OUR MEW ARMY.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1017, 5 January 1911, Page 6

OUR MEW ARMY.

Mouthful soldiering and morals. . — — A LETTER AND SOME OPINIONS. « STATEMENT BY THE COMMANDANT. .. " ' ■. & correspondent, who signs himself '"Viator," discusses 'tho possible dangers morals'of tho youth-of New Zealand under the .operation, of a system of compulsory military training such as has been adopted as the basis of the defence of/the country,; and makes grave allegations in respect of certain recent occasions when there have been assembled la%e numbers of troops. He says: My experience on a,, visit to Palmbrston North yesterday (holiday jVloudifr) inspires this, letter. On the railway station' and about its neighbourhood. 1 6qjv a : number of young fellows ui military uniform visibly the worse for liquor end. some on hotel premises indulging intimately with*, girls, evidently • not -their sisters nor the best of ■ companions ' tor them.- If: some of these youuff fellows were 21 years of age and eligible to be lawfully served with liquor 1 would bo surprised. But their j was as stated. ' . '■Now this more than anything elso is ■ what is going to discredit the new military conscription law for youths. ■ mother having two respectable sens, on© of whom had joined the volunteers arid the other of whom was a cadet, told . m'ei that on the occasion* of-Lord Kitcfa'ener's visit, when the younger son was going to camp, she wished the elder' one to-'/go also to look after him, but his rcpl^.was:. 'Mother, we shall bo separated ' and my going wijlvdo no good, and-if you knew .what. goes . on at- camp, you w£uld not wish me to go. I shall not go any more.' The reference was specially tcfrwomen hanging about, the vicinity, of campi;.and. the obscene' talk of some 1 of 'the men.' . s "A minister told mo of another young fgllotv who went to . camp and . who told aim'that the talk-of the men.in. his t£nt, principally, the married men,'near-ly-all the nights through, wasvile and disgusting, including' things he.had neverlizard or thought of before, and that he was resolved not to go-again. 'J.JI know.of a father who ;has resolved to niigrato* with his sons, because the' law compels bim to expose them to this risk, which he is resolved not to do.

, "Another man said to mc, 'There is going to bo some passive resistance over this ' business. When the law puts its hands on my boys and says, Tou /must go to camp/ their father is going to say: 'You sJialLnot. go to camp.' This'father will 6° to gaol before th'ey shall go to 'camp." ~ '""Obviously, when the Stato takes-youths at , their most susceptible, age away, from ' Itarental control to" consort ■■ with' others yfco talk of making men of them by init'iating them into everything that is vile; , a?!-duty'rests upon-, the State to act in ' ' parentis towards; these youths - in : eyery practicable way. One very practicable and ,easy; way would, bo to enact .tliat. whenevercamps, are held the ariti- ; canteen principle shall be extended by 1 prohibiting during camp '.time,' and , the dKy preceding and following, the. serving ■or',-supplyng.of.liquor to anyone in miliuniform,-. whether, at. the; place - of camping- or en<route. to or'from it; and aobrhcr-'to make the _ consorting in uniform Vith women'anywhere in the neigh-! of a camp at aiiy time'during • a,',similar, period'.'a military' offence.. iThe appointment of an officer, in. each tent re--'sponsible l to report'any obscene talk, Villi the'right of-anyone in the tent to'report the-officer if he fails to do so, /would be another. , right and practicable ' thinjs to • Mr of the kind is not done, notioply will there be manyparents who . will.-suffer any-i-penalty' rather, than let their son's, go to. caimp, but tho most" de- . sirable: immigrants,.yrill avoid a Country, conscription 'Tor . Boys.involves the. present.moral hazards, "i-country is not -worth- defending from material foes at'the cost of the-vanquish-ing of its manhood by moral foes." .•' '« ■ A Reassuring Statement. , "A copy of the foregoing letter,, prior ' to ' publication, was brought .-under the notice of Major-General A.-F. Godley, C.B. (Commandant" of the New Zealand Forces), who desires it to be made known . that "it is the steadfast intention of. the military authorities to take the necessarysteps to ensure that thiero is.no drinking, immorality, within, .or arouiid military camps, and that lapses in this respect will be most severely dealt .with." • .'As regards obscene language, the remedy fpr that lies, it, is\ added, in-. the hands of .-.the men themselves, and in those of the'. , non-commissioned officers in charge. Since obscene language is a matter , for discipline, .no "more need be said. ■ It :is '. punishable in the British Army, and it ' should he, and will be, also in this Dominion's Defence Forces.. Military Discipline a.'Le.velleoup, 'Tour. correspondent Tiator,' on- the subject of soldiering and morals, certainly points', out' certain defects, and suggests dangers to the moral well-being ot tho young men who are to bo the future deof this Dominion," remarked a - highly-placed officer of tho- Headquarters Staff, when interviewed by a representative of The Dostinio:;, "but," ho added, "with proper regulations such' dangers should be minimised. ■If the young men of, New Zealand' are prepared to submit to the strictness of military-laws, as the soldiers-at-Homo are—such laws ' being-a necessity for the proper regulation ofmilitary forces-in barracks or in-camp— their parents need bo -under no apprehensions as to tho deterioration ■ of' their 60ns' 'morals. ; The whole question of morals lies in the hands of tho individuals who will form tho defence forces of this .Dominion, and I maintain that the example:of those who neither drink nor ■use bad language—and these should, be in tlio majority—combined with their, will to discountenance drinking, swearing, and immorality, in others, will bavo its, good effect in a general.levclling-up all round. In this I consider that 'Viator', and : his friends who nro of his way of thinking are .taking tho wrong view. Let their precious sons be the. missionaries,of national improvement; there is a great task beforo them, and.one. worthy to be undertaken. If their sons cannot work in camp with , other young men without a fear of being contaminated, then they are not' worth much, and not fit to be ■ trusted '• away from their homes in any case. One of;.the great advantages' of universal service is the opportunity of lovelling-up • that goes with it; good examplo must always be stronger than bad exa'mple. The King's Uniform, ••"No doubt," continued ' the speaker, "f'Viator' saw young. men,- dressed .in uniform, the worse for liquor at Palmerston, and I dare say if ,he hnd carried his researches further lie would have seen others, not dressed in" uniform,' in the same distressing state. -This, of course, does not excuse those in uniform; it only shows the want of proper military laws and regulations. In Great Britain this would have been impossible, or almost so, and for the reason that where sucli a gathering of what is known as 'the military' takes place adequate precautions are taken against disgraceful scenes by a force of military police, who are responsible for good order, and : military discipline in the environs of a military gathering. But—and here is a point worthy of consideration by.citizens of this Dominion—the discipline, self-respect, and esprit do corps of the British soldier prevents him from making a disgraceful object of himself. He knows well enough that if lie is drunk in public he is disgracing the uniform of the army in general, anil that of his regiment in particular, and it is chiefly his consideration for the good name of the latter that keeps him straight." When the young soldiers of New Zealand have appreciated the value of discipline, self-respect, and esprit do corps, there will be no need for timid fathers of families to go to prison rather than risk the morals of their sons in camp;'

