Though, as we have said, the married men under the
Derby scheme have no grievance, and in reality suffer no avoidable hardship, since even if there had been no exemptions our military needs would have required the calling up, and the immediate calling up, of the groups to which they belong, they have on another and wider plane a considerable grievance, due to the fact that compulsion has not been applied—as in our opinion it ought to have been applied —to the married men of military age as well as the unmarried. The truth is, as we have never ceased to point out, there cannot ba fairness and there cannot be a truly democratic treatment of the subject unless there is compulsion. The voluntary system when applied in the crisis of a great war mama pressure of a terrifio character, applied along the line of least resistance—i.e., to the most willing and most patriotic men. The depth of their feelings, their high courage, their resolve to do their duty and not to be shirkers, make the best men in the country offer themselves, however great the personal loss they may suffer.
