BEFORE COMPULSION

Taranaki Daily News, 2 June 1916, Page 6

BEFORE COMPULSION

. VOLUNTARY RECRUITING . BE EXHAUSTED.' ■NECESSITY FOR COMPLETE ROLLS. WORK FOR EVERY PATRIOT. STRONG WORDS FROM RECRUITING BOARD. By Telegraph.—Government Memo. Wellington, Yesterday. Now that tlie Government proposals with regard to compulsory service have been announced, the Recruiting ■ Board desires to impress upon local bodies and the public of New Zealand that the necessary amount of energy Is not being put into the national recruiting scheme in some districts. The position to-day is that only a part of the task set the country three months ago has been accomplished.

THE PERSONAL CANVASS. - In February last, in order to facilitate recruiting and at the same time provide a sound basis for the readjustment of district quotas, and the introduction of compulsion, should that become necessary, citizens were asked to undertake the personal canvass with a view to seeing that a report card was sent in with respect to every man of military age in each district. This involved a 'big work, the sending in of 200,000 cards, divided amongst 312 local districts, but the Board regrets to have to announce that although more than sufficient time has elapsed in which to complete the undertaking, the results so far as they concern the checking and completing of the rolls, have been extremely disappointing. To date only 30,000 cards have been received at the Board's oilier, and no more than iiOOO are in transit, making a total of 35,000 V out of over 200,000. j

LOCAL BODIES' ,SLACKNESS. It is a remarkable fact, too, that many of the local bodies which have been most insistent in urging compulsory measures have so far made no effort to do the preliminary work that is essential to the equitable enforcement of the principle they advqeate. One of the main purposes of the national register was to provide a groundwork for the compilation of complete and accurate rolls. It could not be complete itself because—(l) It was natural to expect that numbers of men would evade the Act by not filling in the registration forms or by giving false information, such a« wrong addresses, etc. ; (2) many men have arrived in and departed from New Zealand since ihe taking of the register; and (3) many men have changed their places of residence, with the result that their addresses given in the National Register are now incorrect. The National Register rolls for the purpose of reallotting district quotas or of applying compulsion, are thus more or less incomplete.

A COMPLETE REGISTER REQUIRED. Every effort lias been made in the Military Service Hill to ensure a complete register, but the Board feels that unless it lias the of the people with the local knowledge in each district many loopholes of escape will still remain for the man who intends, if possible, to evade his responsibility. The only way to secure reasonably perfect rolls is by the systematic personal canvass urged by the lioard three months ago. and the lioard submits that those who should carry it out are the citizens over the military age working in conjunction with the local authorities in each district.

REASONS WHY. The reasons why the local authorities und local residents are called upon to do this work are mainly these—(l) The hands of the Government and the Defence Department are full; (2) local bodies and local residents, because of their local knowledge, are the only ones who know who should and who should not be on the roll. If they do their duty in seeing that every eligible man is enrolled no man can escape hie obligations. Likewise it lies within their power to keep the rolls up to date liv promptly reporting every removal from and arrival in their district. It mnst be recognised that no act of compulsion will be fair or equitable unless every man of military age is on the roil. The reasons are obvious. The roll is the only instrument under which men can be called up. and as compulsion must apply to all men of military age alike, it is wholly unfair that some should be compelled to go because they are on the roll and others escape because they arc not.

BEFORE COMPULSION IS ENFORCED. The completion of the rolls is necessary, not only to apply compulsion generally, but in order to levy the quotas fairly as between district and district. This is specially so .when, as is the ease at present, New Zetiland only requires draits of 2350 men every four weeks to meet commitments. District quotas can only lie levied fairly when they are based on the number of men of military age remaining in each district, thus giving eacli disti'ict full credit for any excess it may have sent in before, and requiring others which have never done their share to make up the shortages. That is fair, and the various districts are vitally interested in seeing that principle applied, Tlie Defence Department, however, can only give effect to this it supplied wit!; proper rolls. It will be readily understood that the accurate data already suppled by a few localities will be gi'eatlv depreciated for this purpose unless similar work is taken in liaiul by all joining districts until the rolls for the whole of the Dominion have been made as nearly perfect as possible. With this information to guide it tho Defence Department will be in a position to so adjust the quotas that each group will be only asked to supply for future drafts a number based on its performance in the past and its existing supply of men of military age. At present the Defence Department is acting on a roll that shows .so many men in a district even though they may not be there. Unless each district can show exactly the number of men left in it the authorities cannot possibly make a fair and accurate adjustment. This reallotment will be made from month to month if necessary, so that full credit can at once he given to each district for the recruits it has sent forward as its eligible men volunteer, and so reduce its number of men of military age. The quota of that district will be adjusted from time to time in proportion to the number of men of militar.v age remaining in other disArintfc; ' " ~ ~

A STRONG INCENTIVE. The districts therefore which prefer to continue to raise their quotas under the voluntary principle will thus hive a strong incentive to do so. Further, provided its local authorities supply a proper roll, 110 group will be penalised by having to supply more than its proper quota. A further vital point is that men cannot be selected according to their respective classes when there is no complete roll available. This is of special concern to married men with dependents, who should therefore see that not only are they themselves on the roll, but that every other man is. If men with dependents do not acquaint the Recruiting Committee or Defence authorities with their responsibilities, how can they expect the Recruiting Committee and Defence authorities to know them? Thus the more men there are oi^ 'the rolls the less chance is there of any man being called on before his turn. MORE ENERfiY REQUIRED. Jf citizens over the military age are not to be chraged with lacking in patriotism, then they must display more energy than they are manifesting at present. The work is as urgent as it is necessary, for New Zealand lias to fulfil its military obligations, and injustice is not to be done. With three months gone there is yet a large proportion of the work left to do. Several districts, though late, are now getting under way, but others have done little or nothing at all. It is to these latter districts that the Recruiting Board earnestly appeals, and in doing so would point out that wherever the personal canvass has been tried few, if any, difficulties have been experienced, and no insults have been received. Indeed the general experience has been that men have flocked to the recruiting offices as never before, ensuring the success of the voluntary system loyally for months to come, but in the event of voluntarism failing, the nation must bo in a position to immediately apply compulsion, and this cannot be fairly done without having complete rolls, which in turn cannot be secured without carrying out a complete canvass in each local district. W. F. MASSEY, Chairman of Recruiting Boarfl.