LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2557, 3 September 1915, Page 3

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

MUNITIONS OF WAR,

• Sir,—While ono cannot but admire . . those who 60 enthusiastically entreat the-engineere of New Zealand to mako : ■ munitions of war, .and whiles there may ,he diilerences of opinion on the matter, wo do give- credit for enthusiasm and ..patriotism to' those who aver, we'roil ' mako \ir not shells. There aro difficulties, of- course, in tho ■ '..way, and it'is to suggest air altoma-; ' tive,veasier, .butvno less . useful' and , patnotic, that I seek: space now. ' < a '. First let mc point: out somo of • tho . -:more potent * difficulties we«must'.- face • ■■ an-ordinary, mtmition making. J ■ . . i'.. I/have.;;beeii • through', most, of . tho ; ilarger workshops in. New Zealand,' and jclairn, by- virtuo-of ordinary '.intelligence ■!and-years, of workshop ; experience, to know;.wdiat'.work is,/and/can be'.turned; - . 'out, with the plant on land at present. '' .lii many.of the sliops the class of work; -/'.- turned out- is of the very best, greatly . because'tho plant has been planned to . : j'tum; out; such work; 'but each - owner r.' ; will;-: Ivfeel- aire, readily agree that; if a different class ,of ■v ?vork) is wanted,/ then a reorganisation tof plant is necessary. To ; organise a plant for specialities: takes 1 a very long time,', and to reorganise any' workshop plant, existing in New Zealand to-day, ■ <or purposes of gun or shellrmaking, is . a;".work of ; many months,- will eat up .•/ time, and time just now is more. than taoney, and is the life of our nation; • put /given a plant (from where?) : suit, . iible/ we should still - want very highlytrained experts. I .was through the ammunition works in: Auckland lately, ■. and 'was impressed' the erf-reme' • care and .adroitness jin.- small ammunition:-, work,' and-not;only in finishing, but in the roughing out. Where can iexpert's be gotten at present? _ Then we want material. An entltusiast a Vi a few,, days ago -writes-of the tons of eteel and iron lying about in the shape of old 'ploughs, : etc. Admitted, with this' reservation, thero is steel and . the right class of. steel and, '-■! the right man to : rightly that' . ftecl, for sure the pioneer of Blenheim, .: .who - made a shell r lately, would have- • secured:'.tile desired' result. (1 think ho deserves' the - thanks' and gratitude ■: i:©f all for his < very - noble,: and; under i . : t'he'circumstances, ■ successful, att-empt). AVhere is material to ! be got from, just I now? . But given all the conditions—is I i .it economy .to try :and do something | when we are already- 'succcesful - (in | quality, not in quantity), in doing work j which, if intensified in. quantity, is go- | ■ ing to be just as useful to our_Empire's l : needs - as- powder, and shot.; '■. - . . j ' ' "An army marches on its stomach." ] , New Zealand can -do a; great deal to-1 .wards making 'that,,stomach. /We make ; • thd best, beef, 'and mutton, cheese and ,butter, wheat and oats, v, Let mo ask, ; ■ .are we .making all we'can? Of. courss ■ .-we are ; not,; and I submit it is more . economical, more- advisable, more >liko ' -common* -sense/ to increase , oiir 'output ■ ;of these -indisponsible '-mtmitions" than . -try.others we wot-not of.. . A hint was convejed to possible .investors in Now Zealand that they were . .■> not'looked to for subscribing:*i<>'stock' 'in Imperial war ,loans; but cannotwe :easo Old England's. load just as practically by. ensuring that all New Zealand can produce; above lier own needs, ; wijl' be given at the lowest-.productive, price,- to help: reduce the millions the - stomachs ot our armies need. Let us ; therefore/ see how hest we can: so in-: -. creaso' our output, lio'w best we may , .' "secure that every advantago may bo / gained througli the beit maeliiiteryj : 'implements,, mode of iarming, harvest--ling, and carrying. It is patriotic now. . to see that every- acre,is-tilled; every , incentive. given to every- owner of^■ every.• acre/ and that,the:,,full assistanceof ■ ■thevState is.his.-/Ho-iEhould'lbe/guar-:';-,:.:«nteed-his, hire::or profit,'{that-hisfwill, , 'be .every advantage of the.'best : ments, 6tc., furbished, if'Jiecessaryv'by ;the State—aye, even- labour, advice/iand r/direction—the i";StStej,;': becoming'' 'senior '.' /making/for ;bne .ohjectivo ''and'-. t;oal. Tliat ,every pound 'of meat, 'every bushel of wheat, and every morsel of . .. produce shall- be .woh'- 'aii/the - minimum.' '/." ,-cost, / and / that given to the.needs-of : Britain'<ind her « j Allies■■ at: ■ thevery. ■ lowest price." ' A visit to i such, workshops as-M'Alis>- ; ,ter's, and others, of Invcrcargill, Reid ■ and Gray's, .Booth, /Duncan's, . and ■ others', is convin'cing that tlio inacliinery : ''~ of /tliejhest.'.caij-ibe-. TMiajnfe:tri, •.lys shown how " such is, to bo placed . TFithm the • financial reach of evervsmall, as well as' larste, farmer. -Let • tho^new,Minister of Munitions see to, /"; 'it/,closely./that the fproducts,,;of/:;New : .'Xealaud be our. .share of the munitions ■ /of warrrthat': .the'' 'putput/be ; increased' our- exports to the i.ivery .limit; /ru'sli.-away' 'our-; fdodsttiffs; in' ; .'shiploads, lessen tho' burden' that hard ■/'/Resets. Ithe" -coiiimissariat/ dicpartments '•! o? the; Allied armies, and thus -.New ' Zealand rieed nqt ' trouble over; talkiiifi ■ - about* the manufjeture of, shells- and machine-guns,- when we have neither, •nor can we .procure-material nor ma-,':.-chinery./'in ..time/at /'our /disposal •for such work. —I :mi, otc.. J E JENKINSON ' /.; . Wellington, September .1, "1915. - ■

