SECOND DIVISION

Waikato Times, Volume 88, Issue 13475, 4 May 1917, Page 4

SECOND DIVISION

15,000 IN CLASS A

THE DECIDING FACTOR

By lei graph.—Press Association. WELLINGTON. Thursday. No official estimates are available showing the numbers of men in the six classes of the Second Division. The only information of a definite character is that secured by the War Census in December, 1915, when particulars of 208,513 men of military age were officially filed. From this it can be ascertained there are about 15,000 men in Class A, married men of military age without children. It is estimated that the total number in the Second Division is 120,000. At the time of the war census SOUO men of Class A signified their willingness to serve abroad if required, while 50,344 other married men with wife and other dependents gave the same promise. The Minister for Defence, discussing the classification with a press correspondent said the amount of dependence was the principal deciding factor with Cabinet. Men without children went in regardless of military age, but the subsequent classification pays careful attention to the number of dependents. It was thought, in making a separate class after the age of 34, that a good deal of hardship would be saved, as men ot that age are more likely to have settled down with permanent and increasing responsibilities. This also coincided with military ideas regarding the most efficient service age, as a man's adaptability to this life decreases after the age of 34.