ARE WE RECRUITING THE RIGHT MEN?

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2523, 31 July 1915, Page 4

ARE WE RECRUITING THE RIGHT MEN?

A great deal has been heard of late of the coming_ short-age of labour when tho harvesting season arrives. The information so far given to the public on the subject has been exceedingly vague,. and the specific facts and figures necessary to elucidate the position have not been forthcoming. Wo all know that 25,000 men have been withdrawn fyom productive labour to take up military service. This represents approximately six per cent, of the total'male breadwinners of the country as shown in the census of 1911. On the attestation, form "of every man enlisted there is recorded his occupation and last plaee of residence. To discover tho character of the labour withdrawn on account of the war and tho localities from which it was withdrawn, it is therefore only necessary to turn a staff of clerks on the papers in the Records Office at Defence Headquarters. With theso details taken out and tabulated according to provincial districts or counties, as.thought necessary, it would bo possible to see at a glance' to what extent the industrial energy of the various portions of the country has l been absorbed for war purposes. A comparison with tho census returns will show approximately whether the burden of the war is being distributed equally among the various industries and callings in given districts.' The census figures disclose the number of men between the ages of 20 and 45 in every occupation in the country. If an unnecessary drain is now being made on country workers it_ should not be a difficult thing to stimulate recruiting in the towns. A perfectly feasible arrangement for drawing upon specific sources of supply would be to form, for instance, "a warehousemen's battalion, a hardware trades battalion, a. country towns battalion, and so forth. With the constant demand for foodstuffs for war purposes and for the civil populations of the Allied nations, th - great aim in rccruiting in New Zealand must be to maintain the full production of the primary industries. The import returns for the first quarter of the year, the latest so far available, show a decline of 22 per cent, in tho total value, as compared with the first quarter of 1914. If this falling off in the imports is moro than temporary it points obviously enough to the towns as the sources from which surplus labour can be best withdrawn. About 20 per cent, of the male breadwinners of the country are engaged in commercial and professional occupations, 31 per cent, are in manufactures and other industries, and 28 per. cent, in agriculture and pastoral work. If tho proportions existing among the general male population are taken as a guide to tho composition of the Expeditionary Forces, it means that about 8000 of tho 102,000 men on tho land in 'the Dominion have joined the colours. Whether this rough approximation represents tho facts-, and in what districts help will be most urgently required, will best be discovered by a tallying of tho men's attestation forms. That tally we would' urge the Government to have taken at once, if it has not already been made, and furthermore- to keep it up to date as each. new batch of men is drafted into cairip. It would also be an excellent step to put the task of enrolling recruits in the hands of civilians, and so free for ! the more important training duties the numerous sergeants 'of _ the. permanent staff who are now tied up with this routine office work.