Evening star., 1940-08-18
Mackenzie King Steers Cautious
Course to Salvage War Effort
Canadian Registration for Possible Military Con.
scription Achieved Despite Criticism from
Powerful Political Opponents
By Marquis ". ChHdS.

OTTAWA, Aug 17-Beginning to-
morrow, all Canadian citizens will sign
up with the government subject to pos
sible compulsory military service in this
country. This is under the national
registration act mild equivalent Of
the conscription measure that has stirred
such fierce controversy in the United
States
But mild though its provisions may be,
Canadas registration act has served
to show how difficult it can be for a
dominion with limited sense of national
loyalty and a divided population to
participate in a war 5000 miles away.
When the Conservative opposition ac-
cuses Prime Minister Mackenzie Kings
Liberal government of a faint-hearted
war effort, Mackenzie Kings associates
and admirers reply, in private at any
rate, that more drastic measures and
more active avowal of the British cause
would have torn Canada in two.
Canadas immediate hope is for a
mutual defense pact with the United
States. Some such pact or agreement
is expected to result from discussions
now being held between the two govern
ments President Roosevelt disclosed at
his press conference last Friday that
preliminary conversations are going for
ward. He followed this up by conferring
with Mr.. King in Northern New York
State. And in view of the delicacy of
such negotiations the United States is
fortunate in having as Minister i'll OF
tawa a skilled diplomat, Jay Pierpont
Moffat
Look Askance at America.
Questioned on the score of Canada's
prosecution of the war, Canadians both
in and out of the government come
around to asking in turn what the United
States will eventually do. That un-
certainty is uppermost in the minds OF
those who are aware of how grave is
the present world crisis.
In some quarters it is possible to de-
tect something like hostility toward "the
States There is the feeling, compara-
BILE to that which grew up in 1915 and
1916, that the great democracy of the
Western Hemisphere is not doing its
share, not pulling its oar in the boat.
This is coupled with a growing resent
ment of talk of aid for Britain which,
In the view of some Canadians, is not
backed up with performance.
1t would be wrong to say that such re-
sentiment comes from either large or
well-informed group. Most persons IA
miliar with ''the States" recognize that
this is an election year, in which, for the
first time in American history, Presi-
dent is a candidate for a third term.
They understand that this will impress
caution on Roosevelt, whom they regard
as faithful friend of Canada and the
British Empire. They speak sadly OF
the election and of the political necessi-
ties of the moment, taking it for granted
that President Roosevelt would have
moved much more rapidly to the aid of
Britain in an ordinary year. They re-
gard the President with intense admira-
ton. freely predicting that If Canadians
could vote on November there would
be no doubt Of RooSevelt's reelection.
See Empty Victory without U. S.
Discussing the future of the war, they
etress the Importance Of leadership by
the United States in the war effort.
They say striving to be as realistic as
possible, that while Great Britain will
hold out in her island fortress against
the might of the Nazis, real victory
against Germany will never be possible
without the aid of "the States" When
they are most hopeful, they look for
ward to American entry early in 1941.
1t should be said, however, that in dis
cuSsion with the American visitor this
Is implied rather than stated BADLY.
In Montreal, the center of French
Canada, Mayor Camillien Houde openly
defied the registration act and called on
all citizens to do likewise. He was
promptly put into an internment camp
and even many of his own compatriots
insisted that his rebellion was repre-
sentative not of French Canadian senti-
rnent so much as of Mayor Houde's ca
pacity for political demagoguery. Never
theless, the incident dramatized the basic
conflict behind Canada's war effort.
Broadly speaking, three separate ele-
ments are involved in the war situation.
At one extreme are the Tory Conserva-
tives, who are highly critical of the
government for not prosecuting the war
more vigorously. They are the super
patriots, deeply loyal to Britain and
convinced that they could do a much
better job than the Liberals whom
they regard with inherent distrust