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Taranaki Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 16302, 30 November 1918, Page 2

Sir. Roosevelt often makes interesting suggestions, and in a recent speech produced one that shows sound com-mon-sense. He said; “IVe'now have an approach to the universal service which some of us have for years been demanding. We now have all men from 18 to 45 required to servo thefr country and required to register. Let us make this system permanent, and let us use it for tho purposes of peace no less than" for tho purposes of war. Let us extend tho principles to women no less than to men. Let us have suffrage on service. Let us demand the service from women as wo do from men, and in return give tho suffrage to all men and women who in peace and war perform this service, and to no others.” The proposal has the great advantage of combining capacity for service with the right to, vote. During tho present war women have shown their willingness and capacity to work for tho State in a manner that was totally unexpected, and Mr. Roosevelt's proposal is simply an attempt to ensure that in-future this patriotism shall bo of more value because the women will bo better trained and more efficient.. Tho .scheme docs not specially look forward to war, but will also ho of enormous value in peace time. During tho present epidemic many lives have been, saved because a few women in a district have had some knowledge of what to do in case of illness, and unfortunately some lives have been lost because people have been ignorant of tho simplest facts about nursing. If wo imagine tho system adopted here every young man would spend six months in camp or in being trained in some other work of value to tho State in case of emergency. In ail instances physical exercises would form an essential part of the work. Women would similarly be trained for six months, though exactly what programme would he provided, except physical training, it is not easy to say without some thought. It should, however, be possible to plan useful courses to suit all tastes. Once tho new scheme was in force men and women who attained the ago of 21 would be placed on the rolls only if they presented a certificate of satisfactory sor-