ar. In
the sudden crisis the Dominion attained a place among the nations which
the slower changes of peace time could scarcely have made possible in
decades.

When the war party in Germany and Austria-Hungary plunged Europe into
the struggle the world had long been fearing, there was not a moment's
hesitation on the part of the people of Canada. It was not merely the
circumstance that technically Canada was at war when Britain was at war
that led Canadians to instant action. The degree of participation, if
not the fact of war, was wholly a matter for the separate Dominions.
It was the deep and abiding sympathy with the mother country whose very
existence was to be at stake. Later, with the unfolding of Germany's
full designs of world dominance and the repeated display of her callous
and ruthless policies, Canada comprehended the magnitude of the danger
threatening all the world and grimly set herself to help end the menace
of militarism once for all.

On August 1, 1914, two days before Belgium was invaded, and three days
before war between Britain and Germany had been declared, the Dominion
Government cabled to London their firm assurance that the people of
Canada would make every sacrifice necessary to secure the integrity and
honor of the Empire and asked for suggestions as to the form aid should
take. The financial and administrative measures the emergency demanded
were carried out by Orders-in-Council in accordance with the scheme
of defense which only a few months before had been drawn up in a "War
Book". Two weeks later, Parliament met in a special four day session and
without a dissenting voice voted the war credits the Government asked
and conferred upon it special war powers of the widest scope. The
country then set about providing men, money, and munitions of war.

The day after war was declared, recruiting was begun for an
expeditionary force of 21,000 men. Half as many more poured into the
camp at Valcartier near Quebec; and by the middle of October this first
Canadian contingent, over 30,000 strong, the largest body of troops
which had ever crossed the Atlantic, was already in England, where
its training was to be completed. As the war went on and all previous
forecasts of its duration and its scale were far outrun, these numbers
were multiplied many times. By the summer of 1917 over 400,000 men had
been enrolled for service, and over 340,000 had already gone overseas,
aside from over 25,000 Allied reser