THE MEDICALLY UNFIT

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 62, 7 December 1918, Page 7

THE MEDICALLY UNFIT

Sir,—Some time ago Mrs.. Kineton-'" i Pnrkos, who was engaged by the NeV j Zealand Alliance to ilo the "drawing- ! rooms" of this country, outraged the sou- ''; sibilities of many' mothers by .saying j that their eons had been turned down as i medically unlit, and that.seventy-five per i cent, of the eases of thoso bo turned down ] had their foundation in drink. This' 1 statement was disputed at tbo'time, and ! now that the returns have been issued j of the First Division in Class A, in which I the total rejections were 20,509, wo are i ■able to see that it is without founda- j tion. It has become an adage among '•! Prohibition people that syphilis and ) other venereal diseases are caused by in- > diligence in alcoholic) liquors, but any- ; body who is not a Prohibitionist knows I that this statement is absolutely incor- ! rect. However, of the' 20,509 only 52 . cases of syphilis and 25 of other venereal i diseases were discovered. Diseases of : tho heart accounted for 4000, defects of ' lower extremities, defects of vision, and ' varicose \;eins accounted for 4500. De- ' feels of upper extremities and hernia ac- 1 counted for 1700, and so on. Of course, \ Mrs. Kineton-Parkes will tell us that all | these ailments arc due to over-indulgenoe ' in alcohol by the young men of this country. Even diseases of (he heart, and, ! lat feet, 510, are, in her viow, all alike '■ duo to alcohol. In fact, .there-is not i any case for rejection among the 20,503 ' rejects that is not in tho judgment of ' Mrs. Kineton-Parkes attributable'to (ilco- ! nolic liquor. But, Sir, being serious, | Mrs. Kineton-Parkes insulted the inoth- ! era of this country by affirming that , their sons had their "constitutions impair- j ed by their-indulgence in alcoholic li- : quors. If she had known the truth, i she would have said tho sons of New I Zealand mothers are the fittest, bright- ' est and most courageous men in tho Al- ! lied armies, and that in point of temper- ' mice and its practices these sons, like i the Acw Zealand people as a whole, are ; the soberest people in tho world.-I am, ' etc., , v . ' ; LET THE TRUTH STAND. ;