New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-11-22
To the Editor of The Tribune.

To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: am interested in Mr. T. Kyle Daw-
sons letter to you in which he takes eX-
ception to something said. lie is evidently
abiding to some quotation cabled TO England
from an article of mine in the November
metropolitan" called 1.-THE Duty of the
United States to It's Own People"
Mr.. Dawson's article is excellent in taste
and temper. | regret that he should evil
IDENTIFY be msnformed as to what my article
really was. This is not my fault. This is
the fault of the correspondents of the Eng
lsh papers in this country, who, acting as
am afraid our own correspondents in similar
case would act, have cabled over only what
they regarded as the sensational part of my
article the part rejecting on England. AS
matter of fact the article reflected on the
United States.
l, reflected on the attitude of our people
in remaining supine and utterly failing to
make any preparation. ] was concerned
purely with the United States. ] instanced
the troubles of England at the moment only
in order to point the moral to ourselves; and
I spoke in far more severe condemnation Of
US than Of England.
Mr. Dawson, for example. defends the
British army from what he imagines l say
and declares that the army has shown 70
advantage. But if he would look at my ar
ticle he would see that | particularly SAID
Of England that "her soldiers at the front
have behaved splendidly." He speaks OF the
immense amount that is being done by Eng
land now and says: Probably If America
attempted such a gigantic task she "oulu
make far more serious blunders tnan nave
been made in this country" One OF the sem
terces in my article TO which Mr.. Dawson
takes exception runs as follows: The I'M
ortant point for US to remember Is that II
Fnoland has not done we'll she has done IN
fnitely better than we would have done.
Again. in speaking of Mr. divers book
"Ordeal by Battle" | said: 81 wish that
every American would read Mr.. divers book
and would realize that everything there sara
os IN both the shortcomings and the needs
of the English people applies with greater
force to the American people at the present
time" In another part of the article | said:
"rbe United States has signaly and culpably
failed to keep its promises made in the
Hague convention and TO stand for right
Instead. il has taken refuge in the world
old neutrality between right and wrong,
which is always SO debasing for the man
practising It, As has been well said, such a
neutral is the ignoblest work OF God" Mr..
Dawson practically admits what ! say when
he saws that unquestionably the government
has made serious blunders, but that "all the
members of the Cabinet lived for peace and
had not been schooled ever to think of war;
indeed. | am fairly correct in saying that
every member of the Cabinet has declared
that he thought war was not possible, at
leas. in form that would have endangered
the British Empire"
This is merely another and no less Sc
we're way of stating just exactly what |
stated. The members of the English gov
eminent are not to be excused for their
blindness, which made them take such a
view and act on such view and harm their
country by the way they acted on such a
view. Lord Roberts was preaching prepared
ness year in and year out; and the very men
who most needed to profit by his teachings
and whose duty to the nation it was TO profit
by his teachings were sneering at and even
openly assailing him and contemptuously re-
iecting his advice. These men were not be-
having a whit worse than our own leaders
Of the stamp of Messrs. Wilson and Taft
irdeed. on the whole, they were behaving
rather better; and, of course, there were not
more than a score or so Of members of Par
lament, and those of low position, who
should be stigmatized as being intellectually
in the class of Mr.. Bryan.
But the fact remains that the government
and the people of England not only during
the last decade, but for several decades. have
absolutely refused to face their problems,
the problems abroad and at home, as the Ger
man leaders faced theirs. We have been