The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News and The Echo. MONDAY, MAY 21, 1017 "NOT DRAMATIC."

Auckland Star, Volume XLVIII, Issue 120, 21 May 1917, Page 4

The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News and The Echo.

MONDAY, MAY 21, 1017 "NOT DRAMATIC."

For the cause that lacks assistance, lor the tcrong that needs resistance, For the future in the distance, And the good that toe can da

For personal reasons one cannot help feeling sorry that Mr. Rr jsevelt has been snubbed by President Wilson over his endeavour to raise a volunteer army for service in France. Mr. RoosoveJt has been one of the Allies' 6taunchest American friends, and pointed the path of duty to Mr. Wilson and the nation long before they set foot on it. But as regards principle Mr. Wilson is perfectly right in his comments on Mr. Roosevelt's scheme. A -voluntary recruiting campaign, he say 6, "would seriously interfere with the carrying out of the chief and most immediately important purposes of the Legislature," and would add practically nothing to the Allies' strength. "He would be glad to, send the ex-President, who had rendered 'moist conspicflenls public" services;, " to 4 France, but this was no time to pay compliments. The business in hand was not dramatic, but of practical and scientific defurrteness." No doubt Mr. Wilson had in his mind The consideration that: Mr. Roosevelt, although a brave and dashing leader, is not a professional soldier, and therefore would not be St to lead a division in the most technical and scientific of all wars. Campaigning in France in 1917 is very different to leading a regiment of rough-riders in' Cuba twenty years ago, and in the meantime Mr. Roosevelt cannot have kept up his military training to any appreciable extent. The Government has rightly given the command of the divi-| sion that is going to France to a tried officer in the regular army. J But there is much more in Mr. Wil-1 son's neatly worded statement than a

personal snub to Mr. Roosevelt. Mr. Wilson concentrates into a few -words one of the two great objections to voluntaryism. The business in hand is "not dramatic, but of practical and scientific definiteness." There is a certain task before the country anil the government must set ahout it in Uie mast scientific way. .Shall the country adopt voluntaryism, with its army of speakers, its appeal-, cajcrHngs, demonstrations, flagwaving, and displays of emotion, of the success of which there fa, to put it mildly, no guarantee, or a system that with mathematical certainty and at an expense of far less effort, will provide the nnmtber of men required, and provide i them quickly? We cast no reflection on the army of recruiters who dTew millions of men to the colours throughout the Empire; they did great work, and for a time at least no other system would have been acceptable to the public. But that system was wasteful and inadequate, and for America to employ it now would be to lose precious time. There was a good example of ''dramatic* methods of recruiting in! Australia the other day. During Show Week in Sydney men in the Light Horse ted saddled horses through the streets to attract recruits. Under conscription there would be no need for such an en- i ticement; the men would be called up in their turn. It is possible that 6ome of the men who succumbed to this empty saddle lure would do better work for Australia by remaining in Australia than many of the young men who still bang back. That is one weakness of the voluntary system, that it has to take' what it can get, regardless of the general interest of the community. With the news of the signing of the American Army Bill, which provides for conscription, comes the official announcement that conscription will -be adopted in Canada. We commented at some length on this expected development the other day. ami we need only say now: that the measure will lie the copingstone on Canada's magnificent war effort, ,and that, as further proof of the j Empire's determination to win, it will I encourage the Allies and discourage the enemy. fc ir Wilfri.l Laurier. while not promising to support the measure, has 1 I not said he w j_ oppose it _ __ d ___ J warranted in plaein 3 a favourable inter- 1 . jpretation on bis statement, -which in-1

| eluded a reiteration of his declaration that Canada should do hex utmost for the cause. The adoption of conscription in Canada will throw into still stronger light the unhappy position of Australia. There the question of conscription has not completely closed. Mr. Hughes has promised not to put the issue to the electors again unless the national safety demands it, which, in his own words, "means that only if the tide of battle should run against the Allies will the Government bring the question again before the people." Strategically this is hopelessly unsound; it is as if two men on a lonely island were attacked by savages, and A said to B, 'Til help you, •but I won't do my best unless I see you are in danger of being killed." Such is the position in which the referendum has landed Mr. Hughes. Perhaps he is now considering wliat he would he justified in regarding as a running of the tide against the Allies. The action of the United -States and Canada and the situation in Russia show that the end of the war is probably a long way off. but Mr. Hughes' pledge restricts Australia— for the meantime, at any rate—to "dramatic" methods of recruiting.