England, Canada and the Great WarDesjardins, L. G. (Louis Georges)
History
England, Canada and the Great War
Desjardins, L. G. (Louis Georges)
Great Britain -- Colonies -- Canada; Imperialism; World War, 1914-1918; World War, 1914-1918 -- Canada
Such is the ordeal through which Canada, the British Empire, in fact
much the greater part of the universe, are passing with torrents of
blood shed to rescue Mankind from the domination of German militarism.
If Germany could have her course free; if she could reach the goal of
her criminal ambition, nearly the whole world would be, for many long
years, in the throes of the most abominable conscriptionism.
If after the enthusiasm of voluntary military service has exhausted
itself from the very successful result of its patriotic effort, is it
not a duty for all loyal citizens to accept temporary compulsion, to
save their country from the horrors of defeat at the hands of the most
cruel enemy which has ever shamed the light of the sun since it shines
over the Human race blessed with Christian principles and moral
teachings.
To the present generation of young men, strong, healthy, brave, let us
say: be worthy of the times you live in, be equal to the great task
imposed upon you, accepting with patriotism the sacrifices you are
called upon to make, never forgetting that temporary compulsion for you
means freedom from permanent conscription for your children and
children's children in years to come.
It is from the very height of such lofty considerations that I have made
up my mind about this much vexed question which will, we must all
earnestly hope, be more and more well understood and eventually settled
to the everlasting good of the country once for all delivered from the
exasperating menace of German despotism.
I must reserve for the second volume of this work, the fuller expression
of my views of what should be the military system to be maintained in
Canada, after the very wide experience we will have derived from the
present great war. All I will add now is that ever since the early
eighties of the last century, after many years of voluntary service in
the Canadian Militia, I had fully realized that it is no more possible
to make a real soldier by a few days yearly training, for three years,
than you can make a competent lawyer of a young man studying law for a
fortnight in the course of three consecutive years.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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