SYMPATHY OF AMERICA.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 19860, 2 February 1928, Page 11

SYMPATHY OF AMERICA.

ALLIED SPIRIT OF UNITY. INDOMITABLE WAR LEADER. MESSAGE FROM VON KLUCK. By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright. (Received February 1. 7.5 p.m.) A. and N.Z.-Sun. LONDON, Jan. 31. The American Secretary of State, Mr. F. B. Kellogg, has telegraphed to Sir Austen Chamberlain: " Mav I express, through you, to the bereaved family and to the British people, the deep sense of loss experienced by the Government and the people of the United States on learning of the death of Field-Marshal Haig. The American people has grateful recollections of tho splendid spirit of unity which subsisted between Earl Haig's forces and the American troops during the war, aiad our sympathy is deeply with the British nation at this time." Sir Austen replied, offering the sincere thanks of JHis Majesty's Government for the condolences of the Government and people of the United States 'on the irreparable loss sustained by the British Empire, and added: "In this hour of sorrow the British people joins with you in commemorating that splendid spirit of unity which subsisted between the British forces, under Field-Marshal Haig, and the American Army, comjnanded by General Pershing, and prays that no shadow of differences may ever darken the friendship of our two nations." The American Legion has sent the following message to the British Legion: "Earl Haig was a great soldier, and an indomitable leader. His gentle spirit was tenaciously courageous and serene in the darkest hours." A message from Berlin says that General von Kluck, who led the Gorman Ist Army in the early advance in Belgium, stated that he always held Earl Haig in great estimation, both as a corps leader and an army commander. He regretted exceedingly that he had not had an opportunity of making his personal acquaintance. He had previously asked Viscount D'Abernon, then British Ambassador in Berlin, to invite Earl Haig to visit him in Berlin. There has been to-day remarkable > demand for wreaths of Flanders poppies from factories at Richmond and Edinburgh which Haig established, and where severely-disabled ex-service men are employed. Three thousand wreaths have been ordered from the Richmond factory alone, ami-orders have come from all parts of the Empire. LOYAL TO HIS MEN. SERVICES OF EARL HAIG. TRIBUTE BY MR. COATES. ! [BY TELEGRAPH. —PRESS ASSOCIATION. ] , 4 WELLINGTON. Wednesday. "Perhaps his greatest service in the war was the feeling of confidence be n* spired, and the loyal and tactful manner in which he co-operated with the French Army, in the darkest days of reverse," said the Prime Minister, Mr. Coates, in the course of a tribute to Earl Haig's work. "Perhaps Earl Haig's greatest ordeal was the smashing attack of the Germans in the spiing of 1918, but the British armies which he commanded were able to recover from the blow and strike back with their whole force. "The association of the New Zealanders with Earl Haig was historic. They made their first appearance on tho Western Front in the early days of the Somme offensive, and m those operations gained the unreserved confidence of the Com-mander-in-Chief. Thereafter ho did not hesitato to give them the post of honour in the day of supreme trial. "Earl Haig will go down in history not only as a fine soldier hut also as one who, amid untold irritations and distractions, always preserved his bonhomie with his colleagues, of whatever nation, and kept his eye fixed with high hope upon ultimate victory. "His greatest claim to the respert and admiration of: the British people was his unfaltering loyalty, to the welfare of the plain Tommy. This persisted after the war, and as President of the British Legion, he lost no opportunity of advocating the rights of ex-servicemen and paying honour tx> the more humble of his comrades of the war."