WHY DO MORE?

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2531, 4 August 1915, Page 11

WHY DO MORE?

1 Sir, —Viewed from certain aspects, the action taken by New Zealand in respect of the great European War may be regarded as satisfactory. 111 proportion to her population she has responded to the call of arms and to tho claims of charity and humanity as readily, and perhaps even more liberally, than the majority of the Overseas Dominions. She has, moreover, acted wisely in so satisfactorily restoring the industrial and financial equilibrium, after the first few weeks of shock and suspense.

Nevertheless, the thought "Arc wo doing enough?" is beginning to force itself with a persistency wliich will not be ignored. The question is sufficiently important to arrest the attention of every man arid woman possessing a spark of patriotism or a grain of appreciation of the noble heritage which lias been purchased for them by the sweat and. blood of their forefathers. In approaching the question wo should, with equal and scrupulous care, avoid both, a .pessimistic anxiety.and an optimistic indifference. To do so we must face the broad facts witli an unbiassed mind. Notwithstanding these facts, we hug ourselves witli satisfaction wlien we read that "tlie enemy has been repulsed." "AYe maintained our position," and "The positions gained by tho enemy liave no strategical importance." Victory can never emanate from .news of this sort. Further, we cherish tho fond liope that one proud morning we shall wake up and read that a mighty and mysterious army lias driven tho Germans over their frontiers or has severed their communications and surrounded them. Hence, wo'are content to subscribe a few shillings out of our abundance oi' multiply'the number of our field s|)orts in order that the entrance fees for competition may feed the starving Belgians or provide for/th® dependants of the. handful of brave fellows who h.ivo realised their duty ftnd arc performing It nt Uto pf lim/. Qi ii;s gods rod litUj

what liberality and self-sacrifice! Tho question may well ho asked "Are we doing enough ?" To those who desire to do more, the following suggestions are offered:— (1) Let every young man of military age, who is not the sole support of somo member of his family, ponder carefully whero his duty lies. (2) Lot every healthy man whose age exceeds the military limit consider whether it is not possible for him to join tho National Reserve, and thereby show that lie is .at least willing to serve in any capacity of usefulness which may present itself. [In this connection it is suggested that all sports' bodies form special corps and devote every alternate Saturday afternoon (as well as a weelc night) to drill.] (3) Let every wholesale and retail trader consider how lie can maintain his business in viow of tho dislocation of overseas trade. (4) Let farmers, manufacturers,- and merchants avoid all artificial inflations in the price of their goods. (5) Let banks and other financial institutions give liberal terms, consistent with reasonable security to clients. 1 (6) Let ladies -who havo time to devote to social intercourse and functions consider whether they cannot devote a portion of it to alleviating distress, or providing articles of clothing for the soldiers. . (') Let every man and woman prac- ; tice economy % eliminating all luxury m food, raiment, and recreation, and contribute regularly to funds - for tho relief of the sick and wounded. (8) Let a register of* all males between 19 and 50 be taken, showing:— Name, address, age, whether married or single, apparent physical . fitness, total dopendants, partial dependants, trade or profession, .and military training. Prom these particulars the following classification could be readily made: 1. In respect of men of military age , 2. In respect of men between 40 and 50. (a) Single men with 110 dependants or not absolutely essential for the maintenance of commerce and. industry. (b) Single men with dependants. (c) Single men whose services are essential for tho maintenance of commerce and industry. (d) Married men whose services are not essential for the maintenance ,of commerce and industry. With this information in hand the military authorities could at onco call up the men of the greatest fighting worth and the least industrial value,, and' if the struggle is prolonged, continue to send, reinforcements with a minimum of disorganisation to the commerce and industry of the Dominion.-— I am, etc., NIL DESPERANDUM. [This letter has been condensed. —Ed. Dominion.] MANUFACTURE OF Yi'hß MUNITIONS. Sir,—As ono keenly interested in the problem of providing munitions of war, I would like to draw attention in your columns to a very useful munition which, in tho talk of locally-mairafac-tured munitions, has seemingly been left unconsidered. I refer to the handgrenade. This has proved invaluablo in trench warfare, and, from all reports, our troops were, at the beginning of the war anyhow, very ill provided with this most neccssary weapon. Hand-grenades could, according to tlio description given in "Musketry Regulations," be manufactured locally. They have this advantage over shells, that so long as they aro sure and powerful, they need not- be exactly the same weight and dimensions as those of the Imperial store. Also in the liand-grenade any imperfections of workmanship do not have such an effect, because even in the best grenades the most important factor in influencing their effect is the thrower. If this store were •manufactured in New Zealand, it would have a very beneficial effect in allowing the British factories to devote more energy to supplying the Allies with grenades for the Western front. Hoping this may help in starting the manufacture in New Zealand of such munitions. —I am, etc., - INTERESTED.