The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-01-02


 on the honored and hitherto effective vol
 untary system. There is intense feeling against conscripton; if it is found neces- sary to fetch the men who would not
 come of their own volition it will be
 humilating to Englishmen, for it has ever
 been matter of pride in this kingdom
 that free men fight the battles of free men
 freely, and England has been proud that
 of the great powers of Europe she alone
 has found it unnecessary to compel his
 majestys subjects to bear arms, in peace
 or in war.
 But since the beginning of this war,
 which calls for more man power than any
 war ever, changes have been wrought.
 At the outset no Englishman believed in
 conscription, nor would any tolerate the
 suggestion that 1t would ever be needed
 in this country. As time passed it was
 seen that England would need in this
 great conflict every man she could pro-
 duce. Pre-war conceptions that Russia
 and France would look after the war on
 land while "the fleet" took care of the
 seas have fallen by the wayside England
 must produce a land force to the maxi
 mum of her strength.
 Three million men came forward volun- tarily, and then recruiting fell off. A be- lief grew up in certain quarters that con- scription was necessary It was found that the three million were the cream of the nations manhood, out fighting and dying, while the less worthy ones stayed at home. So there came an agitation for conscription, more pleasantly called at first national service" The propaganda gained great headway, although a good deal of force was lost through wide spread conviction that game of politics ixxrac hni,, ,1Ipx +bo 1of r,f ''conscription' was a part of campaign
 to unseat the present government, partic- ularly Premier Asquith The agitation, however, went on and the advocates won a notable victory in bringing the govern ment to the point of adopting definite scheme which would give the voluntary system one more and a final trial. MT. Asquith hasn't said conscription is the
 alternative, that would be too much of surrender, but that is what he means, and his henchmen have so let 1t be known.
 Some months ago national register
 was taken. On it was placed the name of every man of the nation, whether eligi-
 ble for the army or not On this register
 the present campaign to muster to the col
 ors every available man is being based. Under the direction of a committee headed by the Earl of Derby a great organization has been formed. The nation has been divided into sections and subsections. Canvassers have been appointed iri all parts. The canvassers call on the men whose names are on the national register. Not one escapes. If he is mot in the | canvasser goes again and again. No man in this whole country but is being asked if he will join" or made to give his req sons why he refuses to do so. Reason why he should join are strongly put to him. His reasons for refusing must be good before the canvasser will finish with him.
 The system now in operation is still called voluntary, but it Comes exceed ingly close to being compulsory. So far as everything except actual fetching" is concerned, it is. No man can escape being urged to join. It is no longer a matter for the exercise of his own free will when he shall decide for him. self without advice or urging, to go to the nearest recruiting office. Now a man has his duty put up to him straight That is Lord Derby's scheme. He says it is the duty of every man to offer his services, and that of the state to send him where he belongs, to the army, to munition work, or to his own business if he be indispensable to it. He hopes hy the operation of this system to as certain each mans position, and induce him Voluntarily to accept it. Lord Der by'sf arrangements provide for enlist n1entss which do not require man at once to join. He promises to do so, holding himself ready when needed. A table has been made up dividing the man hood of the nation into 46 classes, 23 of married and 23 of single men. Single men come first. The first group is for those between 19 and 20 years, the second between 20 and 21, and so on up to the twenty-third group between 40 and Al years of age. The pledge is given that ho bal first nd l it is officially promised that the single
 men shall precede the married. And in order to prevent shirking on this score this concession is not extended to men who have married since August b of this year. The result is that married men who have been holding back are 1 Hooking in.
 The closest touch to conscription is the scheme adopted for identifying those who are doing their duty. It isn't con- scription but it's moral compulsion. Arm | lets to be worn by civilians are to be , issued, to men who have enlisted and await the call of the colors, for those l who have offered and been found medi- cally unfit and to those soldiers who have been invalided out of service. War l and intuition workers will have other 1 badges so that the fit. man who re- fuses to go will be amply marked, and l it's safe to say his life will scarcely be |
 has gone when the Stacker" can "get
 away with it'
 It is being strongly put to the unen- listed men that if they do not come of | their own accord they will soon be 1 "fetched." It Is frankly stated on re- 1 cruiting platforms that if a fit man
 doesn't voluntarily join he will be con i scripted
 Tn the fight against conscription the effort to obtain recruits has been pro- digious. Many methods have been tried. i Some things proved good. others worth
 less, until now it has been reduced to
 science. At the beginning the govern | ment turned to advertising, pure and simple. All the kingdom was plastered
 with placards and posters urging men | to join. Speeches were made on the
 street corners, in the parks and in the l then the flow of recruits dropped off
 end new methods were required.
 | Simple advertising was not enough In l some way men had to be gathered to- | gether in large groups and then an ap- l peal made direct to them by someone who knew how to make it, someone with the l force to convince lingering men, not nec- essarily "slackers," that their path of l duty led them to the trenches. It took | six months and more for the authori- l ties to organize a large number of bands
 for recruiting work, and then only after l there was a good deal of agitation in the
 rress. After the appearance of bands,
 which helped cheer up London immensely, | recruiting again picked up. but the best 1 success was obtained through the intrO- /! duction of stagecraft. Crowds had to be brought together, to attract people to I I<,l |