The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-08-27
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
INFOR M A TON
BUREAU
Washington. D. C.
BRITISH RECRUITING IN THE
UNITED STATES.
Washington. D. C.

-Slu O1 next month the dra1C cOnVen-
ton between this country and Great
Bfitain VIII nave expired, thereby con-
siderably affecting the destinies of be-
tween 100000 and 100000 English
subjects resident in the United States
The convention, which was hurried
thru the senate some time after
America Joined the allies, extended to
officials of the British armies the right
to recruit Enghshmen. Scotchmen.
Welshmen and Canadians who have
made temporary or permanent homes
here.
When the convention expires all
British subjects between the ages of
20 and "A will be subject to draft into
the American forces under the regula-
tons of the British CONSUMPTION act.
| By the same token Americans of draft
age now living in British territory will
| be eligible for draft into the armies of
| Great Britain, under the same regula-
tions in force in this country. Elabor-
! ate warnings of this have been issued
to both classes.
A conservative estimate puts it that
| there are still in this country Some
100000 Britons of military age. The
| British recruiting mission is putting
forth every effort to induce these men
| to join the kings forces rather than
be drafted into tAe American. Our own
draft officials are aware that this is
being done in no spirit of malice to-
ward the United States army. and are
lending assistance to bring it about.
| It is no secret that the population
of the British Isles has suffered tre-
mendously from the war. In England
and Scotland one out of every seven
of the whole population has gone to
the front. 1t appeared unfair to both
English and American officers that
these already decimated populations
should be taxed to fill the gaps in the
ranks, while SO many British subjects
here were immune from the danger of
| military service. 1t was for this
reason that the British recruiting mis-
sion came to the United States.
| The mission landed on June 5. 1917
| the same day that ten million young
Americans subscribed themselves for
| induction into our own armies. Head
! quarters, in charge of Brig. Gen. n. A.
| White, were established in New York
City, and shortly afterward branch
recruiting missions were established
in every American city of 10000 or
more population. Eighty officers and
non-commissioned officers accom-
panied the mission. All of these men
| had seen service in the bloody en-
! gagements of the western front: all OF
| them had been in pa citated by
| wounds, for active duty; all of them
had a first hand acquaintance with
| the human side of the war business
anu edCn OF Ine1n ma MS store OF
anecdote of hardship, heroism or bru-
tality, SO potent in any modern re-
| cruiting campaign. The officers made
extended tours of all districts in tho
| country where there were known to
| be more than half a dozen British
aliens. Artists were engaged to make
| recruiting posters. the aid of Briti5h-
American Scotch American an6
| Welsh-American societies was enlisted
and an immense quantity of Literature
prepared and distributed.
Response to the recruiting campaign
was surprisingly quick and pleasing
During the first few weeks the larger
| missions-like those of New York and
| fladelphia-recruited as many a:
| two score daily, and as the campaign
took wider scope these numbers in
creased. But it soon became eviden
to officers of the mission that the sol
in which they tried hardest to plan
their appeals was not a fertile one
Hundreds of veterans of the Boel
wars presented themselves on a chanc,
that the me Teal officers might over
look the handicaps of age Similarl,
great numbers of discharged Cana
dams and Englishmen made applica
ton for readmission, claiming that tn
wounds resulting in their discharges
had been healed. 1t was those nativ'
E. lions who from the first had viewet
the war with distrust Or indifference
/ |
campaign grew some of them wer
| forthcoming.
For a time some difficulty was en-
eountered with American draft boards
many of which refused to issue re
: leasessto British aliens who wished t.
/ join the English armies, altho the,
had been instructed from Washington
to do So Provost Marshal Genera
Crowder finally eliminated this diff
ficulty by directing that no more reg
istrants of English or Canadian brit
were to be indicted into the Unite'
States army until after the expiration
OF the draft convention.
Many Americans of an adventure u
+ turn applied at the recruiting stations
lured by the prospect of getting to tn
front more quickly than with the Unit
r ed States forces. At first these mel
were welcomed and accepted: but a
, the plans for our army were enlarge
and developed it was seen that Ameri
ca would need all of her own soldie
r material. So for some months pas
I the mission has been discouraging tn
applications of Americans, and n
L American is accepted for service wit
Q the British or Canadian army until h
{ | has been physically or otherwise dis
G qualified for service with his own.
The opportunities offered to poten
S tial soldiers of the British armies ar
E atlraCLlNe ones Inc applcdnL IS a.
lowed to select his own branch of tn
j.. Eservice-infantry, cavalry, artillery c
engineers-and in most cases he
y even allowed to choose his regimen
e provided he measures up to it's re
: cruiting standards. With a few e2
lceptions all of the English and Cana
: dian regiments are open to hin
S Scotchmen are privileged to join til
= tCafedonians or the Black Watch, Brit
= fish subjects of Irish birth may at re
quest be assigned to the Irish guard
o the Dublin fusileers, the Connaugf
y rangers or other celebrated Gael
. fighting units The pay of the Cans
dian is S1.10 a day. The Englisl
: iScotch and Irish soldiers receive some
q what less.
Directly after enlistment, recruit
l. are sent to a concentration camp
= Canada for a period of intensive trail
:, ing There are five of these camp