THE REAL JOFFRE.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume IV, Issue 396, 19 March 1915, Page 3

THE REAL JOFFRE.

NEW SIDE-LIGHTS ON HIS CHARACTER. IDEALS OF DISCIPLINE AND DUTY. Paris, Feb. 5. It has been left to a handwriting expert to discover toe sensibility ot Joffre. His sternness, like his calmness, is a pose, a mask which he has adopted. This much I learn from a person who ‘aas exceptional opportunities of judging. Since the “per-sonal-factor”. plays so large a role in war, I have thought it useful to set down some unpublished acts concerning the Cbmmander-in-Chief. His self-control, the armour that he has forged for himself, _ does not prevent him from feeling acutely each time he has to inflict acts of discipline upon others. Thus, when ’he cashiered five generals after the Southern Manoeuvres of 1913, he suffered as severely, perhaps, as the victims. But he steeled himself to perform, what he considered to be his duty —in the name of France. His whole duty, as soldier and organiser of victory, is his religion; France in his second mother. He has no formal cult beyond that of country, no higher pleasure than to “faire du bien.” It explains his character; a deep faith in “la patrie,” coupled with a natural benevolence. It explains his tenacity in his present post. “Il faut tenir bon,” his letters are full of such expressions—ii explains his popularity ■with the French soldier. STRICT MODERATION.

Joffre’s calmness then, in the most dreadful hours of conflict, is the result. of will. He is the master of his fate, the captain of his soul, in the true Henley sense. He trains his mind, like his body, by constant exercise, by setting it tasks. Tae only way’ he can support the immensity of his work is by’ an iron rule never to commit excesses. His strict moderation has enabled him to keep his health even in the heats of Africa and Madagascar, and to escape unscathed from 17 years of colonial service. • Scarcely smoking or employing strong drink, he avoids social functions which entail late hours. He leaves his rare dinner parties early in the evening that ■’'•e may be fresh for the morrow. His day’ at the Ministry of War, in peace times, was prefaced bv a gallop in the Boi«. but this exercise was supplemented by a walk from his burean to hi« house at Auteuil—a. "nod three miles. He comes from farmer stock: hence his health. His fs+h«»r wss a landowner whose fruitful vines, under the careful management of Mme. Joffre mere, brought a small of £6OOO to each of the rt children—no " i ean attainment in those times. • T*ie g’“at c’nt'in int>erits his order and method from his' mother, who was a, carebd manager even amonest the »*nre*ul managers of the South. f<->r t«er he h-iA a great affection: with b’m, ?'* r-ith most Fn«nch*nep apH a<l Southerners, the family tie is strong. A SPOILED HOLIDAY. Tradition and continuity are as much considered as if the chateau which he now inhabits were the Vatican and he the Pope. Each of his officers is well tried inhispersonal serrice. eAelr fiaBr various time in his career. When war broke out, Joffre reassembled his -old aides to form ' a harmonious whole. They know his “system” and methods of work, and could replace him in the unhappy event of disablement through illness or the various attempts made against him by the by ’his corps d’elite. A' pleasant by his corns de’elite. A pleasant fiction credits his wife with following, him to toe field and watching over his food. But the strict fact is that Mme. Joffre never saw her husband during four and a half months, and* now rarely receives his visits when he descends upon Paris by motor car. Out of deference for the rule that the General has established for his subordinates, Mme. Joffre refrains from obtruding upon the master in, his great responsibilities. Tiie same feeling of delicacy prompted her at Bordeaux, where she stayed a month —the most trying in the operations— to hide her identity under her maiden name. “MES SOLDATS.” The Generalissimo’s ambition is eminently peaceful. He dreams of the. time (if he has time to dream) when there shall be no more war and he may settle, down in the country with a large garden to give him quietude and air. His concern today is for his soldiers; he thinks perpetually’ of them. His letters to intimates contain frequent allusions to “mes braves petits soldats,” for whom he fears the wet, cold weather. He,has an immense belief in the material at his command, the finest in the world, he thinks. His consideration and the confidence he inspires foave earned for him the devotion of his troops. Joffre is no orathr and distrusts fine phrases. His conversation is usually limited to few sentences, except with old and tried friends, with whom he will talk with a certain amount of freedom But his real forte is his power for work, which is .prodigious. When his fellowgenerals appointed him Chief of Staff—Joffre reflects, I suspect with some pleasure that it was no affair of Parliament —he passed three years of incessant work at 'nis desk, and even absorbed his Sundays in this way. That France was at least partially prepared for the shock of the invasion is his reward. All his Lie, as Captain, Colonel, General, he has voluntarily tackled difficulties, and difficulties have met him halfway. He had scarcely time to hang ms curtains —a fortnight only—as Colonel of Engineers at Vervailles before he was hurried off to Duego Suez; at Amiens he was Corps Commander as well as holder of an important military inspection. So : to-day, face to face with the greatest problem of all, he is evidently in his habitual atmosphere.