MILITARY TRAINING.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXV, Issue 18613, 8 July 1930, Page 12

MILITARY TRAINING.

To the Editor of the “ Tlmaru Herald.” '■ Sir, —As a good deal of space in your J 3 paper is taken up at times by people 1 airing their opinion on trifling matters ? such as ‘‘being kept awake by dogs c barking at night,” and ‘‘who plays the * rougher game of football, Britain or s the All Blacks?” I would crave space * in your paper to say something on a ' matter of more importance to New Zealand. There has been a good deal J of controversy regarding our defence system lately, and I have read the ( remarks of different persons? for and , against the merits of compulsory training. As an old soldier, I would just like to say that military training never . hurt any man. It made men of a good many, and if there is any good . in a man, it generally brings it out. At the same time, the wasters and 1 rotters are generally brought out in ; their true colours. All those who ’ fought in the last war know this to be true. I notice at a meeting addressed by Lieutenant Colonel Inglis, in Timaru a few night ago, one speaker’s objection to compulsory military training, was that it is unpopular amongst the young men. Well what of it? Is that sufficient reason to abolish it? Are we to do only the things that are agreeable to us, regardless of consequences? If it is a personal matter, what one does is one’s own funeral, but if it is a national matter, I say “no” emphatically. The volunteer system is out of date and useless, and in any case why should a few who are men enough to volunteer, shoulder the responsibility of those who would sooner shirk. We saw enough of this during i the last war. When war breaks out, we look to experienced men to see us through, but in peace time we hesitate to accept their advice, because it does not suit us. The rising generation seems to abandon itself to sport and selfish amusement. If sport and amusement were a national duty what a wonderful country this would be. Nobody is keener on sport than I am, but one cannot help feeling that it is being overdone to the detriment of other things, and that the time has come to apply the brakes a little. The men who play football are not my heroes so much as they who lie buried on the battlefields—the men who gave us what we have, the men who did their duty although perhaps it was “unpopular.” Let us hope we will never have anything worse than dogs barking to keep us awake at night. Let the Government see to it without fear or favour. —I am, etc. “FOUR YEARS OVER THERE.”