CO-ORDINATION NEEDED

Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 21196, 20 August 1940, Page 4

CO-ORDINATION NEEDED

In deciding to mobilise the people of New Zealand in a home defence scheme .the Government is not only taking a step that is wise from a military point of view but is as well gratifying a widespread public wish. Men* and women throughout the Dominion who are ineligible for the overseas forces have demonstrated their desire more actively to assist their country in its defence. Further, this mobilisation will assist in stiffening and sustaining the public morale. Nothing is more disheartening than sitting with folded hands while the active defenders of the country are fighting desperately for their own lives and the lives of those left at home. Action is the most effective antidote to war weariness. The Prime Minister on Sunday night announced the formation of the Emergency Reserve Corps, the Home Guard and the Women’s War Service Auxiliary, which he said offered a suitable sphere of service for every member of the community. He is assured of a ready response from volunteers. The action first needed, however, is a clarification of a home service position which has become undesirably complicated and confused. Unless the tangle is quickly straightened out there is a danger of serious duplication and waste of effort. Very few people at the moment could clearly tabulate all the services which are in operation or are proposed, and consequently there is a doubt which should be supported. Co-ordination is one of the Government’s aims, and it should be the first to receive emphasis. Already New Zealand has the Expeditionary Force, the Territorials, the Territorial and other reserves, including coast watchers and other guards, and various other recognised or semi-official organisations. Now it is proposed to add three more. The position has reached the stage where the public is saying, “Let us get this straight.” There is* almost an embarrassment of the volunteering spirit, and it only remains to guide that spirit into properly defined channels. The local bodies have emergency precaution schemes designed to meet any sudden emergency, and these are apparently to stand under the new arrangement. The local bodies will, in fact, apparently be asked to accept further responsibilities. Simplification is called for, and perhaps it can be achieved by the Emergency Reserve Corps which is to “co-ordinate the various organisations giving national service.”