ON THE WATCH TOWER

Evening Star, Issue 15909, 15 September 1915, Page 3

ON THE WATCH TOWER

{By Ariel.] The assumption of the command of his armies by the Tsar comes as a shock to us, and shows how little we know of the real facts and of the currents of opinion in Russia. My sympathies are with the Grand Duke, for never before lias a general had to command a line of battle a thousand miles long. The task imposed on him was almost superhuman in difficulty, and if he failed at one point, it was more the fault of the system than of the man. However, ho is to go to the Caucasus, and possibly to command against the ancestral foe, to destroy whom is of scarcely less' importance than the task he leaves. The command of the Emperor will no doubt be nominal, as he will be supported by the best advisers his Empire can provide. It will have the' advantage of enthusing the troops, who are probably disheartened. The Tsar is almost a deity to the Russian peasant, and is, moreover, the head of the Church. His coming among the troops will be something like the unfurling of the green banner of Mahommed among the Turks, or -the taking out of the Ark to the Israelites of old. There is this in it, too: that unless there was reasonable prospect of success the prestige and dignity of the throne would scarcely be risked, for these are unpropitious days' for unlucky rulers in Russia. It is quite possible tnat the party of stability and order see that there is now a good opportunity of rehabilitating the Tsardom in the eyes of the revolutionary party. That, at least, is the.hopeful view of the matter, and I will hold to it till I see reason to alter it. ******* The swapping of horses in the middle of the river is not, however, commended by the proverbial wisdom of our nation, though we have done it often enough. When Wellington first went to Portugal he was superseded twice by the arrival of his seniors. This took place once in the progress of a battle, and thoiigh the newcomer did not interfere with the fight, he forbade the pursuit that the victor intended, and so lost all the fruits of success, in the present war have changed many of the subordinate commanders, so that the average age of generals is now 10 years less than it was at the beginning of the war. The Austriana also have made many changes, and probably their improved fighting is due to that vigorous action. We alone have made no changes, but whether we are to be congratulated on that or not is perhaps I a debatable question. ******* It is to be borne in mind that in 1812 the clamor of the Russian people compelled a change in the chief command during the great retreat. The retreat of the Russians was not their original policy, but it turned out to be a masterstroke. Napoleon tried to drive a wedge in between the main Russian force on the north and Bagrathion's army to the south. The wedge advanced so rapidly that the point of junction of the two Russian forces had to be fixed a great distance in the rear, and it was not till Smolensk had been passed that a junction was effected. The long retreat disheartened both the army and the nation, and a great cry arose for a change in the chief command. Barclay De Tolly was the Commander-in-Chief, and. he suffered from his foreign name. He was from one. of the Baltic provinces, and though his family had been settled there for two centuries, he came originally of the Barclays of Towa, in Scotland, «,nd "Barclay De Tolly" is the Russian version of "Barclay of Towa." Ho was Russia's ablest general, and is now, perhaps, her most famous one. He had theconfidence of the Tsar, who wished to preserve him in the command, and afterwards desired to reinstate him; but the retreat, _ together with, his name, alarmed the nation. There was an old general 70 years of age, who 'had recently defeated the Turks and had concluded a favorable peace. There was nothing foreign about his name—Kutusoff. He had been too slew in concluding his peace with the Turks to please the Tsar in the crisis that had arisen, and already the supple courtiers had turned their backs on him. But the cry of the nation and the army was for Kutusoff, and none but he. The Tsar had to appoint him, and he arrived in the army just as Barclay wa's choosing a site for a great battle. Kutusoff did well; he made his great stand at Borodino, and fought there in defence of Moscow one of the most bloody and obstinate battles of the older history. It was he who abandoned Moscow, lie who forced the French to retreat by the exhausted route by which they had., advanced, and it was ho who commenced the terrible pursuit, in which, he himself died. Barclay was with him all the time in a subordinate capacity. The Tsar wished to reinstate him, but was Still, Barclay commanded one of the armies right | into Paris. Let us hope that the present J change will be as happy in its results. ******* When I was a boy an Irish fanatic called O'Donovan Rossa, the most noted Fenian time, was much discussed, and his schemes and his threats were taken quite seriously. He died, forgotten, at