youngsters, a United Bermuda Party candidate has claimed.

Mr. Ted Gauntlett said young people should be dragooned into an elite community service corps.

This would drum discipline into them, and ease racial tensions.

"I believe the best opportunity to resolve our racial and indeed many other societal problems lies in enabling all our young people, and especially all our young men, to be raised in a disciplined integrated environment of positive role models,'' said Mr. Gauntlett.

Mr. Gauntlett, adopted candidate for Sandys South, said the youth corps should be run alongside the Bermuda Regiment.

"I believe the ethos of the Regiment alone may not be ideally suited to such a more broadly based community service.'' Mr. Gauntlett floated his idea at a meeting of the Sandys Rotary Club on Wednesday.

He said self-discipline was crucial in controlling men's self-destructive "animal'' impulses.

"I suggest every major societal disorder today could benefit from a programme returning to basic values enabling self-worth arising from self-discipline.'' Mr. Gauntlett said "all would gain from a compulsory totally non weapons oriented'' group.

"Ideally such a corps would be both land and sea based and also incorporate a sail training ship regularly taking voyages to the islands to the south as our ancestors did,'' he added.

Mr. Gauntlett said community work would sweep away misconceptions about racial inferiority and superiority.

"There is no doubt in my mind that blacks are equal to if not better than whites in every attribute God has granted us.

"However, slavery unjustly led to the legacy of false perceptions of superiority and inferiority we bear today, and we must all therefore shoulder our mutual responsibility to redress the wrongs of the past by ensuring they do not recur in future.'' Mr. Gauntlett concluded: "If we are willing and committed to grow together in this training and learning process, the only thing to fear is fear itself.

"We have already lost the chance for equal education for all -- surely we must not also lose probably our last chance to uniformly mould our young people in the most important attribute of all -- self-discipline, self-worth, self-respect and selflessness for the common good of all.''