AN AUSTRALIAN SOLDIER ON COMPULSORY SERVICE.
rTo TII311 EDITOR 01 TIM " SPECTATOn."1
SIR,---The question of compulsion or conscription appears to be worrying the minds of the people of England very much, and from the way the war is progressing it would appear that this grave problem should be at once decided. It may not be posoible to settle things for all time, but surely there ought to be no difficulty in deciding how the men of the nation are to he handled for the term of the present war. I have visited many of your cities, your big towns, and one or two of your seaside resorts, and I have been astounded at the large number of loafers that I have seen. Group upon group hang around the street-cornere of your towns at times when they should be at work, and numbers of idlers promenade the sesehore when they ought to be making shells. or fighting. All men from twenty to fifty ought to do something—either take their' place in the firing line, enlist for home defence, join the Red Cross unit, make munitions, drive ambulances, or do something or other to help us to win the war. We must win; we cannot afford to lose. Then why hesitate ? We in Australia favour compulsion, and have no trouble in conveying to the minds of our lads the need of attending drills in order that they may be useful in defence of their country should we be attacked. The lads from junior cadets become seniors, and then pass into the Citizen Army, where theywill give a good account of themselves if ever called upon. Our men in Gallipoli are proving that our Australian methods are not very bad. England is now being attacked by Germany, and though for the present the fighting is in Belgium, France, Russia, and Turkey, who can say when it will he in England ? Englishmen, awake defend your country ! be men I help smash the German military party I There are various ways. You cannot all fight, but do something, and let that something be other than shirking. I have been many months away from Australia fighting the Old Country's battles, first in Egypt and latterly in Gallipoli. The Turks did not like me and wounded me badly; now I am going back ; but what news can I take to Australia ? I wish it could be that England had determined upon compulsory service, that every man will be compelled to enlist or work for the good of the country, and not only for the good of his own pocket. We favour compulsion in Australia, but foreign service is -voluntary. Yet so determined are we to defend our shores that a hundred thousand of us have volunteered to help defend English shores because England is our Mother Country. Only a hundred thousand certainly; but then we have less than five million people, including women and children, and we have many old men also, though some who came are perilously near the age of fifty. England must have compulsion, for her men will not volunteer, and perhaps the day will come when she will call for help in vain. We shall be busy tilling the soil or prospecting for gold, and we shall not hear her cry, and we shall not come.—I am, Sir, &a, ANZAC.
.Ifonte Video Camp, Weymouth.
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