FATHER GOES TO WAS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LV, Issue 16847, 11 May 1918, Page 1 (Supplement)

FATHER GOES TO WAS.

PATRIOTS AND OTHERS.

BY C. G. NICOL. , The bachelor, 'e fights for one as joyful aa can be; But the married man don't call it fun. Because 'e fights for three— For 'Im an' 'Er an' It ' (An* Two an' One makes three): 'E wants to finish 'is little bit. An' 'e wants to so 'ome to 'is tea! —Kipling.

The call has come to the family man. In a thousand homes Father is putting his house in order and is cheerfully and bravely facing the future— who can forsee what is to be the future of a soldier? On the whole, he is glad to be up and doing, though sad over the anxious look in the eyes of his life's partner and a little pained as he listens to the prattle of his bairn. He adopts a very cheerful pose, however, even though at times he thinks, and thinks hard. Though other married men went to the fighting as volunteers, he stayed behind' because he believed it his duty to do so. Now the inevitable has come.

Father will do well as a soldier. Already ho has developed a sense of responsibility towards himself and to his fellows, and that will "stand to" him in the line. His heart will be it the job. Until he embarks he will "be the victim of many conflicting emotions; home ties will tug at his heart-strings, he will worry about the fate of his dear ones, and, like many an unmarried volunteer, he will spend some rather sleepless nights in camp pondering about possibilities and wondering why these things should be. But, as his military career progresses, his mind will become clearer, and when he reaches the trenches and gets his, first startling introduction to the enemy he will realise, as did those who fought before him, that, far away though he is, he is fighting for his dear ones, for the safety of his distant home, and for everything that a freedomloving man holds dear. The calm spirit which, amid the turmoil of war, comes with a sense of duty-doing will inspire him. Death will not hold the terrors it once held. He will fight with heart aglow for his country's cause and his own, and something akin to the peace of heaven will possess his soul, no matter how great the physical and mental stress. He will feel as most men feel, that never before has he done anything so well worth while, so fraught with far-reaching consequences. Father will make a good soldier and a good comrade may get the V.C., and his country will applaud. Voice of Dissension. Unfortunately, during the last few weeks the case for the married man has been sorely prejudiced by the voice of dissension throughout the land. It has been further prejudiced, though quite unjustly, by one or two unhappy incidents, which, after all, have no bearing upon the attitude of the married men as a whole. A small minority can always make a noih*. but when the noise indicates doubtful loyalty and occurs in the middle of a great war crisis, when men are bleeding and dying in their thousands, many people are apt to form harsh judgments of the many, who in reality share their indignation. The columns of correspondence in the newspapers of the Dominion have not helped people to get a right perspective, and many minds are in a state of dire confusion. Men and women, influenced by all sorts of known and unknown considerations. and stirred by many conflicting, emotions, have tried to give their point of' view: but. allowing a very wide margin for the sincere and honest opinions expressed, it really does seem that a section of the community believe that sacrifice is about to begin. ever since the war began, comparatively, have these people been, so stirred. Their attitude has been that of the calm, disinterested spectator. Not until now have they thought of the war as their war— has simply been the war. Tt is all so perplexing to the ordinary mortal, who has old-fashioned ideas upon such matters as' their country's cause and .the thing that is called Duty. No sane person will question the right of married men to fight for the material well-being of his family before going to fight the enemy, but the controversy which has been proceeding upon the question of maintenance has revealed the astonishing attitude of a section of unknown numbers. One almost wishes that the war was not so far away. Were it nearer, the terrible import of the issues might not be lost. Though patriots have been talking for these three and a-half years upon the subject, these remarkable people have either failed to grasp the allimportant fact that only an accident in geography has kept these shores immune from the blasting hand of war, or they refuse to see it because thev are selfish or afraid. There can be no other alternative.

Single an<? Married. As to those -who think that sacrifice is about to begin, it probably has not occurred to them that none of the belligerent European nations has differentiated between the married and unmarried in respect to conscription. During three and a-half long years widowhood has been coming to tens of thousands of women, and tens of thousands of children have become fatherless. From the national point of view, it is a question if the death of an unmarried soldier who has just reached the glory of manhood is not a greater loss than the death of a man who leaves behind him a family. From the financial standpoint the death of the latter is, of course, the more serious, but economic considerations are not all, particularly so when war carries off the best of a nation's manhood. The ■unmarried young man is a national asset. In the ordinary course of life he marries, has a family, and so contributes his share towards the future. The death of a father will certainly have an influence upon a growing family, the members of which may not have the opportunities in life they otherwise would have; but these considerations are common in such a time of crisis, when death is necessary to purchase future freedom and safety. A National Question. One of the causes of the present unrest is that part of the public will regard a national and a Empire question from the point of view of the individual. In sending married men tq war it is not a question of what Brown thinks about it or what Brown's wife or his mother-in-law feel. It is a question of adequately reinforcing, if not increasing, the permanent strength of one of the most-trusted divisions in France, a division which holds in its keeping New Zealand's honour. As to the objecting persons who profess to believe that a man is the one and only judge of what he should do, may it be suggested that in the fourth year of war these illogical individuals might be told that talk is a thing of the past. May it also be suggested that the views of these persons do not matter, and that triumphant Democracy should prove its might by adopting a very direct and very definite method of dealing with so-called pacifists? In Germany the Christchurch incident would have met with the simple remedy of drawn sabres and machine-guns. In New Zealand such drastic measures are not necessary that is needed is a firm hand.

A prelate at the Vatican stated recently that every day the Pope becomes more disgusted with the conduct of the Central Empires. He had hoped that a Catholic Chancellor, in the person of Count Hertling, the policy of Germany would become less brutal, but his hope" has- not been realised. In Vatican circles it is declared that the Pope has sent new protests to the Emperors of Germany and Austria concerning the aerial bombardments of open towns, and it is asserfed that if these crimes against humanity continue the Pope will probably abandon the neutral attitude ho has hitherto maintained..