RECRUITING CAMPAIGN

Waikato Times, Volume 125, Issue 20995, 23 December 1939, Page 6

RECRUITING CAMPAIGN

Upon the success or otherwise of the recruiting campaign now being inaugurated may depend the decision whether the introduction of conscription will be necessary in New Zealand. The countryside is to be combed within the next few weeks with the objective of securing 10,000 recruits, who would go a long way towards filling the quotas of the second and third echelons. Plenty of men are available; in fact the man-power of the country has scarcely yet been touched. In the last war well over 100,000 men were received into the army, and in an extreme emergency an even greater number would be available now because of the increase in the population. Recruiting has in the past few weeks been very disappointing. There has been criticism of the methods generally employed, but most people are confident that a vigorous campaign will still produce better results from voluntary enlistment. The present effort will no doubt be more serious than the last, and the need for men will be brought home very plainly to the country’s young manhood. There is no lack of genuine patriotism, but there does seem to be a lack of appreciation of the country’s need and the importance of keeping the quotas filled. If the position is made unmistakably clear in the present campaign there is no doubt that many more young men will come forward voluntarily, especially when it is known that the conditions of service are far more liberal than they once were and that the civilian population is thoroughly in sympathy with the objectives for which the men are enlisting.

There is certainly a strong body of opinion in favour of conscription, which would spread the burden equitably among all men. The element of unfairness in the voluntary system, which leaves the work to the willing few, has indeed been a powerful influence in dissuading many young men from offering their services. In this connection the reasoning of Mr W. Downie Stewart in his reply to Mr W. E. Barnard was particularly to the point. Conscription with reasonable safe guards and with intelligent selection of the men in the best interests of the country would remove much heartburning and supply the country with all the man-power it requires. The public attitude towards conscription has certainly changed radically from that of 1914-18. ox