REJECTED VOLUNTEERS.
[To THE EDITOR OF ens ‘. SPECTATOR.") SIR,—" J. E. B." is right in that his experience is by no means unique, and moreover there is no doubt that if some slight dis- tinction were made between Volunteers and those who are examined for the first time under the Military Service Acts, it would be welcomed by many even if only to show the true state of affairs to those from whose eyes the scales cannot otherwise be removed. I am not going to quote my rejections, though they are as numerous and varied as those to which "J. E. B." refers, but, as in his case, rny activities are restricted by the final discharge. Ever since the beginning of the war I have, however, devoted myself to trying to teach men how to shoot, and since joining the Volunteer Force on its formation I have qualified as a first-class instructor (Army course) at a Command School, thereafter becoming Officer iic Musketry to my Battalion. The reward for the work lies in "the joy of the working "—in the service given —coupled with the sure and certain knowledge that the main- tenance of a high standard of efficiency in the unit is a gain to England.
Any essential work is, in the present crisis, a gain to the country, so, though it may occasionally be somewhat disheartening to observe that a certain section of the community view one's efforts with disfavour, one should school oneself to remember that those who are prone to jodge most harshly are those who have not only the least knowledge of all the circumstances, but are also those who think least, and therefore count for very little. Some of us who are of military age may indeed appear to superficial critics to be "standing by," but those who give the matter any real consideration cannot attach any stigma to us, for, now that the Military Service Act is in force, all thinkers must realize that if the authorities have not called up those of us who are known to have been before no Tribunal, there must be some very good and sound reason why our more active services are not
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