Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1915-07-27
WHAT BRITAIN HAS DONE.
(By Ed. L. KeenN

NN"''oN TESS StaIt correspondent } 4
London, July 27.-After a year at
war, the British empire has somewhat
less tnan -three-quarters Of million
troops in the field; It's allies have an. I
pro2imately ten millions.
The British front in the western the. 4
alter Is about 40 miles in length; the
lines of the other allies east and west
including Serbia and Montenegro, cover
some sixteen hundred miles. As the
ratio of troops employed is one to IA
and the ratio of mileage is one to 40,
there appears to be some justification
for the complaints recently made-ouite
nnotticially, of eourse-both in France
and Russia that England is not doing
her share of the work.
But the question as to whether Eng.
land is fulfilling ner obligations shonid
be considered in the light of her prom.
ises. On this basis, she has delivered
more than was specified in the contract.
There were two clauses in the secret
agreement made with France long be.
fore the war started.
England would take care of the seas.
She would send an expeditionary
force to France Of 10000 men.
That's all there was to it. She has
carried out the first clause to the let
ter; she has sent nearly six times as
many men to the firing line as she bar
gained for, and she is still sending
them as fast as they can be trained.
Only the other day, the Temps, of
Paris, in an obviously inspired editorial
commenting on recent tributes paid to
France by the British press, made these
| significant remarks; Frankness should
he mutual. If ON the land the support
Of our British allies is still only linn.
tied, we must not forget that on the
seas it is they who have had much the
heaviest task. If at the beginning of
the war we were able to complete the
equipment of our army with a rapidity
which was not one of the German
staff S least surprises, we owe il to the
fleet which rendered us masters of the
seas. The Temps then admits that to
this capital support on the sea, the Brit.
ish empire has brought its industrial
and financial resources, "while its mill
tary effort on land has really surpassed
all forecasts
There probably always will be some
difference of opinion as to whether it
was British valor or German laundering
that saved Paris in the early days Of
the war. Perhaps it was the two. Any
how, Paris was saved and Britishers
at least always will give the lion 3
share of the credit to Field Marshal
French, his generals and his soldiers.
But even if the salvation of Paris was
not due to the British, there is no aues-
tion that they and they alone saved
Calais and the other channel ports. OF
coarse, in accomplishing this, England
has done herself a greater service than
she has the French
Since the failure of the Paris attack,
Germany main effort has been con.
centrated in the direction Of Calais, and
that is the reason why, until he has
received sufficient reinforeements Gen
eral French will be unable to extend
his front. The fate Of the British EN-
pire rests upon the holding of those
40 miles.
All idea Of the "big spring drive "
upon which the military writers had fed
the imagination Of the British public
for months was abandoned at Neuve
Chapele, when, Gt the cost of $4,000
men, the British barely made a dent in
the German line Of highly.fOrtifed
trenches In what was accomplished
the Neuye Ghapele offensive was in a
sense n victory; in what it failed to
do il was a defeat-for Lille was the
objective and the Germans are still
firmly planted in Lille.
Then after the second battle Of Ypres
in which the Germans first used as.
phyXiating gases, came the battle of
La Bassee. This showed the British
public why the "big drive had be.
come impossible. The British and
French troops were TO make Joint adj.
vance after a preliminary lombard.
ment for three hours Of the German
trenches and the field Of wire entangle.
ment intervening, In that time the
French fired nearly 100000 high explos.
i've proiectiles; in one hour the British
had exhausted their supply Of 10000
high explosives and the rest of the time
used shrapnel. Result The French in
fantry advanced two miles into trenches
that had been practically cleared, with
loss Of only two thousand; the British