If he dropped it and rushed off to the war--well there
was no lack of men, men who had no particular standing, men who could
not subscribe to war charities, to Dominion war-bond issues. There was
plenty of man-power. There was never a surplus of brain-power. Business
was necessary. So a man with a live, thriving business was fighting in
his own way--doing his bit to keep the wheels turning--standing stoutly
behind the fellow with a bayonet. And a lot of them let it go at that. A
lot of them saw no pressing need to don khaki and let everything else go
to pot. A lot of them were so intent upon making the most of their
opportunities that they never brought their innermost thoughts out on
the table and asked themselves point-blank: "Should I go? Why shouldn't
I?" And there were some who saw dimly--as the months slid by with air
raids and submarine sinkings and all the new, terrible devices of death
and destruction which transgressed the old usages of war--there were
some who were troubled without knowing why. There were men who hated
bloodshed, who hated violence, who wished to live and love and go their
ways in peace, but who began uneasily to question whether these things
they valued were of such high value after all.
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