The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-01-17
SEA

that while all shall he registered the
training shall take place sucr"sssivci,.
Next there Is the obstacle Of carry
ing on. This nation Is industrial and
proletarian. The mass of the English
have no resources, they do not even
own their homes. England as
nation does not feed itself, but by her
industry makes things with which to
purchase her food. ON this account
again ii Is imperative that the total
registered number should only be
trained successfully in fragments and
that these fragments should have re-
gard not only to their age but to their
occupation.
THE third obstacle is the psychologi.
cal factor not Of Indifference, | think
but OF incomplete information. II
inevitable in a society which some curse
has rendered industrial and proletarlan
men should wake up late to the idea OF
"a general national danger and II In
inevitable that in n society so long i'm
mune from war men should he slow to
realize what war means. and in no so
Clety. not even in an Industrial one, can
the Government act efficiently counter
to the general spirit OF the people.
AS against this last and most
grievous obstacle I know of but two
remedies. The first is some moro i'm
mediate experience OF the realities Of
this war-yet that Is hardly obtafnable
short Of disaster, and against disaster
every man must pray. The second Is
| the object lesson Of men voluntarily en-
listing in large numbers from the
lelsured classes, as they enlisted wfen
| they woke to the Infinitely less grave
situation in South Africa.
THE second method OF getting q
supply OF mon is voluntary enlistment.
| Now voluntary enlistment has, under
the circumstances in England every ad-
vantage except two-it fails in regu-
larity and it fails in providing maxi
mum number In other words, Il IL Pre-
I carious and may be inefficient. But n
has for modern England several dis
tlnct advantages:
The voluntary system Is self-ao-
commodating to the highly complex CON
! ditions of our industry at this moment
\ We are in a condition which industrially
| is neither peace nor war. We are nj
! war by the public war of Europe as
/ fully as France and Germany are. But
the continuance OF industry the upkeep
Of communications, rapid, certain and
manifold. especially by sea, the preser-
walton of our markets are essential IN
our life. A voluntary system Is liable
| to draw from just such trades which
are naturally unemployed and to spare
those trades which are naturally in full
employment for the moment
Moreover the voluntary system hap
PLY comedies with the unfortunate llmi-
tation of the numbers we physically C-an
send out. Since we cannot train and
equip and use more than successive
patches which are hut small fractions NJ
the total whole possible voluntary
system is possible and disable II enlist
ment does not fall below a very low
minimum indeed
Now, as a matter OF fact we are
likely TO have in the next few weeks ~
months not less but more than We need
from this voluntary system. II is wiser
therefore, to maintain that system until
the circumstance of our foreign re-
sponsbilities have greatly changed.
But above all thing It Is essential
that the English in this grave and SUI
preme department of naso~ral duty
should not talk the kind - vicious
nonsense which has affected so much
OF their public life--let us not pretend
that the voluntary system is a glorious
fruit proceeding from the exalted char
acter of the reader and writer Of
ephemeral Journalism. For II we ap-
proach the problem from that point OF
view. then when imperative necessity
demands. as It may demand in tho
future. the whole manhood OF the ma
tion this base vice Of pride will have
destroyed the ability to meet the neces.
sity and to fulfil an awful duty"