The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-10-18

caslon since he has shone. This o,.
plains why he has thrice won tho
Iron Cross.
There Is no need OF mentioning in de.
tail the rest of the Kaiser's fighting
leaders. Most of them are what are com.
monty recognized as old men. and thew
have battle records dating from -h,,
-Prussian war and upon other
earlier occasions. Years and experience
are at a premium in the kaiser's esi.
mate.
Perhaps the most picturesque ilgnrs
among the German forces il Count
Ferdinand Zeppelin, who has gone N
the front to direct the operations ID,
the great dirigibles Although 70
years old this wonderfully active o'd
man is still fun Of the fighting spirr
The Kaiser already owes much n
the genius Of this undaunte; N.
ventor. who has given TO the father.
land its notable superiority In the mat.
ter OF airships.
The debt will he a bigger ono II Cour,
Ferdinand succeeds in humliatinC Eng.
land by an aerial attack upon London
He announced the other day that ma
British would hear from him in dus
season, and there was something grim
in the implied threat. No wonder thu
German soldiers are battling as thav
are when men OF such advanced year,
can set an example both In courage
and in action.
, The Russian leader. the Grand Dus.
Nicholas. is rs. lie ma had the helm
full advice of Gen. Sukhomlinoff VOL
tried soldier, verging upon 20 vans
Together these two men have llbure3
hard and earnestly in bringing No the
Russian army 10 IT, present stato -
efficiency, and the manner Of ,its ,noh'.
ization. the speed of that work and IN.
success In battle Of the troops show how
brilliantly they have revolutionzed ths
service since the war with Japan
Among the picturesque figures of he
Russian army none looms W more
| WILDLY than Gen. Paul Won Ronnon.
| kampf. This brilliant Cavalry leader
! has worried the Germans In East Prus
STA and when seemingly trapped hy
| the kaisers troops this cunning Old
| fox Of siXty-four doubled on his ira, ks
amid morasses and achieved an .np,-.
tant victory. Gen. Won Rcnncnkampff
was one OF The shining figures drr.ng'
the war with Japan. and had more o,
his associates been OF the same stripe
| the outcome would probably have been
very different.
| Gen. Ruzsky. the hero Of Lembcrs
| and the commander of the Russian
army in Galicia, is well up in the fifties
and an officer who has had much dis.
tincuished service TO his credit
The Archduke Frederick OF Austria
Is o. aud into his keeping the
! Emperor has placed the respons billy
| of Austrias battle honore. In GaIica
Gen. Moritz Won Auffenberg So years old
and Gen. Niktor Danlil, Just short ~ 40
| have felt the brunt of the Russian at.
tack and have been pushed before Il
| Both are soldiers of experience. Won
Auffenbergs career being one Of I'M
usual brlllianse.
Servia turned 70 Gen. Raduml
| Putnilt In the present crisis. and az
=, commander in chief OF the Servian
forces he has shown the fitness Of the
choice. Gen. Putnk was born In
1919, and though from southern AUS.
tria Is Servian i'm every fibre. Unlike
so many of the Balkan generals pu'-
mix is man averse to parade. and de-
! liberately wears the simplest sor. ot
uniform. His work during the Ralkan
war showed the stun of which he =
made, and as n leader Of mon and a
strateGlst he easily mounted 10 pre-.
eminence.
Without going INTO further elaborn-
ton, 1t Is clear that the men bearing
the brunt of leadership to-day IN TIN
war offices and on the battle lines ~
! Europe are elderly; indeed, are what
the world is pleased ordinarily % call
old men.
Youth broadly. is bearing the force 4
attack on the firing line. and youth I
needed to meet the tax levied to-day hv
machine made war. but sharing \
these hardships are the general Officers
| or nifty years and upward. and. \
addition 10 this physical stress, th"v
are carrying the grave burdens o'
leadership. The bodily drains Of war
to-day are far greater than they ever
were before, Troops move at a pace
that was undreamed of a few years
back. The strategic and mental prob
lens are increased accordingly. De-
spite these conditions that would seem
logically to call for men Of younger
} years and physical prime, tie battling
nations v ell nigh with complete uranim'
J ity haw asked the most of their o'des,
4 men.
, ~ q psyche pgical study tho stua'
. ton " OF deep interest. Measured by
5 the enormity of the duties imposed the
! generals to-day are called upon n
achieve now what staggered the aged
leaders OF Frederick William III. lO'
: years ago. They are living tNrouHh
, well nigh continuous warfare for
twenty-four hours Of every day, AMI
yet they are succeeding despite Their
n years
: Is It possible that the battle leader
cannot be Judged by the common
standards of a physical prime Does
? the spirit OF the natural born solder
= make him a sort OF reversion 10 type
t thus giving TO him n primitive indHer'
= ence to suffering and privatf n ana az
= the same time. endowlng him with an
e enduring robustness? In short IS the
= true military genius n sort OF survival
Z Of the savage with n veneer Of science
r resting upon native cunning? "nae''
h wise why should old men hold th'
= relns to-day