The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-10-09

From the Chattanooga News
 Ex-Mavor George B. Mcclellan of New York, who is now a professor at Prince ton, has just visited France and prints in the New York Times sidelights on the situation in that country.
 One thing that greatly impresses any neutral, he says, is the difference in spirit between the English and the French.
 While the British upper and middle classes are thoroughly aroused to the magnitude of the task before them the people hardly realize it's importance. In France on the contrary, from the Presi- dent to the smallest gamn. all appre- ciate the vastness of the undertaking upon which they have entered
 Whi,e the British people are more or less apathetie, the hatred of the upper and middle class English for the Germans is far greater than that of the Germans
 for them, while the French have no more hatred for their enemies than have the latter for the French.
 | The English call their emenies Huns, | pirates and 'murderers; the French call them by no more names than Les Boches a contraction of 'Alboche the
 
 Germans have been known for years m the extreme north of France. Neither the French soldiers nor those civilians who are in touch with the front | through the presence there of sons. nus bands of brothers have anything but re- 1 speet for their enemies They realize that 1 the Germans are fighting for what they
 believe to be right. that it is no disgrace l to be beaten by them and that every sklr- 1 mish won is a feat of arms of which to ] be greatly proud.
 ''The only real hatred of the Germans
 that seems to exist in France is among
 the members of the American colony in 1 Paris.
 i He says the people are kept in absolute
 ignorance of what is going on. They did
 not know until the battle of the Marne
 of that crisis and for a week sfter the battle of Arras with a loss of 45,000, they
 were in ignorance.
 The government however, is suspicious
 of the people. A virtual dictatorship eX-
 sists and much that is unconstitutional 1 has been done
 He says:
 The dictatorship has made itself as se- icure as possible in the belief, so say its supporters that this is the only way ot
 accomplishing the gigantic task whicl | confronts it, for il fully realizes the seri ousness of the present military. situati' n
 No well informed member of either cham 1 Der has any illusions about the allies oi l France.
 | These members profess to understand l fully the motives that brought Italy into | the war: in fact, they are scarcely jus
 in speaking of her, when it is remembered | that Italy would probably be at peace bu ] for the efforts of England and France. | They are convinced that if Italy can unaided conquer the territory upon which she has set her heart she will at once
 make a separate peace with Austria. IT proof of their theory. they point to Italy unwillingness to sign the agreement by
 which France, Russia and Great Britain
 have pledged themselves not to make any separate peace with the enemy, and | express the hope that sooner or later | Italy will be obliged to come to Paris
 and London for money. when terms vii | be enforced binding her to her allies until the end of the war.
 "The feeling of French politicians to- | ward England strikes a neutral as being | very unfair They concede the immense | service Great Britain has done the allies | in holding the seas and in lending then money. but they are openly and severely 1 critical of the British army. There are | on the continent not more than SOO,os 1 Englshmen, and this number. 1t is said | can never he surpassed. In proportion | to the length of front held by the French l the British are holding about one-quartel of what they should hold. While grea | admiration is expressed for the Britisl ! Tommy and for the bravery of his of ! ficers the latter are freely called ig norant and. incompetent
 'It is claimed that again and again tn, British army has been saved from defea only by the timely help of the French l troops.
 'rrhe thus far complete failure of tn, l Dardanelles campaign is attributed en
 trely to British incompetence. It t
 said that the French were msled b, British naval authorities into undertaS ing what was from the military pon
 of view. an impossible task, on the as
 sumption that 1t could be accomplished
 in few days, or, at the utmost weeks
 Now that it is under way it can neve