MARRIED ELIGIBLES.

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2783, 30 May 1916, Page 6

MARRIED ELIGIBLES.

Sir,—During the past few months theT© has been a persistent persecution of men who married since the commencement of the war, and while admitting' that it was deserved in some cases, surely the com-mon-sense of the community should recognise that many of these men would have married in any case. It is very safe to assume that men who married during the first six months of the war had mndo their preparation® heforo the outbreak of hostilities. That this was the case was very evident to the Hon. Jlr. James Allen, who, when making recruiting speeches throughout the country, stated that if a Compulsion Bill became necessary he would include all those who had married nix months previous to its passing, to be deemed, for the purposes of the Act, to be single men. Now he goes right back to the commencement of tho struggle, and includes all who married subsequent to August, 19H. 1 As it was not until the war had been on for about 12 months that men wers given a hint not to marry, it is unfair" to brand all these as shirkers, for doing what hitherto they had been expressly urged to do. The Press, the Church, an<l the State, always in season and out of season, told men to mairy and marry early, and those who committed matri< mony during tho first year of the wa( should not now he classed amongst thoss who marrie<l recently, in defiance of pub lie opinion. That all decent married men will stand by tho old flag, according to tbeir ability to do so, is generally recognised, and I trn,st that the Minister of Defence will redeem his frequent promises by the establishment of two classes of married eligiblos. Those who married during tho second year of the war should be placed in the first division, and those who married during the first year should be transferred to the second division among the men of the Dominion who married previous to the European conflict. Thanking you, sir, in anticipation.—l am, etc., FAIR PLAY. Wnngaimi, May 26, .1916.