OFFICERS' KIT

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2749, 18 April 1916, Page 7

OFFICERS' KIT

IS THE ALLOWANCE

SUFFICIENT?

NECESSARIES AND EXTRAVAGANCE

OEPUTATION TO THE MINISTER. . . •/

The-caso of the officer who complains 'that his kit allowance of • £25 is not adequate was pleaded by from the Mayor's Patriotic Coinmitteo ■whioh waited upon the Defence Minister yesterday. .. .

t The Mayor (Mr, J. P. Luke) ' said that although the deputation came from ■ liis committee only, he thought it could Speak on this subject for all the societies. He contended that while an allowance of £20 or £25 might have been adequate in the past, it was'not adequate now for • the special- reason that offioers were now being drawn from classes of men who could ill afford to find from their own pockets the amount required to supplement tho Government allowance. .It had been said that the patriotic sooieties should supplemen b tho allowance to officers, but this* ho urged, would not' be fair. Tho patriotic funds were subscribed by the generous,, and this was a charge which should be borno by tho-wholo community. The committeo urged that officers should be fully equipped for service just as wore men in \the ranks. ,In Australia, he was informed, about £40 or £5$ fras allowed to officers for their kit. '

Specific Case, Mr. 'A, Marryatt said that -the question had come before the • Patriotic Committee through the case of a young lieutenant, not 2l years of age, who was leaving the country in debt because of the amount he had to pay for his> equipment,' : The committee gave him Bome help- The cases of two other officers were submitted also to the committee. , These three officers all furnished returns of their expenditure, and tho three amounts were, £44 12s. Dd., £43 17s. 6d. and £-14 195." 6d. Itwas rather remarkable that the amounts Bhould be so near equal, because the three officers left New Zealand with different Reinforcements. In other parts of New Zealand the patriotic commits toes recognised that the officers should be helped, and Auckland, Otago, and Southland were subsidising by £10 the allowance of every officer from tlieir several districts'.

Mr.. 0. G. Wilson, who is an expert in clothing, spoke of the prices set down in the lists submitted, especially those in the first list ; totalling £44 12s. 9d. Mr. Wilson said that the goods, leaving out of account the sword, compass, revolver, and binoculars, could not bo supplied by his firm for £30, wholesale. This should show that the retailers wero not charging an excessive, profit; Mr. Allen (perusing the list): Thqre are no binoonlars in this list, and no revolver. ;

Mr. 0. M. Luke asked whether the goods could always be supplied from the Defence stores. Was it not a faot that occasionally certain of the equipment could not be supplied from tnere because stocks had run out?

