Evening star., 1903-09-12
British War Office Has Hor-
nets Nest About It's Ears.
SECRETS OF PAIL MALL
LONDON CLUBS RULES AGAINST
CANDIDATES FOR ADMISSION.
Alluring Vision Of London - Squalor
and Misery Disappear and In
dustry Takes Their Places.
peciai Correspondence Of The Evening Star.

Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.
| LONDON. September 2. 1908.
The British war Office has in the publica-
| ton Of the commissions report of the con-
| duct of the war in South Africa worse
scandals and shortcomings to face than
| the legacy of the war with Spain left with
Americans. Every paper bristles with in
| dignant leaders and disgust at the inapti-
| tude Of the officials who are responsible
for making England the laughing stock Of
| Europe is a mild word to use.
| The publication Of the evidence taken by
| the commission has intensified the indigna-
| tion aroused by the report itself. 1t has
| seldom been the lot Of public department
| in this country to undergo so thorough an
| exposure of its internal organization by the
| officials Of the department ITSELF and the
government which tolerated the condition
| OF affairs as. now revealed with the prob
| ability of war before 1t, deserves and gets
| no sympathy. If ever there was an oppor-
| tunity for a radical reform of the war
ONCE that opportunity has come. The COM
mission has ELECTED a vast amount of eX-
pert opinion, freely and frankly given by
| men who have hitherto been muzzled.
There has been candid confession all round.
| Inc evidence conveys the impression that
| the witnesses were only too eager to speak
! their minds upon matters which up till now
have been the secrets of Pail Mall. A
| valuable groundwork for a genuine reform
| OF the war department has therefore been
laid and that will probably come to be
| regarded as the most important practical
| result OF this most sensational of royal
| commissions
1t is not surprising that wherever the
| astounding report of the war commission
| Is under discussion one hears the same
| indignant opinion expressed with regard to
| the 1mpossfbility of Lord Lansdowne's 8
continued tenure of his present office. I'm
| ansWerably 1t Is pointed out that the un-
| pardonable inefficiency and inaptitude the
| disastrous feebleneSs and lack of initiative
which he showed with such dire results as
| secretary for war, must be equally perilous
| to the country's interests when the states
| man suffering from such disabilities is the
| responsible head of the foreign office While
| Lord Salisbury still remained upon the DO
| lticai stage general confidence was felt in
| ms controlling influence even after he had
| ceased to be foreign minister Now, how
ever. there Is no such safeguard, for no.
| body attributes to the present indolent
| prime minister, Mr.. Balfour any capacity
| whatever for controlling the acts of any
1 OF his colleagues. and the country as re-
! gards Its foreign relations. is thus left at
the mercy of discredited minister I'm
| less the problem is solved by a dissolution
| or parliament before next February a per-
| sistent demand for Lord Lansdowne's res
| lgnat1on of his present office will unques-
| uonably confront the government when the
| report of the war commission comes I'D for
session.
The correspondent of the Times at Sofia
| declares that Great Britain is regarded as
| "a negligible quantity, and her views
complete Indifference This is the bumiI-
| iatfng position to which Great Britain has
| been brought under the regime of Lord
Lansdowne at the foreign office The ru-
NM hat Dv-fk{
| move nave gone unconfirmed, and so far
| as this country is concerned absolutely
nothing appears to be done to check the
carnival OF massacre and outrage in the
| Turkish provinces.
A prominent diplomatic authority who
| mas Just arrived in London from Berlin
| tells me that the report of the war com
| mission has occasioned more sensation In
| GERMAN military circles than any similar
| publication for years The point which at
tracts the most attention is the reference
by the commissioners to the absence of
any definite plan of campaign before the
| war began. Such thing. It is held, would
not be possible In Germany where plans of
campaign against all the leading powers
| nave been long ago prepared and are
brought up to date from time to time by
| the headquarters staff. My informant also
tells me incidentally that over one hundred
copies of the commissioners report have
been bought here and sent to Berlin
AS an evidence of tho chastened spirit in
winch Englishmen are beginning to view
the several failures Of their countrymep
| In various directions give letter printed
To-Day in some of the newspapers The
writer, after commenting on the good feel
Ing Sir Thomas Liptons presence in Amer
lea and his sportsmanlike conduct have
engendered, goes on to point out the lesson
of the races
He says:
But let us turn for moment to the
races themselves and the handling Of the
| Doats-in each case the English skipper
has been out-maneuvered at the start, and
In two instances he actually lost time by
NOT getting over the line within the speci-
ned limit 1t seems incredible, when every
second Is taken into account at the meas
urement OF the yacht. and time allowance
hxed, that large percentage of this al
loWance should have been actually thrown
away by Shamrock's skipper. What would
be said If fashionable jockey did not
get away for even a quarter of a minute
after the flag fell? He would have to give
the stewards very good reason for not
doing so.
ut seems pity that when we have COM
missions sitting to inquire into almost ev-
erything. a sporting commission of English
and American yachsmen cannot be formed
to Inquire into the designing and running
OF Shamrock III. because there are many
points on which the uninitiated require en-
Hghtenment.
For instance. it is said that boat cana
bic of crossing the Atlantic cannot com
pete on equal terms with built purely
no evidence to show that Reliance could
not cross and come over here I certainly
think that she could If Captain Barr and
his crew made up their minds to bring
her, and then when she arrived 1t might
be ascertained where her undoubted
prowess lies, and what manner of craft she
is. and also why 1t is that 4Ierreshoff is
such a wizard, and having ascertained
that our boat builders might try to vie
with the skill of our transatlantic cousins
and build something to at any rate equal
her.
How often in our daily lives do we not
come across some article or machine. either
domestic. manufacturing or agricultural.
which seems to US to supersede those of
our insular make. We say this is a Yam
kee idea, and dismiss it from our con-
versation with scant courtesy, although at
the same time We purchase II and use it
privately; In quiet way we are very con-
ceited people.
In the spring and summer of 1899 we
went about our daily lives safe in the con-
sciousness that we had an army ready to
cope with any foe: we thought our war
Office was as equal to business as the Lon
don and Northwestern railway or the Bank
of England. Now In the autumn of 1903
We are quietly reading. marking and in
| u,xr fI,a rf