UNREGISTERED RESERVISTS.

Taranaki Daily News, 24 April 1918, Page 8

UNREGISTERED RESERVISTS.

THE A WAP UN I HUNT. (From Our Own Correspondent,) Wellington, April 22. The Minister for Justice combined business with pleasure at the Palmerston North races last week, by superintending a search for unregistered reservists and "shirkers" among the racecourse patrons. He employed a large force of constables and detectives in plain clothes, and during the two days of the meeting over 1000 men were questioned and naked to show enrolment cards or leave passes. The "catch" seems to hav& been practically nothing. Over 95 per cent, of the men had their military papers. Nearly all the others could account for themselves satisfactorily. A few cases ar? still under investigation. The result of this experiment bears out the statement of the Government Statistician and the military authorities that the number of eases of evasion of service in New Zealand is very small indeed. There are shirkers and objectors, of course, but they are known to the authorities in almost all eases, and are being dealt with gradually in accordance with the law. It seems to be assumed in some quarters in this country that large numbers of fit first Division men are escaping service by omitting to enrol and by dodging the military authorities. But all the official evidence goes to show that the number of these shirkers is very small indeed. The Minister for Defence has said that the number is "negligible," but fhe use of this word is unfortunate, for if there is only one shirker he requires prompt attention. The recruiting officers | and the Government Statistician have tested the matter in various ways. They have received thousands of letters referring to alleged shirkers, and they have I investigated every case. Their deliberate conclusion is that the number of men who have managed to evade enrolment and so escape the ballot has to be reckoned in dozens rather than hundreds. The Dominion is too small and too sparsely populated to shelter shirkers. These men get reported to the Defence, authorities by their acquaintances—even tlieir relatives —and every communica' ; tion is investigated. In the majority of cases, it may be stated, the communications prove to have been founded on incomplete or inaccurate information. Very many of the men represented to be shirkers are found to be medical rejects.