THE DOMINION. FRIDAY, MARCH 2, 1917 THE QUESTION OF EXEMPTIONS

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3017, 2 March 1917, Page 4

THE DOMINION. FRIDAY, MARCH 2, 1917 THE QUESTION OF EXEMPTIONS

Ac/one, we imagiitt, tan regard th present method of dealing wit,] claims for exemption from militarj service, us .wholly satisfactory. The Military Service Boards do Ihoir best to decide individual cases on their merits, but the whole question requires to bo dealt .with on a broader basis and with a closer regard for the interests of the Dominion at large. The Canterbury Chamber of Commerce, for instance, has just made representations respecting a certain section of men engaged in fefhi work producing foodstuffs, 'and the suggestion is put forward that if the matter were examined More closely thai) has yet been done by those in authority, it would be .found that it would be more in the interests of the Empire that these men should be kept on their farms than that they should be called on for military service. The Chamber makes it clear that it is in, tho fullest sympathy with the policy of prosecuting the war to the utmost of our power, and its only object in directing attention to the question it raises is to ensure that our energies and resources shall be put to the best possible use. Yesterday wo. recorded a discussion which took place before the local Military Service Board on the subject of tho exemption of eligible railway employees; and also a brief interview with the Minister of Railways on the same tope. No one, we venture to think, could read tho views expressed without coming to tho conclusion that the Government has beep, dilatory in arriving at a. uernijtc decision regarding its railway policy. It is not fair to the officers of the Department that tho intentions of Ministers should be hold back, and it is sotting a bad example to private employers and to the country at largo for the Government to bo continually appearing before tho Military Boards seeking exemption for employees while making no effort to cut off superfluous train services. It is possible we may do the Minister injustice in stating that no effort is made to economise- in the way of train services. Perhaps it would be fairer to say that there has been no evidence of any such effort up to the present. Mr. Herriks is of course quite right in pointing out that we should not do anything to interfere with the free transport of our primary products and that commercial .connections must be maintained as far as possible; but the public must be and is prepared to suffer some inconvenience in tho matter of railway travelling facilities where the end to be gained and the needs arising out of the war wairant it. One of the greatest services which the National Efficiency Board can render the country in the immediate future is to afford some clear guidance on this question of exemptions from military service. It is a matter which grows in importance daily, and we have no doubt it is one of the first questions ■to which Mk. Tl'Muson and his colleagues wiil givo_ their attention. The 'task of piecing together the information available on the subject of the labour available in and necessary to the successful carrying on of'our essential industries is a difficult one, and may occupy some time-: but the greater part of the material should be easily assessable. Tho National Register, together with the list of enlistments and the list of men returned from active service, should show the number of eligible men in given occupations who have left the country, and the number still here; and no doubt tho Regis-trar-General can supply a fairly close estimate from tho census statistics of the number over or under the age of military service. Wo are not aware of whether or not the Efficiency Board is expected to advis© the Government ou matters affecting State Departments, but it certainly appears to fall within its province to offer suggestions ou such subjects as tho railway and postal services. What is also required is some genera) guidance on such issues as those raised by the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce, and concerning which the Military Service Boards arc not in a position to form a judgment even if they possessed the jurisdiction to act on it. In England the mistake was made of encouraging practically indiscriminate enlistment of eligible men in all occupations, with the result that subsequently many skilled workers had to bo brought back from tho fighting-lines because they could render greater service by following their ordinary occupations iu tho workshops and factories. It is quite titno that a systematic investigation of tho position in New Zealand was pushed forward with all speed. The country is fortunate in having the services of Mb. Ferguson as Chairman of tho Efficiency Board, for he may bo relied on to give his immediate attention to those matters which most urgently call for inquiry, and whioh aro likely to produco practical results. This question of exemptions in essential industries is one of the most greesimj of theee*