The Daily News. FRIDAY, MARCH 16, 1917. ORGANISING ENEMY ALIENS.

Taranaki Daily News, 16 March 1917, Page 4

The Daily News. FRIDAY, MARCH 16, 1917. ORGANISING ENEMY ALIENS.

There are in New Zealand a considerable number of enemy aliens,,some of whom have been interned, while others are at large. In addition to those who are unnaturalised, there is a goodly number of naturalised aliens resident in the Dominion. While some of these latter are to be found in the military forces raised here, by far the larger number are not in the ranks. The question of what to do with both the naturalised and unnaturalised enemy aliens has occupied much attention on the part of the public as well as of the authorities. In face of the urgency of the labor problem with which we are now faced, it is not surprising to find that the Farmers' Union executives are considering the question of the employment on essential public works of the thousands of enemy aliens who are at present living uiuliturbed in our midst, exempt from mill tary duty and from personal restricti<-' 'The Government has the right, under :i ternational law, to jntern every cm■

r.llcn'iuid to conscript every naturalised alien. Neither the people nor the Government of New Zealand desire to act otherwise than humanely with theee aliens. To merely intern the unnaturalised is a culpable waste of good material, and it is high time the available alien man power and woman power was thorouhly organised for the benefit of the State, and thus relieve the growing pressure which is hindering the placing hi the tiring line of large numbers of our manhood who are forced by the shortage of labor to remain here as producers or manufacturers of essentials. It is quite conceivable that the Government regards the subject as one that requires delicate handling, and they may he awaiting an expression of public opinion on the question. They mcy, however, rest assured that it is the earnest wish of every Britisher in New Zealand—those born here and tli,osu who have made the Dominion their adopted countn—that enemy ? liens and naturalised aliens should be conscripted for national service under adequate supervision, and that even those who connot be trusted at large should be made to do their share of essential public work under proper control. This is no time for allowing men to be practically idle. The principle of making every man work for his living, whether interned or not, is generally accepted by all the belligerent countries, we have already advocated the adoption of organised national labor to meet the exigencies of the present situation, and it would seem that the first step taken might profitably be that of organising alien labor. The New Zealand Herald states that the Auckland Provincial Executive of the Farmers' Union, in conjunction with the Waikato and other branches, will doubtless press upon the .Government the view that all aliens should be enrolled for liatioiial scrvico, the naturalised ones being engaged on public work at war and the uunaturalised ones interned and put to similar employment, it being understood that the carrying on of agriculture under the supervision of the Efficiency Boards is included in the term ''public work.'-' 'Owing to the lack of organised labor the Defence Department is faced , with the problem of finding men for the reinforcements without crippling the producing industries and inflicting unjustifiable hardships and injustice on the farming community, whereas if the enemy aliens were systematically organised they would provide a solution for the problem of production and transport as all'c-eting military service. There is noi the slightest question as to the Government possessing the necessary powers to initiate and carry out a complete scheme for utilising the alien power which is at present available, and, unless we are greatly mistaken, it is the will of the people that this course should be adopted. The Dominion lias during the war period been badly handicapped for the want of an organising genius, but in this matter of utilising alien power no' genius jis requires. The machinery of the Efficiency Boards can well be made available for this work by enlarging their powers by the co-operation of other .State departments. It is neither politio nor economic to allow thousands of enemy aliens to hold aloof from contributing their quota of service to the country which confers on them numerous advantages, while N« Zealanders are making enormous sacrifices for King and country. Production is the pressing need at present, and in this work aliens could do good service, while those who are not fit for that work could be usefully employed by public bodies. The matter is one that cannot be too strongly impressed 011 tlie Government.