“SOON BE LIKE MEXICO”

Southland Times, Issue 24600, 24 November 1941, Page 4

“SOON BE LIKE MEXICO”

COLONELS IN. HOME GUARD CRITICISM OF DEFENCE ORGANIZATION “We will soon be like Mexico after a civil war when every second man in the country was a colonel. It looks as though our value in this country will be about 6d a dozen,” declared Lieuten-ant-Colonel W. Bell, Group Commander of the Home Guard in Invercargill, in a speech on Saturday night. Lieutenant-Colonel Bell was referring to the recent promotions of a large number of Home Guard officers throughout New Zealand. He vigorously attacked aspects of administration of the home defence force, and lack of enthusiasm, particularly among the younger men, in the Home Guard, and put forward a proposal that men should be conscripted for home defence in New Zealand. Lieutenant-Colonel Bell was replying to a toast proposed to the defence forces at the jubilee social held to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Invercargill Defence Rifle Club. “FLOURISH OF TRUMPETS”

“The Home Guard was started with a flourish of trumpets and a large number of men were enrolled,” said Lieutenant-Colonel Bell. “Since then there has been a general falling away in the attendances at parades.” He did not altogether blame the older men for losing enthusiasm while so many young men, who for various reasons had no chance of being called up for service, were doing absolutely nothing apart from their ordinary work to help the country in its organization for defence. “It is not surprising that some of the enthusiasm originally shown by members of the Home Guard is to some extent on the wane,” he said. “Many say that this state of affairs should not exist. So do I; and the remedy is simple. If it is right to order the cream of our young men to go overseas and fight for us, then it is only right that those who are left at home should be conscripted for whatever branch of Home Defence they are best suited.” PART-TIME SOLDIERS New Zealand could not afford the luxury of a standing army. Its defence force should for the most port be composed of part-time soldiers, unpaid so long as their duties did not interfere with the men’s ordinary work. While it might be divided into sections for purposes of administration, the whole of the Home Defence army should be on an equal footing. He had noticed a report some days ago in a Wellington paper about the Home Guard, continued Lieutenant-Colonel Bell, which stated that since it had been taken over by the Army the only result so far had been the making of a large number of majors. “They might have added ‘lieutenant-colonels’ also,” he said. “In fact, we will soon be like Mexico after a civil war when every second man was a colonel. It looks as if our value in this country will be about 6d a dozen.”