The Washington times., 1917-05-03
MEN FITTED FOR WAR
In BUT few WEEKS
Ralph Conner Tells Of the Brief
Training Required by Canadians.

1
NEW YORK. May 3-Training men to
take places In the trenches in France Is
only matter Of weeks and not months,
according to Major Charles F. Gordon
Of the Forty-third Cameron Highland
ers. In his speech before 1000 members
Of the Merchants Association at the
Hotel Astor yesterday Major Gordon.
who is better known in this country as
the author OF the Sky Pilot" under the
pen name OF Ralph Connor, declared
that he had seen a Canadian battalion
take its place in the firing line nine
weeks after It had completed recruiting
in Canada. and that he himself would
feel safe enough behind an American
organization with an even shorter
training period.
In acknowledging the ovation which
he received when he arose to speak.
Major Gordon said: Il accept your
generous welcome. not for myself but
for my comrades. and believe that
they at least are worthy Of 1t and
more. We wanted in this war not only
your help but your clear pronouncement
that when our people decided to go in
bhcg "cTc Onlg Keeping the
There are some compensations for the
sacrifices OF war. he said. 1t brings a
greater reverence for the things in the
common man. He told Of seeing the
battalion slip out OF the trenches In the
early dawn. across the Shiny mud Of no
mans land to the German wire barriers. |
and Of the tall sergeant-maJor who |
guided his men through the only open
ing.
Example Of Courage.
'"one star she'll" he said. outlined |
his figure waving directions to the
men. When the next shell flared he
was down, but his men were pouring
into the German trench. That bat
talon, which -mustred 504 men the
evening before, reported sixty-five
rifles next morning. That Is cour-
age. 1t Is something we who have
seen it can realize, though we can
never tell OF It rightly. but 1t makes
us look upon men in a different way
He told, too, the story of Jimmie
Hunter, q Highland stretcher bearer.
and how he literally fought off death
long enough to report the names off
men who had been in his dressing Il
station before IL was wiped out by Il
a shell. "And when l told that story.
and some other instances OF Jimmie's
work, to his mother in Winnipeg" he
said, 'she was silent for a while, and Il
then she said: Il dinna grudge the
lad. major. and i wauldna hae him
back That is the spirit which the
war has awakened in Canada and
throughout the empire"
Pomeroy Burton, manager OF the K
London Daily Mail. said that five
weeks Intercourse with all sorts of |
people in this country had convinced
him that what was chiefly needed
here was a campaign to make people K
the war. He continued.
Five weeks of careful inquiry con-
vince me that the great majority OF
people in this country believe the war
10 be nearing an end. They look upon s
The entry of the United States as a
part of the stage setting for the last
let Of the great war drama. &
short War FaIIaey.
''It is the short war fallacy in a
iew guise. But for this same short
var fallacy, the war might now be Z
rearing the end-indeed IL, might be )
,ver. The people of every nation now r
,ngaged began with the firm convic-
ion that they were in for a short
var
That fatal theory has entered
argely into the war preparations of {
very country involved. 1t has shaped
var policies. 1t has warped and mis-
,uided public sentiment. 1t has cost
Countless thousands of human lives.
{ has prolonged the war. 1t has been
strongest ally. +
81 would recommend to those who
re shaping the program for war, as A
preliminary to all else. a great and
campaign ofinformstion
o make the people understand this
var. The school rooms, the lecture
alis. the churches. the libraries, the n
ity halls. the public squares and the
1ovies-all the meeting places Of the
eople in every State OF the Union
hould resound with the voices OF
.merica's greatest and most forceful L
peakers. telling the people-and all
{ the peopIe-the simple truth. the
asic facts about this war. o
This campA gn should be con-
Iucted on the same scale as 10 II were ~
Presidential campaign. only the two
'arties instead OF flooding the coun-
~ with information about the vir- y
ues of one side and the defects of \,
he other would be Joined together in
preading all the facts about the war n
'hich il is so essential for the peo- =.
le to know.
Tell the story OF how the war be-
AN and the facts that went before. r
Tell the story OF Belgium.
Tell the story Of the shooting OF
,urse Edith Cavell and Captain
'ryatt.
Tell the story of Rheims Cathedral. =
Tell the shocking story OF the Bel o,
ium lamentations
Tell the story OF the starving pris- o
ners Of war in Germany. u
Tell over again the story OF the K
.usitania, the Arabic and the Sussex. L.
"Tell the story of the sinking of the
led Cross hospital ships.
Tell the story OF German machina- L.
ions in this country since the war
egan.
Throw the full light on these and
very other phase of the war that will B,
uickly lead the peoTle to understand
he kind OF enemy we are fighting. NJ
"Then, and not before then. can the NJ
all force of this great country's man
Ower and resources be made effective III
Or war"