The Washington herald., 1917-07-19


ernment official whose special duty
1t Is to know all about German propa-
ganda told me the other day that
the Germans had tried to reach the
votaries Of every religion except two.
Those were the Christian Scientists
and the conscientious objectors.
They consider both as purely An
glo-Saxon products, so they know II
is useless" he told me.
The conscientious objector came In
as a result of conscription In Eng
land, although his voice was heard
in the land under the voluntary sys-
tenn. He is an interesting and annoy
ing phenomenon, and since he may
make his appearance at home I am
setting down some details OF his his
tory.
First, to give him his due. have
met in the last half-year about FIVE
conscientious objectors they are
known as C. O.'s. and I shall use
the abbreviation, although it also
stands for commanding oficer-whose
convictions thoroughly respect Three
Of them are Quakers. One is Toll
oNog tsistCl tAlC hLbh 10 al
internationalist who has fought against
war for years and honestly believes
that this war is a mistake. OF the
first three. two are heartily anxious
to see Germany beaten because they
believe there can be no lasting peace
until this is accomplished. Would they
fight? No. They would serve their
country in some way not connected
with killing. 1t is a perfectly honest
obedience to their religious precept
not to take human life which keeis
them from the front. Even among
the G. O.'s whom I do not respect.
so far have found none who stands
for a German victory. Most of them
are for a peace by negotiation.
This type of conscientious objector
makes himself as completely annoy
ing to the military tribunals as he
can. The religious type puts himself.
often, into the hands of the govern
ment and asks only not to have a gun
put into his hands. When the gov
ernment decided to recognize a mans
conscience before a tribunal they also
decided to make work of national i'm
portance the test II IL is merely
an objection to killing. they argued,
there can be no objection to working
on the land. But the out-and-outer,
as he calls himself, will not agree.
He insists that anything which can
help the war along is repugnant to
his soul.
Don't Make the Same Mistake Twice
The tribunals which were set up to
pass on the eligibility of men are COM
posed, generally, of representative men
of the district and a representative of
the military. Between these two there
is seldom any love lost. The military
representative is there to see that
men are found for the army. The
civilians are there to see that no man
is sent in who can be OF more use
elsewhere or who is indispensable in
his present occupation. The furry of
volunteerism had removed many indis-
pensables from their places. Before
they could be returned the business q
the country had suffered and the civil
ians on the tribunals had decided not
to let the same mistakes occur again.
But on the question of the c. o.'s
the two were agreed. II a man mem
toned his conscience he was always
met with the question. Suppose a
German tried to kill your mother?"
1t became a stock phrase and a joke.
1t gave a number Of c. O's a splendid
opportunity for oratory. 1t irritated
the serious and It satisfied the half
penny papers. At the beginning the
reports of tribunal procedure were
very full. They were vulgar and
quite amusing. Then they became
serious.
That the government made some
mistakes in dealing with the C. O.'s
Is admitted by both sides. The great
mistake. according to the majority of
Britons. was in recognizing them at
all. No other European country does
recognize them, although the authori-
ties know that conscientious scruples
exist. The argument Of the ants on
this matter is that war, by its nature.
is a contravention of the rules Of the
state. 1t is necessary for each man
to sacrifice something. The rich man
has to part with some of his wealth.
Many men, Of all classes, are calmly
oa1xed fo mart with THAR uvea Whv