There is reason to believe that the selective draft will operate with greater equality than has distinguished voluntary recruiting in the townships. Doubtless there are farms from which the only son has gone to the Front, while from other farms the men who could have gone have exercised the option which they had to remain at home. Such inequalities will be avoided under the draft system, and the men will be taken who can best be spared. If in any occupation, be it that of the farmer, the miner, the skilled artisan or the mechanic, there be men available for military service who for the present are not needed in their ordinary pursuits, these will be required to serve; but it will be the duty of the tribunals, as much to uphold a natural title to exemption, as to reject a claim which cannot compatibly with the national interest be established. Professional and literary men as well as men employed at manual occupations, and those engaged in directing them, may seek exemption by reason of the importance to the community of the work in which they are habitually engaged and which would in a material degree remain undone if they were taken. The State will first seek those who have no dependents, but the fact that a young man is unmarried will not be conclusive evidence against his exemption. He may hold a position for which he has peculiar qualifications, and in which his service is essential to the prosperity or comfort of the community. It is not possible to review here the various considerations which may arise with respect to individuals engaged in different callings each presenting questions peculiar to itself, but it is intended that in all cases the tribunals shall afford protection and assume the task, be it difficult or otherwise, of relieving an applicant from the anxiety of an embarrassing personal decision. No doubt there are many young men in Canada who should not have waited until compelled to serve, but there are also thousands who have chafed and fretted because they could not enlist, and whom it would be grossly unjust to describe as “slackers” or “shirkers.” Reflection upon these considerations emphasizes the defects of the voluntary system and suggests the essential justice and fairness of national service. XXVI.