OUR MILITARY FORCES

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2620, 16 November 1915, Page 6

OUR MILITARY FORCES

CAMP NOTES AND NEWS FROM 1 VARIOUS ; SOURCES RETURNED OFFICER ON TRAINING The following. temporary appointments have been approved by the Cainp Commandant:— New Zealand Field Artillery,, 10th 'Reinforcements Sergt. Dudley, to be ' 'battery sergeant-major• Cor pi. Hutchinson, to be sergeant; Gunner Cameron, to be bombardier orderly room clerk; Gunners Marsdcn, Stratford, Algie, Coad, Driver, Bridpnan, 6. . 'Andrewartha, A. L. Andrewartha, and Lauren r son, to be corporals. ■ Lieutenant T. Brown has reported at Trentham Camp for duty. He will' be attached to the infantry of tho'l2th. Reinforcements. 1 • " Sergeant-Major M. Hill has been appointed a temporary instructor on. the Now Zealand Permanent Staff for the duration of the war. Fleeoing our Soldiers. Complaints liave reached us of the charges made by taxicab drivers at Tauherenikau Camp to soldiers on leave who wish to visit Feathers ton. The. taxi men are stated to be reaping a rich hardest at the expense of the soldiers. SVo shillings is charged for the run in to Featherston, and'the same amount is charged for the retnm journey—a distajice of about' four miles. The faro might not'appear unreasonable were the taxicabs runningivith single passengers h\it such is not the case. As a matter of fact they usually carry a full load,'; and ss the trip can be made in a few minutes the taxi drivers must be making very substantial profits at. the expense of, the wen who are going to fight their battles abroad. Is there no authority to step in and fix a reasonable fare? Here is a chance for the Patriotic Society .to step in and "shake tilings up." /x .

i Economy and ComfortIt is the practice at ; tho Tauhbrenikau Oamp for the men to have their meals ill the tents in which they sleep.' In the ordinary bell tents, there are eight men, and rations, for eight are served .to each tent. The supply is' liberal and the waste considerable. That waste could bo materially reduced were the • meals of the men served out and eatenin large marquees. Probably what now is ■ ; served out to nine tents .'or seventy-two men would, if . served in -.a large mar.quee, suffice for eighty men.:.'i'£i 'addition, the' eating of the meals in tho living tents attracts flies, and scraps ■ colleot and are .liable to . make things less pleasant ;tha»'they could be. The camp, • of course, is not a permanent one; that is to be situated nearer Peatherston, and_ buildings are now being erected for it; but* in the meantime improvements could with advanijtage, and at no great cost, be made at the existing &it<3. The'water -supply, for instance, might' bo- more liberal. (What there iB of it.is all right, but the method of getting it appears to bo primitive and slow. I

Major Mackesy on Work in Egypt. Referring to the training received by the troops in Egypt, Major Mackesy, in tho course of. an interview at Whangarei, is reported to have stated he was confident they could not have done the work on the Giallipoli Peninsula That they had done if .it had" not been for the good training received on ,the Egyptian sands. He oonsidered the Reinforcements could not hope' to do as much as the main body accomplished unless they had similar training. The 'Work at the front ■ was exceedingly strenuous, V and' only [the strongest of constitutions could stand/,it successfully. The. work soon showed up a man's weak spot if he. should'have one.

The question of faulty teeth had been given a good deal of prominence when enlisting men in New. Zealand. \ How-: ever, he did not think that faulty teetlv was any reason for not "volunteering. 3vhe vast majority of the colonial men fit the front had false 'sets of. .teeth) and if a man was not willing to have iseveral faulty teeth extracted before lie could enlist, well,' perhaps,, it would ■bo better for the man not to enlist, at all. -Even on Gallipoli they had dentists, who were kept busy repairing plates for the men.

Questioned with regard to provisioning, Major Mackesy' said he considered tlie men were well fed, especially when tliey' remembered that they were on active service. • Major Mackesy drew attention to the cheerfulness of tho men at the front. Their bright cheerfulness was "out on its own." As a matter of fact, the men did more singing, laughing, and jcking_ in the trenches than they did while in Egypt. The mess was always bright, and they took the keenest pleasure in trying to "pot" the 'Turks. When tired the men simply retired to their dug-outs and snatched a few hours of sleep. Statistics of Unfitness. Sinco tlie beginning of the present year, .416 Canterbury men . who volunteered for the Expeditionary Forces wero declared temporarily unfit by the medical examiners. In referring to this fact; tlio "Lyttelton Times" says:—, •"This means that no fewer, than 416 .-willing volunteers; sufficient to fill Canterbury's quota for two. reinforcements, 'liave been lost to the province. Ninetcntlis of the temporarily, unfit are'so through bad teeth. The average recruit hasn't got money enough, to buy good teeth. So back he goes to the country, and another man has 'to be •found. If he suffers from varicose .veins, tho medical officer says: 'Get them taken out and come back when ■you are better.' To get them out means an operation at a hospital, and an operation is costly. Again, the average rccannot afford it, so .he keeps his varicose veins and goes back home. De-< fective teeth and varicose veins will dispose of practically all,the 416 temporarily 'unfits' whoso papers lie at the Defence Office to-day."

■ The Tunnelling Company. 'A number of officers and men ,of the 'Avondale Tunnelling Company left 'Auckland by the Main Trunk express an Friday night for their respective homes, where tliey intend spending fclieir final leave.