The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1915-09-18
C0NSCRIP T|ON IN
ENGLAND ISSUE
THREATENING
Cabinet, Parliament and Nation
Divided on Question
LABOR FACTIONS ARE OPPOSED
Urged That EnIistments Now at Rate
of 10000 a Week Are Fast as
War Department Can Equip

London, Saturday, Sept. 1S-Eng-
| land is absorbed in the rumored Cab
| met crisis over the question of con-
scription, to which, it is reported,
| David Lloyd George and Winston
Spencer Churchill have been convert,
| ed. 4
Lords Curzon and Lansdowne, An
drew Bonar Law, Walter Hume Long,
J. Austen Chamberlain, Lord Sci
borne and Sir Edward Carson, the
conscriptionist members are said to
| be threatening to resign unless Pre-
mier Asquith First Lord of the Ad-
miralty Balfour, Foreign Secretary
Grey. Lord Kitchner, and other cab
| met members adopt their chosen
| policy.
Lacking positive statements from
Premier Asquih and Lord Kitchner
| that compulsory service is necessary
for the safety of the country, the sys-
tenn is likely to find little support in
the present Parliament, with the Rad
icals, Laborites, and Irish Nationals
opposed to ii.
Many members opposed to cons
eription, are prepared to accept, how
ever the verdict OF the Premier and
War Secretary on the question, which
now is a subject of serious considera
tion in the cabinet.
Information from London reaching
New York is to the effect that Lord
Northelilfe seems to have made Sc
rious blunder in his concription~ cam
naign. He tried to force it upon pub
lie attention at time when the pub
lie was quite satisfied that the ques-
tion was best left in the handsgof the
.eabinet. ii1,e IL
b. Lord Hugh Cecil, Lord Cromer, and
dozens of others of equal note have
written to the papers protesting
against the matter being made the
subject of public agitation, and the
huge balance of public opinion seems
to be on their side. The Daily T'eIe-
graph and other important Unionst
papers like the Scotsman, have point
ed out the dangers inherent in a con-
troversial newspaper discussion of
subject which only tnose with exact
knowledge could speak of with value.
Lord Northcliffo would hear nothing
and the result has been that conscrip-
ton has now been made much more
contentious tor factionaD problem
than it would have been had Lord
Northolife kept his hands off.
Labor opposition has been strength
ened considerably II, it is asserted.
Lord Northoliffe1 had kept quiet. the
probability IS that, had the cabinet
come to the conclusion that conscrip-
tion was necessary, the country as
whole, would have accepted their rul-
ing without protest. AS it is now.
the majority of the cabinet are be-
lieved to have come to the conclus-
ion that, even should c0mpulsion be
considered necessary, it would be
very bad politics to endeavor to in
troduce ii at moment when so
much opposition has been aroused by
Lord Northcliffe's ill-advised cam
paign in favor of it.
There are grounds for stating that
the cabinet committee which is study
ing the whole question will probably
come to the conclusion that conscrip-
tion is, for the present at any rate,
unnecessary, and that even if its ad-
vantages were greater than they real
ly are, or as great as its advocates
claim they are, its introduction would
split the nation into two camps. The
present rate of recruiting is, it is
gathered, pretty close on 10000 a
week, which is quite ample for exist
ing requirements. Even now the
equipment of the new armies does not
proceed as rapidly as their recruiting.