Daily inter mountain., 1900-12-17
CANDID, ANYWAY
BRITISH GENERALS AFFLICTED
WITH TRUTH TELLING.
ARMY SHORT OF AMMUNITION.
Home Corners Wined and Dined, Army
Shot to Pieces by Soon
quered" Beers.

New York, Dec. ia dispatch to the
Tribune from London says
The release of prisoners ana other IN
cidents reported by Gen. Kitchener, fail
to reassure the public. The last phase
of the campaign is remarkable FOR the
miscalculations on the British side ana
the many excited outbursts of candor.
The staying power of the Beers has been
underesti1nated, and their preparations
for continued hostilities to the extreme
of their fortunes, eked out by captured
stores, have not been taken into consld-
Grafton. Suddenly Nicholson's mex mas
been reproduced within forty miles OF
Pretoria. with an isolated command sur
rounded and forced to surrender after
it's ammunition had been exhausted, and
with the main body retiring without
making an effective effort to retrieve the
disaster. Gen. Clements explanation
that the northumberland fusiliers were
short of ammunition, makes every Eng
liShman grit his teeth. The collapse or
the Boer cause has been assumed as the
inevitable consequence of the eXhaus-
ton of war material, and here is the
.Fighting Fifth" without powder and
shot, compelled to surrender The gen.
erals now receiving the congratulations
of their friends upon their return, frank
ly confess that they have an uncomfor-
table feeling in being toasted and feast
ed. Lord Dundonald said bfore the pub
lie at the Hotel Cecil that he could not
help regretting his premature return, as
the war had evidently not ended, and
soldiers place is at the front. Gen. Pole
Carew, who was overwhelmed with the
kindness of Devonshire friends, probably
finds it equally difficult to restrain his
of l,Ify ysrit1 a mi a NJ
preciation of the delights of home hos
pitality Lord Methuen's friends are
emphasizing the fact that while he has
been a more sharply criticised officer
than any except Gatacre, he is at least
seeing the job through. De Wet and
Delary are spelling in advance the state
ly Thanksgiving service in honor of Lord
Roberts return. The book writer's have
also been taken aback by the recrude-
scence of hostilities, which cannot be
minimized as guerrilla warfare. DR..
Conan Doyle, who has written what was
considered a complete history of the
Poer war; anXiously waited during Lord
Dundonald's speech at the Vagabonds'
dinner for some explanation of the un-
expected revival of hostilities, which
seem to involve the necessity for addi-
tional chapters, if not a fresh volume.
lie WdT correspondents were equally Ill
at ease on the same occasion. Among
them was Julian Ralph, with an article
over his signature in the Spectator on a
hypothetical question of the censorship
Of dispatches, but with the admission on
his lips that the newspapers had made a
mistake in withdrawing their men from
the field prematurely and in leaving
some of the greatest exploits of the war
unrecorded.
The latest editions of the newspapers
all comment upon the seriousness of the
defeat which befell the British forces
under Clements last Thursday. The
Telegraph considers that the reverse
was only rendered possible by the care
lessness of those in command and that
heavy responsibility rests upon some
one for neglecting to see that the troops
We're in position to hold the hill against
all comers. Broadwood's conduct seems
ineXplicable, and people are asking why
there was no cooperation between him
and Clements The authorities are quite
alive to the uglness of the present stu
alton in South Africa, and an additional
contingent of 5000 mounted infantry will
shortly be sent out. Gen. Kitchener it
is stated, is to be allowed an absolutely
free hand.