New Britain herald., 1917-04-24
VOLUNTEER SYSTEM
 COMPLETE FAILURE

~ASs~Ss ~S~A' ~AAAOS~ A~AAS VI As~O lands Costly Experiences '
 CONSCRIPTION'S THE THING
 elf Lord Roberts, Proposal for UM- versal Service Had Been Enforced, We Should Have Been Saved Enor- mously," He Tells Press.
 Washington, April 24.-Leutenant General Bridges, 8 member of the British commission. declared today in talk with newspaper correspondents that the British democracy had be- come almost fanatical over universal military service. The volunteer sys- tenn under which the empire entered the war General Bridges, said, has cost the lives of the most valuable citizens, crippled industrial mob1liza- ton and immeasurably set back Eng lands efforts in the war.
 War" said General Bridges, "is no longer a war of expeditions, but a. case of nation against nation. Men, wo- men and children are equally drawn into its vortex, the women and chil- dren being forced into industry and fed on half rations in order to supply the men at the front. It has become an immensely democratic business and needs the full effort of every member
 of the community. directed along the line most necessary to be served.'' General Bridges, while unwilling to
 be drawn into a discussion of specific American question, talked freely of the difficulties which had beset Eng
 land, when, at the beginning of the war, she converted herself from. a peace to a war basis and began the l immense increase of her army from l small force to one of the largest in Europe.
 All Trained Men Sent Over. "The source of our greatest diff ] culty." said Gen. Bridges, "was the | sending to Europe of practically our whole trained army as an expedition ary force. This robbed us of all train- l ing officers for our next armies and ] it was only through returned wound l ed officers and the withdrawal of
 others that we were able to build the l skeleton for our new forces. At the
 same time we allowed most of our 1 better class youths, university men in
 many cases, to enter the ranks, which
 withdrew them from the officers class l and placed that responsibility on far less we'll equipped persons. The vast age of the best blood of the nation was 1 enormous.
 ! ''It is my opinion that if it had not l been for Kitchener's immense per- sonality we should have had conscrip- 1 tion within a few months. If Lord l Roberts proposal for universal ser vice had been enforced. we should have saved enormously. The major i ity of army officers would have done
 anything to have gotten rid of the
 volunteer system with which the coun- try was at first saddled.
 Eight Months to Train Division. Gen. Bridges estimated eight months as the necessary time to train l a division. Individual recruits, how l ever, may be made fit to go to the front in a short space of eleven weeks.
 provided they are distributed in DOT i tions of fifty amongst 200 trained
 men. War service Is at least five
 times as valuable training as peace l service, he estimated.
 ] Artillery must be in great pre- 1 ponderance before an attack can be
 initiated he continued. 'The bay
 onet, however. is till essential to fin ally lrout the enemy from his trenches.
 I should estimate that the present
 successes on the western front are due
 to a British preponderance over the
 German artillery of at least three or l four to one. There is absolutely no
 doubt as to the outcome of the war;
 the only question is to it's length" 1 Gen. Bridges commented briefly on the difficulties of making good fighters in a democratic nation full of personal 1 freedom and lacking military experi-
 ence. The French bourgeois in the generals opinion, makes the ideal sol-
 dier because war has been almost an institution in his blood since the days of Napoleon. Gen. Bridges praised
 the French army in the highest terms and said that there had grown up be- l tween France and England, former
 enemies. a feeling that was more than
 friendship, and that was almost a love match.
 Gen. Bridges will consult with all American army officers and has a mass of detailed information to place
 at their disposal It is possible he ] may also meet the military commit
 tees of congress
 INVITED TO GO HOMIE