The Dominion. MONDAY, DECEMBER 2O, 1915. THE UNMARRIED FIRST

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2648, 20 December 1915, Page 4

The Dominion. MONDAY, DECEMBER 20, 1915. THE UNMARRIED FIRST

A' good deal of uncertainty still exists as to the results of Lord Derby's recruiting scheme. It is impossible to say whether the Government has obtained the required number of men. It has certainly not jot been shown that the need for resorting to some form of compulsion has been finally disproved. It is now officially announced- that the number of those who have enlisted during Lord Derby's recruiting campaign and have been attested as fit is just over 2,000,000. Is this number sufficient? No direct authoritative statement of the number required has yet been made. In explaining His soheniCi Lord Derby stated that he did not intend to mention the exact number ho wanted. Hiß aim was to get every physically fit man of military age except those employed in "starred" industries— that is-to say on the manufacture of munitions and on other work essential to the' trade and production of ■the country. It is understood that Lord Kitchener informed the Labour Recruiting Committee that during the coming year ho would require 30,000 recruits a week, which would mean over 1,500,000 for the twelve months. It is said that from the 2 ; 000,000 attestations a largo reduction will have to be made for "indispensables"—for men belonging to "starred" industries. Lord Derby laid it down that any "starred" men who should enlist would be attested as soldiers of the King, but would be at once sent back to their employment. There is still uncertainty as to what will be the position after these and other deductions have been made. The only information to hand on this point is that Mr..Asquith's answer to a deputation, of anti-conscriptionists gave the impression that the result is likely to be satisfactory. Though the enlistment of 2,000,000 additional-volunteers is a remarkablo achievement, and reflects great credit on the energy and methods of Lord Derby and his fel-low-workers, it leaves a very large number of eligible men still unacagtmtetl for, . There are about JOJIQCLOOQ men in the United! Kin*-.

dom of military age, and after making allowance for those who have already joined Kitchener's armies, those who have entered the Navy, and those engaged in the "starred" industries, there would probably remain from 3,000,000 to '1,000,000 men for Lokd Deruy to work upon. Therefore it seems that, after deducting the "unfits," over 1,000,000 men of military age have not responded to the country's call. In view of this fact, the Government may not be able to set to work on tho basis of Lord Derby's scheme. .It is not, yet known how many unmarried men are shirking their duty, but Mr. Asquith has given an assurance to the married men that the obligations which they may undertake will not; be enforced until the unmarried men havo been eallcd up. Lord Derby made it plain« beyond doubt that there was no necessity under his scheme for a man when he enlisted to forthwith join his regiment. Evory man had the right to have his name placed in his. proper group, and it was promised that the groups would be called up in their order—the younger' unmarried men before the. older, and all unmarried men, except those who may be proved to be indisponsable to their businesses, .before any of the married men. If it should be found that a large number of unmarried men are deliberately shirking their military obligations, it would be tho Government's duty to bring effective pressure to bear oh them before calling up the married men. This woul<" involve a measure of compulsion. Referring to this aspect of the question, Me. Asquith recently said he did not believe that the unmarried men- would hold but he asserted that such, a contingency must be faced, and that it might be found necessary to supplement the voluntary system by some form of legal obligation. He then went on to say:

I am determined—l stick at nothing— I am determined that we shall, win this war. Sooner than not win the war, if I find—l do not believe I shall—such a situation as that, I shall come down without 'the faintest hesitation or doubt to all mv friends, those who like myself are what I call strons supporters of the voluntary system'anii say: "We have (lone what we could; we have not attained the results we hoped for. Wo must do what is still necessary by other means."

It would, of course, bo a great mistake to think that even if Lord Derby's scheme should give Lord Kitchener another'l,soo,ooo men, the recruiting problem'would be finally solved. No one can say how many recruits will be sufficient. Probably Lord Kitchener mentioned 30,000 a week merely as an approximate minimum. Sufficient men must be found to enable us to win the war. If the required number, whatever it may be, cannot be produced by the voluntary system then; compulsion must ba resorted to.' Mr. John Hodge, Chairman of the, British Labour Party, Who is one of the-strongest advocates of the voluntary- system, is quite clear on this point. In a recruiting speech at Gravesend ho declared that if the Government made it clear to the people that a change was necessary, voluntaryism having failed, there was not tho slightest doubt that convulsion would be adopted in order to beatthe Germans. "We hate conscription," says tho British Weekly, well-known Nonconformist paper, "but we bate defeat infinitely worse." This, is a rational attitude. Is it possible for any Britisher actually to prefer defeat, with all that it means, to conscription ?