OUR CANADIAN LETTER.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 16506, 5 October 1915, Page 6

OUR CANADIAN LETTER.

(From Our Own Cobrkspondent.) OTTAWA, August 10. Canada enters the second year of the war in a spirit of deep and abiding determination. It was difficult, if not quite impossible, to realise at the outset what a share in the great conflict would mean to our people. They went in more or less blindly. They could hot reckon the cost. They saw only their duty. They yielded to the instincts of loyalty. To-day they know what the cost has been; but they know not what it will be. Nineteen hundred Canadians sleep bcDcath tho sod of a foreign land, over two thousand are pining in German prisons, and more than twelve thousand arc suffering from wounds'. Thousands of the wounded will be unable to fight again, and many hundreds will be disabled for life. All this has happened in one' shorf year of war, yet this tremendous sacrifice has not in thp least shaken the spirit of the Canadian people. No matter what the further cost may be, thoy are fully prepared to" stand by England to the end.

While mourning over our own losses, we have watched with the keenest and most sympathetic interest the brave and sacrificial deeds of' cur brethren from the Antipodes. The Australians and New Zoalanders- seem almost as dear to us' as our own. The awful fighting on the peninsula of Gallipoli, m which your sturdy boys have behaved so gallantly, has aroused the deepest admiration hero. As sharers in a common sacrifice, it is no mere sentiment to say that we feel ourselves linked by new ties to the people of the South Sea dominions. What,, a splendid part tho colonials have taken! How nobly have they demonstrated to the world their fealty to the Empire and their devotion to the cause of King and country! Who would have thought one year ago that such would be the record today? i Our sacrifices extend far beyond those of life and limb, as have also yours. Up to the end of last month the war draft upon the dominion treasury had reached £18,000,000, and it is quite certain that the indirect, cost to our people at large had been as much more. It could not be otherwise under the circumstances. We have sent 80,000.men overseas, and have 65,000 in training on this side of the Atlantic. For every dollar expended by the Government on this large force it is safe to assume that private contributions in one form and another are equivalent. Tlie whole country is given up as much to war preparations at tho present time as if the conflict concerned only Canada and tho enemy. There is scarcely a homo in which something is not being done for bur soldiers, and this leads me at once to a frank statement of the facts in connection with recruiting, the equipment of Canadian troops, the supplying of comforts to.them, Red Cross work, and tho - care of prisoners. The censor would not object to anything I shall write. It, will enable you to compare our experience with your own. First, ;as to recruiting. The first contingent of 35,000 was got together very quickly. There was little trouble in finding complete equipment for all the units. The second contingent of 40,000 was another matter. The call for men was answered at once, but arms had to be made. That took time. The only rifle factory in the dominion had a capacity of not more, than 1000 rifles per week at that time, and it had entered into,a contract to supply arms also to Great Britain. This made for delay, and delay made the. men impatient. Week after week went by without any considerable movement of troops across the Atlantic; . During all tho long winter thousands of < men were concentrated in training camps scattered all over the country, and the people wondered why they were not sent to the front, where they appeared to be so badly needed. Meanwhile, the story of Salisbury camp in England; with its awful mud and discomforts, was not pleasant reading on this side. Spring came at last, and on April 22 began tho battle of St. Julien, at first called Langemarcke, in which tho Canadians suffered so tarribly, and wrote for themselves such a glorious name in history. ' Recruiting for another 75,000 began at once. As has been said, 145,000 are now under arms at home and abroad, and the call for men is everywhere being pressed. Apparently enlisting is to proceed indefinitely. No one hears now. of any limit as to numbers. Regiments are sent across the Atlantic almost every week; but this is all done so quietly and secretly that our people know nothing about it until the announcement is made that • such-and-such a battalion has reached England in The supply of rifles is now about equal to the readiness of troops to go forward. Drilling is done for the most part with old arms. There is,,,howevcr, this significant differencebetween the early days of the war and the present time. Then men came forward voluntarily in. sufficient numbers; now special recruiting measures are in operation. High physical standards were at first imposed, and there were many rejections; now a man's height, his chest measurement, tho condition of his teeth, and so on, are not so seriously regarded, and there are not so many refusals as there were a year ago. We have learned many lessons as the result of our experience in recruiting. For' example, it would not do ,to assume that every young man of fighting age and fitness in Canada is burning to go to the front. We have relatively as marry' slackers here as are to be found in England. Some of them would perhaps go if they cou.ld get a' commission in the Army Service Corps; but they hold back from going into the trenches, especially as privates. In Mon'treal there was trouble for a couple of weeks with a rather large group of Socialists, who were opposed to enlistments at all, although their outcry was against what they called "conscription." It was a far-fetched cry; but it resulted in considerable noise and disturbance before it was squelched by a throat of resistance. To offset such efforts a league has been started among manufacturers,' the object of which is to hold places and give preferment to employees who enlist. This movement has had a wholesome effect.

