New-York tribune., 1917-07-26
The Case of Quebec
A Reply to Mr.. Laliberte's Apoloc
for the Anti Conscriptionists
To the Editor of The Tribune.

To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: Permit me space to reply as h,;.s-
as possible to the article contained in n.
Tribune of the oath inst, under the -.
tion, "The Truth About Quebec" in x,;.
Mr.. Arthur j. Lsliberte, in very good r,-
lish, but with a remarkable lack OF l..'
seeks to justify the attitude of Quebee ,o-
ard conscription.
Disclaiming any intention of questio,,,.
Mr. Laliberte's veracity, ! am forced to "A.
conclusion, after reading his article. n,,
he is "hidng something from us"-for =,
ample, his table showing that from All or..
the Dominion of Canada there have enlist,
25745 French Canadians. Granting ri, !.
be true, it may be interesting TO your 80
ers to know that the city of Toronto w.,
population of less than 100000. ha, ,.s,
to the front four times more men than h,s'
all the French Canadian sections of C,rsI
combined, and the French Canadian no,n
lation of Canada is considerably more H.,
six times greater than that Of Toronto
When Mr.. Lsliberte makes the ststem.,,
that any considerable number of person, !,
the other provinces of Canada are ounos,I
to selective conscription. he simply cast,
slur on the hundreds of thousands Of lov,l
Canadians who have given their sons 10 fcs,
in the cause of civilization and humsni,v
To prove his contention that Quebec h.,
strong support from other provinces in b,,
opposition to conscription he quotes letter,
published in the press and written BY oh.
scure persons, who express only their n,,.
sonal views, and do not in any sense reurs.
ha Of tho ~,
Only Slackers Left TO Vote
In addition, he presents a resoluto,
passed by "We, the English-speaking el.,
tors" who declare sympathy with IA.
French Canadian opponents of conseriptiOu
This resolution bears the signature Of TIA
French and two Irish Canadians. No doubt
two Of the signators are English speaking
Canadians, but If Messrs. Lamarche "A
Guerin are not French Canadians then Il,
population of New York is Chinese. In a,
event, for every agitator who participates /,
so-called "mass meetings" there are a then.
sand silent Canadians who heartily beli.r,
ir selective conscription as the only fsr
means Of equally dividing the burdens and
perils Of this world war
Incidentally in order to pad" the lis. o.
the Hundreds" all over Canada who are Cd.
posed to conscripton, il may be noted ,hs.
Mr.. Laliberte had duplicated several NOR.
or less prominent names. For example, tn.
rames of Messrs. Guerin and Lamarche. the
English speaking" Canadians who signed
the st. Anne's Hall resolution Of sympathy,
appear also in the list Of the hundreds Of
men all over Canada"
1t may be that there are hundreds" Of
men all over Canada who approve the stt.
, tude of Quebec and the misft Mayor Martin
of Montreal. but it is equally true that In
the Canadian uniform, making a name for
the land of the Maple Leaf that will live
long in history there are more than four
hundred thousand men every one Of whom
is rabid conscriptionist. And il is in tho
absence of these men, who have a right 10
ask and receive the support Of the men who
have not gone, that the opponents Of con-
scripton ask for a referendum. Why 20 TO
the expense of q referendum, while four
hundred thousand real men, fighting for
liberty, are absent from their native land
Such referendum would be farce on the
face Of it, inasmuch as the Stacker would
have the vote almost exclusively in his own
hands. And that is what he appears 70 want
About 'Gr0HlnBs
Ny only son was eighteen years Of age
last New Years Day. On January he
entered the Canadian Field Artillery with
my full and hearty approval. When the
place he fills in the trenches Of France
made vacant, if God so wills, expect Il to
be filled by another Canadian, who, behev'
ing as he does, is ready to give all that is IN
him not only for the salvation OF Canada
or of Great Britain but for the salvauon
of Christendom.
During the past weeks the brave Cc!cnel
Lavergne, Bourassa, Mayor Martin (freneal
and others of their kind have been puphey
giving expression to sentiments that "0ul9
land them in the internment camp in any
other country in the world, because mef
so-called compatriots have been asked 70 %
their duty not only to their native isno :"
to the land that gave their fathers oIn-
La Belle France.
Mr. Laiberte asks in conclusion, "Cshn"
Sir Robert Borden hear the growing o. -.
masses?" and then goes on 70 impusn v.
honorable Prime Minister'S integrity
suggesting that he is willing to sacrnce ,.
country for a title. Permit me 10 assu''
Mr.. Lalberte that the "growlings' o. o, "a.
masses, whatever that may mean' wiz ~
be a circumstance compared to the gv.
ing" of the kin of those who have done '''"
duty if Quebec fails 10 do hers.
In closing let me ask: If seleetNe ~"
scription is good for the United STATES ""
is it not good for Canada?
Some day a writer Of ability Will SEW 8.
good purpose by giving to the "on' WV
real truth about Quebec ron
New York, July "a, 1917.