The Chronicle LEVIN. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 1916. THE NEW RECRUITING SCHEME.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 19 February 1916, Page 2

The Chronicle LEVIN. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 1916. THE NEW RECRUITING SCHEME.

Jne present allotment ot quotas for the leiMorcemuiits draits up ull December, iJIO, under the .Recruiting Board's scheme lias been based on the preliminary results ol' the -National Registration iigures of all classes of men-of luilitarq age ill each, military group. it irs expected that this allotment will be subject to perhaps considerable alteration particularly when the present tigures are cheeked and amended as a result of the personal canvass provided for by the new recruiting scheme, .•so apart, from the flow ot recruits that it should bring to the enlistment office, the groat value ot a thorough and systematic personal appeal lies in the fact that the precise numbers turnislied by it will enable the .Recruiting Board to review, and if necessary reassess, the allotment of quotas of tiie several g, oup aieas 011 a more assured, ana reliable basis Uiaii is ut available. 'i'lio boaru wiii uius be able, In arangiing tor future requirements, to give uue credit to tile gioups Luut iiave loyally responded to the call and supplied tiieir lull quota, or even more. similarly, the Ooard will be in a position to discriminate against liie ai ea.j wiiicii liave faileu at any given date to send toward tiieir proportion ol° men, una to these groups to supply an" iuicreased quota for the future. It has always to be remombereU, of course, that in adotiiig those quotas the board will be guided 'hot only iijy the number of men volunteering to serve .11 the Expeditionary jt'orce, but also by tlie number of eligible men availalr.e as shown by the personal canvass 111 conjunction with the ligures ol the .National Register. Another £r«a>t advantage To be derived* troin the exhaustive personal canvass as o ltlinso and provided ior under the new ioeruiting scheme is that it will supply tile board with tlie information necessary to enable it to deal with the! question of migrating population jinctlie -National Register was taken, and to adjust those fluctuations on a oasis that will be equitable to each Qjroup area. But the personal canvass under the ioard's scheme has another and still more important function. 'Ibe only information that the Recruiting Board lias in its possession with : egard to the men of military age is that provided- by the aiational Reciter—that is, so far as eligibility for service in the dominion goes. Tho accuracy of the particulars in each registration form returned to tlie Giyernment Statistician was gov v.nei! only by the conscience and loyalty of the individual. There was practically

no check on the mail who failed; io c give the information directed by Hie National Registration Act, or wh> deliberately l'eirained from doing so. The 'board looks to the personal canvass under the recruiting scheme and to tile sCiUtiny oi llie local alphabetical rolls by tliu local authorities ana coininntt;eo oi each diist.rict to enauie it- 10 verity and amplify the national register, so that in tXe event of compulse ry n.ensures neing necessary at any Unie the Go.eminent, will uo in a position to make Uiat compulsion operate in tlie iauesi ,poi=siuie aecurdiug to the family and iuui.iCia-1 obligations of each man oi military age. It is obvious, tnerefore, that without iiiis systematic and personal canvass the unwilling will stilt be able to evade their duty and responsibility, ami will still be able to shelter behind the men who hove loyally responded to the call of duty. It is thus in the interests of every man who has conscientiously compiled with the provisions of the .National Registration Act —and it is doubly in tlie interests of every man who has intimated hiswillingness to serve, when' the call comes—to see that a complete and thorough personal canva.s'of the men of military age is made irom end to end of the dominion, because if this Is not done, the willing and loyal men ol'tXew Zealand may still have to carry more than their fair share of this terrible burden even should compulsion come. It is very evident that this aspect of the personal canvass has not been appreciated by those, local authorities who are declining to cooperate with the Recruiting Board and carry out the scheme, and who are urging that compulsion is the only fair method by which our Expeditionary Forces can be maintained at full strength. Compulsion may be the fairest and best way of securing recruits, but a convulsion that was based on tlie National Registration figures alone without the necessary check that is only to be obtained by a personal canvass over every portion of the Dominion would, fail to achieve the very object that those favouring compulsion have in view. The only effective method by which the available information with respect to the men of "military age can be satisfactorily checked in order that compulsion—should it ever come—may be enforced on a fair and equitable basis, is by the local bodies and citizens in each*district undertaking the work oi personal canvass, as they have the necessary local knowledge to enable the data as compiled from the National Register to be made as perieot as possible. Every citizen therefore who' wishes to fill the gaps left by the men who have already paid the supreme price of patriotism every citizen who wishes to stand by our soldiers at the front whoare waiting expectantly for help, every citizen who wishes that the sacrifice should oe made by those best able to make it, andi by "the unwilling ais well as by tlie volunteer, should be prepared to help in the fullest possible degree to mako this canvass a thorough and searching one. It will thus be seen that the personal canvass as outlined by the Recruiting Board is Of the most vital importance. That is why the Board has appealed to every local body and every public-spiritedi citizen to work steadfastly and whole-heartedly to ensure the success of this scheme. This is a work that for the time being should supersede all other duties. The National Government niu&t have a trustworthy stocktaking of us manhood of military age, so that it may be in a position to prepare for any eventuality in this ciisis. And who knows what the morrow may bring forth? The Recruiting Board, therefore, urgently appeals to every local bodiy, to every publie man, to every citizen to give tk* new reciuiting scheme the fullest possible suppoit, and particularly to see that the personal canvass is in no way relaxed until an absolutely definite knowledge has been obtained of the position of every man oi military age in New Zealand. The foregoing arti- | cle is official, and The Chronicle has pleasure in publishing it for the good j it may do.