The Irish standard., 1901-10-12
CRUSADE AGAINST KITCHENER

CRUSADE AGAINST KITCHENER
Drawing Room Attacks on His Work
In Ssuth Africa.
There Is remarkable unanimity of
condemnation of Secretary of War
Broddck's selection Of General Sir
Redvers Butler, Sir Evelyn Wood and
the Duke Of Connaught for the gene
ralships Of the first three army corps
under the new defence system, says the
London correspondent of the New
York Sun. Mr.. Brodrick explains that
these appointments are really only to
last until the expiration Of the period
Of the respective generals in their re.
spective commands.
Rudyard Kipling in letter in to-
days Spectator warns the country
against the danger Of the army ma
chine going back to the old point of
impotence. He says: "For the past
twenty four months we have been man
utacturing real army in South Afri-
ca, thanks to God and the Mauser. We
have there now large number Of men
habituated to the use of arms as we'll
as leaders who possess certain expert
ence in new conditions Of warfare"
Contrasted to these, Mr.. Kiplmg
says the appointments to the above
named home commands suggest to the
English people "revival Of certain
impenitent, unlearned methods, which
they have been assured many times
the nation has abandoned forever. It
seems to indicate that despite the
pledges of the government the whole
army machine Is to he hauled back to
the old nets of impotence, pretence and
collapse. Men see that their chosen
commanders are not quite in touch
with the real army, which with little
tact and little seriousness might so
easily survive. 1t is not the triviality
or inaptitude displayed in this matter
that appals, but the cynical levity."
The crusade against Lord Kitchener,
which the fashionable side of the army
is very eagerly helping along, has al
ready begun. He has been belittled in
the clubs and the mess rooms through
out his career, and now the Spectator
comes out in open print with this state
ment:
"We doubt greatly whether he has
the kind of mind that enables him to
use material to the best advantage
when he has to think in the blocks Of
10000 square miles. Cam 1t be said
that he has shown q really compre-
hensive grasp of the situation as a
whole? From the moment Earl Rob-
erts left South Africa we seemed to
lose strategic grasp Of the country"
The diabolical ingratitude of this as
sertion is calculated to arouse Lord
Kitcheners cynical temper year af-
ter he was left Ito wipe up Roberts
mess" which was t1he view that the
present communicative chief in South
Africa took of Earl Roberts hastily
spreading Ibis troops over certain terri
tory without conquerng the Beers
anywhere after General Cronje's sur
render ut Paardeburg.
The Spectator expresses the wish
that Earl Roberts himself should 20 to
South Africa, which is utterly out Of
the question. AS an alternative 1t saws
that Lord Kitchener should take over
Lord Miners administrative work in
the Transvaal and Orange River Col
ony and that General French should
dead the military operations. The lat
ter Is largely favored in England. But
1t Is probable that Lord Miners DO
htical backing and the hostility of GER
tain drawing room society to General
French will make the matter imprac-
ticable.