the age of 84 in a New York hospital a month or two ago. His passing is worth notice onlv because it serves to call attention to several things that arc better now than they were in the sixties. Rossa was one of the first to feel the need of more high explosives. He conceived the mad idea of terrorising England with dynamite, just as Moses terrorised Pharaoh' to jet, Israel go. In 1865 he was sentenced to imprisonment for life for treason-felony, and four yeaTs later, a parliamentary vacancy occurring in Tippcrary, ho was put up"as a candidate. A Gl.id&tonian was opposed to him, and had the support of the whole priesthood, but O'Donovan was run in by a majority of 103. The election was, of course, annulled, and Rossa did not know of his victory till 1871, wh.cn Mr Glad- | stone liberated the Fenian prisoners on condition that they resided outside the United Kingdom. He took up his abode in the United States, and set about raising funds for his war on Britain. He adopted the full policy of frightfulness, a?id brought off considerable explosions at the Local Government Board Office, Whitehall, Victoria Station, and London Bridge. On January 24, 1885, ho tried to eclipse Guy Fawkes by arranging simultaneous explosions at Westminster Hall, the House of Commons, and the Tower of London. Like a more recent and more august criminal, however, he accomplished little beyond killing and injuring a few people who"had nothing to do with, politics. He had not enough of high explosives, though in his paper, the 'United Irishman,' he urgently cemanded money for "dynamite, Greek fire, or Hell fire, if it could be had, for the destruction of England." He had the impudence to visit England in 1894, when the second Home Rule Bill was being passed. The authorities ignored him, and the National party received him coldly, for the day of insane violence was passed. What is, however, the most striking thine brought to notice by his decease is the improved relations with the United States. In the seventies the memories- of our foolish support of the Southern States in their rebellion were fresh. We cannot- conceive it possible that the United States would row permit the public solicitation of funds for dynamite outrages in London. ******* If O'Donovan Rossa was mad, it is only what thousands of Germans are at the present time. All over the world we learn of their bold but insane attempts to do something for the Fatherland. In some places they try to damage railways, in others to raise fires, in others to sink ships, in others to raise trade difficulties, in others to stir rebellion, and when all these fail they are ready to bet 10 to 1 'mat Gearmany will win. A real German Rossa. has appeared in America, named Erich. Muenter alias Frank Holt. He first" exploded a bomb in the reception room at the Senate, Washington. Ibis, h* said, was an' exclamation point in th» campaign of peace' Having wrecked th» room, hj« hurriad off to. th» residence of Mr J. Pierpont Morgan, at Long island. He cot into the presence of the financier with some difficulty, for. he was at breakfast whh the British Ambassador. Muenter fired two shots, one .of which hit Mi' Mor. gan, but he and tho Ambassador £i'applsd

with the assailant and disarmed him, while' 1 the butler knocked him down. Mr Morgan's first aot was to walk to the telephone and tell his mother that he was not seriously hurt. Muenter's madness was of the characteristic German type. He said he was soriy for the " personal inconvenience ho was obliged to cause Mr Morgan." That reminds. one of the Kaiser's regret fcn\ the personal inconvenience he was obliged to cause the passengers of the Lvsitaraa. Muenter assumed great hauteur in answering questions. He insisted that he was a Christian gentleman, and that he wished to persuade Morgan to use his influence for pet'oe. He was not a murderer, but any person who, like Mr Morgan, was not using his influence for peace was a murderer. This is precisely the German attitude towards us a® the causers of the war. Muenter even had the check to pay a tribute to Mr Morgan's bravery, and" to lament that he had not corresponding moral courage! It is evident that cant and effrontery and topsyturvy reasoning axe the true products of kultur. * * * * * * * The prevailing note at the Labor Union Congress is highlv encouraging. Indeed, it seems to be quite a patriotic assembly. A 136, that this should surprise us! But let that pass. We accept the good the gods provide us, and muni's tho word. I_ am in hearty accord with the aspirations of Labor as voiced in the congress. They want to beat the enemy, and they want to maintain all the! free' institutions of Britain, and especially freedom from conscriptioo. Eveiy reasonable man mu?t ■wish all this. But in this present evil world we have to compromise to take half a loaf when we cannot secure a •whole one. Now, it seems to me that there are two incompatible aspirations in tho platform of the congress. Our freedom has grown up under a long immunity from invasion' and attack by external foes. For 1 