The War and the Ballot.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 6, Issue 252, 20 February 1917, Page 1

The War and the Ballot.

J TO THE EDITOR.] Sir—There is at present abroad a tendency amongst us civilians to rejoice at the individual being called by the ballot, which a little thought and the exhibition of some of our " British fair play " would eliminate. In the first place who are we to scoff whether we are in the first division or the second ? We are whilst scoffing and jeering still in our comfortable beds and at our well-filled boards thousands of miles from the seat of war. If these men we are so ready to push out come back with V.C.'s for which I presume they are still eligible, we will fall down and worship them before getting into our comfortable beds. But, and it is a big B, should these men fail to come back to us and die unrecorded heroes, are we to have to look back and say to ourselves " I rejoiced at that man being caught in the ballot, I was glad for him to be sent to his doom." ? Let us beware and not be so callously uncharitable, so that when our turn comes, we may not feel that when we did the jeering before we are now the objects of it. The objects of our derision may possibly be doing in civilian life more good for the cause than they could in khaki. Possibly volunteers in khaki have a right to jeer in spite of the fact that the majority in camp have enlisted since the ballot came into force. The ballot and Board exist. Let us be men enough to abide by them.— Yours, etc, FRED. C 8. LAWSON, Tuakau, 15th Feb., 1917.