desire to maintain the right which made the
old Force so well known in every part of the world. The names of these
gallant young men and women are found in practically every unit of
service in the Great War as combatants, nurses and so on, all showing
that blood tells, and that the theory of heredity can find in such cases
a real and indisputable demonstration.

And, while touching upon this phase, let me also mention that another
unique tribute to the way in which the Force got hold of the imagination
and enlisted the devotion of those who served in its ranks, is the fact
that ex-members all over Canada organized in evidence of their desire to
support the parent body in any crisis that may arise. Several hundred of
these men, experienced in every detail of the work and trained to the
minute, left their occupations and put themselves at the disposal of the
Commissioner during the war, when the Force was depleted by enlistments
for the front. Any organization that can thus count on the assistance of
its former members in the hour of need, must have had elements in it
that appealed to the best qualities of real men. Hence we find that the
war and the social unrest called into being Police Veterans'
Associations, whose aim is to continue the traditions of the corps, and
whose members hold themselves at the service of the Government of Canada
whenever required. In other words, anyone who tries to play "rough
house" where these veterans' associations exist will have to reckon with
the "old boys," who once wore the unforgettable scarlet and gold. And
what is here said of the men is equally true of the wives and mothers
and sisters of the riders of the Western plains.

But one of the most conclusive pieces of evidence as to the real quality
of the men of the Mounted Police was given when, in those dark and
deadly-looking days near the close of the war, the British Government
let it be known that another cavalry unit from Canada would be
acceptable. A call was placed before the Mounted Police to provide
reinforcements for the Canadian Cavalry Brigade, which had suffered
serious losses, and also to furnish a squadron to add as a distinct
Police unit to the Cavalry Corps. In one sense it was not a good time to
appeal for recruits. The allied army was fighting with its back to the
wall. Our cavalry brigade had been decimated and all along the line our
men were falling--

"Grimly dying, still unconquered
With their face