MILITARY SERVICE

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIII, Issue 10002, 20 June 1918, Page 7

MILITARY SERVICE

RESERVISTS’ APPEALS

THIRTY CASES DEALT WITH YESTERDAY.

Thirty appeals were heard yesterday hy the hirst 'Wellington Military Service Board—Messrs D. G. A. Cooper, S.M. (chairman), I). McLaren, and W. Perry. Major Corrigan appeared as military representative.

GREAT SHORTAGE OF ELECTRICIANS.

The Patent Slip Company, represented by Mr D. M. Findlay, appealed for the exemption of George Haslett, an electrical engineer in their employ. Mr R. C. .Robinson (secretary 1 6 the Wellington Electrical Workers’ Industrial* Union) stated that Haslott was a member of the union, and a skilled armature-winder. Ho had been asked by the Auckland Military Service Board, through the Labour Department, to make inquiries for armaturewinders throughout the Dominion, and had replied that .ho was unable to supply the men required. Eighty-two electrical engineers and 282 electricians had gone to the front; and of the 252. electricians, he would say that 150 were armature-winders* When the war broke out there were 67 licensed electricians in Wellington, and since then 25 to 30 had received licenses. Fiftynine had been called up, five had returned, and five had been killed, three of them being armature-winders. The position now was that they had only 46 men scattered between Wellington, and as far away as Feilding. This included the live returned men, eight men rejected in oamp, four C2 men, one in Class D, and two in the Cl Camp. There were only 25 to 30 armafcUre-winders out of the 46. If all the men liable to be balloted were sent into camp, there would he only four winders left; but with the present men they were already down to bed-rock. The Wellington City Council had been endeavouring to get a number of winders for some time past, hut without success; and the Auckland City Council was in the same position. There were twp armature-winders 'employed by the Patent Slip Company; but the bulk of them were employed by the local bodies, the freezing companies, and so on. It took five years to learn the work, and they had no apprentices c&ning on to take it up. The Wellington Technical School 1 did not specialise in such training. The work was of so delicate a character that it could not be entrusted to apprentices. They were trying to get a bill for the registration of electricians, so that they could; keep the apprenticcs for the five years for training arma-ture-winders.

Mr H. B. Stonebanks (manager to the Patent Slip Company) gave evidence as to the nature of the work done by the two armature-winders in the employment of the company. Much of it was in connection with the transports. Haslett had been with them five years, and was previously with the Union Steam.;Ship Company. Haalett himself did not wish for exemption, but they could not spare him. Decision was reservedA MASSEUR’S APPEAR.

Charles Joseph Clerk (masseur, Wellington, a voluntary recruit), represented by Sir Kenneth Douglas, appealed for a medical re-examination, and for qix months’ leave to arrange Ms affairs. When ho enlisted, he stated, ho was classed, as C 3, and, thinking that that was final, ho got married and entered into somewhat heavy pecuniary obligations. In an accident some years ago he hod had his left shoulder put out and permanently injured, his knee badly crushed so that he could hot take long walks, and his head injured. Major Corrigan, said that the appellant had been very thoroughly examined by the medical boards, and they reported that, he was quite fit for active service. ■ The appeal was dismissed, with leave till the September draft, WOULD HAVE TO CLOSE DOWN. Messrs George A. Bond and Co., warehousemen, appealed for the exemption qf Robert Edward Bathurst (their manager, classed Cl). Mr A. W. Blair appeared for the appellants. The reservist stated that two of his four brothers had served in the South African War, one.being killed. Another had died since., When the war broke out he was in Sydney He and; the other two brothers enlisted at the very beginning, but he was turned down on account of heart trouble. One brother had returned wounded, but the other, who was at Gallipoli, was still fighting in -France. When Messrs Bond and 00. engaged him, they insisted upon his seeing several doctors, all of whom said that h© would not be fit for active service again. If he hod to go into camp, the New, Zealand business would have to be closed down. It was the film’s appeal, not his. Ho would he only too pleased to go if they could make him fit.

The case was adjourned for further hearing at the next Wellington sittings of the board. TRADE UNION SECRETARY’S APPEAL.

George William Booth . (organising secretary of the Wellington Carpenters’ Union, aged 40, and classed as 01, appealed in the public interest and on the ground of undue hardship. Mr D. M. Findlay said that though, in form, it was the reservist’s own appeal, it was really an appeal by tho union as his employers. It was, ho urged, very difficult to got men who knew the trade and were also fitted for the clerical and accountancy work of a trade union secretary. Further, the Labour Department and other Government departments depended very largely 'upon the union secretaries for getting men, especially in the case of carpenters, for camp and transport work.

Tho reservist stated that there wore 650 men in tho Wellington branch. The board dismissed the appeal, with leave till tho September draft. AN INVENTOR’S HARD CASE.

