The recruiting rally was in many parts of the district distinctly disappointing to the authorities, and it would seem that the voluntary system, at least in the Amman Valley, is played out.
There seems to be a wholly unnecessary fear that men recruited now will have to spend the winter in the trenches, which is absurd, of course, as they will take at least six months to train, and can only during that period take the place of those men who have answered their country's call and are anxiously awaiting their turn to go abroad.
It is to be feared that even now quite a large number of young men altogether fail to realise their country's peril, otherwise they would accept their responsibility and voluntarily do their share.
It is somewhat of a stigma on the character of Welshmen, especially those living in the country districts, that while all the English boys working on the farms took the first opportunity to join the Colours, they are content to remain behind and allow others to fight their battles for them.
But as Lord Kitchener has stated, he “knows the number of men he wants, where they live, and the number on their doors, and when he wants them, if they don't come, he will fetch them.”
