THE WAR.

Timaru Herald, Volume CI, Issue 15445, 7 September 1914, Page 9

THE WAR.

To the Editor of the "Timaru Herald." Sir, —Your loader in to-day\s issue is about- ouo ot" the best you Imvc written •?.» far<leaiai«: with ihu war quest.on. •nit still to my iniiicl you have not yot struck the keynote, ami that is tlie apparent inability of tho French army " with a war strength of 4.V millioii to deiend their own." country against an invading army no larger than their own. -Now, to be success*tul ill taking tho offensive, all things being equal, it is necessary to have"a larger lorce than the jiarty 011 the dotensivo. And in iace of the fact that Germany is not only attacking 1* ranee but she also has to defend her own country against the Russian Army—Austria can he counted out of the question—then it stands to reason that the Germans can not have more men : u tho field against- the Fivi . h than the French have themselves; besidis. the French have the support of the Ik-itUh : .,-a.nfl;.B.t»lftiai|; troops. Consequently there must be something rotten in the equipment of the French' Army, or in other words. France has a sufficient number of men to defend herself from attack, but she must be fearf .illy short of guns, ammunition, and necessaries to carry on a great ra. The French Cabinet have just resigned or been put out of office at the nosr critical time in the history of Fran Xow tho rule of war with regard to traitors is that they be shot at once, and I don't think I am far wrong when I state that the late French Cabinet and some of their predecessors ought to ho treated as traitors. It is a very hard statement to make. »but when i look over the situation from all po" ts I can come to no other conclusion. Thousands of British. Belgians and Frend'.i trr.ops are now bein.'j: slaughtered every day through the sHoris'ghicd policy, or let me s-iy crim'nal neglect, of the French Army by the late and prcv or s Cab'nets of tlie French Republic There can be 110 question about the Germans Irsing this war, thev must lrse at any sarrifi:e; but what a d : fference it wou'.ii have made to our side if the French Army had been equipped anything like the German Army. Thousands of our so'd'crs would have been spared frcm agony an:! death, and there ivoirit have heon 110 need for our bn.vs to leave New Zealand, boys whom we can ill aiford to spare. 1 know the Gentians can fight if tuey have the most men. but if they susta.n any sort of a large defeat their hearts go into thn'r boots, as they lack til" on© verv necessary item., ind'vidual bravery. Hi.-tnry will bear out niv statement. In IS-18, island ISoO the Germans were at war with the Danes, and although they were nearly ten to one they gut 110-t-'.i ng but- hard knock? I'rem the Danes end never one inch of land. Agr.'n in 1834 alter a German Prince Christian. had just asvended the Dan-.,'! throne, the Germans aga n .declared war against Denmark, but. thev had such a li'gh op'n'rm of the Danes" light ng ability, and such a poor one of their mvn iha', they got Arstria to help tlioiii. AVoll the Genua'i soldier o: to-da.y may be better drilled and better '-quipped than he was then, but individual! v they are no better lighters than they were fiO years ago. in ei.jiclusiou I again emi Ktasis? the remark that our sde would net have lost :o n,any men. part of France v. oulil not now have been devastated and l ii'ned. and tlie G 'rnians weu'd not have got- so e':i.-.e in Paris, but for the criminal a-t/on of the precd'ng l'reneh Cab nets in respect to their Army. Jleiice my remark that they ought to be treated a.s traitor.* —1 am. etc.. VT. CLAI York Street, Timaru. September .77 1914.