NATIONAL SERVICE AND RECRUITING

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2622, 18 November 1915, Page 6

NATIONAL SERVICE AND RECRUITING

VIEWS OF OUR READERS

SOME DOWNRIGHT OPINIONS

CONSCRIPTION

Sir, —"Con" together, 1 "scribo" to write. With few exceptions New Zealanders of military age have performed their part of the writing, and, in literal truth, tho attempt of some of Labour officialdom to make a bogy of the word conscription is belated and futile. What they aro protesting against is the growing demand for solidarity, for national co-operation, wherein each must do his part; for effective means of dealing with 'shirkers aud dodgers in this our greatest fight. Who have been more insistent preachers of these necessities .than those same men of war. They prido themselves on their militancy. Tbey havo called on the loyalty of the rank and file of workers to fight disputes which ought to havo been settled by arbitration, and no cxcuso was accepted to enable any to escape 1 participation in tho strife. They deliberately widened the areua of conflict, and hesitated not to employ every method of compulsion thoy could devise to en-' 6tre each worker doing what they called his duty. Before the leaders of the Federation of Labour transform themselves into apostles of liberty of choice, let them publicly recant their past error. If voluntaryism is the acme of conduct in tho light for national existence, then prove it by application to minor matters wherein the risks of failure are retrievablo.

Instead of Mayors repeating the thread-worn stock phrase of a volui teer being worth toil pressed men, let them advocate liberty for their payers, so that tho payment of rates may be optional and not compulsory. Why should tho State declare it a crime for a person to knowingly neglect a required action to save tho lives of those dependent 011 him, and permit a person to please himself whether lie does bis part to save t-lie_ life of the State? Does the State that is doing increasingly more for' our equipment and protection possess no mandatory call for our service, 110 matter how sore pressed she-bo? Surely there is no blunder more colossal iliaii to permit, any avenue of escapo from the common obligation- to conserve tile social upbuilding of the centuries. Even our enemies teach us better conceptions of tho duty of State servico. Adam Smith's first axiom of the principles of taxation applies with greater force to the call for mon. Tho subjects of ev-c-ry State ought to contribute to the support of tho Government as nearly as possible in proportion to their respective abilities.

So much for theory, now for practice. Olio mother—a widow—lost four sons 011 the field of battle, another two aro at the frout, and tho last lad she has is on his way thcro. A fatherrich in this Torld's goods—travels far to dissuade tho only one of his sons who showed -an inclination to enlist. One northern centre a fortnight ago publicly farewelled its first and only recruit. 'A fow miles further north in another centre practically every man of military ago has enlisted. Can anyone doubt theso citations are exceptional? We may not parallel the British caso of a V.C. hero ontering a den of lions ill ordor to gain recruits, but evidence is multiplying of the injustice of the present want of system, and tho demeaning situation of the State imploring service that it has every right to demand. Can any fair-minded man urge that it is iu the highest interest of tho Stato to accept the free sacrifico of her noblest sons, and allow others to remain insensate to her need, yet claimants for her boons?

Those who have given their boys are beginning to ask for a greater equality of sacrifice. Said one mother: "My boys have gone. They are not of sturdy stock, and I cannot reasonably , expect their return. Still I am proud they have gone. But each day I feel the keener that better equipped men aro hiding behind my boys. It's not fair."

Thcro is another largo group who would welcome some better system in recruiting. It is the men with wives and young dependents; men .who know if they do not return tbj loved ones who remain will lack the provision that now is theirs. Men who would be glad to join in tho great adventure. If it could' be'said: "Those who are freer to answer tho call have gone; now you aro wanted." The answer would come from hundreds, "I come." For then the two appeals of home and country no longer are divergent, but blend in harmony, leading forth to battle. —I am, etc., H. R. FRENCH. Waipukurau. . . SHELTERING BEHIND PETTICOATS. Sir, —I, too, have been struck by the number of men who have taken unto themselves a wife in the hope that they/ will bo excused from serving their King and country by being able to raise the howl, "What will my wife do if I enlist?" Being one of Mr. Abraham's fiery spirits, only debarred from the trenches on account of my sex, I would like to placo on record! my most emphatic contempt for the .1915 bride whose husband, if physically fit, lias not signed on for active service.

There is the little bride who bravely says goodbye almost at tho altar rails. How one's heart goes out to her. God bless and comfort her in all her days, and if one such should see these lines of mine, know that a woman who is trying to be bravo too extends a hand of fellowship and love, for it still is hard to let your man go after a few years of unbroken happiness, especially when there is a bairn to think of and another to prepare for. But it's good to know that one is doing their best to keep the old flag flying.

But for tlio shirker's bride I have no use whatever, and tliey will surely belong to tho marriage-is-a-failure class before they are much older, and they will get all that is coming to them. The kindest thing that could happen, if they only knew, would he for the press gang to nip in and march off : their gallant protectors before the. wedding cake is all sent olf. in dinky boxes-; t-he bride would be saved years of nnliappiness, and tho cake would be most, acceptable for afternoon tea in a dug-out in the only place on tho map for "fiery spirits," "thinkers," and who knows? .Shirkers, too, before long—l am, etc., WIFE OP A KIE'RY SPJIUT STILL GOING STRONG.

FARMING AND PATRIOTISM. Sir, —Lord Selborno, addressing representatives of the Royal Agricultural Society,% the Central Chambers of Agriculture, tho Fannors' Union, and other bodies in one of t'lio committee room? of the House of Lords, said:— "My third observation is this, and you can have it printed and circulated. I say to the highest skilled men in agriculture, tho foremen, stockmen, carters, shepherds, engine-drivers,.tha tellers, and black-' smiths—l say to them, if you leavo your present post and go" into tlio army or navy, or into a munition factory, your motives may bo good, but your judgment is wholly had, and you can perform a greater service to England to-day by staying where you are than by going auy--1 vkn /f'lBO."

