For His Name's Sake.

AMONG objectors to war, it is a much-debated question as to whether alternative service should be taken or not - some believing that acceptance involves a surrender of principle. We cannot go into the question here, however, but consider that the problem is such a difficult one that we should all agree to allow liberty of thought and action. The attitude of the C.O. taking alternative service may be briefly stated as follows: "I cannot fight, because the law of Christ forbids it. I am willing to suffer whatever penalty the law of the country imposes on me for obedience to Christ in this respect. If, however, the State offers work, unconnected with the slaughter as an alternative, I am willing to do it."

Alternative service was allowed quite frequently by the more enlightened of the Tribunals. They offered work of national importance to men whom they thought to be genuine, and whom they knew would not accept any military service. The work they offered generally entailed considerable inconvenience upon the man concerned, and in a great many cases a severe change of occupation and hardship.

Some are inclined to look upon those who obtained conditional exemption as the most fortunate class of C.O., but we should remember that one of the hardest things which we had to put up with was the persecution of our fellow-workmen. The "alternativist" was more exposed than others in this respect, as a rule. We have no idea of talking of inequality or equality of sacrifice. Anything we may suffer is trifling in comparison with what our Lord suffered for us, and should be cause for rejoicing, but never for boasting.

With regard to the technical details of alternative service, men given the opportunity of this were usually referred to the Committee set up by the Government under the chairmanship of the Hon. T.W.H. Pelham, C.B. This committee, generally known as the Pelham Committee, was intended primarily to be of assistance to the Tribunals in the selection of suitable work. Naturally it was also of service to the C.O. himself. A list of occupations regarded as of national importance was drawn up by the Committee in conjunction with the Board of Trade, and this gave the puzzled seeker for work some idea as to what he should look for. Later on, still further help was given through a list of likely employers.

Like most Government concerns, the Pelham Committee was rather slow in action. Many questions had to be answered by the applicant before anything could be done, and an interview had often to be suffered in addition. When the man's capabilities had been considered he was usually advised to take up farm work or something equally laborious. Also the condition was generally imposed that the C.O. should be not less than 20 or 50 miles

from home - the limit seeming to vary a bit. Reports were required from the employer to the Committee or the Tribunal about once in every three months, and the man was on no account to leave or change his job without permission from one or both of these authorities, who of course consulted the employer beforehand. This placed the C.O. very much at the mercy of his employer, and some took the opportunity of doing well out of it. To be just, however, it must be said that employers behaved fairly well as a rule, and in some cases the most cordial relations were established.

It might be wondered at that men could be found willing to take on objectors at such a time. In addition to the feelings of bitterness and contempt, most of the men concerned were quite new to manual labour and were physically unfitted for it. Quite a number of employers were found who were quite sympathetic, and some who were absolutely indifferent. Others were driven by the shortage of labour to swallow any feelings they had for the sake of their own prosperity. There were those, of course, who refused to have anything to do with us, and some feeble attempts were made at boycott. Some undoubtedly took advantage of their victims by paying them very low wages. Men previously employed as clerks found themselves much reduced in circumstances, the pay being only sufficient sometimes to pay for lodgings, and making the support of dependants an impossibility. My own experience has perhaps been rather fortunate, but it leads me to think that the conscientious industry and honesty of the C.O. - discovered by the employer, to some extent at least, to be part of his character - changed the attitude and eased the situation.

Of all forms of alternative service, I should think farm-work was the most common, and I therefore venture to give some personal impressions and experiences.

After serving for some time under the Home Office Scheme, I was able to take up farm-work under the same control. I packed up and removed from the Casual Ward, where His Majesty's Government had lodged me, and took up my humble lodgings in the country town near to which the farm was situated. Here I was well fed and looked after, and was quite free from the neighbours' taunts and ill-treatment, which so many in similar positions suffered. I put this down to the fact that the hours of labour (ten per day) made my time at home so short.

I then entered upon the new experience of getting up at 5 a.m. and starting work at 6. For the first time, perhaps, I learned to appreciate the beauty of the morning. This was not always a comfortable thing, for though the dew is much praised by the poet, it makes quite a different impression upon the farm-labourer, especially when he is gathering vegetables before breakfast.

There are some things which have made a deep impression. One certainly is the contempt of the "country bumpkin" for the "novice." The old foreman - 75 summers - never seemed to forgive me for being new to the job. Whether I planted, hoed, digged or reaped, I inevitably won his disapproval. A month or two served to harden me to this, and my body to the hard labour of my new way of life. It was very strenuous work in comparison with clerking, and my back objected strongly to the extra strain put upon it.

The great compensation of farm-work is that it is in the open air. Thinking of it now in the "durance vile" of indoor clerical work, makes me long for the sunshine, wind, and rain of my brief spell on the land; and I feel I should like to be back on it again. It is far from a holiday, and it would be foolish to neglect the seamy side. A few weeks of wet, chaff-cutting, the mud and cold of winter, some twelve-hour days of harvesting, and other trials of this kind, are by no means pleasant. At the harvest-time, when we were reaping the blown corn with reap-hooks, life just consisted of eating, sleeping, and working.

I found my fellow C.O.'s on the farm very pleasant mates. We were generally put to work together, and our tongues and brains had plenty of work, when the opportunity offered. Moreover, they were quite old hands by the time I joined them, and they could not have been more considerate than they were to the new-comer. I think permanent friendships have been formed in this way, and our mental and spiritual outlooks have been widened by the helpful discussions which ensue when people of widely different outlooks meet. We always had the one thing in common - the hatred of warfare and the determination to have nothing to do with it. This bond united us in a happy comradeship.

We had companions of widely different character. The staff was divided roughly into three equal parties - old men, soldiers, and C.O.'s. The soldiers were certainly the more friendly, and seemed to feel very little bitterness against us. Some of the old men growled and cursed a bit, but we had very little real unfriendliness. Needless to say, some outbursts occurred, and one cannot be surprised at that