DRAWN IN THE BALLOT.

Taranaki Daily News, 10 August 1917, Page 2

DRAWN IN THE BALLOT.

THE FIT AND THE UNFIT. CACiLS OF REJECTION. Wellington, Wednesday

An interesting analysis of the results of the medical examination of reservists drawn in the ballot on June 30, 1-017, was laid on the tabic ' the House of kcpivsenlativcs yestc. afternoon by (he '.Minister of Dclciit. -ir ,'Jamca Allen). There are four n::i n medical classifications of men examined; and they are as follows: Class A. —lien fit for active service beyond the seas. Class B.—Men fit for active service after undergoing specified treatment; (1) After operation in camp or public hospital; (2) after recovery at home. Class C—Men. fit for service in New Zealand only. (1) Might be made fit for active service after further training; (2) sthc-rs. Class D.—Men permanently unfit. THE CLASSIFICATION. The total number of men examined was 40,773, and they were classified as follows:—i CJasß A , 15,570 Class Bl -.,.•„ 511 Class B2 .. .... SSB Class CI . „.. „ 407 Class C2 , 21,302 Class D 2,029 The proportion of fit men decreased as the age advanced, for whereas there were 5271 Class A men out.of a total of 11,738 between the ages of 20 and 25, the proportion slightly decreased in the case of the men ranging in age from 25 to 30, the number fit for active service being 4344 out of a total of 10,GUO. In the case of those between 30 and 35 years of age, 3120 Class A men were socured out of a total of 8090, only 1772 were obtained out of 5351 between the ages of 35 and 40, whilst in the easo of those over -10 the number secured was 1069 out of a total of 4928.

DISTRICT FIGURES. An analysis of the district figures shows Canterbury to be in the most unfortunate position, regarding Class A men. for whereas 38GO were secured in Auckland out of a total of 88SA examined, 544fl obtained in Wellington out of a total of 13,910, and 2034 secured in Otago out of a total of 0731, only 3<>3fi were classified in Canterbury as fit for active service out of a total"of 11,243. CAUSES OF REJECTION. A lengthy table shows tho causes of rejection from Class A. Defects of the lower extremities were common, accounting for 24,«)0 out of a total of 25,197 rejections. Cn tho other hand there were but 803 rejections on account of defects of tiie upper extremities. There were no fewer than 1015 rejections on account of flat feet, hut only 450 because of varicocele. Three hundred and thirteen of the men examined failed to reach the height standard, and 017 were unable to attain the requisite chest measurement. Eight men were rejected on acer.mil of being over height. Tubercle of the lung led to the rejection of G2-1, other tubercular diseases accounting for US more, ivhilst the large total of 2970 (the largest class) were rejected on account of valvular diseases of the heart, 'whilst 1212 suffered frbm other diseases of this vital organ Diseases of the veins (va'ix) led to the rejection of 1207, and lio4 more were lost tliroii;:h diseases of the digestive system. ißel'eetive vision accounted for 1930 men, defective intelligence for 408, diseases of the car (including deafness) for" 770. and hernia for 1243. J'her.' were only 97 rejections for syphilis and 52 for other veneral diseases. Canterbury was responsible for most of these, 45 of the. syphilis rejections, and 31 of the other venereal diseases coming from that district. There were 90 alcoholic cases, Wellington being responsible for 59.