The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-01-05
Lord Roherts, Welcome Home

| folk. The results might be surprising.
Lord Roberts Welcome Home.
When Otis came home from the Philip
| pines under the cloud of a dismal and
ridiculous failure, the Administration con-
| sidered it necessary to do him all the
| honor possible-to make a hero of him, in
| short, as far as it could, in order to cover
up its own plumbers and shortcomings in
coniiding so great task as the subjuga-
tion and pacification of our Eastern pos
sessions TO so small person.
| Mr.. Mckinley was not in a position to
give Otis title of nobility or knightly
decoration. The best he could do was to
order a lot of troops TO Rochester, where
Otis formerly lived, to march in process
sion at local celebration gotten up for
the Homecoming officer by his relatives and
| neighbors.
Similarly. when Captain Sampson, who
had been irregularly and Illegally placed
in command of feet which. under Com
modore Schley, fought and won the sea
battle eff Santiago. came back. to the
United States, every conceivable attempt
was made TO secure for him the laurels
of a victory with which he had no more
connection than he had with Dewey's fight
at Manila. and to promote him over the
heads of his superiors and betters.
We are reminded of these things on
reading of the honors which have been
showered on Lord Roberts on his return
to England from South Africa
Certainly there is marked difference
in detail between the domestic ano for
eign cases. Field Marshal Roberts. from
the viewpoint of the professional uold:er
of any nation, is a respectable if not
towering war figure. His march through
Afghanistan was creditable achieve
ment, and, after he took command in
South Africa, there was a decided i'm
provement in the British situation in The
theatre of the war He did not lock him
self up in a distant palace and spend a
year in directing operations over an area
the typographical physical, and strate-
gical conditions of which he was totally
ignorant, like Otis. And he was not be-
hind tine horizon when real fighting was
in progress. He did his best, and, barring
things which a soldier might not be able
q.
Nevertheless, when he reached his ma
tive land TO be treated as a conqucror,
the ugly truth. had already developed that
his conquest was not much more complete
than had been that of Otis in the Philip
pines; that. practically considered. his
mission had resulted more OF less in
failure. At this point we are able TO pick
up the parallel again. with the distinction
that while the American public resent ed
where it did not laugh at the efforts 10
make heroes out OF such stuff as Otis and
Sampson, the British public is q cheer
fully consenting party to the triumph ac-
corded to "Bobs."
Like the Mckinley Administration, in |
the instances to which we have referred |
the British Government found itself bound
10 assume a completed victory for Lord
Roberts, or else to stultify itself Per-
haps excusably, it chose the former alter |
native. and to ignore the resumption Of |
war in South Africa on a scale which IS |
keeping its whole available army busy !
and shows few signs of an early termina- |
ton. So Lord Roberts is made an earl. /
a knight Of the Garter. and comma nder |
in chief of all the military forces of the |
Empire.
All this is done with such hearty good |
Will on the part OF everybody from the
Queen and royal family down TO Tommy |
Atkins and the last East End coster- |
monger. that We have hardly the heart to |
smile at the proceeding. Wellington was |
scarcely more lauded and covered with |
and dignities after Waterloo |
than his successor is after scattering but |
not beating a little army OF never more |
than thirty thousand farmers and herds |
men. none of them with any regular mill |
tary experience. II they had stayed seat |
tered the situation might be less tinged |
with humor than it is. It will recall TO |
the strategists and the veteran generals |
Of Europe the rapid promotion and lib
eral decoration of General Fritz by the |
Grande Duchesse de Gerolstein. in the
comic opera. They will not be able to
take 1t seriously, or as action justified
by the circumstances. however much they |
may respect Lord Roberts as an earnest
and honest soldier and gentleman; and
their verdict is likely TO be that Of ,ho
world at large