LORD KITCHENER

Press, Volume LVII, Issue 17224, 15 August 1921, Page 6

LORD KITCHENER

REPLY TO LORD ESHER. : SIR GEORGE ARTHUR'S PROTEST. i (By Cable—Press Association—Copyright) (Australian and N.2. Cable Agiociatim.) ■ (Received August 14th, 5.5 p.m.) LONDON, August 12. . Sir George Arthur, in <i Press interview, protests that Lord Esher has set out to null down from tho pinnacle of fuino a man whose candid friend Lord • Esher professes to be. Against Lord Esher*s views regarding Lord Kitchener's alleged failure in the war ought to be arrayed the judgments of "Marshal Foch and ex-Presidont Poincare. Marshal Foch, on the occnsion of the London peace celebration procession, said they missed "one great figure. Lord Kitchener, the organiser of victory." M. Po'noare had said that but for Lord Kitchener's visit to Paris co-nperntion between Britain and France would probably have been lost, and the British Army, would not hare participated in the Battle of tbe Marnc. Sir George Arthur combats the suggestion that Lord Kitchener wanted to divert forces to the East. On the contrary, Lord Kitchener's policy was the maintenance of our supreme strength on the Western Front, in order to be safo in the East. In January, 1915, Lord Kitchener strongly opposed Mr Lloyd George's proposal to withdraw troops from France and send them to Salonika, refusing to denude the West of a single man. Writing in the "Daily Telegraph," Sir George Arthur says: "Lord Esher proposes to Bequeath to posterity his further judgments' on Lord Kitchener. It might not be amiss that, concurrently with Lord Esher's verdict on Lord Kitchener, should run Lord Kitchener's estimate of Lord Esher a» expressed to me." [Sir George Arthur was private -aecretnry to Lord Kitchener from 1914 to 1916. His book. "Tho Life of .Lord Kitchener of Khartoum," was published last year.")