ORGANISING OUR RESOURCES

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2636, 6 December 1915, Page 4

ORGANISING OUR RESOURCES

A correspondent in our issue of. .Saturday made protest against the seeming lack of systematic effort on the part" of- the Government in the way of organising our resources so as to ensure that this Dominion will be in a position to throw"'its utmost strength into the great world struggle and to .maintain the strain to the bitter end. He pointed out that Me. Allen has declared that this would becojne a war of attrition, and that we must wear down our foes by exhausting their resources of men and money and food. And how, our correspondent asked in effect, were we preparing ourselves for this great task He pointed to the waste in time and money on horse racing and its accompaniments still going on without the slightest cheek, to . the retirement of teachers under the Superannuation Act on account of age or service when such teachers sliould be continued on till the close of the war so as to enablo the younger men to go to the front and the work of education still be carried on in a satisfactory manner; and he instanced the borrowing and expenditure of money to form footpaths and streets in a small township when such expenditure might well stand over until we knew that the nfoney would not be required for the maintenance of the life and death struggle in which we are engaged. These were_ quoted as illustrations of the condition of things prevailing throughout tho Dominion indicative of failure on the part of those in public offices to realise their responsibilities. "The National Government," our correspondent added, "would be astounded at the support it would have if it suggested a decrease of sport and amusement, a curtailment of our Civil Services, and an organisation of our men to keep tho firing line supplied and the industries the country depends on going." The views he expressed are very widely held. Tho Government has done a good deal in various ways. It has organised, trained, equipped, and dispatched military forces; it has taken action in a number of directions required by the military needs of the times; it has taken control of the meat export; placed restrictions on the export of fpod and wool, and attended to a whole host of detail matters associated with the war and our part in it. But it must be confessed, nevertheless, that it has failed to convey the impression that it has set about the task of organising the resources of the country in the systematic fashion and on the scale that the greatness of the occasion demands. A strange timidity seems at times to . cramp its actions and cause it to ' move haltingly, and along narrow lines as though anxious to confine ' itself to a minimum of effort in any 1 direction that marks a departure ' from the accustomed grooves. Yet 1 it is a time when _ everyone recognises that the call is for big things and when everyone is ready to' welcome and assist the men who arc big enough and courageous enough to tako a bold course when occasion demands it. It is only fair to the Government to point out' that at tho ' present moment it is awaiting the ' results of tho disclosures of the Na- • tional Register to obtain that full " and complete information which is V essential before it can take any ef-

fective steps regarding tho organisation of our man power. But when that information is available it is to be hoped tnat it will have something clear-cut and definite to put beforo the country ill tho way of a policy for utilising our resources to the best advantage. Also that it will not hesitate to tak<s tho eaui'so which .it »3iV, deem bssW