Example and Precept, •"Discipline and strict discipline at that, W, the keynote' of all good military order, and if !tlie people of Niiv 'Zealand' will give the military authorities tho necessary free, hand in enforcing, it, and tho young;men will submit freely to it, then there aeed be ho more wild talk about tile danger to morals i.a camp or elsn-

where! But, I repent, the'moral forco of good example will have the greatest effect possible in rendering .military . lifo clean and sweet, 'Viator' and his friends will'do more harm than good by crying ■'stinking fish' at this early period. -SlucU better bury them out of sight, and not poison the nation with such offal."

The "N.C.0," and the Army, "We must liavo the very best non-com-missioncd officers we can get if we are to succeed in keeping the service clean and sweet," was the dictum'of another senior officer' of the Permanent Staff, with whom the interviewer discussed tho question. The speaker went on to say that' one of tho greatest difficulties officers of tho New Zealand mounted regiments in South Africa had to contend with was the stiffening up of the re-, sponsibility of their non-commissioned officers. "A non-commissioned .officer must realise that lie is on duty all/the time. Ho should he always with tho men during camp, and so maintain his grip. His influence counts, sin South Africa one would see a non-cominission-ed officer ,whq was. not on active duty at the time, stand calmly by'with his hands in his. pocliots.'.and .witness wrongdoing right under his very nose."

Influence of the People. Generally speaking, however, ho continued, it was clear, from tho experience of tho conscrip system in Germany and Franco that tho influence of the people as a whole would tell in the long run. Take .the French Army before 1870, when men could buy themselves out of the conscription. Tho army became a harbouring placo for the'riff-raff.:'and the criminal classes. After 1870, tho purchase of freedom from service was .abolished, everybody who was called upon had to go -through his service, and !the result was that tho nation as a whole began to take a keen interest in tho army. Solicitude for' relatives in the service begat a kindlier feeling towards the soldiers in general, and the influenco of tho people's interest' was plainly perceptible in the greater' comfort and higher tone which was noticed later in the army. The same was true of Germany. Soldiers billeted with a particular family were treated with kindness. and hospitality for the sake of relatives billetted elsewhere, ,au.d for whom they hoped- equal 1 comforts. ' The army was part, of the nation's lifo reflecting tho morals and tone'df'the nation,' and responding to its influenco for refinement and loftier ideals. ...