RECRUITING

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2890, 30 September 1916, Page 3

RECRUITING

A SUGGESTION. Sir, —We sco a lot in tho papers just now about the need for moro Tecruits for our reinforcements, but wo see very little of practical efforts being made to obtain these recruits. Looking at things from a business man's point of view, if you want business you must look for it, and I think this applies to recruits also. Of course I am not overlooking the. fact that the local rocruiting bodies have already discussed tho question of interviewing eligiblo men for enlistment, and _ I quite agrco with their reasons for discarding tho idea. Thoro aro many reasons why this work could not ba done by tho local rocruiting bodies, but perhaps tho most important aro, firstly, most of tho members of those bodies have their own business to attend to, besides tho valuablo work thoy'do on the recruiting board's, and it would bo too much to esjwct of them to givo up their whole timo to recruiting, wnioh. would' be necessary if tihby toolc ,uj> canvassing for recruits. Secondly,

those gentlemen feel, with good rea<son, that in somo instances they may lie subjected to insult by approaching their I'olloivmon on »• subject of such a delicate nature. To remove nil theso objections and difficulties, I would suggost that tho Dofence Department select a, number of. suitablo men upon enlisting to act as recruiting officers, theso men to )jo supplied with ordinary uniforms and special badges. The poriod of duty as recruiting officer -would bo ono or two months, as tho Defence Department would decide, and after this poriod the man would then go into camp automatically with the reinforcement that he was attached to. This is to say, that if the period of training for active Borvico is four months, this man would have one or two months on reoruiting duty, and after that the usual camp training before proceeding to the front. I havo no doubt there are numbers of mon who would be both willing and suitable to tako up this duty, and I also feel sure that if this sotiomo were put into operation thero would ,bo no need to enforce the provisions of the Military Service Act. Our Government is admittedly anxious to complete our reinforcement drafts if gossiblo without resorting to tho ballot-box, and .if some suoh scheme as I have outlined above were inaugurated they would have it to their credit that they did 1 not resort .to compulsion without a . final direot effort to fill the ranks of their reinforcement'! 'with volunteers.—l am. etq., DIPLOMAT.