No doubt the German proceedings in Belgium have done much to accelerate this conviction; and the mercilessness and savagery of the methods by which the war has been fought by them (and for which no vestige of an apology has been forthcoming) have taught men that here is not only an enemy to be beaten but an evil spirit to be driven out.

The response to the appeal for recruits has, on the whole, been wonderful and inspiriting.  Employers of labor, whether on a large or a small scale, have, as a rule, behaved with generosity both as regards releasing their employees and in making provision for them and their families.  A good example has been set by families and persons in leading positions.  Domestic servants have come forward in great numbers.  The working class population have awakened more slowly—­as was inevitable until the nature of the war and the urgency of the call were brought clearly home to them—­but are now responding with alacrity.  The brave deeds of their countrymen in France have proved the surest stimulus, and disaster, as, for instance, that reported to the Gordon Highlanders, at once raised the tide of recruits.  This is a very typical and encouraging feature, showing that all that is wanted to convert interest into enthusiasm and to blow the embers into flame is that the case should be brought home by the sense of patriotic achievement or national loss.

Unquestionably the two incidents that have appealed most to the public sentiment have been the heroic resistance and tragic sufferings of Belgium—­to be compensated by all that our national generosity can provide and atoned for by whatever reparation the Allies think it ultimately right to exact—­and the splendid contribution from India.  These events excite the loudest cheers and touch the deepest chords of emotion.

In some cases, where recruiting has been slow, men have been affected by a too exclusive but quite pardonable regard for the interests of themselves and their families.  The provision made from various sources for the bread winner who has joined the colors or is at the front might easily be made more generous.  But the outlook for those who are wounded or disabled, or for the families of those who lose their lives, and perhaps most of all for those who on their return may find it difficult to secure re-employment, is thought by many to be insufficiently assured.  Private employers and business firms have, on the whole, met the situation with liberality; and a similar attitude on the part of the Government would meet with its immediate reward.  It is perhaps a selfish utterance if a man is heard to say, “How am I going to come out of it?” or still more, “What good is it going to do to me?”; but if he put the same question on behalf of those who depend upon him for subsistence he is entitled to a definite and a not ungenerous