The Stratford Evening Post WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE EGMONT SETTLER MONDAY, JUNE 7, 1915. THE NEED FOR NUMBERS.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXVII, Issue 31, 7 June 1915, Page 4

The Stratford Evening Post WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE EGMONT SETTLER MONDAY, JUNE 7, 1915. THE NEED FOR NUMBERS.

Frequently since the great war began the highest military authorities have warned Britain and France that this war cannot be brought to a successful conclusion until the Aiies established a distinct numerical superiority over the. enemy in the field. The Germans and Austrians, on their side, have realised to the lull the immense importance of numerical strength, and so far they have been able to put into the firing line more men than all the Allies combined, and there is every reason to believe that, in spite of the immense losses they have sustained, they will lie able to maintain this superiority for some time to come. Commenting on this vital aspect of the question a writer in the Auckland Star says: Y’et in the face of these incontrovertible facts, and in spite of tin*, extreme urgency of the crisis by which England and the Allies are now confronted, our Imperial authorities still hesitate to take the only step that will enable the Empire to put into the field enough men to ensure final victory for our cause. Wo are compelled to assume that the British nation has not yet realised adequately the tremendous efforts that the Allies must make before the enemy can he reduced to absolute impotence and submission. And the chief reason for this failure on the part of the nation to rise to a full sense of its responsibilities is simply the refusal of the political party leaders to put the case before the people in a perfectly frank and impartial way. From the political standpoint England is still dominated by dread and hatred oi any form of compulsory military training. Not that the people have ever been asked to decide the question for themselves. But the great majority of politicians at Home, Liberals and Conservatives alike, have been brought up in the belief that “conscription,’’ which is “good enough for foreigners,” would he humiliating and degrading to the British nation ; and quite apart from their own convictions, they fear to prejudice their political fortunes by putting what they regard as an unpopular proposal before the electors. This is the only way in which we can explain either the resolute refusal of the politicians to put the case for compulsory military training fairly and openly to the people, or the desperate attempts made by leading political organs to represent the present military situation in such a light as to induce the people generally to believe that anything like “conscription” is wholly unnecessary.