The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-02-18
DR. TALBOT TALKS
 0F GERMAN WAR Declares Possibility of Such
 Is Very Remote MUCH FRIENDLINESS Bishop of Winchester Asserts That Destinies of Great Nation Should Not Be Left in Hands of
 Few Statesmen
By PHILIP EvERET1

London, February 17-fSpecal.)-Th
 knowledge that England during last year
 came very near the horrible catastrophe
 of a war with Germany has made a very
 strong impression here and there is
 feeling among all classes that the time fs
 past when great nation had to be satrs-
 fled with leaving its destines in the hands
 of few more or less irresponsible states
 men and politicians who in case of
 calamity would feel the burden of 1t less
 than the great masses of the people, very
 much the same feeling which in France led to the downfall of the late cabinet. Speaking of this matter the Bishop of Winchester, Dr. Talbot, said the other day:
 "The danger of a war with Germany is passed, but it cannot be denied that it left behind a very grave condition of ten
 sion. There is in Germany deep sense
 of grievance. The feelings even of those
 who have been our friends are changed
 cold. and suspicious.
 "Is there nothing which we can and l ought to say? Must we sit merely passive l and silent while governments and minis ters deal with the events of the moment, with the moments of the great game until we find for some cause, which we of the general public very imperfectly under stand, the curse of war is upon us?
 Surely not. Surely we know that, while wars are made about incidents, it is not the incidents which really decide, but the temper of the nations concerned,
 and their general relations to one an- other.
 '1 say first that the great relations of the two great powers ought to be such that it would be impossible to use the dreadful arbitrant of war to decide the question of detail which occupy diplom- acy about coalng station on a sphere of influence. Secondly. I should like. as one who | has given some time and trouble to the cause of friendship between the two na- tions. to offer Germany a personal as surance.
 we are told that even friendly Ger mans believe that England desires a means to make war upon Germany. This is an entire mistake. A few men give up such counsel, as do those who an swer to them in Germany l will hazard the guess that they do not stand for 3 per cent of our people. The head and heart of England revolt against thing SO horris,s and 30 fratricidal.
 Thirdly I am confident that this nation found it's main delight in the entente with France just because it was an en- tente" and not a piece of international tactics An old. ugly. international an tipathy or antagonism seemed to vanlsh We reioiced for this. and we hoped 1t was a precedent. and that through the 'method of ententes' the nations might pass into a state of more rational and. more eener- ous relations between one another q am certain that the whole country
 would go out to meet the respect of a
 genuine entente with Germany. That
 is what fig wanted. and the means to 1t are
 surely frank statement by each side
 of it's needs and desires. resolute at
 tempt bv each to look at matters from
 each others point of view.
 We Englishmen must understand Ger
 man desire for liberty Of expansion; We must ask Germans to understand our sensitiveness about the safety of our far drawn communication with our de- pendencies.
 The nation shou/ constrain the diplo- mats and not be constrained by dplomat- ic emergencies. l am certain that none would be more willingly constrained than our own statesmen of either side But the most dangerous of all infiu- ences is that of suspicion. We Tn Eng land have shown plenty of 1t towards Ger many but now, when we are trying to ih- learn it. Germany has caught It up, ana gives it back to us with interest. 'Tf we can get a little time we shal rhake of the nightmare. We must de- teumine on both sides that by Gods bless ing the colossal crime and catastrophe or war shall not come.
 "It would mean worse losses than even carnage and bankruptcy; 1t would mean the suspension and set back of all the best enterprises of our progress and our philanthropy; it would spell the forteiture of our opportunities Christian alike and ciyiliz,ng. towards the backward nations of the east. The leadership of the world would be thrown away by two great peo- ples at the head of western civilization, tearing each other like furies in the sight of heaven and before men.
 Such a thing must not and cannot be- To the practically inevitable of some on either side of the water. let us make the
 same strong reply morally impossible . Owing to the increase of motor traffic. the army veterinary department is find ing increasing difficulty in it's endeavors | to secure an efficient reserve of horses l suitable for military and transport duty In | the event of war breaking out.
 Officers of the army veterinary depart | ment make periodical visits to all the | principal contractors for the purpose of
 ascertainins the number of horses fit for
 service in their stables. Such visit was
 made few days ago to one we'll known contractor who. besides having depots In London and Parts, is prominent buyer of horses both in England and on the continent few years ago this contrac- l tor regularly had in his stables horses l to the number of 6oo or 500. but at present he has only between 200 and 300, the latter
 number being the maximum ever attained at one time.
 1 On this occasion the officer asked how many horses he had which would be f1t and suitable for service If required, and l the contractor replied: Little more than | a dozen" The contractor referred to sup 1 n,ied several hundreds of horses to the war office at the time of the South Ar rican war. Interviewed. the contractor stated that he learned that the army
 veterinary department was experiencing the same difficulty in all the large stables | in England. Never, he remarked. was
 England so badly of for good horses. and he could not even secure them himself, l for they were not to be obtained in suff- | .,.r+ .,autities anywhere in the cOuntry