Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1900-01-14
tcopyright Associated pres..,

ain no longer keep silent regarding
the mismanagement of the war. The
ioodgates of criticism have been
opened and under the stream Of ad-
verse comment pouring forth reputa-
tons are whiting. The u%pbraiding OF
the government by papers that almost
for a century have been conservative
has already been touched upon in these
dispatches. Abuse OF the war office
has always existed, and now it is only
a few degrees more bitter than it was
before. What chiefly marks the pass
ing of the British from a period OF
passive discomfort to most severe
fa~ult-fnding is the outspoken abuse OF
their generals in the field. There are
unpleasant stories OF fierce service
~jealousies. and. in short, all the army's
shortcomings, which heretofore have
been secretly whispered in clubs, are
this week finding their place in print.
and not in d~isreputable journals, but
IL VI suns OAhA % AhOh1l oSO NO0iA AAaNO
fiercely denounced such tales as I'M
patriotic, whether they were true or
otherwise. 1t is not well known that
Gen. Butler despises Field Marshal
Lord Roberts and hates General Lord
Kitchener, the commander-in-chief,
that Lord Wolsley shares General Bull
ler's feelings and that Wolseley is
scarcely on speaking terms with the
Secretary OF State for War. Lord
Lansdowne.
To Such n Fragrant
extent does this enmity go that Lord
Wolseley wrote to Lady Butler that he
knew nothing about Lord Roberts APP
pointment TO command the British
troops in South Africa and that he dis
approved OF it. Without enormous OBJ
stacIes to overcome in the way OF the
Beers strenuous resistance and initial
advantages, this condition of affairs
among the army leaders would con-
stitute a ~stupendous drawback to the
success of the British. One paper,
usually well informed on service mat
tiers. declares it is quite likely that
General Butler will throw up his COM
mand and come home and be a thorn
in the side Of the government. This
is probably an exaggeration. but 1t is
admitted on all sides that he Is likely
to make himself as disagreeable as
possible to Lord Roberts. As II this
was not enough, 1t is openly said Gen.
Lord Methuen has gone mad, that his
mother died insane and that, all his
life. he has been afraid he might share
her fate. Hence, it is added, his un-
ceasing restlessness. Only this week a
high cavalry officer returned from
South Africa with complaints against
Lord Methuen; that the general, dur
ing one of his first actions. had Or
dered him to advance with his cavalry,
and that, upon the colonel sending tho
general word that his horses and men
were too exhausted to be physically
capable OF so doing, Lord Methuen is
reported to have said:
well, you had better go TO hell"
The officer to whom this remark was
made has come home demanding a trial
by court-martial. But, 1t Is probable
that he will not get 1t, az he has been
slated for another command.
Generals White. Gatacre. Clery and
FTencn all come III
For Their share OF Abuse
and there is evidence presented that tho
senior generals are divided against
themselves
How all this will end IL the campaign
drags on much longer without serious
change for the better no one can tell.
The resignation OF Lord Wolseley would
not surprise those who are cogniZant
of the inner workings Of the war office.
A great victory would probably quiet
the feeling OF discomfort till the day OF
reckoning in Parliament arrived. But,
lacking that, there seems pending an
upheaval which bodies i'll for the gov
eminent, the war Office and some OF
the generals in the field, for these rank
lings are current not so much among
the lower, sensation-loying classes, but
among the highest born and most even
minded of Great Britain's best citizens.
Nor Is the discomfort confined to the
inaction OF the generals. Several Of
the most powerful civilian factors in
English life, some OF them almost az
much financially interested in the fu-
ture OF South Africa ~ the government
itself, have repeatedly urged certain re-
forms in the methods OF carrying on
the war, not meddling with the purely
military phases, but offering, for In
stance, to purchase horses for the Cape,
pointing out a better method OF trans-
port, urging a nor vigorous campaign,
giving information as TO the best routes
towards the detectives and supporting
everything by expert witnesses brought,
often L a great expense, from the
Cape.
A representative OF tho associated
Press learns that
A Distinguished body,
including a former governor and about
a dozen men who have held civil, mill
tary or irregular positions OF control
during the recent troubles In South
Africa, waited on Major General Ar
dagh, director OF the military inteili-
gence department Of the war Office. the
very week previous to that which mark
ed the three disasters 10 the British
arms. These men begged General Ar
dagh to accept certain offers and init
mated that he had under-estimated the
opposing forces. The General listened
and replied:
Thank you. gentlemen. But, you
are wrong. We outnumber them al
every point. and we nave got 'em like
that Thereupon General Ardagh
banged his open palms together.
In spite OF this discouraging reeep-