The Dominion. MONDAY, DECEMBER 13, 1915. HOW TO GET MEN

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2642, 13 December 1915, Page 4

The Dominion. MONDAY, DECEMBER 13, 1915. HOW TO GET MEN

The deputation of members of Parliament who waited on the Prime Minister and Minister of Defence on Saturday to urge the establishment of local camps at different centres as the best means of encouraging recruiting, said practically all that could be said in favour of the idea. The suggestion is not a new one, and its merits and its weaknesses have been freely discussed for some time past. The questions involved are really two in number: (1) The need for men; (2) the best method of handling a,nd training the men when secured in order to make them efficient soldiers in the shortest possible space of time. The local camp idea, it is assumed, and pos-1 sibly with some warrant, would assist to secure more men than are at present coming forward; but the military authorities are very 'positive in the opinion that such camps would embarrass them in the performance of their part of the task, that is making. soldiers out of the raw material. At an earlier, period of the war we held the view that local camps where the elementary stages of military training might be given would serve a useful purpose not only _ in encouraging recruiting but in giving the men a period in which to'harden up before tackling the more severe training of the permanent camps. That opinion has been modified by the oourse events have taken and in a measure by the further evidence now available. Balancing the pros and cons one is forced to the conclusion that, whereas some advantage might be gained from the establishment of local camps, .it would not be commensurate with the cost or compensate for the disadvantages from the' military point of view. As was shown by Colonel Gibbon, districts like Hawkc's Bay and Taranaki, where there aro no camps of any kind, havo responded splendidly to the call for men and have more than held their own with other districts where "the appeal of the khaki," as one member of the deputation put itf, has been more in evidence. With the openings' now available for men to go into camp as soon as they choose one of the grounds for the establishment of local camps has been removed for the present at least. But since this questipn of local camps of one sort or another ,seem 3 to be -a sore point with many people in certain districts it would appear to bo possible to adopt a middle ( course which would meet their wishes and at the. same time overcome the chief objection of the military authorities. Sir James Carroll has shown the way. Gisborne, he stated, wanted a "holding camp," that is to say a camp in _ Gisborno to which, the men who enlisted in that district could go until the call came for them to assemble at Trcntham or Tauhcrenikau or Kangiotu as the caso might bo. The men in such a camp would not be given any military training worth speaking of, but they could bo given plenty of marching over country and hardened up, and would go into the permanent training camp more fit physically than would otherwise have been possible. The difficulty about officers and non-commissioned officers .might be overcome by the use of Territorial or retired officers. We arc of course awaro that the objection of llui mill" ..tea. Authorities to. ibis would bfi that.

the training in such a camp might induce lax notions of what was expected of the men when they got into the permanent camp, but this objection is not a very serious one when it is considered that the men would be in the "holding camp" for a very short time, and that no serious attempt at military training would be made there. Moreover, the men th&lnselves would understand clearly enough that it was merely preliminary wovk„ leading up to the real thing. Gisborne, it should be noted, is prepared to bear the whole cost of such a camp and possibly other districts might be inclined to make a similar offer. But the fact must be faced that whatever steps the Government may be willing to take to encourage voluntary recruiting the feeling is growing in strength throughout the Dominion that National Service is tho most just, the most democratic, and the most satisfactory method of meeting the needs of what all must now recognise to be a grave situation. Dr. M'Nab, who has just returned from his recruiting tour in the Sout|i Island, after conducting a spirited campaign, tells us that tho visible evidence of the meetings held is not encouraging. On tho contrary, he found that a great many who in the past had been ardent recruiting agents were no longer willing to carry on tho work of securing voluntary enlistments, but instead advocated National Service. These arc not Dr. M'Nab's exact words, but they convey his meaning? It should be borne in mind that he has had ample opportunity for _ forming, a correct estimate of public opinion in the South, and though he does not commit himself personally to the view that National Service is now necessary, it is plain that he has been much impressed by tho trend of feeling in that direction. There is also a very significant remark credited to Mr. Massey in the report of his reply to the deputation of members. ? He states that since the war commenced he has become a very much stronger supporter of National Service than ever he had been previously. How many thQusands of pcoplo in New Zealand are saying the same thing to-day; and wondering when, if ever, the Government will be so far converted as to realise that this is the only just and complete solution of the recruiting problem?