The Wanganui Chronicle. "Nulla Dies Sine Linea." THURSDAY, MAY 8, 1919. ANZAC DAY PARADE.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXVI, Issue 7565, 8 May 1919, Page 4

The Wanganui Chronicle. "Nulla Dies Sine Linea." THURSDAY, MAY 8, 1919. ANZAC DAY PARADE.

Ie will be remembered that after tho parade in Christchurch on Anzac Day, Colonel CJiafley, Officer Commanding the Canterbury Military District, sent a communication to the Returned Soldiers' Association pointing 'out that many of tho returned soldiers who took part in tho parade had shown a to<tal disregard of discipline, and stating that in the absence of some guarantee of better behaviour in the future the question of allowing returned soldiers to participate in military functions would have to be seriously reconsidered. The Colonel said that auoh behaviour as playing "two-up" while at the saluting base, insulting remarks passed by the mea in the ranks towards officers, smoking and calling out while on the march through the city could not be tolerated, The local Returned Soldiers' Association passed no comment on the letter, merely deciding that it should "iie on the table." This was rather a weak course to follow, and it/ is o£en to the inference that the association felt itself ahable to defend the bc/iaviour of some ol ita members. We believe that throughout the Dominion public opinion generally endorses the views expressed by Colonel Chaffey, and we feel sure that his sentiments are shared by a very largo majority of the men who have nobly ia-.r» t\.°ir p a .rt ;-n the fightiig stones. The "New Zealand Times," however, went out of its way to attack Colonel Chaffey, and for this its Christohurch namesake takes it severely to task. In what the "Lyttelton Times'' describes as an absurd article entitled "Insulting the Army" the "N.Z. Times'' declared that Colonel Chaffay "lacks discretion" and that his letter "suggests some peppery martinet of the old days, purple with fury because a recruit has failed to salute him—consigning the entire service to the. dogs." To this the "Lyttelton Times" retorts that Colonel Chaffey has just emerged from more than four years of experience that would test any dflicer, nnd if there is one thing uipon which opinion should be unanimous it is that he prov«xl himself full of tact, discretion and kindness, and that the last accusation that could fairly be made against him is that h© is a martinet or a too-strict disciplinarian. Colonel Chaffey's com- I plaint was more than justified; it was his imperative duty to say that a recurrence of some of the things that happened on Anzae Day cannot be tolerated. For it must be remembered that tho parade consisted for the most part of cadets and territorials, upon whose plastic minds the power of example is very great. These boys and youths look upon the men who - have fought as heroes —an<i they are heroes. As a body tho men of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force Jhave made for themselves fin imperishable, name, which no misbehaviour on the part of a few em/*tak6 away. But parades without discipline are impossible, and Oalonol Chaffey would have rendered a great disservice to the country if he had allowed ihe occurrences on Anzac Day to pass unrebuked. As our Christchurch contemporary^rightly says, the "New Zealand Time?" ought to support instead of condemn that officer, especially since it confesses that the behaviour com-, plained of was "bad, vulgar and a conjlcnvptible breach of an honourable understanding in no way enforceable, a thing disgraceful to the men who took part in it and dishonouring to the uniform th^y wore privileged to wear." And yet the "Times," with peculiar inconstancy, calls Colonel Chaffey a pep pt-'ry, purple martinet for making a comment very much milder than Us c»wn. However, our. Wellington contemporary was promptly answered by a returned soldier who witnessed the parade as a- spectator. He writes to the

"Now Zealand Times" bearing tes.'imony to th>) commanding officer's tact and popularity and expressing ihn shame that ho and many comrades felt when they bihv the uniform disgraced. Just h<?re, we may say that vrc very much regret the decision of the Wan-

gauui Returned Soldiers' Association to discard the uniform in favour of mufti on all future occasions when returncl men are invited to take part in pitblic ceremonies. The reason given for that decision does not appeal to us as being sound and soldierly, and representations which have been made to us by a considerable number of men of all ranks leads us to believe that the decision meets with the disapproval of the large majority of the returned men (A this district. One soldier, with a long and honourable record of service, assures us of his conviction that if the question -v.iere to be fairly and impartially stated and a vote taken of a'l the men who have returned fully 95 per cent, of them would declare themselves emphatically opposed to the mufti decision. We hope, therefore^ that che officers of the Association will 'take an early (opportunity of having the matter i reconsidered and detei*mined by a thori oughiy representative vote. It .will bo deplorable if on the occasion of the approaching Peace celebrations Hie nwn of whom wo are all so justly proud turn out in indistioKuishabJ© "civics" in- | stead of in the uniform in which they so bravely and honourably served tlwr I country.