COUNTRY'S NEEDS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 6, Issue 5, 16 September 1942, Page 2

COUNTRY'S NEEDS

IMPORTANCE OF RAILWAYS Commendation of the patriotic attitude shown by several Railway Department employees who appeared in person to oppose appeals for their retention in the service was expressed by the- chairman of the No. 1 Armed Forces Appeal Board (Wellington), Mr M. F. Luckie, during hearings. One of the reservists. a Grade i man, while admitting that mainlenanee work in his branch was be hind requirements, said that he thought possibly a returned man o", someone older than ho was could be found to take his place. "1 oppose the appeal because of my medical grading and the fact that the country needs (it men," he added. "If 1 don't go, another man, possibly with more children, will have to go." Another reservist, a grade "2 man, said he felt he had a duty to perform and thai; he might be of more value to the country in the Armed Forces than in the Railway Department. Mr Luckie said that the reservists had acted in a very proper and patriotic spirit, but. they should bear in mind the. importance of their woi-C; and its close bearing on the efficiency of the Armed Forces. The whole country had to be considered so far as its safety and the efficiency of the railways were concerned. ''So long as the Department is slocked witli men of your calibre, there is nothing to fear for its future," Mr Luckie told one of the men.