MILITARY SERVICE ACT (1917). An Act respecting Military Service.

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Octavo (9.5 inches). 7 & 8 George V, Chapter 19 (Statutes of Canada). Caption title, 13 pages. Royal coat of arms. Neatly extracted from a bound volume and expertly mended. World War I was a global war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918. It was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes in many of the nations involved. At the time, Canada was a Dominion of the British Empire and, when Britain declared war on Germany on 4 August 1914, Canada was automatically at war. By late 1916, the relentless human toll of the war and the terrible casualties at the front in Europe were causing reinforcement problems for Canadian commanders. Recruitment back in Canada was slowing, and the manpower and enlistment system was disorganized. The Militia Act, 1904 already provided for military service for all male British subjects in Canada between the ages of 18 and 60, but the calling-up was specified by levee en masse, which would have caused massive disruption through the pulling of skilled workers from agricultural and industrial positions. When Prime Minister Sir Robert Borden returned to Canada from the Imperial War Conference in London, he decided that compulsory service was necessary. After much resistance, the Military Service Act, 1917 was passed: it made all male citizens aged 20 to 45 subject to call-up for military service through the end of the war. But the law met with only limited success: it was unevenly administered, there were numerous evasions by called-up recruits, and many exemptions were granted. By the end of the war only 24,132 conscripts had reached the front. N° de ref. del artículo 083

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