HYPNOTISED BY THE HUNS

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3143, 23 July 1917, Page 6

HYPNOTISED BY THE HUNS

A PROTEST. (By Thorpe Lee, in the "Daily Mail.") He was talking so distinctly in the. hotel lounge after dinner that I was. compelled. to listen. I did not want tolisten. I wanted to read. But this young man's voice was so penetrating, the kind of voice which comes from rural, rectories or from the smaller, more remote type of English country housa where "girl" must lie pronounced "gayull" and-all the vowels are sounded in tho mouth, not brought up, full and reswnant, from the chest. He was talking about the war. His theme was the excellence oi the German organisation and Seadership. Not an uncommon theme among us. Wo are, as a nation, more inclined to admire the merits of •others than to acknowledge our own. Tihat is not a- bad attitude of mind in general, but it can be carried too far. I 'think some of us are inclined to carry it too far just mow—to allow ourselves to bo hypnotised by the undoubted, but not superhuman, ability of the Huns. "Eh am not a pro-German," this young man was saying, "but Eh cannot see the use of denying that they have proved themselves quite extraordinarily competent. Their system is perfectly wonderful. Their leaders are extremely lible. Jlackcniseri is a great man. Falkenlviyn too. Eh. do not see how we can rcituse to admit their greatness." I was* tempted to butt into the discussion. My tongue tingled to ask him what he knew of Mackensen and Falkenhayn. I found it hard to sit-still and be forced to listen to his one-sided and ill-founded argument. However,, it is not my habit to join in discussions uninvited. I camo up to my room .to writo this article instead. What, is there "wonderful" about the German military organisation? Not, certainly, the perfection, of its mechuaism. Given forty years of constant, hard-work-ing preparation, with material to work upon so sheepUke as the German race, and only very stupid organisers tould have failed to produce a smoothly running machine. Not, certainly, the performance by tho machine of the task for which it was created. Everyone knows it was created in order to ensure quick victory. The "wonderful" thing about tho German military system is its collapse. It has made its boastful inventors look foolish. They took, forty years to -perfect it. In less than tnree years the British nation, although ib was rather slow in starting, has put inito the field an army which is not only as good but better, and which has already 'begun knocking it out. No one who hsis seen anything of the war denies that the German soldier fights well. But fighting well has nothing to do with the systems in force before the war—unless you contend that tho Germans only fight well because of their system, as to which few would agree. Almost, all troops are plucky and endurin" Courage is the result of temperament, not of preparation. Take the matters which preparation could affect. Ihe German trenches axe well made, Iruc, but so Are the British trenches. Ihe Gorman transport is precise and punctual. So is the British transport. The German artillery is good. The British artillery is better. Here is another thought. The Germans concentrated their energy upon making an army. Their Army has not done what was expected of it. We British concentrated upon making a Navy. Our Navy has done what was expected of it. It has kept the German Navy and German's merchant vessels off the seas If there is anything "wonderful nore" I think it can fairly be chalked up to us. - And then those "great" men, Saskensen and Falker*ayn, what have, they done? Mackensen drove hack Hie •Riimians Why" Because they had no ammSon. 'He. « R—• True but considering that the Rumanians were unprepared for war he took a long time over it, and , Falkenhayn failed lamentably to carry out his part of the scheme. They are clever sMM soldiers, no doubt. So they ought to be, Xn you think of the training thev.have had. But not more clever and skilful than Haig. than Gough, than Maude. G That I would have said to the young man in the lounge. I feel all the better for saying it now.