The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-01-05
LACK OF CLERKS
 DELAYS DERBY'S RECRUITING PLAN
LORDDERBY TELLS
 OF HANDICAPS TO
 RECRUITING PLANS

London, Jan. 5-The operating of the governments plan was handi- capped and delayed by the irhpossi- bility of obtaining a sufficient number of medical examiners and experienced clerks, says Lord Derby today in a. report answering criticism of made quate arrangements during the abnor- nal flow of recruits at the eleventh hour. Hence, while gross numbers are available up to the end of the period, Dec. Il, details of groups are forth coming only up to Nov. 30 before the tremendous rush began.
 In the latter days of the canvass. says Lord Derby, especially in country districts the starred lists proved un- satisfactory and recruits were ,incor- rectly described, This will call for further investigation.
 Lord Derby declares the canvass shows that it is not lack Of courage which keeps men from en1isting. Many who are willing to go. find themselves barred by domestic. financial and bus mess obIga ton and by the made quacy of the separation allowances. This applies especially to professional. and commercial men.
 The total number of men ready to bear arms obtained from enlistments for the period between October B and Dec. 15 is estimated in Lord vDerby's
  from the total number of sattested men of the various classes indispensable forf civil occupations, the numbers aVatl= able for military service are 343, ,3S6 single men and 487,765. married.
 Adding those who enlisted for inn- mediate service gives a total ready to bear arms of 446, ,SS6 single and 60O.iof married.
 ''An obstacle to recruittng,'' says the report, s"has been the unequal treat / lent Of individuals. Parents and re- lations especially, cannot understand why their sons, husbands or brothers should join while other young men hold back and secure lucrative ena- ployment at home. Apart from the number of men who have actually en- listed and attested there are many , who have promised to enlist when so and so' has also promised to go, There may, of course, be a number of men who make this answer as an eE- cuse. But that it is genuine in very 1 large number of cases is accentuated l by bad starring there is no reason to doubt.
 "The canvass shows very distinctly that it is not want of courage that is keeping men back, but that the coun- try as a whole is determined to sup port the prime minister in his pledge made at the Guild Hall on November g, 1914 (regarding the calling out Of married mem as it was when the pledge was made. There is an abund- ance of evidence of determination to see the war through to a successful conclusion"
 This report was made on Dec. 12. In a supplementary report made on Dec. 20, the Earl of Derby says;
 Large as are the figures, I am afraid that on analysis do not prove J as satisfactory as could have wished Owing to the great rush of recruits 1t was impossible in many eases to have more than the most perfunctory med ical examination, and the number of men who will be rejected when the various groups are called up and sub jected to proper examination must be very large; the number of men ac- tually examined both starred and un- tsarred, being 925, ,455.''
 The Earl points out also that many. must be reduced as the sole support of relatives. He says there are 651, ,160 unstarred single men un- accounted for.
 'This IS far from being a Regligible quantity the report continHss