The Washington herald., 1916-01-03
British Labor Opposition to
Conscnption Wonies Cabinet
Attitude oIrade Union Leaders Raises Most Serious Prob
lem Now Confronting Premier Free English Institu-
tons Assaied," Is the Way One Official Puts 1t.

propose to do so now, even though we
are in the middle of our greatest war,
am proud to belong to a free state.
My interest is not in the soil or situation
OF the country. but in its free traditions.
laws and the MEASURES of freedom which
is allowed II we are called upon to
forego these, my interest departs. To
labor nag Is nothing. 1t is conditions
or life which are the determining actor.
Despite labor's efforts and in the face
of the magnificent response of the people
to the call for recruits the country finds
itself threatened by the government with
measure for conscription. In view of
the facts of the recruiting II Is difficult
TO believe that military necessities dictate
this policy.
The government has consistently re-
fused to announce any figures concern
ing the recruiting. 1t Is alleged that to
do so would be to give valuable inforu,a- =
ton to the enemy. Nobody outside of
the government doubts the enemy's
possession of all the essential facts con-
corning the size of the army, and prob
ably nobody outside of the war Office
feels there is any danger 10 the country
In the enemy possessiong this knowledge
1T is not so much knowledge of the
size of armies as knowledge of their
quality which is dangerous. But to have
eAFSh NOulu nave Deen 10 Smash
forever any idea of CONSUMPTION.
The G9vernment's Mistake.
The government has allowed itself to
be overborne by those who desire COM
pulsory service, not for military pur-
poses, but In order that they may con-
troll. and where necessary destroy the
efforts for Industrial serial political ad-
vancement.
IT,
the conscriptionist program the govern
ment has resorted to the miserable ex-
pedient of pittfng married men against
single. 1t makes profound mistake II
II imagines that the married workmen
OF the country are so unintelligent as to
miss the real purport of the effort to
divide them from their fellow workers
When the question of single versus
married men was raised everybody un-
derstood that II meant that all the single
men who volunteered would be called
upon before the married men under the
group system 1t was never In the minds
OF labor that all the single men In the
country would be compelled to serve be-
fore any married men were called upon
1T is doubtful whether there are 100000
unattested single men between the ages
OF u and Il in the country. There is
every justification for assuming that at
ally unfit Many of them were rejected
before the national registration act
came into force. OF the remainder twen-
" per cent were engaged in essential
occupations and to remove them would
De to further dislocate the industry and
damage national credit Amongst the
residue win be found Quakers and others
WHOSE religious conviction, not lack OF
coarase or interest keep them out Of the
conflict
Why Labor IL Opposed.
he balance Of actual shirkers is. in
deed. negligible quantity, and it will be
a confession of inepttude IL the govern
ment decides that its failures have COM
PEELED 1t to utilize such a balance for the
purpose OF national defense
1T Is not fear of the dangers that be-
set those who are engaged in active serv
ice that makes labor fight SO hard to re-
tain the voluntary system. The men in
the movement are opposed to compulsion
because they are proud to be free. he
cause they realize that compulsory serv-
ice win jeopardixe our. Industrial and
commercial supremacy and further en-
danger the national credit