THE PERSONAL CANVASS

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2786, 2 June 1916, Page 6

THE PERSONAL CANVASS

/ WHY IT IS NECESSARY STATEMENT BY RECRUITING BOARD MORE ENERGY MUST BE DISPLAYED ' The Recruiting Board issued an important statement yesterday on tho subject of the personal canvass. The statement is as under:— Now. that tho Government proposals with regard to compulsory service has been announced, the Recruiting Board desires to impress upon local bodies and the public of New Zealand that the necessary amount of energy is not being put into the notional recruiting scheme in some districts. ,The position to-day is that only a part of tho task set the country three months ago has been accomplished. In February last, in order to facilitate recruiting, and at the samo time provide a sound basis for the readjustment of district quotas and the introduction of compulsion should that become necessary, citizens wero asked to undertake tho personal canvass with a view to seeing that a report card was sent in with respect to every man of military age iu each district. This involved a big work, the sending in of over 200,000 cards, divided amongst 312 local districts, but [ the Board regrets to have to announce that although more than sufficient lime has elapsed in which to complete the undertaking, the'results, so far as they concern the checking and completing of the rolls, have been., extremely disappointing. To date only 30,000 cards have been received at the Board's office, and no more than 5000 are in transit, making a total of 35,000 out of over 200,000. It is a Temarkablo fact, too, that many of tho local bodies which have been most insistent in urging compulsory measures have so far mado no effort to do . the preliminary work that is essential to the equitable enforcement of the principle they advocate. Loopholes for Shirkers.' One of tbo main purposes of the National Register was to provide a groundwork for the compilation oi complete and accurate rolls. ' It could not be complete itself because (a) it was natural to expect that numbers of men would "Cvada the Act by not filling in tho registration forms or by giving false information, sucn as wrong addresses, etc.; (b) many men have arrived in and departed from New Zealand since the taking of the register; and (c) many men have changed their places of residence, with the result that their addresses given in tho National Register are now incorrect. The National Register rolls for tho purpose of reallotting district quotas or of applying compulsion are thus more or_le«s incomplete: Every effort has beenlnade in the Military Service Bill to ensure a "complete register, but the Board feels that unless it has the assistance of the peoplo with the local knowledge in each district, many loopholes of escape will still remain for the man who intends, if possible, to evade his responsibility. Tho only way to secure reasonably pe'ffect rolla is by tile systematic personal canvass urged by the Board three months ago, and the Board submits wlio should carry it out are- tho citizens over the military age working in conjunction with the local authority, in each district. ■ The reasons why the local authorities and local residents aro called upon to do this work are mainly these: (1) The hands of tho Government and the Defence Department aro full; (2) local bodies and local residents, because of their loent knowledge, are the onlv ones who kimw who should and who should not be on the roll. If they do their duty !n seeing that every eligible man is enrolled, no man can eseapo his obligations; likewise it lies within tlieir power to kcej) ; the rollsup to date by promptly reporting every removal from ami arrival in their district. It must bo recognised that no Act of compulsion will be fair or equitable untwsn •ivory man of military age-is on the roll. The reasons are obvious. Tho roll is the only instrument under which men can be called up; and as compulsion must apply to all men of military age alike, it is wholly unfair that some should b'e compelled to go bocauso they are on the roll, and others escape because tliey are not. Effect on District QuotaJ. The completion of the rolls is necessary, not only to apply compulsion generally, but in order to levy the quotas fairly as between district and district. This ts specially so when, as is the ense at present, Ne\\- Zealand only Tequires drafts of 2350 men every four weeks to meet commitments. District quotas can only be levied fairly when they are based on the number of men of military age remaining in each district, thus giving each, district lull credit for any excess it may have sent in before and requiring others which have never done their share to make up their shortages. That is fair, and the various districts aro vitally interested in seeing that principle applied. Tho Defence Department, however, can only give effect to this if supplied with proper rolls. It will be' readily understood that the accurate data that has. already been supplied by a few localities will be greatly depreciated for this purpose unless similar work is taken in hand by ail adjoining districts until the rolls for the whole of the Dominion, have been mado as nearly perfect as possible. With this information to guide it, the Defence Department will be in a position to so adjust the quotas that each group will be only asked to supply for future drafts a number based on its performance in tho past, and its existing supply of men of military age. At present the Defence Department is acting on a roll that' shows so many men in a district ,even though ' they may not lis there. Unless sach district can show exactly the number of men left in it, the authorities cannot possibly make a fair and accurate adjustment. This reallotment will be made-from month to month if necessary, so that full .credit can at once be given to each district for the recruits it has sent forward. As its eligible men volunteer and so reduce its number of men of military age, the qu,ota of that district will, be adjusted from time to time in proportion to the number of men of military age remaining in other districts. Tho districts, therefore, which prefer to continue to raise their quotas under the voluntary principle will thus have a strong incentive to do" so. .Further, provided its local authorities supply a proper Toll, no group will b'e penalised by having to supply more than its proper quota. Men with Dependants. A further vital point is that men cannot be selected according to their respective classes when there is no complete roll available. This is of special concern to married men with dependants, who should therefore see that not only are they themselves on the roll, but that every other man is. if men with dependants do not acquaint the recruiting committees or Defence authorities with their responsibilities, how can they expect the recruiting committees and Defence authorities to know them? Thus the more men there are cn the rolls the less chance is there of any man being called on before his turn.

If citizens over the military ago are not to he charged with lacking in patriotism, then they must display more energy than they are manifesting at present. Tho work is as urgent as it is necessary if New Zealand is to fulfil its military obligations and injustice is not to lie done.

With three months gone, there is a largo proportion of tho work yet left to do. Several districts, though late, are now getting under way, but others have done littlo or nothing at all. It is to these latter districts that the Recruiting Board oaruestly appeals, and in doing so would point out that wherever tho personal canvass has been tried fow, if any, difficulties have been experienced, and no insults havo been received. Indeed, tho general oxperionce has been that v men havo Hocked to the recruiting offices as never beforo, ensuring the success of the voluntary system locally for months to come. But in the evont of voluntaryism failing, tho nation must be in a position to immediately apply compulsion, and this cannot ba fairly douo without having complete rolls, which in turn cannot be secured without carrying out a complete canvass in each local district.