THE STEADY STREAM OF RECRUITS

The departure of the first contingent, which became known to the public through an announcement made to the press by General (then Colonel) Hughes on September 24, brought all Canada to a first profound realization of the tragic aspects of the war. The first big sacrifice had been made.

Meanwhile recruiting continued at a steady pace. But it was now becoming more obvious that a sense of patriotic duty, rather than enthusiasm, was to be the impelling motive henceforward. The youth of the country came forward more deliberately, thoughtfully.

During 1915 180,000 men responded to this call of duty, or at the average rate of 3,400 a week. A large proportion of these, especially in the second half of the year, undoubtedly had been moved by the campaign of education which was carried on by the newspapers. "The country requires," said the Toronto "Globe," in its issue of January 23, 1915, "information as to the causes of the war, the issues involved, and the pressing need for men."

The difference between the first volunteers and those who only came forward during the later periods was one which certainly reflected no discredit on the latter. If they came more slowly it was only that they were, on the whole, older men, more inclined to be guided by reason than by youthful enthusiasm. These were the men who had given the issues of the war close study, and by the process of deliberate judgment came to the conclusion that their duty, not to Canada, or to the Empire, alone, required them to offer themselves, but a duty to the cause of world democracy and civilization itself. From these came some of the best soldiers who later distinguished themselves and won promotion on the bloody fields of battle in France.

At the end of the year 212,000 Canadians were in uniform. At that time the Government called for a total contribution of half a million men. In the middle of February a mere handful short of a quarter of a million men had enlisted. Of these 30 per cent were native-born Canadians, 62 per cent were British-born settlers, and 8 per cent were foreign born.

On November 2, 1915, an official announcement indicated in what proportion the various provinces had contributed to the total number of enlistments. The figures were as follows:

Ontario, 42,300; Quebec, 14,000; the Maritime Provinces, 15,000; Manitoba and Saskatchewan, 28,000; British Columbia and the Yukon, 17,000; Alberta, 14,200.

At this time recruiting was now averaging 2,000 a day.

The call for half a million men which the premier issued at the first of the year, 1916, stimulated recruiting perceptibly. During the month of January 30,000 men responded from all parts of Canada; in February almost 27,000 enlisted; and in March nearly 33,000 presented themselves. The grand total during these three months was not far short of 90,000. By the following June 335,000 of the half million men called for had been obtained.

During the summer and the fall of 1916 the stream of recruits began to diminish very perceptibly. During this period the daily average dropped down to three hundred.

By this time the volunteer system was beginning to reach its limits. But the record was, nevertheless, a splendid one, especially when it is remembered how abstract the issues of the war must have been to the minds of a large portion of the masses. At the end of 1916 434,529 men from Canada were on war duty of some kind, not counting over 70,000 casualties at the front.

During 1917 the slackening of recruiting became so apparent that the Government had now to consider extraordinary means to stimulating it, if Canada was to raise her full quota of half a million men. Chief of these means was the creation of the National Service Board, by an Order in Council, on October 5, 1916. This body was empowered to order a registration of the remaining man power of the nation, for the purpose of bringing about a coordination of the various industries with a view to army requirements. The census taken by the board during the following few months showed a total enumeration of 1,549,360 able-bodied workers, 286,976 of which were engaged in nonessential occupations, and 183,727 in agriculture. Included there were 4,660 skilled workers in the mining industry, shipbuilding, and the manufacture of munitions. The work of the board brought this information, but no increase in enlistments.

Splendid as had been the response of Canada's youth, the fact had now to be faced, in the beginning of the fourth year of the war, that the need for men at the front exceeded the supply available through the volunteer system. Needs considered, there remained only the last resort—conscription.

This was a decision which the Government faced with extreme reluctance. Already conscription had become the subject of a great deal of heated discussion, in legislative halls as well as in the daily press. Temperamentally the Canadian people could accept the idea only with the greatest of reluctance. It was contrary to the individualistic sentiment of the nation. But it was the only remaining alternative to a still greater evil—a German victory.