NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Press, Volume LIII, Issue 16054, 9 November 1917, Page 7

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

THE CAPTURE OF GAZA. There is one feature of the news regarding Gaza which is particularly satisfactory—it is admirably definite. "Gaza is ours,*' says Reuters correspondent at headquarters, adding that the enemy is in full retreat all along the lino and that a great amount -">f booty has been taken. There has been, up to the last few days, some confusion in the minds of a number of people as to our exact position at- Gaza, arising, in part, out of what, appears to have been a certain official reticence as to the result of the fighiing there at the end of March. According to cables in Australian papers, the "Daily Mail" lias been conducting a minor campaign in order to induce the Government, a-s it puts it. to allay the public irritation at the secrecy shrouding the battle of Gaza. "It. is impossible," said the paper, "to tell, from the conflicting statements, whether wo won a victory or not." Tho change in the Palestine command is said to have deepened the puzzle considerably, as General Sir Archibald Murray, who was replaced by General Sir Edmund Allenbv, was appointed, soon after his return to England, to one of tho highest Homo commands, an appointment which would hardly havo been mado if the War Office had considered that ho had failed. SHORT OF A COMPLETE VICTORY. It- was officially stated in tho Hbuse of Commons that tho publication of the full despatch might disclose valuable information to the enemy, to which tho "Daily Mail" replied that tho public were at any rate entitled to know whether the battle had been a victory, as they had been led to believe, "or something else." As a matter of fact, that part of Sir Archibald Murray's report which was published at the timo contained one sentence which at least gave an indication of the position. the operation," ho said, "was most successlul, and owing to the fog and tho waterless naturo of tho country just fell short of a coniploto disaster to tho enemy." By S o much, too, it fell short of being a complete success for our troops. AN UNFORTUNATE FOG. Hie primary object of the operation, ""d previously said, was to seize tho \\ adi Guzzee, so as to cover tho advanco of our railway. This was done without a fight, and Lieut-enant-Genc-ra.l Sir C. Dobell, thinking tho enemy might retiro without resisting, decided, m order to bring them to a stand to attempt to capture Gaza by a dash. Unfortunately dense fog hindered the operation until late in the afternoon, and as the tune lor tho operation waa i? I ** the supply of water available for tho troops, who had to depend on what they could carry, this dolay mado them run short of water. Therelore, after capturing the cnemv's first line of trenches outside Gaza the British "took tip a defensive position" (which naturally involved a short retirement) at the Wadi, which has apparently been their first line ever sinco until tho operations of the past few days.

..file Turks got much the worst of tho engagement, their casualties numbering somo 8000. and liow greatly they wore indebted to the fog for getting off as easily may be judged from tho remark of Mr Massov, tho correspondent at British headquarters, '"With another two hours of daylight tho whole town would havo been ours." Why 6even months were allowed to pass before tho attempt was renewed (this time with entire success) has not been explained, nor i B it a matter in which wo need concern ourselves. It can bo assumed with safely that our military authorities had good and sufficient reasons for their policy. SIR EDMUND ALLENBY. General Sir Edmuiid Allenby is one of tho numerous cavalry loaders who have distinguished themselves in tho war. Ho Jed the cavalry division in France in tho critical weeks of 1914, and foUght a most gallant rearguard action from Mons. On one occasion, before tho British Expeditionary Force had been in France a month he was nearly cantured with the greater part of his division.

The retreat from Mans was still in progress, writes a friend of the General's, when the oiitposts came in to General Allenby's Staff with the news that an encircling movement was being attempted hy German cavalry. At once the possibilities were seen by Sir Edmund, and he himself lod the gallop to escape this threat, riding by the side of a French guide who sought safety for his Allies. Throughout oho never-to-bo-forgotten night the ga.l- - men of tho Cavalry Division urged on their tired horses. At ono time thero seemed every prospect that tho forco would be surrounded, for the enemy w e re hard on their heels. Tho uhlans were, however, exhausted after their chase, arid thev halted just when a final spurt "might have given them the great prizo for which they were stnvinp;—the flower of the British Army." ECONOMY TN WAR HOSPITALS. At least ono branch of the Arrtiy had anticipated by more than a year the advico of the Parliamentary Select Committee on national expenditure. As cabled tho other day, tho Committee's report contained an expression of opinion that all Army commands should be impressed with tho heed for further economies and im efficient method of checking waste should be devised. Rather more than a year ago Sir Alfred ICeogh, Director-General of the Army Medical Service, made Up his mind to reduce, an far as was compatible with its efficiency, the expenses of the medical service." Thcro was to be 110 fnlso f^uomy-the first duty of tho R.A.M.C. was to mako whole tho wounded soldiers, and nothing would be gained by stinting the patients o r hampering the doctors. Sir Alfred chose, for the work a yoiiiig Scottish surgeon, 7>r. Napier Burnett, found for him as an assistant "a statistical genius," gave them a typist, and the search for methods by which useless expenditure could be prevented was begun. Within a year, it is asserted by a contributor of a London paper, the enormous sum of two and a half millions has been saved in the cost of administration of tho military hospitals! HOW IT WAS DONE. 'Iho "statistical genius" collected and collated the accounts of tho various hospitals. Studying his figures, Dr. Burnett, wo are told, came to tho conclusion that a good deal of responsibility for unnecessary expenditure rested on the hospital kitchens. No hospital knew its cost in food. No doctor had seriously considered tho cost to the hospital of the diets he proscribed. Moreover, not one doctor in a hundred lias any knowledge of food values—the subvert, indeed, is not included in the medical curriculum. So Dr. Burnett began with the kitchens.

