"Conchies"

Hard has been the lot of Britain's Conscientious Objectors for the past eleven years. Sneeringly referred to as "Conchies" by robust Britons who had no objections to the War, they have been barred from civil service positions. "Conchies" already employed by the government have been denied promotion.

A good friend of long suffering "Conchies" is the present Labor Government. Prime Minister MacDonald himself objected long and violently to the War. Other onetime "Conchies" throng Labor's councils. Last week Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Snowden signed an order:

"Except in the defence departments [Army, Navy, Air], no person shall in the future be ineligible for appointment to any place in the civil service by reason of the fact that military service was declined in the British forces on the ground of conscientious objection."

Commented a high Labor official:

"The order is expected to enable the Government to obtain the services of some absolutely first class men [i. e. Laborites] hitherto unavailable."