The regulations governing enlistments were at first very broad and generous.- A recruit, for example, could buy his discharge at any time for 15 dollars. To prevent abuse this privilege has now bsen withdrawn. There were serious abuses. Dessrtions have also been numerous. No attempt was made to arrest and punish tho deserters. It has at last been resolved to deal firmly with such offenders, and this form of trouble has in a measure subsided. Apparently tho authorities were disposed to let anyone go who did not unreservedly wish to stay. The irksomeness of prolonged camp lifo took tho edge off the eagerness of many, and thus for every 1000 enlistments probably not more than 800 recruits remained at the end of three months. Tho business has now. however, been reduced to a definite and practical basis. While men are not crowding each other at the enlistment depots, tho work of enrolment goes on steadily and sat^factorily. This work of recruiting has permitted a fair test to bo made of the militia system. On the whole the results have been encouraging. Bach local_ militia unit has not only contributed a fair proportion of men to the overseas forces, but it has been a most convenient and helpful rendezvous for.recruits. It has provided the machinery for recruiting and handling men. It has, perhaps, been most useful in furnishing trained officers. As for instance, one battalion here in Ottawa has 60 officers now at the front. All that wae expected of the established volunteer system has not been realised, but it has done enough in this. emergency to justify its cost. It is obvious, however, that for many years after the close of this war the whole business of soldiering will be on a_ new footing. That is to say. being a militiaman will have a totally different meaning. Many of our regiments were more or iese ceremc nial in their functions. They will hereafter have a practical character. They will have larger claims on popular support and svmpathy. It has hpen said that we now have 65.000 men-under arms in Canada, being trained for tho battle front. The. first qualification is that they should be able to shoot, and shoot well; but right there a difficulty has arisen. It takes ammunition, and a great deal of it to train 65,000 men in the art of accurate shooting, and ammunition is one of the things for which there is tho loudest and most persistent demand at the front. You cannot cat your pudding and still have it. In this situation it has been decided to allot 100 cartridges per hum, and

to,make that number give the best possible service. Kvery caihp has its school of musketry, and before a recruit fires his rifle at all he has been made a master of his weapon, the trick of aiming and pulling the trigger, and all that makes for a good shot, then when he comes to use his 100 rounds of ammunition he is sure to do so with tho best poss.blc results. The spirit of the people behind all this recruiting and sending torward of soldiers is splend.d. It is always expressed in terms of practical sacrifice. Since my last letter was written the imperative need of more machine guns at the front, to bring British equipment up to the level of the German, has been taken up by the people of Canada. Action followed swiftly upon the call for more arms of this class. Within five weeks the money for upwards of 2000 machino guns has been subscribed. Slome of the guns are immediately available, and the remainder will bo manufactured as rapidly as possible. The final number will probably reach 3000. Several aeroplanes have also been contributed. One wealthy citizen of Montreal has given a machine of new and powerful design, capable of carrying 2000 pounds of explosives. . It cost £2250. Meanwhile, the aviation school at Toronto is turning out trained men, and it would not be surprising if Canada should also supply the aeroplanes for their use. These are the spectacular things. They get into tho papers and strike the public eye. But at the back of all such special efforts, unostentatiously, and vet most effectively, is the noble and unflagging work of our women. I have referred to it before several times; but I have never come any way near the point of doing it justice. In scores of different ways, cheerfully and per- • iontly, the women of Canada are doing tii.:ir part in the war. They are doing everything they can do. They are knitting and sewing night and day. They are meeting the calls of the Red Cross Society for the thoueand-and-one requisites of the hospitals.. They are providing new beds constantly. They are looking after tho wounded who have come back, and they have played a big part in this recent campaign for machine guns. They are doing something needful all the time, and this vast work, which means so much, cannot bo counted up in dollars when the sum total of sacrifice is being estimated. It is taken for granted up in this northland that the women of New Zealand are doing the same. A month or two ago an organised movement was begun in Canada to deal with the needs of tho two thousand odd Canadians in German prison camps. Someone struck upon the hapny idea of having societies, churches, and individuals " adopt" so many prisoners, and it, took amazingly. It was ascertained that the extra requirements of a prisoner could be met at a cost of about 8s per month, and on that basis prisoners were "* adopted " for three months, six; months, a year, or the full term of the war. As far as, I know,' tho whole number, of prisoners has been_taken care of in that way. This special piece of work was undertaken by the women's clubs of Canada, and is another example of the many ways in which our women are doing their part. It would seem from many letters received during the past month that the Germans have provided clean quarters and'very piain fare, for their Canadian prisoners; but, of course, the real story of prison conditions will only, be known after our boys come home. One more reference to the war, and I am through with it for tho time being. The production of shells is proceeding on a large and ascending scale. Not only has the Canadian Government got a capable committee in charge of this most important work, but tho Imperial Government has a representative here v/ith largo powers. Many thousands of shells, complete and ready for the guns, are being turned out weekly; but Uie expectation of what might be done at this stage has scarcely been realised. It took longer than was at first estimated to provide all the . required machinery for shell manufacture, and bring about tho ■ smooth co-ordination of the various units at work; for it must be under-" stood that each factory engaged specialists on a particular part. This involves assembling at the points where the work is completed and the shell loaded for srrvice. The orders thus far. given exceed £40,000,000 in value,: and will be increased as fast as thoy can be taken' up. Canada will yet play a largo part in solving the munitions problem. ■ • The people of Canada are at the moment very deeply concerned over the volume and quality of their annual harrvest. This is tho month that will tell the story of success or failure —failure at least in degree. TJp to the present date the conditions in' the western provinces have been favourable for a record crop. 1 The importance of such, a result at this particular Juncture in our history is beyond appraisement ' A bumper harvest would put the West on its feet, so to speak. For two years there has been acute depression, resulting chiefly from overspeculation in land values and so on, joined to a short crop, last year. The war has created high prices, and if the, Western faiimers can realise on these thoy will. be restored to good times; but tho most critical period lies between'now and the-first. week in September, when early frosts arc likely to do serious damage. In the other pro-

