THE MEDICALLY UNFIT

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 72, 19 December 1918, Page 6

THE MEDICALLY UNFIT

Sir,—lt would be well if your anonTnious correspondent, who signs himself "Let tlie Truth Stand" in your issue of December 7, would be careful if ho quotes from speeches of mine to quote < correctly. The truth will stand, howover, iu spite of hi.s and similar mis-» representations. I did not say that "75 per cent, of the coses of New Zealand men who were rejected as unfit ror military service had tlii'ir foundation in, drink."' What I did say is as follows:I am greatly surprised in a new anil fine country such as this to find that 70 per cent, of the men called up in a recent , "ballot were tinned down as medically unfit. Ido not pretend to know whether this 4 has anything to do with drink, but it does make us want to know. Tn seeking such knowledge, 1 can only point to America, whore in a certain non-Prohibition State, whose conditions are very similar to those of New Zealand, the figures were pretty much the same, viz., 63 per rant.; whereas in Kansas, the veteran Prohibition State, the percentage of rejected' men was only ten! I hnvo quoted the exact words which I used in order that you may see how entirely wide of the mark are your correspondent's statements and accusations. Other things in his letter are equally incorrect, but perhaps this one error will suffice to prove'the nature of (he others. —I am, etc., MAE-GAUET PAEKES. Duncdin, December 14.