ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY NEW VOLUNTEERS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 2, Issue 161, 17 May 1940, Page 4

ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY NEW VOLUNTEERS

ECHELON number three, sees no less than one hundred and fifty new volunteers leaving the Whakatane district for the various military camps in the Dominion. This splendid response from an area with a limited population is indicative of the growing sense of responsibility among" our young men, and (intensification of the Empire's war effort. Still the volunteers are coming forward, and the local recruiting officer reports that there is always a fairly large batch to pass the medical board when these examinations are held. There appears to be little chance of this district failing to fulfil its quota, and the reflection should stir a responsive chord of pride and satisfaction in the hearts of citizens, the veterans of the last war. The withdrawal of one hundred and fifty virile young men from the community, however must have a far-reaching effect upon iind.ustry and business activity. In most instances the position has been met by the employment of younger men, who are not as yet eligible for service abroad. There are again instances of cutting down staffs to meet a diminishing demand, but fortunately this is more the: exception to the rule:, rather than the general reaction. In many cases greater responsibilities have been thrown on the heads of firms, who hampered by Unionism find it uneconomic to risk employment of new and untried hands. The greatest effects however have been felt by the farmingcommunity where in spite of the efforts to preserve agricultural workers, by classifying them as "protected" the drift of men away from the land to the military camps has been going on for months to an alarming extent. It is the Government's duty to stem this serious leakage of .primary workers if it hopes for any response to its. appeal for greater production. From the Patriotic point of view the keenness of young farm workers to enlist appears to be, and is, most praiseworthy, but the fact remains that it is just as important to produce the necessities of life for the conduct of a major war as it is to shoulder a rifle and march off with the fighting forces. Whakatane's magnificent response to. the call to arms has however given this centre something to be proud of. With the inclusion of the latest lists it is probable that no less than three hundred young men have: answered and are either away already or will be in camp in the near future. With each and everyone of them goes the town's sincerest wish for "good luck and a safe return .