a long time the Channel almost guaranteed this. Durins; the last three centuries we have reinforced the Channel by our fleets, and tho peaceful development of the last hundred years has taken place .under the shelter of victories won by our fleets in the last great world-var, just as tender plants grow under the shelter of a breakwind. Things have changed, and tho present war has shown us that our Navy is no longer sufficient protection. Germany is preserving her fleet with the intention of outbuilding us. What is to prevent that? Why, our Army, of course. Germany is bent on annexing Calais, and on making a, great naval, base there, and shoals of submarines and a cloud of airships. What is to prevent her? Why, our Army, again, and only our Army. If wo should fail in preventing her. then we must have the Army greater and more constantly prepared than ever. There is no escape from an army that will hold her in are. We must have it or perish, and our cherished institutions with us. i We will never again have a. whole year granted us for muddling and learning elementary lessons. We 'must beat Germany now, or else have the whole manhood of the nation ready for war. At present_wo are making far too little E-how of beating our foe. I fear we must have j conscription to beat her, end we must I certainly hava it if w e do not beat her. So I 'conclude that the congress are in the position of the sheltered plants objecting to the break-wind, because it cute off tho afternoon sun. We nvust compromise with the grim facts that stare us in the face. * * * ' * * * * The awarding of 10 D.C. medals to Nev.Zealanders is highly gratifying. No doubt, many more medals were richly deserved, but tho majority of reallv heroic acts must ever be performed without witnesses, or witbeut anv that survive in tell the tale, it is to be noted tint six of our medals go to privates and the other four to N.O. officers. In this respect there is a great difference between us and the Germans. Of several thousand crosses of the first class that the Kaiser has distributed, verv few have reached the ranks. Officers and officials and princes nave practically monopolised them, for* the German private has no indhidualily and no initiative. We must not infer, however, that our officers have not deserved any decoration. No doubt some of them will receive the Military Crosi?, ov the Distinguished Order, or even the coveted V.C. Qualification for the latter, has however, been greatly raised during the war. The competition of other distinctions has compelled a more severe grading of merit than obtained formerly. There are the Distinguished Conduct Medal, the MiliI ta.ry_ Cross, the Companionship of the Distinguished -Service Order, and the Victoria Crops. Each has its own peculiar kind of service to reward. I read long lists of awards every week in the London Pre>s, and I infer that the D.C. medal ja tot such good individual fighting or other services as a man in no autiforilv may do. The D.S Order is for gallant or wise command in some trying* situation, and therefore falls to officers. The ; Military Cross r.-av' be won for services very similar to those .for the D.5.0.. ami also for work of the same kind as' that associated with the V.C. Thus one officer got, it for going: out at great risk to attend the wounded near the Gernrm trenches, while Major F. Waitc. p.. New Zealander, obtained it. for "galla'ntrv and resource in rallying his men and leadinsr them forward at critic;:! moments at Gaba Tepe." N.C. officers have obtained this cross for good service when all the officers were put out of action. "The V.C. connotes not eunrcme courage in some essential service, but also chivalrv, devotion, and self-sacrifice, for the benefit of others. * * * •£ ->;• x. _ rear! a story of a p oov Queensiaiia_ fellow who had a grenade explode in his hand. The hand was blown in+o space, one leg was badly torn, his face was cut to ribbons, and both eves we-ro lost. This -v.ould make some people pessimistic, btp it was not enough to quench the spirit oi Lieutenant. Little. "There he lies, full of thankfulness that it. was no -porse, joking about 'stumpy,' as he calls his right arm, and scheming about ways and means by which he can make a livinc without being a burden to others." Jt is v<ry pathetic, especially the scheming about ways and mean's of earning a living. I trust that the- fine fellow \jlL be relieved of all anxiety-on that score by the public whom ho. served. I cite this incident here, as it mav comfort some of the earnest workers and noble givers in the late carnival to know that they have done their dutv towards such pitiful cases. The splendid spirit of this sufferer makes me wish that there was a decoration for pain and misfortune noblv borne. Heroism does not. end on the battlefield, nor chivalry either. Indeed, the greatest trial of the stuff we are made of comes when we discover that wa are out of it for the rest of our lives. The heroes of the hospital ought to have a sort of _ consolation order founded for 1 them—an iron crown, say.