From The Spectator, 21 November 1914:
Both at home and abroad this war has already caused us to wonder whether we wake or dream, so different in many respects are the events from the anticipations. To begin with, there is a matter in which the Spectator has a particular reason for being sensible of the topsy-turviness of the war—the treatment of the voluntary and compulsory principles. We have written on this subject in another article, but may allow ourselves to dwell again on the paradox. For years we have been preaching the necessity of compulsory military training, and here we are to-day exhausting every expedient and ransacking our imagination in order to persuade the Government to save the voluntary principle! They have chosen the voluntary principle for the war. “So be it,” say we—”don’t let us swap horses while crossing the stream.
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