MILITARY SERVICE

Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 21144, 20 June 1940, Page 6

MILITARY SERVICE

CONSCRIPTION ISSUE MANY PROBLEMS INVOLVED WAR COUNCIL TO CONSIDER (By Telegrapb. —Special to TUnaa* WELLINGTON, Wednesday 1 The Prime Minister, the Hon. P. j Fraser during the debate in the House of Representatives on the Imperial Supply Bill tonight, stated that the introduction of conscription for military service would be considered by the war council at its first meeting, probably this week. Mr Fraser added that many problems | were involved and said that the I regulations could provide only the i machinery.

i Mr Fraser said that one of the first ! jobs of the war council when it met, which he hoped would be this week, ; would be to decide what action to ! take to enforce compulsory enrolment. The council included men with I long and important military experii ence. The problems were intricate, including compulsion for home service and overseas service and the ' interlocking of both services. Men | might be called up this month for i home service and probably in a 1 month or two for overseas service. It would be humanly impossible for any regulations or Act to provide for all the details of any scheme. I “All I can say is that compulsion lis the keynote of the regulations—compulsion in regard to persons and property—and it is just a question of how that is to be put into oper- ! ation,” said the Prime Minister. “That will be the very first problem the war council will have to consider. There is no shirking of the issue. There are a number of problems to be decided, such as the detailing of the remaining volunteers into the compulsory system. Decisions have to be made. If they do not reflect the spirit and the letter of the regulations they will be a fraud on the people.”