CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16152, 5 March 1918, Page 5

CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS.

TO THE EDITOR OF "THE PHESS." Sir, —One does not care much about replying to correspondents who do not give their names, but, as I think "A.P.F.'s" point about "C.O.V not accepting non-combatant service is quite fairly and very usefully taken, I hope you will give me space to deal with point. The genuine and extreme C.0.. objects not only to war, but to everything that aids and abets war; in his view, if he takes any work at all under, military authority, ho sets another man free to fight, and ho is making recognition of the very system that he considers wrong. Recently a magistrate appears to. have endorsed this Tiew "> by saying to a C.O. who had accepted non-combatant service (as some do), words to this effect: "H'm, so you a / e one °f the fellows who won't fight themselves, but don't mind sending anr"nf e " ow . do it for them." Most C.O. s do mind, and so will not undertake even the most "harmless" service • under- military authority. This is the crux of the whole position, and I am grateful to "A.P.F.'' for giving me a chance to state it, although, if he or she and others who are like-minded, "would only come down to interrogating for themselves those hard facts, the C.O.'s and their friends, one would not need to take up your space, and ."A.P.F. and Co." could go on indulging their delicate fancies about sublimated being blissfully contemplating the beauties of nature, somewhere I suppose in mid-air, instead of descend- J ing upon you in storms of letters brought down to earth, presumably by

the contemplation of some of the uglinesses of human ignorance. As it :s, there is even reason to fear that, unless stops aio taken to try and get tho Act amended, these creatures may continue acting in this gross way. Mr Editor, I groan ovor such a prospect for us both. Is there no way out?

Here is the present position. These miserable C.O.'s with whose convictions, permit me to repeat, mine have no sympathy, although I deeply respect their consciences, conscience being the inner compulsion of a man's whole nature, which is not at all tho 6ame thing as mere ''inclination, ' whatever tho Minister of Defence may think are »t present embarrassing everybody. The Minister is embarrassed, the Press is embarrassed, the military authorities are embarrassed the nation is embarrassed. The soldiers who have to guard and handle these men detest the job; an officer writing from Homo to relatives here tho other day complains that tho recent deportees are a» perfect nuisance, and doing a lot of mischief among the men. Moreover, we have to maintain them in which is not at all good economy. Now, horo is a suggestion which has received the endorsement of somo business men to whom it was lately presented, and which, I fondly hope, may be earthy enough to merit "A.P.F.'s'' kind approval. It is this. Since the bone of these men's whole contention is, "service under the military," take them out of the hands of the military altogether, and insist upon their serving the State undor civil authority. I have made enquiries, and ascertained that for the vast majority this would mean the removal of all their objections, and thus tho State would bo benefited, instead of embarrassed by these citizens. Let them havo soldiers' rations and soldiers' rate of pay, and bo put on tjo whatever public work tho State at present most needs to have done—l am told there is plenty. As foe the present conscience test 2 which, lam deeply thankful to find, clergymen of all denominations are agreeing is no test at all, but only a grotesque absurdity, let it be abolished, and, instead, to eliminate the mere shirker and wastrel from the benefits of this relief, have competent witness brought forward to swear to the appellant's general trustwbrtliiness as proved in employ, family duty, etc. This letter is already too long, so that as to Mr Bell and Mr Urquhart, I will but beg "A.P.F." to investigate their cases and characters ifor his or her self. The result would* be educative.—Yours, etc., B. E. BAUGHAN. Clifton, March 2nd.

TO THE EDITOR OF "THE PRESS."