A "VERY SERIOUS SHORTAGE"

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2885, 25 September 1916, Page 8

A "VERY SERIOUS SHORTAGE"

MEN WANTED FOR THE 21st REINFORCEMENTS URGENT APPEAL BY THEj 1 RECRUITING BOARD '. The following statement with regard to tho "very serious shortago" in the quotas for the- Twenty-first Reinforcements had been issued by the Recruiting Board:— "I wist, on behalf of the Recruiting Board, to draw attention to the very serious shortago which has been revealed by" the mobilisation of tho Twenty-first Reinforcements. This shortage has been wholly caused by the failure of the men who> have registered for sorvice in the several districts to answer tho summons to proceed to camp to commence their training as members of tho Expeditionary Force. The position is made all the more serious by reason of the fact that it will not be possible to use the whole of the compulsory provisions of the Military Sorvice Aot for ,at least another month to make good tais shortage. It is intended to exercise the powers conferred on the Minister of Defence by section 35 of tho Act with respect to families containing two or more unenlisted sons who belong to the First Division' of the Reserve so soon as the Military Service Boards can be set up. The board must therefore rely on the help of all recruiting committees to fill the gaps in the Twenty-first Reinforcements. , "I would urgently urgo upon every recruiting committee to leave no stono unturned within the nest faw days to provide the men who are required to enable the Twenty-first Reinforcement to commence training at full strength, and I would particularly ask recruiting committees to endeavour'by every means their power to induce the men who have registered but have failed to answer the call to now come forward and proceed to camp." ... ,W. F. MASSEY, -- Chairman.' THE POSITION AT PRESENT To-morrow will bo the day fixed for tho completion of tho Twenty-first Reinforcements, which went into camp about 650 short of its/ full strength last week. The military districts were asked to send forward supplementary drafts, covering! their .shortages, to reach camp on Tuesday, and the local officers in all tho group are trying to secure the necessary number of additional recruits by ,to-day. But the indications are that tho shortage will not be wiped out to-morrow, and that a few big efforts will be required to complete tho Twenty-first Reinforcements by the first' week in October. ' ( Tho recruiting authorities are directing their appeal especially /to tho men, who have already registered and stated their, willingness to enter the camp during September. The old system of registration did not bind these men legally, and the Government, is not at present in a position to make them comply witli their own undertaking. But tho moral obligation upon them is surely a strong one. The need for their services now is* urgent, and they cannot claim that they will be discharging their whole, duty by coming forward at some later date, when the' completion of-the Reinforcements'will be no longer dependent upon tho efforts of volunteers. There are in New Zealand hundreds of .men who enlisted for September and took tho King's armlot on that understanding. Their failuro to como forward when called has caused the present shortage. Wellington City and. Suburbs still require additional infantry recruits in order that the supplementary, draft may bo filled to-morrow. Very few of tho men who have registered in Group 5 during the last week havo stated their willingness to serve at once. Some of the men who are bcin" called up for to-morrow have failed the Defence Department once already, and it is hoped that they will realise what their duty is on the present occasion. Everyman who is called for to-morrow is~ required to help-cover the very big shortago in this month's draft. Practically the whole of the shortago is in the Infantry arm. A few Mounted Rifles and Specialists of one kind and another are required by. the various districts, but the rule'now is to confino enlistments to the Infantry, which constitutes more than 80 per cont. of the total strength of each Reinforcement. ' The now system of registration is to be inaugurated to-day. Every man who enlists will be attested at once, and will then 'become subjeot to military, discipline, iso that the mobilisation call, when it reaches him, will.bo an order not 'a request. The . men who are already registered, and who cither have not been called up or have not answered calls, are to bo required to present themselves at a recruiting office for attestation. If they do not appear at tho time fixed their names will lie struck off the list of registered men, and they will remain merely membors of the Expeditionary Force' Reserve, without the status of volunteers. This rule will deal effectively with the "registered shirkers," who must either takethe oath and so become definitely liable for service, or else cease to pretend to be volunteers waiting for the call to camp. . TO MEET THE EMERGENCY A SOLDIER M.P.'S REMEDY. Captain J. B. Hino, M;P., who is in command of the Seventeenth Mount-ed-Reinforcements, made a brief statement, to a Dominion representative on Saturday, on the subject of recruiting, with particular reference to tho shortage in tho Twenty-first draft. The emergency, he remarked, was one calling for prompt and stroug measures, and should bo dealt with from that standpoint. Iu his opinion the Government should forthwith notify all singlo men in the Civil Service who will bo olasscd in the First Division that they must within a reasonablo period— say, a week—enlist or forfoit their positions. Captain Hino added that 'under this policy, _ with such detail adjustments as might bo necessary, a considerable nunihor of recruits would at once bo made available and a strong lead would be given to private employers, who should bo called upon to follow the example of the Government in reference to eligiblo single men in their employ. These measures, Captain Hino remarked finally, would not in themselves serve all the ends of justice. No doubt some men who should enlist would remain out of roach until compulsion was brought into operation. But the present emergency would be tided over, and the shortago would be good. And as soon as the Military Sorvice Act came into operation men not amenable- to any other influence than that of straight-out comput siou could bo singled out for early and particular attention.