''Ho asknd hospitals to inform him (1) what chock oxistoci on the stores coming into tlieir cupboards; (2) how those stores were used; atid (3) what use was made of their waste products —dripping, bono?., bread, etc. He then made n. tabic of each hospital of (1) tho daily cost of its food; (2) its dailv consumption; and (3) its daily caloric value." These enquiries led to the discovery that some hospitals were admirably managed : in others the waste was prodigious. "In certain hospitals officers were given three tinic>3 as much meat as the men. although in Franco the rations are the same. In hos-

pita Is the caloric value of the food wag enough to blow the patients to smithereens ; in others it was dangerously low. Little or no use was made of cheeso. Oatmeal and rice, wliero used, were in manv cases so badly cookod as to be wasted." The raro of food was not- properly considered. C-ovors for milk, the use of cold storage, tho ventilation of the lnrdor, wore ignored. OTHER SAVINGS. Dr. .Burnett initiated a system of rivalry in efficient- economy between hospitals and between wards. Every month each hospital now knows what food it consume;; and its cost. He appealed to matrons and nurses to economise in l'uel on the ground that wnsio involved bringing back a thousand miners from tho front to hew coal for them. Savings were made in drugs, dressing?, and laundry work. Mala and female attendants used to averago 37 nor "00 patients; tho average mimber has been cut down to 30, the patients have not suffered, an«j 10,000 male attendants have been freed for other service, mostly in tho ranks. This alone saved over a million in wages and maintenance. "On food 5d has been saved on every occupied bed per day; on washing IJd: on water, fuel, and light, id: and these savings, with 4d for personnel, as st-atod nbovo, have Rivon a total economy of Is per occupied bed per day." The efficiency of the hospitals is declared to hnvo been increased—tho soldier's food is better eared for and cooked and has a hotter value, and the convalescence of ho wounded has been hastened.

This campaign of economy will liave its effect. it is believed, upon the administration of tho civilian hospitals after the war. possibly sooner. lliore is reason to believe that a similar campaign in that direction would offoct. similar reforms, and bo tho moans of savinc: an enormous amount of monev. Dr. Burnett anticipates the establishment of a school of hospital administration. There appears to be a good opening for it. GUYNEMER'S DEATH. Lieutenant Fouck, a comrade of tho great French airman Guynemer, was reported, in a recent cable, to have avenged tho iattor's death bv shooting down Lieut. "Wissman, the German airman responsible for it. Rut, where and how did Guynemer die? Thero is a great conflict of testimony on the point. A cable message, of which we pijblished a summary, stated that lie was killed on September 11th after ho had brought down his fiftythird enemy aeroplunc, in French territory. Eye-witnesses of his last fightsaid that Guynemer saw five Albatross machines over the sea at Dunkirk, and attacked them singlo handed. lie swooped hawk-liko on tho enomy, and brought down two machines. Some Belgian airmon came to Guynemcr's aid, but it was too late. Tho Frenchman fell. Tho news was not published before, as it was hoped that a passing steamer had rescued Guynemer. A Router's message, published about the samp time, however. quoto3 tho Cologno "Gazette" ns stating that Guynemer was killed near Poelcapello, 25 miles from Dunkirk, on September 11th. "A German sergeant fouhd a singlo sentcr aeroplane with its wings broken. The pilot was dead, with a bullet in hift head. Ho wore tho identity disc of Guynemer."

The official announcement that Guynemer was missing was not issued for publication by tho French censorship until September 27th, although everybody in Franco seems to haro known that tho brilliant airman had Impn missing since the lltli. Tho reason givpn for withholding the official report was that there was believed to bo a chanco tliat Guynemer had landed unhurt within enemy territory, nnd might nttssibly make liis way to his own lines. The King of Spain had therefore been asked by the French Government to make enquiries of tho Gorman authorities as to Guvnemcr's fate. Tho consequence was that there weTo at least four stories current regarding his disappearance in addition to the first of the two to wnicli wo refer aboVo, aiid oven now the exact details aro nob •ivailable from a French source. Tho German story, in spite of tho German reputation for mendacity, appears to bo tho most reliable.