Canada's reinforcements debate was out in the open at last, First Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, his dander up, defended his determination to stick to a policy of voluntary overseas military service. Then James Layton Ralston, fired as Defense Minister in last fortnight's crisis over the issue, told why he favored compulsion.
The Prime Minister spoke his mind first, in a Dominion-wide broadcast. He told Canadians that there was no overall shortage of army reinforcements. The only shortage, he said, was in the infantry, which suffered unexpectedly high casualties in Europe (see below). This shortage will be repaired, he...