Whether or not there was lack of vigilance or failure in preparation by
Great Britain, there is nothing more remarkable in human history than
the achievements of the British people in the war. Few doubted that
the navy would be vigilant and invincible. It was not feared that the
old historic regiments would fail in valor or endurance. But there is
nothing even in British annals so wonderful as the voluntary enlistment
of an army of four millions. If only as a measure of the danger which
threatened the Empire the figures are impressive. Men would not have
recruited in hundreds of thousands if they had not felt that the
institutions they cherished, even their very households, stood in the
shadow of death. No doubt a flame of wrath swept over England as the
revolting story of German brutality in Belgium was unfolded, but a
living, conscious sense of actual danger to the Empire was the moving
impulse to British action. The tremendous voluntary enlistment is only
rivalled as a phenomenon in British history by the final adoption of
the principle of compulsory service. It was not only in Canada that
this method of recruiting was regarded with disfavor. For generations
compulsion for military service has been repugnant to the genius of
British institutions. It was held to be the essential basis of the
militarism of continental countries. The conviction or prejudice which
obtained in England was as deeply rooted in the United States. A great
standing army was treated in both countries as incompatible with the
ideals of a free people.