DRAWING OF THE BALLOTS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 16953, 15 March 1917, Page 6

DRAWING OF THE BALLOTS

L EDMOUES OP IRREGTILAEITnffi.

EMPHATIC DENIAL.

. (Fbom Oub x Ows CouiiESPorrDENT.)

, . WELLINGTON, March 14. A mischievous • rumour has been circulated of alleged irregularities in the drawing of .the Jast ballot. It has been stated that one of the girl attendants manipulated ithe cards to the advantago of somo of her friends, that the fraud was discovered, and ■that a new ballot had to bo taken, the r having been dismissed in disgraco. ~ want to deny the rumour absolutely," 6aid the Minister of Defence when tho matter was brought under his notice. "Tho ■Government > Statistician informs me' that no .such fraud .was discovered, and no girl was dismissed. I think it is very improper that those rumours should be circulated. point of fact, the drawing is not in the hands of women, as. anyone who has seen the ballot machinery in operation can testify. The women assistants draw cards from tho boxes the numbers are oalled, but .they : do not see the nameß on the cards nor do they , remove the cards from the boxes. This is done by tho magistrate contracting the ballot, ! and the magistrate also imay, check tho girls' work to see that the right, cards have been produced for his inspection." . These rumours about irregularities in the ballot are many, and some of them have •been very much more wicked-than this last .one. The majority of people reject them, but they are believed by tho people who : wish. to believe them. It would bo practically impossible for any attendant to manipulate. the. oards in favour of anybody. To begin with, a woman who wished to do this .would have to know exactly her friend's number and tho number of tho box in which .his card was. Even if a woman knew all these things and wished to use her knowledge dishonestly., the chances of her having an opportunity to do so are very remote, because the boxes are distributed among the attendants by lot, and no girl ;can know what boxes she is to havo until •the drawing actually begins. Even if a gir] icljd happen to know that a card belonging |to ■a- friend of hers was in hor box she could not know the number of the card with certainty. because the order of cards in tho : boxes is liable to be alterod from day to day. Even if an attendant did' know a card, and purposely refrained irom drawing ,it, drawing , another one irffits stead, and if the magistrate happened not to detect the description, the man whose namo had been •wrongfully left in the box would not finally -escape military service. His card remains there,-liablo to be drawn in any subsequent ballot, so that any plot of this kind is scarcely worth while. ' There have been other stories of men escaping service in other ways, but all these stories may safely be rejected as untrue.