Let no one suppose when we say this that either
they for themselves or we for them are hoisting or thinking of hoisting signals of distress. Nothing of that kind is contemplated by any one. Still, we must not, for fear of being dubbed croakers, refrain from facing the facts that the strain on our men is terrific, that the only way to relieve that strain is to send out more men, and that more men cannot be sent out unless more men are supplied by the country. Thus, once again, every road leads to more men, and so to better recruiting. The man who can offer his services for the front and does not is deserting his brothers in the trenches. Those in positions of responsibility who fail to bring this fact home to the country, and fail to take the steps necessary to awaken the mass of the population, assume a responsibility which we do not envy them. Our rulers and governors, as we have shown elsewhere, could, if they would only make the necessary effort, awaken the country, and with- out abandoning the voluntary system by which they set much store, get all the men they want. They are not giving the voluntary system the fair trial it demands, and yet they refuse to give us the alternative of compulsion! At the same time they tell us that more men are needed. How will the country, if it is awakened not by the Government but by the enemy's guns, judge a situation like that?
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