I commend the above to tho notice of tho Minister of Defence. Tho. tendency at present is to deplete the country of shepherds, ploupflimen, etc., and unless more discretion is used it will soon bo impossible to carry on the work of the sheep runs, farms, etc. Shei>herds and ploughmen cannot be improvised at a moment's notice, and unless an alteration is mado in tho present policy it may soon bo necessary to bring back men from the front. If the farming industry is disorganised New Zealand will be in a bad way. The available men at present for farming work are mostly wasters or streetcorner loafers. Under theso circumstances it seems singular, to say the least of it, that the New Zealand Government should raise £2,000,000 for public works and continue to employ 8000 to 10,000 able-bodied men when the Primo Minister tells us that he is short of recruits, and we all know that every penny will be required to carry on the war.

The National Register circulars have had a very disturbing effcct in the country and on one largo sheep farm that I know of every employee has expressed his willingness to serve. What the result, will be, unless discretion is used, I leave your readers to imagine. More especially as at 110 time is there a- surplus of labour in the country.—l am, W. J. TENNENT. Rawhiti, Napier. WHY GALL IT CONSCRIPTION? Sir, —Conscription means the training in peace time of all tho eligible men of a nation, to enable them to effectively fight for their country in war time. But this is not peace time, and ■the question for the British Empiro now is whether only the willing cligibles are to fight in our defence, or if every eligible should take his chance. I supposo that every mothor who has lost her boy at the front, or lives in perpetual fear of seeing W son's namo in tho casualty list, asks the question why the momentous responsibility. of deciding if the lad should have enlisted should have rested with the young fellow and his parents. For the ugly fact remains that we men are sending our younger brother and sons to fight the enemy by taking advantage of their youthful enthusiasm, while we ourselves stay at homo iu safety and comfort, and applaud. In a street danger or night alarm what man would lock himself up in a room and send his young son or young brother to face the danger? And yet the smug complacency with wliich we-accept, as a proper and inevitable matter of course, this exodus of the very youngest of us to face the danger is humiliating in the cxtrome to our manhood.

Look at the ages of the boys killed; at tho ages of tho boys of our personal acquaintance who have eagerly gone to the front; of the number between the ages of 18 and 23, still regarded as children by,their parents, having just got through their schooling, not properly matured, rind still of an age full of enthusiasm and ideals, before tli'o cautiousness and seKisliness of a maturer age have come upon t-hem. And our voluntary system takes advantage of this youthful enthusiasm, by tho fact that only those who volunteer aro sent.I must say this for the women, that tho nurses do not shelter themselves behind their young probationers, , but bravely go out to face the dangers of the front, irrespective of age. Probably every old proverb has worked mischiof in it's time, and it makes one ill to hear tho old gag "One volunteer is worth three pressed men," as a reason for sheltering ourselves behind the bravery of tho mon and boys Who willingly enlist. But onco the unwilling ones aro sent to the front they will fight well enough, do not let us fear for that. For shirkers are not all such on account of cowardice. And our boys at the front want help, even if it is unwilling at first. " I believe that a sigh of relief would go up from one end of the land to the other, from the general public, from the parents, and f r<" m many a* present unwilling eligibles themselvoo if the decree went forth that enlistment must be univorsal. What embitters the grief of bereaved parents and relatives is the natural sense of unfairness that their boys should .have suffered while in the neighbourhood there aro strapping lads and men who stay at Vome in safety and comfort. And undoubtedly there are many eligibles who do not volunteer because they do not sco why .they should do so unless so-and-so doos tho same.

I was just about to use iho old phrase, "It is not British-like" to placc the young first in the firing line, hut 011 reflection is it not tho system peculiar to Great Britain which practicably brings about this very thing, by calling upon'the willing ones only? Who aio so willing as t'he young lads? In foreign countries tho very essence of conscription involves the calling out of the elegibles according to a.ge, which system automatically leaves tho youngest to tho last 1 . Under the voluntary system what is the proportion of young raw lads, not yet properly set up, wo see in the marching ranks, compared with the number of fully grown, uxwiular men who swell the lines of choosing spectators? And is tho term willing altogether a proper one? Tho time is long past when tho youngsters might' have thought that to enlist would be _ to havo a term of cnjoyablo ;sight-seeiiig. Every youth who enlists now does so with a full knowledge of what is before liini, and is it not the case that every volunteer, now goes under compulsion, the noble compulsion of the tihought that it is his duty to go, that troops are wanted? And as it appears to be the public sentiment that the J'oung must do the fighting, ho enlists. But not, wo may believo (and small blame to him, good and brave follow as ho is) without many a sleepless night, thinking it over, and not without many a bitter thought that lie will leave mates behind him who will take it all for granted; who wiH stay at home and perhaps get his billet or take'his girl to the pictures, with tho clear con-! sciousness that as they are not willing to enlist they are perfectly in tho right in slaying at home in safety, under tho voluntary system. Why should Britishers be slaves, and submit to compulsory service when thero are so many schoolboys and men amongst them who volunteer with only the compulsion of a high sense of duty? Why, indeed? But wliero does British fair play come

Why Call universal liability to servico by the name of conscription, which latter system involvos tho calling up of troops according to ago, each year's trainees in their turn? The grown men need not fear that' the young boys will escape under compulsory servico, but. they will have a fairer proportion of numbers. The boys of twenty will stand the same chance still as tho man of thirty of being called up with the first batch. But where is our manhood as a nation to allow it? —I am, etc., A.Z.