The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1917-04-23
CANADA HAVING
DIFFICULTY IN
RAISING GUARD
May Be Hard to Raise Force
of 100000 to Replace
Expedition.

Toronto. April 23.-Canadian con-
scriptionists are deeply disappointed
at the Governments new plan for
raising armed forces They had hop
ed for some application of the Militia
Act calling to the colors at least the
first of the three classes into which
the manhood of the country Is divl-
ded and an announcement that drafts
in force would continue to be sent
overseas as long as the war lasts, be
it five months or five year.
| What the government announces is
far from that AS far as overseas
forces are concerned, the new plan
apparently is based on the belief that
Canada's task is about finished. IT the
war goes on for a year or SO, canada
will become an onlooker. She will
get out of the game and crawl into
the bleachers. At present there are
$4,000 overseas troops In Canada al
! most ready, for the front. The new
/ plan proposes to release these for SER
| vice in Europe by raisin $4,000 vol
] unteer troops for home service only.
| After that. goodnight! 1T 1t true
the government expresses nope that
of these $4,000 Home Guards
number will eventually find their way
into overseas forces, but that it a
doubtful contingency.
! In fact, most militia officers, who
are practically all conscr1ptlonlsts.
are dubious about their ability to
raise the $4,000 new troops, even for
home defense alone They say that
the country has been swept clean of
all men who will get into uniform
/ cin that IF Cam
adam wanted to join the army he
would go into the overseas forces
where glory and honor are to be won,
| and that if a man now joins the
| Home Guard it would be a confession
on his part that he should have join
ed the overseas battalion.
| It is rumored that the military au-
thorities actually hope to see the
scheme fall through, because then,
| they think, the Government would be
forced to invoke compulsion.
| Success in raising the $4,000 home
| guards will depend largely on how
| the scheme is presented to the coun-
try If to belong to the Home Guard
is represented as something discredit-
able of course the scheme will fail If
| it is made an honorable call it should
| succeed. The men are in the coun-
| try. 1t is estimated that in agricul-
ture and industry the ablebodied
men still engaged number at least
| 100000. Most of these are at essen
| tial work, but it is reasonable to as
sumo that at least one man in six
| teen of them could be spared, or
could be replaced by women, and that
would raise the $4,000 required.
| No doubt the thing that has kept
4 a man honestly DESTROYS Of serving
his country from enlisting is not that
he has been afraid of getting killed,
J. but the fact that heNhad dependents
whom he had not the heart to tor
Iture with the hazards of war,,eand
expose to the probability of being left
to the mercies of a pension pittance
for the rest of their days. To such
a man the Home Guard offers an OPP
portunity to serve his country. There
are thousands Of such men. They will
grasp the, opportunity if it is proper.
! ly presented to them.
Then there is Quebec. The attitude
Of the Quebec DIRECTORS to service
overseas has been that they were pre-
pared to do anything required for the
defense of Canada-in Canada They
now have their opportunity. But
again much depends on how that op.
portunity is presented. Strangely
enough, only 1000 troops for the
Home Guard are sought for the Home
Guard from Quebec, whereas on q
\ population basis it should furnish al
most twice that number. AS very few
Quebeckers have gone overseas the
province ought to furnish rich ground
for the Home Guard.
! Meanwhile, in apprehension Of the
future, public meetings. form OF
agitation in which the French Cana
dams delight-are being held
Throughout the province at which or
ators vociferously protest and vast
audiences grow hysterical against the
very suggestion of compulsory mill
tary service.
The Home Guards are designed to
take the form of a standing army for
home defense. For the first month
they are to be asked to drill only in
the evenings and Saturday after
moons. In the late spring they will
have to give up their ordinary avoca-
tons and go into camp for regular
army drill. They will receive prac-
tically the same pay and allowance as
overseas troops. The physical tests
nominally will be the same as for
| overseas, although the duties to be
performed will necessarily be much
less searching. They will enlist for
the duration of the war and six
months thereafter, though it is pos
sible that after they have completed
| training they might be allowed to re-
sumo their business subject to call at
any hour, because the theory Of hav-
ing the force is that while the coun-
try is at war it may be necessary for
home defense.
| Militia officers describe the scheme
as farce and a bu-.esque. But they
may be prejudiced. In theory it has
much to commend it.
To those who had hoped to see
Canada's overseas forces greatly aug
mented the confessions of inability to
raise further contingents involved in
! the plan comes as a great shock. But
apparently the British authorities are
well satisfied with the contribution
in men already made by Canada A
number of recent utterances by pub
lie men both here and in England in
dicate that the problem Of man power
at the front has been solved.
BRIDGEPORTER TRIES
| TO CAPITALIZE WAVES
4