►. MACHINE GUNS AND MUNITIONS. Sir, —'Without wishing in any way to ■ underrate the really fine work done by 'our Government since the commencement of the war, one may be permit- >' ted, without' being unpatriotic, to questionwhethor: everything possible is > boing done, on our side of the world, ' to carry the war to a speedy and s»c- --->: cessful iiiiisli. The failure of the move. 1 mentto provide our men with, addi--1 tional-machine guns is a matter which •: is full of significance; becauso it ap--1 pears to amount to nothing less than \ a tacit : acknowledgment on the part of l'l tho Government that they , are unable < to put our men on the same favourable > footing a& -regards macliiuo'guns as V Canada or .South Africa, or worse still, our adversaries. In a war, of. attrition 1 such ias we. understand this to be, it ; does, not' require, a military expert to; i say': which side' would, get, .worn;.do'wn 1 ' first'if; sill the. Allies .were in. the same position as our men appear to be in respect of machinc guns; , / To many of us the events of the past feiV; months jhave; proved very- clearly ; .that .iu setting up our Defence system. a want'of foresight, was sjiown, when, perhaps for the sake of a few extra ■ thousands .'per annum, by. way of inter-, . est on^capital-outlay, pi - for some other ■' reason, the authorities ,decided , to. deperid, on .outside'. sources of supply for. »' those munitions;which alone could make the system offective, One cannot bc- !. lievo that' it is ,yet too, late to remedy 1 this state, of things to some extent; ■ and ? it!woiild allay ; a growing feeling of -uneasiness; if the. Government could snow / that they are following Great Britain's ■ -lead, /and 'have done; and are still doi ing; everything ipossible to organise our mechanical fojees. in the. direction, if not i. of setting up a small arms and machine ■ gun factory complete'in New Zealand i or'in cooperation with Australia, at • .least ■ a finishing ■ shop, in which only,. those parts - whicli absolutely could not >' be made here ivould need to be . imported. : ■ ' ':It is" easy to understand 'that England, which a few months -ago was, m respect .of munitions,' almost as; disorganised as we are, is not in a position ; to supply our wants; but surely, if asmall commission of energetic and competent mechanical .engineers were sent to Canada,- Japan, or the United States to purchase the necessary plant, or to ', get a supply,,/of- thpse .parts which cotifcl not be made here within a reasonable 'time,.' something ' tangible would result. ;/ 'This'; suggestion is .made: with all due deference, and is prompted by the, dc:are';wfi{cfl;is'i'sliared ! by,' : j?s all . that'our ." brave men:, at'.tho frolic- 'may have not onlj; as good, but a better fighting- , equipment; than .their: adversaries, aind, because it' is possiblo 0 that tho Government are so much - occupied with the immediate pressing needs of the. moment; that' this, most important matter, of munitions has not received that-at-tention which passing events show that it demands.—l am, etc., R. D. FEN. Mitau Bay,/Peloras Sound..