OCCASIONAL JOTTINGS.

Taranaki Daily News, 24 June 1918, Page 7

OCCASIONAL JOTTINGS.

(By T. H. E. SHARK.) sim 110 respecter of persons and things." And so, at this late hour in the day, the Government of the Dominion of New Zealand has decided—it is to be presumed, after much advice from would-be historians and deep consideration on the part of Cabinet—to "open up proceedings" for the purpose of collecting soldiers' letters, etc., etc., the object being to gather such information as may be forthcoming for the purpose of publishing "The" History of the War. As the News has already "broken the ice," in so far as to offer some kindly advice for the benefit of those from whom authority may come to essay the huge task of compiling such a work, it would be useless to traverse ground already trenched. There are, however, one or two points in Wednesday's leading article to which public attention might be drawn with profit to the country and appreciation from the community. Comment has been made concerning the appointment of Malcolm Ross as official war correspondent with the New Zealand Expeditionary Forces, and the remarks made in connection with the results of this "official" work "at the scene of operations" do not call for any loudsounding recognition at the hands of the public. Malcolm Ross, as a pressman at home—his home at Wellington, that is —was, or should have bean, a fiture; but, when he was taken from the "arena of politics" and given a free hand to use hig pen in recounting from day to day the multitude of happenings of millions of soldiers fighting in a foreign country, it was patent to the boy at school that this "official" war correspondent had taken on—or he may have been officially pushed into the job—more than he had bargained for. The fact of the matter is this: The official war correspondent has sent some "stuff" through and some of it has been published, but, taking it all in all and studving the positions occupied by the "official" when great battles have" taken place on the Western front in which our soldiers have been heavily engaged, there has been nothing above ordinary Sixth Stajndard writing in Malcolm Ross' "Reminiscences," and, in the opinion of the writer, he has given us "nothing that we did not know." The question is, How did he gain the position of war correspondent, and what credentials did he (or his friends in Wellington) advoice when the Government decided to "*end a man along" and Malcolm Ross was accepted? Is it not time for his recall?

It has taken some.time to get to the j>oint There have been absolute failures, and there will continue to be absolute failures, in many departments' of the Public Service: but it is a tremendous job—almost impossible—to shift these failures once they get their boots across the official doorstep. That is the fault of the Service. Influence, ind not adaptability or merit, is the "power behiivl 1 the throne," and, so long as a man hp that, he need not fear: the inflner-ef will keep the official in his chair and the subordinates do the work. So, in the compilation of "The" (presumably official) History of the War, which Sir James Allen desires should be Issued as a memorial of the heroic deed of our sons, our brothers, and other relatives, what is it to be and who is there in the Dominion capable of handling the enormous amount of soldiers' correspondence' (apart from any other aspect) that would at first asking certainly flow in for inclusion in the "history t" It is a matter that cannot be left for Cabinet to deal with. It should not be left to the 'Journalists' Institute" to decide on the man who is to guide the ship—or sink it—and if the public were requested to appoint a man capable of "filling the bill" they would —well, every family in the country would be found to possess a frenius, and there would be no end to it. The appointment of a supreme head for a work such as the one under notice must be carefully considered, influence and other disagreeable "wire-pulling 1 ' put firmly aside, merit and knowledge of the world must be given deen thought, and, be he rich, pr poor, high or lowly, the man qualified for compiliS? "a history" commanded to see the wprk through.