FIRST BALLOT

Wairarapa Times-Age, 24 September 1940, Page 6

FIRST BALLOT

MEN FOR TERRITORIAL SERVICE SIXTEEN THOUSAND NAMES TO BE DRAWN. EXPEDITIOUS PROCEDURE. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, This Day. This morning, at nine o’clock, a start was made on the drawing of 16,000 men from the First Division of the General Reserve to supply an additional six thousand men for Territorial service within New Zealand, and on Wednesday next week the men selected will receive advice notices and their names will be published in a “Gazette.” The names are being drawn by officers of the National Service Department under the supervision of Mr W. T. Stilwell, S.M., but the drawing is arranged in such a way that those actually engaged do not know who has been drawn. One hundred and eighty cards are drawn at a time and the first issue took just about thirty minutes from the time the marbles were put in the barrell until notices to the men drawn had been typed. It is anticipated that the full 16,000 will be drawn in four days—an ambitious undertaking compared with the results obtained when drawing was first resorted to during the last war. Before the drawing commenced, the Ministers of National Service and Defence (Messrs Semple and Jones) spoke briefly to those engaged in the work and congratulated them on the way in which they had prepared for the ballot. Mr Semple said he was satisfied that the system of drawing was fool-proof and would be scrupulously fair. The ballot was a preliminary one to secure 6,000 men for the Territorial forces. There would be other ballots for overseas se'rvice. Mr Jones said the Defence Department now had to rely on men drawn for service to fill up any deficiencies in the forces and he hoped the men drawn would accept the position in the very best spirit. He believed the young mefl of New Zealand would accept the call to service and play their part along with their mates, already in uniform. The drawing commenced with 2,000 men required for the Northern Military District. The first marble was drawn by the Minister of National Service. Colonel Mead, Adjutant-General, was present for a time and the Director of National Service (Mr J. S. Hunter) and the Assistant-Director, Mr H. L. Bockett, took an active part in the drawing.