CANADA AND THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2489, 16 June 1915, Page 5

CANADA AND THE WAR

MEN, AND MORE MEN

A DETERMINED PEOPLE

A campaign is on foot in Canada to bring the national fighting strength up to 350,000 or 500,000 men. The Melbourne "Argus" correspondent, writing from Toronto under_ date of May 6, makes the following interesting remarks on the general situation with Tegard to Canada's' share in the war:— Canada, begins to understand the significance of war. The country's losses at Langemarck appear to have totalled over 6000, including about 800 killed, 2150 wounded, and 2536 missing. Some 250 officers are understood to fallen, but the casualty lists dribble in slowly, and even yet we cannot say how many of the 2500 reported missing are dead, and how many are prisoners of the enemy. The anxiety throughout the Dominion is great, for the regiments were drawn from nearly every province, though principally from Ontario, Quebec, and the West. Our sorrow is mingled with a great pride, for our troops fought from Thursday, April 22, till Sunday, April 26, w 'th little support, with little to eat or drink, _ with precarious supplies of war, and with an overwhelming force before, in flank, and behind them. They held the line, and when it broke they reformed it, and they charged their sixfold foe again and again and defeated him. The Germans were halted before they could attain their object of getting across the canal in force. To the Canadian troops the military critics cordially and ungrudgingly accorti the credit of stopping them. As General French has said they "saved the situation," and the authorities are inundated with messages of congratulations and condolence.

Several cf the Canadian battalions lost nearly all their officers—men drawn largely from the' business and professional life of the country. There is no disposition to claim creator qualities for our troops than foT others at the front, but it is grateful to Canad- !«« to have praise from Australia and iNew Zealand. You rejoice over tfhe vajoiir of onr troops in the field as we rejoiced over the capture of the Emr*i . Sydney, over the success o. the Antipodeans at the Dardanelles, and over the valour and resolution displayed by Dutch and English in South Africa. Even before the battle of Langemarck the Canadian losses were heavy. Severe losses had been suffered by the Princess Patricia Regiment m earlier engagements, and permanently invalided soldiers had begun to find their way hack to their Canadian homes, from which they so cheerfully set out only a few months apo. _ One effect of the sad and yet satisfying news from Flanders has been to strengthen the determination of the Canadian Government and people to increase their exertions in helping to secure a final victory. The use of asphyxiating gaa against' the Dominion troops has so angered our people that there is a keener desire than ever to fill up the gaps at the front. Troopships leave our shores unannounced at irregular intervals, so that while a considerable proportion of the second and third contingents have gone, I am unable to give any detailed statistics of the numbers thus moved. In a short time the Dominion will have two complete army divisions in Canada in training and ready to furnish reinforcements as soon as required. It is expected that reinforcements at the rate of approximately 8000 per.month will be needed, and these will be sent from the fourth contingent as the call comes from the War Office. Before this letter reaches Australia we shall have sent 70,000 troops to Europe, and by December we shall have sent 155,000 men, end 6till have 50,000 under arms at home. A campaign is under way, led by Mr. N. W. Rowcll, K.C., Leader of the Liboral Party in Ontario, to raise the national fighting force to a strength of 350,000 or 500,000. Fourteen hundred students from M'Gill and the University of Toronto and Western Universities are in training at Niagara-on-the-Lake. They belong to the Canadian Officers' Trainmg. Corps, and the camp will furnish junior officers as rapidly as possible to fill vacancies at the front. Scores of young Canadians are training in the Canadian aviation school, near Toronto, for service in the Royal Naval Air or P s - The school is under the direction of Mr. J. A, D. M'Curdy, the pioneer Canadian aviator, returned from I'.ri- i work. One hundred additional Canadian doctors are being selected to go to England in answer to a request from the War Office for more help at tho British field and base liosi ir r i " a< ' a soon have a medical staff of about 300 doctors and 450 nurses in England and France. Thero is still a list of 1200 nurses on file at the Dopartment to draw upon. The City Coun- ?, ' las ' nsl,r fed the lives of tho 8050 Toronto men in tho first two contingents for a total sum of 9,050,000 dollars, at a cost of 389,550 dolhrrs per annum. This is in addition to the million dollars raised by private effort for the support of Toronto soldiers' dependents, and in addition to other largo sums contributed to the Belgian and other relief funds.

In the backblocks Flueqznl irralu. able for curing malignant throat trouble.*