THE YOUNG MAN V. THE OLD MAN.

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2478, 3 June 1915, Page 6

THE YOUNG MAN V. THE OLD MAN.

Sir, —In your issue of to-day's date appears a letter by one "Veteran," allegedly a reply to ''Young Ne*v Zcalandcr." "Veteran" is a typical old man shirker. His ieply is in-the nature of a denial tliat ''Young New Zealandcr" has any riglit to use his powers of reason in this matter while lie religiously shirks and dodges "Young New Zealander's" main contention. His "reply" is no reply at all, his letter is illogical and irrelevant, but typical of a great many that have recently appeared in your columns on the subject of the shirker. I allude to it on that account. Now, sir, an old man possessing £1000 and n sufficient salary to live upon has a greater opportunity of helping his country than a young man who has nothing but his life to ofFer. To givo £1000 is a smaller sacrifice than to give one's life or health, and £1000 is worth more than one soldier. (It could lie spent on sending several bread-win-ncrs to the front who could not get away But the typical old man with a CI OO'J is con tent to give jCSO, £30, or iCoO as the case may be, never, or hardly ever, £1000. Many n young man is prepared to sacrifice his chance of health, wealth, and life, but, 1 do not know of a single old man who has offered all ho has barring a eiaiulo livelihood. 1 repeat that fcha

ordinarily, prosperous old man lias a greater chance of helping his country (and at smaller sacrifice) than the average young man, but he seldom does so much as the young man because he is

more cowardly than the young man, and far more often a shirker. If the old men do not give, how can tliey expect the young men to go and fight Germans for them? Personally, I do not think that old men should givo their money or young men their lives. I think that the State should take all it requires of both by taxation and conscription. But if t'he young men give their lives, t'he old men should give their money—all of it save a bare living. As it is, they just talk, and talk," and talk. May I be allowed to quote from Mr. Kudyard Kipling? It js from a poem called "the Old Men": "The Lamp of our youth will he utterly out, but we &liall subsist on the smell of it; And whatever we do, we shall fold our arms and suck our gums and think well of it: Yes, we shall he perfectly pleased with our work and that is tlio perfectest hell of it." I am, etc., G.M.C. Wellington, Juno 1, 1915.