VETERANS OF THE WAR.

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 10 September 1925, Page 10

VETERANS OF THE WAR.

THE CANADIAN ASSOCIATIONS. Canada enlisted almost GCO.OOO men for service in the Great \\ ar. Allowing for casualties and other wastage, perhaps 503,000 of these were demobilised and returned to civil life in Canada.

Had the war venterans developed a common political or other ambition and a cohesion to knit themselves into a single organisation they could have achieved supreme power in the land, merely by a • gesture. But so far the outstanding characteristics of war veterans’ associations, although they have accomplished much useful work, have been disunion and a sense of failure to grasp potential opportunity. War \ete.ans’ associations appealed on the stage long before the close of die war. Perhaps that was the initial mistake. Early promoters rushed to get into the held first, and none of them still able to command a universal fo.iowiiig. Early rivalries have not yet disappeared. And most discouraging oir ail is the fact that a great proportion of the disbanded men have stood aloof from all the competing organisations, though there is a feeling in many quarters that if there was a siiigie association, nearly every war veteran would joi n it. Theie have been, and are, in existence at least .20 and perhaps more distinct venterans’ organisations in Canada. There is one strong one—strong in comparison with the others —one” that was strong in the hectic d-av-s of 1921, and then a large number that trail away to mere legimentai societies. Alost of them have done exceedingly useful work, particularly in loo.iin / after dependent members. One of the reasons for Earl Haig’s visit to Canada was to appeal to Canada’s veterans to join a single organisation. Specifically he wanted them to become members of the British Legion. His appeal for unity aroused much enthusiasm. But concrete results are as yet problematical. Co far the incident lias served chiefly to emphasise the disunion of Canada’s veterans.

The chief veterans’ association is the Great War' Veterans’ Association of Canada —G.W.V.A. for shoit. Its headquarters claim a membership of 93,020. But a recent audit of its

looks revealed that its greatest paidup membership was about 50,000 in 1920, and that at present it has only ibout 11.0)0 members who have paid their current dues.

One explanation of this lack of cohesion is tfiat individual battalions and other units at the front were not drawn exclusively from one locality. Even on enlistment, there were few battalions that were homogeneous and as they were filed up again and again with drafts, recruits came from everywhere. When a battalion disbanded its members -scattered to the four winds. Thus even regimental ieunions are practically impossible. In addition, many Canadian civilians seemed to have joined the army for a specific purpose. When that purpose was acconip.i sited they returned to civilian affairs and became in them completely absorbed.