The Taihape Daily Times AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATED MONDAY, APRIL 3, 1916. THE RECRUITING SCHEME.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume 8, Issue 80, 3 April 1916, Page 4

The Taihape Daily Times AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATED

MONDAY, APRIL 3, 1916. THE RECRUITING SCHEME.

I,With which is incorporated The Tai hape Post and "Waiinarino ISews.)

"Is there a man among us who does not pale as he looks back and sees the gulf which he has missed by a hair's breadth?" This is a question put by Mr Hughes, the Commonwealth Premier, at a dinner given in his honour by the British Chamber of Commerce. Viewing all circumstances—the causes which provoked the Clyde strike, and other excuses for labour to cease work while their fathers and brothers are facing the Hohenscllern and Hapsburg murderers; the exploitations by shippers and dealers, not only in Britain, but here in New Zealand, regardless of the effect their callous and damnable avarice may have en recruiting and on the carrying on of our public services, another queston needs immediate attention. Have we missed the abyss, or are we still desperately struggling on the brink, one day clutching at a German trench, the next day having that which Ave grip blown to dust by German artillery? We are behaving here 'as though the war was won, and such questions as that propounded by the .Commionwealth Premier' halps an that assumption. We are losing sense of proportion, turning rather to the high falutin of optimistic guessers than to the grim evidences furnished by the recruiting sergeant who is still anxiously and concernedly knocking at our doors in his search for brave men and patriots to' don the khaki and take their place beside the thousands who are daily hazarding their lives in the destruction of the common enemy of the whole British Empire, The call of the| recruiting sergeant has ceased to warn us of the chasm that may yet engulf us, and as a last means of awakening us to our duty and responsibilities the Government has called to its aid every local governing body in the Dominion. We may not see eye to eye with the Government in the evolution of the schemes' details, but we do realise that every member of this community is faced with the most pressing duty that he was ever called upon to perform for his country. It has been found advisable, if not necessary, so that the gulf to which Mr. Hughes directs our mental vision may be ultimately crossed, to pass on to our Mayor and Borough Councillors, an opportunity to help in securing the men that are urgently —very urgently—needed to destroy the brutal preparedness of the enemy to engulf us. It is believed that with their knowledge of local men and local conditions, all those who are eligible and ought to take an active part in the country's deliverance will be given an opportunity of saying yes or no to the call. It should be needless to say that every burgess and every voter, man and woman, ought to realise the true state of things, and at once busy themselves in making their Councillors' work as light and as successful as possible. Let it not be said that we hesitated when our country was in danger of falling into a slavery that all past history shows our forefathers risked all to avoid. The Empire's keeping is in our hands; it is assailed by Germany; are we going to-do less than Britons of the past have done? Are we goino- to hand down a heritage of en-

time, and do that which will enable this generation to pass on the heritage of freedom that it received from those who fought for and won it for us. Let it not be said that we followed the pettifogging, contemptible attitude that is so evident in Auckland, where, while we are confronted with the most dire consequences, men are acting like the mean-spirited, dirty nosed, ragged urchin, who rubs his dirty arm across an equally dirty face, and, between a ■whine and a yelp, scheeches out "I shann-n-n-t p-l-a-y." It is incomprehensible that because Aucklanders fancy they have sent more than their quota they should, while the,sword of Damoc'.es is still directly over their heads, deliberately refuse to send any more until other parts of New Zealand have furnished their quota; Let it be understood that this quota is based upon a very imperfect register. Now.that Taihape is in the honourable position of having contributed more than its quota of men, nothing could tarnish the town's honour, and render its people open to the scorn of others more than the adoption of such an attitude as that displayed in Auckland. Our Borough Councillors have accepted a duty in helping on the acquisition of more men, because they feel it was an unavoidable duty. Will our people realise their unavoidable duty to Councillors and to their children,.the millions who come after them, and do their utmost, in passins on the free heritage they received from those who went before? We may think the Recruiting Board, in Wellington, is not doing as we would, but we should remember that they have all the information and data of a public and also that of a secret nature to guide them in shaping the course they are following. The one thins that should fire us with enthusiasm is the fact that more men are desperately needed, and we should work, and organise just as enthusiasticary in securing these men as we do in securing the election of our particular candidate for municipal or for parliamentary honours. Taihape has done its dut.v in the oast and we believe, it will pytend to its Councillors the assistonce' thev need in the al'-important "--.-V +Mt has been laid en th3ir shoulders. . .