Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1916-06-23
NONCOMBATANT
CORPS UNIQUE
Not Fear, but Conscience Is
Their Reason For Being
Excused

British Headquarters in France,
June 2s.-(Correspondence of the AS
sociated Press)-UnIque among all the
Variegated units of the armies on the
continent Is the British Non-Combat-
ant Corps-the conscientious objec-
tors, who do not want to fight and
who are not expected to fight. Not fear
but conscience, is their reason for
being excused
In England, where individual rights
are so strongly recognized. the Quak-
er is not required to bear arms be-
cause it is against his religious
scruples.
When compulsion was applied. an
other class arose. They said they had
conscientious scruples against the TAX
ing of life. If they would not fight
then they must work, the government
decided. Where man who enters
the army under normal conditions
must drill for many months before
he is sent to the front, the conscien-
tious objector is given few days of
drill, put in khaki, and sent to
France at once. There he wields the
spade instead of the rife.
There are the n. c. C.s doing their
bit" said their commander. an officer
with a strip of colors on his breast.
who had been in several campaigns
and was so badly wounded in this war
that he was hardly fit for active ser
vice. They get the same pay as the
men in the trenches and the same ra-
tions, with the extra allowance of
meat which is given to the laborers'
corps"
Ready to Work
At the time, the y. c. C.'s were en-
gagged in some railway work Virtual
ly all are men unused to manual la
bor; but though it was pretty hard at
first they said they would be Injured
to 1t in time. One was a B. A. of Cam
bridge University. None had any
complaints to make. The majority
were clerks and those who were not
We're usually shopkeepers. Many were
members of the Plymouth Brethren, a
sect which holds much the same views
as the Quakers. These said that 1t
was against their creed to fight and
they would not renounce their creed.
They spoke quite frankly about the
against them; and seemed to realize
that they were the anathema and
laughing stock of the millions of
their fellow countrymen who are
offering their lives for Britain.
Il do not want to kill anybody. 7
do not believe in war one said. AS
an exponent of passive resistance he
was ready to work at command, but
no powers could make him fight "If
we are sent up to work under shell
fire l think that you will find that
most of us will not fiinch,' he added.
One of the unmilitary character
istics which amuse the average British
soldier is that the n. c. C.'s all ad-
dress one another as Mister" One
mentioned that their conversation
around the mess table was very I'm
tellectual" and thoroughly enjoyable
IF you want any proof that Eng
land is a free country" said a SER
geant of regulars, you have 1t in this
lot. How much of a chance would a
band of conscientious obiectors stand
in the German army? Meanwhile the
lighting army protects them from the
enemy and from public opinion. But
let them have their way. There aren't
many of them"
y shirker may not suddenly be-
come a conscientious objector in order
TO escape service. Anyone who aspires
to the y. c. c. must prove that he held
conscientious scruples against fighting
before the war. One conscientious OBJ
jector has already deserted. This
hackslder decided to fight and he is
back in England drilling in a line
regiment.