vinoes the yield lias been abundant; but too frequent rams during the past three weeks, coupled with severe storms, have introduced ah element of danger which is just now causing alarm. In my next letter I shall be able to-say definitely whether or not the harvest has been a success.

Bolitical events Jhave : been important • since my last letter. In Manitoba the downfall of the Roblin Government, as the result of scandals in connection with the construction of the new Parliament Buildings, has been followed by the overwhelming triumph, of the new Norris Administration .at tho polls. This result carries with it the early •introduction of a measure'to prohibit tho liquor traffic "in that province'. Saskatchewan has gone dry, and Alberta, bv an enormous majority, lias recently decided to follow tho example of its adjoining province. This movement seems, to have taken possession of the West, and the temperance people in other sections of Canada are mov-" ing aggressively with a strong current of public sentiment in ' their favour. During the month there has been a good deal of activity in the stock markets—which had been stagnant since the outbreak of war—in the shares of industrial corporations which have large war orders.ln this respect tho Canadian markets have merely followed the example of those across the line. This movement has come as a happy dhange from conditions which threw thousands out of employment a year ago; but, of bourse, only a limited number of people in every oommuntiy concern themselves in the ups and downs of stocks. The commercial situation, as a whole, is not such as to quiet anxiety with respect to, economic conditions during tho approaching winter There is still danger of much lack of employment.

A frightful disaster occurred early in July at Queenstown Heights, on the Niagara River, in Ontario, when a trolly car carrying 157 persons, composing a church picnic party from Toronto, left the rails and turned over. Fifteen people were killed andi over 100 injured. The overcrowded car. got beyond control;on a grade. The Department of Labour has issued a report which shows the steadijjy .asfipndin" cost of living..'. The purchasing power of a dollar last year was 41 per cent, lower than in 1900. The oniy commodity which showed a substantial decline in cost last year was raw furs. The fall was equal to 33 per cent. Furs, contrary to outside notions, are a luxury in Canada. The ordinary citizen has no real need of them for his oilier comfort.

During the month Canada floated a loan of £9,000,000 in New York. Our financing has hitherto been done in England, but a 5£ per cent, interest rate was sufficient to tempt our neighbours to take our bonds on this occasion.

Deposits in Canadian banks are now above all preceding rec0rd5—1,145,061,287 dollar. An expansion in loans to the public during the past month may be indicative of returning confidence and commercial activity. An attempt by the Lord's Day Alliance to stop bathing on the lake front at Toronto on Sunday has failed in the oourtsl It was held to be a sanitary need. Sir Sandford Fleming, who more than any other man brought about the laying of the Pacific cable between Canada and Australia, died at his summer home in Halifax during the past month. Ho was. perhaps our most eminent engineer. Toronto University has provided 1868 recruits for Canada's overseas forces. M'Gill, at Montreal, makes a close second. Thus far we have not had hotter weather than 88deg Fahrenheit, which is quite exceptional. The thermometer nearly every summer registers at least 95deg. The fruit crop of the dominion has been abundant tin's year. Cheap fruit means much to our people; Sir Robert Borden, Prime Minister of Canada, has recently visited the trenches France.