SHIRKING BEHIND CATTLE

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 05, Issue 85, 31 July 1942, Page 3

SHIRKING BEHIND CATTLE

ALL FIT MEN SHOULD TRAIN

R.S.A. PRESIDENT'S VIEW

"It is a disgrace to think that there are seme fellows shirking behind cows and sheep while young women and young married men -with families are being called up for service," declared Mr A. Topham, president of the Morrinsville Returned Services' Association, when executive members of the Morrinsville branch of the Farmers' Union gathered at the Municipal Chambers recently to consider, at the request of the District Primary Production Council, farm labour problems. Mr Topham urged that while produce lion should be kept to a maximum soldier-fanners who had completed a minimum of three months' training .in camp should be released and replaced by those eligible farm workers who had done no training. All knew that there were a number of men sheltering behind their jobs and thus shirking their responsibilities, and there was no good reason' why all lit men should not receive three months' training. Mr Top hum added that the Government had a scheme under -which genuine conscientious objectors were paid at the same rate as so'-ldiers, the balance of their normal rate of pay being devoted to the patriotic funds. This scheme might easily be applied to farmers who were regarded as genuine conscientious object' ors. Several other speakers supported Mr Topham's remarks, although it was realised that there "were exceptional cases where there was only I one man on a farm.