Stories from the Beds & Herts Saturday Telegraph: March 18th, 1916.

In view of the meeting of attested married men called for Monday evening next at the Castle Street Hall to emphasise the necessity of the "Single Men First" pledge being honoured to the full, the announcement that the Luton Advisory Committee have passed a resolution on the subject, which is to be forwarded to the Munitions Minister and to the Tribunals.

This morning we received the following communication, which read: "At a full meeting of the Luton Advisory Committee held on Monday, a discussion took place on the subject of single young men who are known to have gone to munition works in order to avoid military service. It was felt that to allow these men to remain in their present employment would constitute a great injustice to attested married men who are being, or are liable to be called up.

"The committee therefore unanimously passed the following resolution, to be sent to the Minister of Munitions, and also ask that the matter should be laid before the Tribunals in the hope that they might take similar action."

The resolution read: "That in the opinion of this Advisory Committee it is necessary that certain men now engaged in munition factories, who previously to August 15th, 1915, were in other trades, should be liberated for service in the Forces, it being common knowledge that many of these men have gone to their present employment in order to escape military service."

"This resolution is particularly directed against men who at the time when the National Register was taken were in occupations unconnected with engineering, such as farm work, retail trades and straw work."

The Secretary of the War Office had subsequently issued an announcement in which it was stated: "A systematic inspection is now being carried out as rapidly as possible of firms whose employees have received badges [to protect the indispensable labour of firms on important War Office contracts] , with a view to withdrawing any which may be found to be no longer required; and out inspectors are instructed to pay special attention to the necessity of withdrawing badges from eligible single men in all cases where they can be replaced by men over age, or otherwise disqualified for service, or by women."

• Cpl W. Moore, 486 Coy, A.S.C., who played for Luton Town prior to the departure of his section for service abroad, is now with the British forces at Salonica, he wrote to inform the Town Secretary, Mr Charles Green. And J. Dunn, the Luton Town left back, had left the Army and was now engaged on munition work in the Liverpool district.

• Evidently the moral and law-abiding standard of the town is in the ascendency, for the absence of Saturday's police court proceedings from the Telegraph is quite an uncommon occurrence. Insp Janes was busy informing the magistrates as they came along ready to do their duty that there was "nothing doing. No court today".

• The agenda for this afternoon' sitting of the Luton Borough Tribunal contained 30 new appeals and one adjourned case. Of the 31 all except three were by voluntarily attested men.

• Asked for his views on the prospect of a Football Tax, Luton Town Secretary Charles Green responded: "It appears to me that under present conditions the probable amount that would be realised from football would be really so small that it is not worth while considering the point. Even in normal times the average club is hard put to pay its way, and any extra taxes would cripple the finances to a serious extent. Although heavily in debt, my own club already pay income tax each year."

• Luton Town and Reading, both contenders for the wooden spoon in the London Combination met at the Luton Town ground this afternoon with the visitors, suffering from meagre gates, having to be given some financial guarantee before making the journey. Military exigencies prevented Wileman, Roe and Dyke turning out for Luton, but Simms returned at centre forward. Simms missed a penalty before Reading took the lead, But Simms redeemed himself with a goal, plus two from Butcher and one from Seadon making the half-time score 4-1 to the Blues. Simms missed a second penalty in the second half, but goals from him, Upton, Season, Butcher and Tempest made the final score 9-2 to Luton and took them from second from bottom to fourth from bottom on goal difference in the table.