrangements to a' “New Zealand Times’ ’ reporter yesterday, said that the plan of calling up men monthly instead of every second month would come into operation at once. He would want some 3000 men in November} 2(300 in December, and 2500 in each of the following months. The period of training would be seventeen weeks, and the dispatch of the men to the front in monthly drafts would bogjn in February. The supply of transports would not present any serious difficulty, and he was glad to be able to say that as far as he could see it would not be necessary to look abroad for vessels. Some rather anxious calculations have been made in various quarters regarding the number of men that New Zealand will have to find if the war continues for another year or eighteen months. A point that is often overlooked is that the Dominion is working about five months ahead of requirements in the field. The period of training is about four months for privates and troopers (five months for non-commissioned officers), and the journey from the Dominion to tho fighting area occupies at least five or six weeks. It may be assumed that the call for men will cease in New Zealand when the end of the war is within measurable distance.

The appeal to, the men of military ago in the meantime is urgent. Every fit, unmarried man of military ago is being asked by the Defence authorities to register himself at one of tho recruiting offices, and then await the call to camp. Tho age-period is now twenty years to forty-five years, and the minimum height 3 feet 2 inches, so that the military net is spread fairly wide. Wellington has done very well in the past. But there can- be no pause until the need for recruits is at an end. There is still a place for every man who will “follow the drum” along the path of duly and honour.