Evening journal., 1915-04-10

is most interesting to Americans"
II came to me to ask him about the
voluntary military service which only
England and America, of all the trst
class Powers have dared to follow.
The other great nations must force
military service on their citizens. The
Englisll-American plan Was being test
ed by England in the greatest war
in history and I thought America
would like TO know how the voluntary
system was standing the strain.
Unprecedented strains said Mr..
Tenant, "haye been put upon the vol
untary system in this war; it mas had
/ to undergo a much more severe trial
/ than ever previously contemplated
and IT has triumphantly withstood
the ordeal.
Take first the territorial force"
/ said Mr Tenant. "The territorial
} force. it may be explained. CORE
spends TO the American militia. There
were roughly, at the beginning Of
I the war, quarter of a million of
, soldiers i'm that army. a good many
, thousand below IFS paper strength. or
] these some had been enlisted for some
time and had gone through the re-
quired drills and training in camp.
, others, who had enlisted more recent
~. had done no more than a fort
nights camp training and some of
/ them had not even done that on the
fourth of August, therefore. when war
was declared. it stood upon its trial.
Apply this same description TO tho
American militia and you can read
the same significance Of Mr. Tennant's
description in terms of the American
military problem.
1--WE have now been nearly eigh
months at war and nothing has hap
pened 10 necessitate our calling upon
the territorial force TO perform tho
service for which il was originally
intended-that is. to protect the coun-
try from invasion"
"What has happened then TO the
: territorial force / asked.
1T was at the beginning of August
some thousands below its paper es-
tablishment IL is now more than
double what is was originally intend
ed TO be. We have territorials TO the
total number originally provided for
all of whom have volunteered for for.
}' eign service. and. as a second line
to these we have under training a
complete second territorial force con
sisting of regiments. battalions anC
so forth. corresponding TO the units
Of the original force other units arr
also being raised.
81 Territorial regiments and diyisioni
are already serving abroad in India
in Burma. in Egypt. in Malta. in Gi
] sfsaN sarf
; ments we're sent to the front and yer.
) greatly distinguished themselves
! Their work has been highly praised il
s. Sir John French's dispatches. Tn
s casualty lists in the recent battle o
5 Neuve Chapelle show that territorial
I regiments were in the very front @
the fight. The Goth Gordons and tn
10th GOrdons-hoth of them Scottis
regiments-in particular suffere
heavily. Now We are sending on
whole divisions of torritorials so tina
the army at the front is being re
inforcod not merely by territorial reg
iments, but by the territorial fore
= as a military organization. In tn
: meantime the reserve battalions G
which l have spoken arc coming o
fast at home"
d Mr. Tennsnt pointed out that he ha
Q emphasized the organization and wor
+ Of the territorials, simply because the
were part OF the British militar
- forces about which, before the wa
y military critics abroad had been mos
d doubtful The voluntary system ha
ID been even more strikingly justified !
81 the case Of the new or so-called Kitcf
ener army. which is enlisted on th
basis of service for three years or fC
- the duration of the war. and is r.
is cruited to fight in any part of IL
y world.
" ITO understand" he said. "the sig
,e nifcance of the voluntary system
a. time of war you have to realize the di
M ference between the new armies an
n the regular army which has so bri
liantly upheld its splendid tradition
w land which is and will remain the bacl
bone of the British expeditionai
is force. I'm peace time the regul;
at army competes with other forms