Too Late To Prepare When War Starts

Chronicle (Levin), 16 March 1949, Page 4

Too Late To Prepare When War Starts

WELLINGTON, March 16. " 4No conscription in peacetime' is the slogan now being advanced by^ opponents of compulsory military training," stated the Joint Defenee Aetion Committee of the New Zealand Returned Services' Association, Air Force Association and Homeservice Association in a statement issued today. "The obvious deductions*to be drawn from this are that its propounders favour a system of voluntary enlistment in peacetime and conscription in wartime. If such is the case then they may fairly be expected to be among the ranks of the volunteers, whom all must honbur but whose numbers have proved inadequate in two World Wars.

The truth is that in these days of long ' range ,global . warf are, i which may start-with the push of a button, Jhe armed services must' be adequate and instantly ready to repel any aggressor and finally overcome him. It will be too late in future to begin to get ready after the aggressor launches his attack. To become efficient, the armed; services require to be built up in! peacetime. For this, sufficienttraining is needed to produce the necessary officers and mc.o/s upon whose direction the lives of their men and, indeed, the fate of^the nation must depend. The three. fighting services must always be regarded as interdependent. None can opetate' efiectively without the co-operation: of the other two. This is conclusively demonstrated by the fact that all the Great Powers are developing their armed forces in; proportionate degree and,

in order to be able to do so upon an adequate scale, both Great Britain and the United States have resorted to conscription in peacetime, which is unprecedented in their history. , If. there are any who say that ^ armies are not necessary, now that , we have the Air Force as well as the Navy, then they must explain Away the facts that the Russian Army dominates Europe today, -and that Britain, France, the Benelux countries, 'Norway and the United Staffes are being compelled to create huge armies in order to repel possible aggression. The voluntary system. of recruitment in peacetime, now more than ever, can only mean defeat in wartime, be.cause when future wars break out there will no longer be time in which to prepare .owing to the introduction of long-range weapons. Under conscription, the benefits of the voluntary system and mor« are secured.