Harry Bulks Murphy (flax expert, Waikanao), represented hy Mr Martin Luckio, appealed on the ground that he was an Australian resident and therefore not a reservist. He had come over to Now Zealand in July, 1914, ho stated, to demonstrate his method of bleaching and softening flax. As a result of the demonstration, ho was awarded by the Government a .bonus of £SOO, and af. terwards one of £IOO, to enable him

to perfect his machinery and processes. He had been solely engaged on that work ever since. The Now_ Zealand Government had tho sole option of purchasing the New Zealand rights of tho machinery and processes when peffected. In addition, he had spent £7OO of his own money on the work. After the work was completed it was his intention to return to Australia. A %f{il demonstration had been given and the Government had decided that they could not purchase- tho rights. “My money is all gone,” ho declared. ‘‘This country has got all my ideas, and I have nothing.” His furntiure had been stored all tho time in Melbourne, and he had never transferred his banking account to Now Zealand Ho had had encouraging reports all along, leading him to expect that the Government would take over the rights. All his people and his wife’s people lived in Australia. He had lost four years’ time, and £7OO to £BOO, and was no better off for it all. Tho appeal was allowed, the appellant being adjudged an Australian and not a reservist. THE GETY MILK PROBLEM,

Mr Ward, appeared for Henry Gorrie (dairy farmer, Mangaroa), who appealed on the ground of public interest and undue hardship. He stated that he had a farm of 95 acres, and milked 25 cows supplying the city of Wellington. He also ploughed and harvested for 12 to 14 other farmers in the district, H© ploughed, disked and harrowed 359 acres last season. No other farmer in the valley had a full set of implements for such work, and there was practically no labour to bo had in the district. He had three brothers—one at the war, another at Ohnu, and the third dairy-farming at Mangaroa. His father, aged 65, had a largo sheep farm in the district. Tho brother at Mangaroa could not plough. Four men in the district ploughed a few ‘acres for themselves. James Maher (a farmer in the Hangaroa Valley) corroborated the statement of appellant. If Murphy were taken into camp and his services were not available for the other farmers, it would affect materially the output of milk for Wellington. They had, therefore, put in an appeal (produced) on hia behalf. Decision was reserved. THE LAST OF TEN.

W. McGlashan Smith (Customs Bond storeman, Wellington) ; appealed on the ground of undue hardship, he being tho sole survivor - of a family of ten.. H© was, ho Aaid, forty-one years of age, married, with one child, and supported: his wife’s mother, besides contributing to the support of his own mother, aigedi, eighty-one, at Homo. •

Decision was indefinitely reserved, SUNDRY APPEALS.

Alfred Goodwin (fisherman, Island Bay) appealed in the public interest. He stated that he and his partner had their own boat, an oil launch, and supplied on the average about £6O worth of fish per month for the Wellington market. There were about fourteen other fishermen at tho Bay, and they were short of five or six men already. Decision was reserved. Tho appeal of George Simmonds (taxi-driver, Wellington) was further heard. Appellant stated that bo was unmarried, but. had, to support his invalid mother—and-three sisters, schoolgirls. The board reserved their decision.

The appeal of Reginald John Downing (Fields Inspector, Wallaceville), which came up for further hearing, was dismissed, with leave till the July draft. '

Mr M. J. Reardon (secretary to tho Wellington Freezing Works Employees’ Union) appealed in respect of Joseph Dillon (slaughterman, Masterton, a single man, aged thirty). Mr Reardon stated that ho understood the National Efficiency Board was inquiring into the whole position of tho meat industry, and the case was adjourned till next sittings. Messrs G. H. Scales and Co. appealed for tho exemption of Captain G. W. Avrey (master of the barque Khona, trading to San Francisco). Mr A. W. Blair appeared for the appellants, and the case wa s indefinitely adjourned. Guy William Simpson (acting-third mate on the same vessel) woe also exempted. The South Taranaki Shipping Company appealed for the exemption of John Henry McConville (first-class engineer, Wellington), employed on one of their vessels. Evidence wan given that he had been ten years in the employ of the company, for whom Mr A. W. Blair tion was granted. The Post and Telegraph Department lodged an appeal for the exemption of Charles Chatteris (mechanician, Auckland), who was stated to bo an iudisspensable export in the employ of the department. The board reserved decision.

Messrs Hattrick and Co., represented by Mr H. P. O’Leary, appealed for a temporary exemption for James A. Kmg (farming ■ tractor-driver, Ashburton), employed by them to teach farmers to drive the tractors. They asked for three months’ leave to enable them to train another man to takek his place. The appeal was dismissed, with leave tilt tho September draft.

Mr H. F. O’Leary supported tho appeal of Richard Atwill Metcalfe (commercial traveller. Wellington), on the ground of undue hardship for family reasons. The board advised tho, reservist to make application to the Financial Assistance Board, and adjourned the case till the next Wellington sittings. . Victor Kirkbeok (cabinetmaker, Wellington) claimed that he was a Dane, and therefore not a reservist. The appeal was allowed. A number of appellants failed to appear, and their cases wore dismissed. At 4.40 p.m. tho board) adjourned till 10 o’clock this morning.