ALLIES’ WAR AIMS

Waikato Times, Volume 126, Issue 21034, 9 February 1940, Page 7

ALLIES’ WAR AIMS

OBJECTIVES NOT CLEAR EXCUSE FOR NOT ENLISTING YOUNG MAN’S CONTENTIONS (Special to Times) TE AWAMUTU, Thursday. Contending that the Allies’ war aims had not been made clear, a young man submitted this as his excuse for not enlisting at a meeting held at Te Awamutu last night for the purpose of forming a recruiting committee. He said that he was a single man with no dependents and he had served in the territorials and was fit. What held him back from enlisting was the fact that no one could tell him just why the war was bein? fought and what were the real peace aims of the Allies. He had been told that the fight was against Naziism and all the horrors emanating therefrom, but when the Allies were advocating the policy of appeasement, the “soft pedal” was down on Nazi activities. He wanted to know what was to be put in the place of Nazi-ism and what was proposed to be done aftei winning the war. The Prime Minister of Great Britain had been asked what were the peace aims of the Allies, and his reply had been that France would have to be consulted. The Prime Minister of France had *»been asked the same question, but he had replied that it was too early to make a statement, 'ihey would not get down to defining what type of peace settlement was sought, and he wanted to know just what this was before he would enlist. Tfie speaker moved a resolution that the meeting ask the Prime Minister to make a statement why New Zealand declared war and what sort of a peace settlement was wanted. “Disloyal and Seditious” Mr J. H. Ansell, who seconded the motion pro forma, said that the question was no concern of the meeting. Mr Edmonds, president of the Returned Soldiers’ Association, which was strongly represented, said that after hearing the remarks of the speaker he felt that the greatest way to assist recruiting would be to protect soldiers on leave and others from the disloyal and seditious utterances which the meeting had just heard. The chairman, Mr G. Spinley, said he was not prepared to listen to such talk and declined to accept the motion. The matter then dropped. Stimulating Recruiting

The meeting was convened by the Mayor of Te Awamutu, Mr G. Spinley, and the chairman of the Waipa County Council, Mr S. C. B. Macky. Mr Spinley reported that at a meeting of representatives of the South Auckland district, held in Hamilton, addresses had been given by Sir Ernest Davis and others, and though it was practically unanimously agreed that compulsory service was necessary, it was decided that in deference to the Prime Minister’s request some effort be made to stimulate recruiting on the voluntary basis. For that purpose it had been decided to form recruiting committees in the various centres.

Mr C. O. Edmonds, president of the Returned Soldiers’ Association, said that the local branch endorsed the attitude of the Dominion Executive which was that, while the association was of the opinion that compulsory service was necessary and should be brought into force, it would do all it could to assist the voluntary system as long as the system was operating. The association felt that there was little that a recruiting committee could do, and any suggestion that men should be buttonholed in the street and told that they would look better in khaki was purely impertinence. The responsibility was that of the Government and it was not right to push the job on to committees.

Suggesting that a means of stimulating recruiting would be the opening of an Army office in Te Awamutu, Mr Ansell moved that the Minister of Defence be asked to open such an office in the town. The motion was carried.

The following recruiting committee was elected: Messrs N. Rossiter, C. O. Edmonds, H. T. Haselden, Weightmann, B. Malone, I. Parsons, with the Mayor and county chairman as ex officio members.