The Manawatu Herald. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1916. COMPULSION AND APPLICATION OF THE BALLOT.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 1628, 24 October 1916, Page 2

The Manawatu Herald. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1916. COMPULSION AND APPLICATION OF THE BALLOT.

TflF rules and regtilalions that are to govern the enlistment of men for the expeditionary force's under the compulsory clauses of the Mililary Service Act are not yet before the public in a complete form, .Many points of procedure have repaired careful consideration, and the officers who are dealing with these matters have given a great deal of time and I hone,hi jo the framing of rules that will be al once fair to the men and effective from the point of view of I hi' Stale. A suggestion occasionally made by opponents of conscription is that wealth and social inlluence may assist some men to escape their fair share of the burden of enforced service. This is a point that has received the close attention of the authorities. There can be no favourites at the ballot, which will be conducted under the eyes of a magistrate and other witnesses, by means of a barrel, containing numbered marbles. livery man who is selected by ballot will have to go before a medical board for examination, and if In l is passed as lit In' will have to .--erve unless he can convince a mililary board, silting in public, that he ought to slay in New /calami, or unless the Minister for .Munitions asks that he shall be yea tiled temporary exemption. The rules governing the work of the medical boards will be designed to prevent the personal factor having any weigh! al all. No recruit drawn by ballot will be examined by a doctor from his own district. The medical men examining recruits in Wellington, dor example, will be drawn from some ■other part of the country in order to reduce the likelihood uf their having' personal acquaintances with the nil'll, and this rule will be followed I hronyhoiil New Zealand. Then, the recruits will be known to tin' doctors by numbers, and not by names, and they will appear before the Medical Hoards stripped ready for examination. A mililary officer will be present, and will lill up each man's “personal history form" from the information provided by the doctors as they proceed with their examination. The whole method will be entirely impersonal and businesslike. Jn each ballot each member of the F/Xpedilionary Force reserve is to be represented by a card in the main roll, which is being' compiled by the (lovernmenl Statistician. The portion of flu.* roll representing the Hrst division, comprisin'*' the unmarried men, widowers without children, and men married since May, 1015, will lie completed Hrst. Fateh card bears a number corresponding to the recruiting district in which the man lives. The cards tire being placed in boxes holding S(H) cards each, and the cards in each box will be numbered from 1 t<* 500, some blank cards being inserted to allow for subsequent additions to the roll. A barrel containing 500 marbles, numbered from 1 to 500. will be Used for the purpose of the ballot, and if No. 75, for example, is drawn, (lieu (he corresponding curd will be taken from each box. If the

ballot is being applied In certain (listriels ;m<l not to others —in order to cover shortages —the curds of men not living in (In' districts concerned will he returned to the boxes when drown. District rolls are to he prepared as quickly as possible, hut they will not he used in the ballot Tor the present at any rate. The main roll can he made to serve all purposes under the system described, and it, will haves the advantage of being up to dale at all times, since the t.lovernmeni Statistician will make every correction .and addition that is brought under his notice day by day. The district rolls will hi* printed, and copies will be sent to recruiting committees, local bodies, and the police, with the object, of having them cheeked and. made as complete and accurate as possible. The number of corrections to be made will lake time. The general rule laid down by the llecruiling Hoard and the Defence headquarters is that there will be no exemptions in the full meaning of the word. Certain men may be retained in New Zealand, because they are working in essential industries, or because their enlistment would be contrary to the public interest, or a cause of undue hardship to themselves or others. The military boards will consider applications under these headings, but the exemption will always be temporary, and to -ome extent it will be subject to the chances of the ballot. Cor example, John Smith, a member of the first division of the reserve, may be drawn in the ballot, and may ask for exemption on the ground that his services are essential in some branch of war industry, or that Inis the sole supporter of a widowed mother and a family of brothers and sisters. The Military Hoard may then suspend the case of .John Smith, but if Smith changes Ids employment, or if his circumstances are altered, his case will come before the Hoard for review. At the present time coalminers and policemen are not eligible for enlistment, but if the policeman decides on resigning. or if the miner discards his pick, then he becomes eligible at once. The position will be similar when conscriplion is being inforeed. If the object of the Defence authorities is achieved the rules for exemption will provide no cover for the shirker.