RECRUITING RALLIES

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2608, 2 November 1915, Page 4

RECRUITING RALLIES

Complaint has been made that the young men who arc intended to be rcaohed by the public meetings held to stimulate recruiting do not attend and so the desired result is not attained. This is a quite erroneous assumption. The success of such meetings should not bo judged either by the number of young men who attend or the number who enlist at the meetings. It is the effect of such meetings on tho whole community that has to be_ considered. Assuming that tho right sort of speeches arc made, tho majority.of those who clo attend, be they young or old, men or women, go away from the meetings fired with tho recruiting spirit, and they spread their influence in an ever-widening circle. Tens of thousands who do not attend the meetings, but who read the reports of the proceedings,"are-impressed by the ap-' peals made, and'so the sentiment grows throughout the community and exerts its pressure in all directions in what wo know as the force of public opinion. The young man in doubt as to whether he shall enlist or not is much more likely to be influenced by the opinions held in the circle in which he moves than by appeals from the public plat-form; and so it is that the weignt of opinion which finally decides him is mainly created by the public speeches of those in responsible positions and those who are assisting them through the War League, the Patriotic Society, and other organisations working for the same end. ■ The War League is doing admirable work, and has more than justified the hopes of those who founded it. Its latest decision to take up the matter of a pension by right for dependents of married men who may lose their lives in tho war is to be welcomed. The uncertainty which exists on this point should be cleared up at once, and definite assurance given of a pension by right in all cases.