A CAMP CONVERSION

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2700, 21 February 1916, Page 3

A CAMP CONVERSION

; -0 : It Was a lovely Sunday morning, and many of the men who were lined up for the usual parade were thinking hard how really unnecesary the habit of churchgoing was. "Fall out," yelled the sergeant, "anyone who's not going to church." But, as the experienced knew, anyone who fell out had to "go through it." Joe Bluggins fell out promptly. But then he had only joined the camp four days before, and, though lie thought ho knew a lot, he didn't know the sergeant. ' ""Well, why can't you got to church?" "Please, i'ni a Mahommedan." The sergeant 'gave a sniff of suspicion, but dismissed him with "All right." Bluggins went off chuckling, and had a splendidly restful time of it. to tho envy of every man in tho company. Indeed, hexwaj; very, proud of his. achievement," and went to sleep that uight still chuckling. At four o'clock next morning he was rudely disturbed from the most, blissful of dreams.

"Get up, get up, man!" roared tho sergeant, holding before his sleepy eyes a canvas sack, 'we've brought'you your praying mat. It's high time you got a move on." Bluggins goes to church parade regularly now.

The shortage of doctors in the country districts in Australia owing to numbers of them having gone to- the war was mentioned by Mr. Richard Teece, general manager of the A.51.1'. Society, who is visiting Wellington, to a Dominion reporter. The society had had a most prosperous year, but in some districts the difficulty of having applicants medically examined had been great. In

Now Zealand, too, the same difficulty had been met with. Tlio war, Mr. Teccc added, had not affected! the now business branch of the society's operations. Very, heavy claims had, however, to be met owing to the d'eath roll at Gallipoli. The extra premium charged did not in any way cover the extra risk. The society, however, regarded that as its share ot the burden of the war.