Mr. .James "Macintosh said lie held very strongly the opinion that all officers should be sent away' equipped with all necessaries, just as private soldiers Were. He suggested that , the Department,should supply the officers with all that was necessary, and then if an officer wished to buy more than was necessary he could do so out of bis own pocket, and no question'could arise. A "Extravagant in his Ideas." Mr. Allen, replying, said he would be glad to explain exactly what the position was, but he was bound to Bay that he had. done it very many times before. He would first deal with the list supplied by the officer who said he had paid £44 12s. 9d. for his equipment. The officer/had apparently paid £2 2s. for a sword, which he should have known was not required. '» No officer ever took a sword to the front nowadays. It was only an ornament, for use in ceremonial, and we had no time for ceremonial now. .If swords, were needed for ceremonial in camp they would be lent .to oflicers, and-any officers who ha.d bought swords could return them, and get a refund. He 'could Bee at a' glance that this officer had been extravagant'in his ideas. Ho wished to impress upon the public and the officers the really urgent necessity for economy' in ideas' with .regard to this war. If an officer took away with him an extravagant outfit, the only result would be that -ho "Would leave it behind at the base.; He could not take it to the front. He would not . encourage patriotic societies to equip officers with more than they really needed. The greatest service the patriotic societies could , do to the officers was to say to them 1 : "Here is what tho Government say you need, and you should be satisfied with that." About Binocuiars> There was not tha slightest necessity for officers to buy field glasses because, as he had indicated before, if officers did .not take binoculars with them, binoculars would be issued to them from store in Egypt. Ho did not wish to discourage patriotio societies or other people from giving officers binoculars, because they were worthy, useful gifts,' and mementoes which officers would be glad to keep as their own after the wax. Binoculars'; issued in Egypt would not become the officers' • own property, but would be returned to the Department when the war was over'. He read over a list of necessary ar-1 ticles for an officers' kit, which had been carefully prepared and cheeked by (staff officers, and by Imperial officers who had just come from the front, and by theni declared to bo sufficient. It contained, as he pointed out, some few essentials omitted from the list submitted by 3lr. Marryatt, and it omitted many non-essentials. Ho~*ead the following approved list:— - Dismounted Officers' Field Kit, Boots, ankle, pairs 2, £3; braces, pairs 1, Is'. 6d.;'belt, waist, 5.8., 1, £1 os.j blankets, singles 3, £1 55.; badges, stars lor great-coat, 3 pairs, 35.; breeches, knicker, or pantaloons, 1 pail', 17s. 6d.; cap, forage, 1, 6s; 6d.; cardigan jacket, 1, 10s. 6d.; field Service pocket-book, 1, Is. 3d.; greatcoat, 1, £2 10s. 6d.; hat and pugareo, I, 10s.; haversack, 1, Is. 6d.; housewife, 1, 6d.; jackets, service dress, 2, £4 10s.; knife, clasp, ,1, Is. Gd.; mess tin and cover, 1, 4s. Gd.; putties, pairs, 2, 125.; shoes, pairs, I, 7s. Od.; socks; pairs, 3, 4s. Gd. ; towels, 2, 2s. Gd.; trousers, khaki, pair, 1, 17s. 6d.; ties, khaki, 2, 35.; trunk, tin, for base, 1, £1 155.; underclothing,/ buits 2, £1 45.; valise, 1, £1 155.; whistle and cord, 1, Is. Gd.; water; bottle and strap, 1. 4s. Gd.; compass, •magnetic, 1,.-£1 2s. Gd., Total, £23 18s. 3d. / . Mounted Officers' Field Kit. Same as above, plus leggins, £1 55.; spurs, 7s. 6d.; total, £25 10s. 9d. Less putties, 12s. Total, £24 18s. 9d., Binoculars in ca3e, to be drawn from Ordnance, £5 10s.; pistols in case, E"ypt, if not gifted in N.Z., £4 Ids. /Saddlery for officers who require to be mounted issued free in New Zealand as equipment. v Swords not "being taken to the front need not be purchased, but will be issued to officers during their' training in camp, £2 2s. Any officers at present in camp who

have purchased swords can return them to etores when rofund will bo mado.

Tailor-made Uniforms,

The Government, said Mr. Allen, allowed £25 to every officer, so that if ho eared he could luivo a few shillings for extras. An oflicer could get all or any part'of his equipment from the Dcfeuco Stores for the priccs quoted. If an oflicer wanted tailor-made uniforms, thero was not tho slightest objection to his obtaining tliem, but tho Govornmout was not prepared to pay for them.'. Ho did not wish to encourage extravagance among officers, but rather to encourago them to economise. "When an officer got to tho front ho discarded all his uniform, and dressed as much like a private as possible, to avoid the, attentions of snipers. 110 liked to see officers smartly dressed, but tho need was not for ceremonial- smartness, but for- efficiency in the trenches. _ Ho thought the best thing the committeo could do was to say to officers: "Here is what tho Government say is nccessary. If you want any moro you must got it yourself." The Mayor, thanking the Minister for his courteous reception of tho deputation, said that Mr. Allen had made out n good case, and if the list supplied by him contained enough for the officer to take with liim, thou the deputation had 110 more to say. However, they had had representations from several officers, and tho cases mentioned wero by no means the only ones. j