The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-11-22
Roberts Was Able to Say I Told You So
When Nations Ended Era of Peace
Last Years Of His Life Were
Spent in Warming Eng
land Of Peril.
AS A MAN
THAN AS \ SOLDIER

II Is very seldom that the prophet in
his own country" is given so apt an OPP
portunity for saying Il told you So as
was Lord Roberts at the time OF his
death. For the last four years at least
ne mad Let no opportunity slip for de-
houncing IN season and out of season
BrItaln's unpreparedness for war; II
needed oaly the present European holo-
caust to Prove him right.
just rs marty rdom has become one od
the most popular Of professions In Anglo
saxon countries nowadays. 80 the multi
tude OF prophets of woe has become 20
great that he must have "A very loud
voice to make his outcry heard above the
general ain. More unfortunately. so many
self-apponted prophets are ciamanty
false that those VINO really deserve atten-
ton are more than likely to Dc confused
with the rest And so it was with Rob-
eris, to very large section OF his coun-
trymen. lie was soldier. therefore
pretudlced he was Of the ruling caste.
therefore self-interestDi ne was an old
man, therefore senile. So argued the
sceptlcs. more especially those who be-
longed to The mighty army of pacihclsts
who in the piping times Of peace had
come TO regard war as Impossible because
1t was immoral
War was too expensive to be possible
in days OF commerce war was TOO r,pul-
sive to the better feelings to he possible
In enlightened times such as ours the ma
lions understood each other 80 well that
war was become an absurdity the Kaiser
was VIGOROUSLY a man OF peace. the Ger
mans too Intellectual a people ever to
think OF lighting England. and so on. and
So forth. Such were the kinds OF argu-
ments to cOnfute which Roberts devoted
the latter years OF his life and whose
anal confu,ation was 10 come from one
mightier than he. The general British
attitude toward war and its horrors was
In fact well expressed by one OF the Eng
lsh comic papers In which Is shown two
old ladies' sitting comfortably over their
tea discussing the horrors of the Belgian
campaign. 1t Is too dreadful" says one.
Somebody ought to stop H." Don't you
worry, love-" replies the other. The
Powers are bound to intervene soon"
Might Never Have succeeded.
Whether. had not events so startnglv
confirmed his arguments, Roberts would
ever have succeeded In convincing his
countrymen of the need for putting their
army In order IL more than doubtful
Personally | do not think 80. For one
thing. he was too old a man Although
| emphatically an example OF the soul
being more powerful than re body. so
| that you forgot the age OF his body when
you heard the youth speaking from his
mouth. lie had yet aged very perceptibly
since he first started his last and most
difficult campaign. To those who saw
him only after lapse OF years the
change was very marked. saw him
1 FOR the last time about month before
! the war broke out, and he then left upon
| me such n suggestion of fraglity as 7
/ have seen in only one other. mantle
/ late Pope Leo MIL. also some months
: before his death. In both cases the sug-
! gestlon was-and in both the Image sug-
| gested itself to me neutrality-suspicious. OF
a candle burning within a vase OF the
frailest porcelain.
Though his body might age. he was
/ of that kind OF heart that retains always
| .he youthful enthusiasm OF the boy. Who
I else could throw. himself late in the 70s
| of his life into the tremendous task OF
| swinging round the whole manner Of
! thought OF great nation; put into his
attempt also not only a deep and earnest
/ enthusiasm but real enjoyment OF the
task--as any one who heard him speak
7 OF recent years must realize. With the
same enjoyment he must have looked for
/ ward to his last journey and TO mixing
/ again with the Indian troops who had
/ helped him win so many laurels.
| Roberts was even greater as man than
as solder and like most great men and
I great soldiers he had a great deal OF the
woman In him, II was the feminine in
tuition and sympathy In him that made
/ him so beloved not only by his own troops
hut even Ivy his enemies. II We may trust
the reports OF German expressions 81
sympathy at hts death. 1t IL easy Ia
lie kind: TO be so understaudingly WAS n
secret OF which he was past master.
was once a witness OF this some year,
ago when l was an officer in the terri
toriai army. We were encampsd on Sails
bury Plain and our lives were made
miserable by the training of a more thar
usually stupid lot of recruits. one day
my battalion was going through instruc'
ton In outpost duty and we received
a hint that a brigadler would probably
happen along to see what progress oui