New-York tribune., 1915-03-26

ert z. Lee, In his patience, MS re,
source, his poise, his soundness OF
Judgment and his possession OF the
qualities of high command In all
emergencies. Is foremost, IN my
"a good deal has been said about the
novel conditions which trench warfare
in this war has developed" was the
next thing said by tho correspondent;
HAS It changed the qualities required
Of q soldier?"
mo" he replied. Human nature re-
mains the same, and II 10 the man who
gives and takes the blows, Whatever
the nature Of his weapons. Courage
discipline and tenacity are still the
dominant elements Of success.
"And the guns7 II has been rspest-
edly stated that this has become war
Of artillery"
Infantry Still Supreme.
~ think there has been an inclina..
tion to exaggerate the importance OF
artillery" Sir John answered. NO
doubt, Of the three arms, artillery mas
increased In relative Importance II
may take a dozen shells to get one
man. and one bullet will get one man.
The weapons which decide the day are
the rife and the machine gun. and the
infantry is still the queen OF patties.
As q soldier speaking OF his enemy
Sir join French was far from depie-
eating tho fighting qualities no1 tne
Germans. To the troops OF EmPeror
William he paid a soldiers chivsiIous
tribute. "But they are no greater tnah
other soldiers" he said. Il attribute
their valor and their well discipiineu
cohesion TO the fact that from tns
10 Worship their Emperor and the
fetherland. and that It is their duty to
die for the fatherland. when their EN-
peror commands"
"As TO the conduct Of the Germans,
"a il as bad as represented!" was
asked of Sir John. "Have they con.
sistently broken the rules Of civilized
warfare?" ~
For tho Arst time tho British com
mander hesitated before speaking
Evidently as a soldier he wished to be
entirely just to his enemy.
"Yes," he replied; ain many instances
their conduct has been bad. very bad
I know that Il has been" This decla-
ration was made with firm conviction.
"But II has varied. II has seemed to
depend upon the commanders. ~
commander approves of outrages, they
occur. Yes, in the main, German con.
duet depends upon the character OF
the German generals"
Pays Tribute to French.
"And the French army-you have
been fighting as it's ally for eight
months-how does II compare with the
German?" the correspondent asked.
This seemed happy question. To II
Sir John replied:
"The French at the start were labor
ing under the shadow of their disas-
trous defeat in 1870, which might well
have led both the French and the world
in general to think that the German
military machine was heaven-born
and irresistible. The French already
have learned the contrary. and the
world soon must, IL it has not. l need
not speak Of their splendid generalship
or their courage in driving the Ger
mans back from the Marne. They have
the elan OF Napoleon's time, thanks to
the spur Of renewed confidence. Man for
man, they are better than the Germans
to-day, and their army has continually
improved since the war began, while the
German army has deteriorated.
1--WE have abundant evidence Of the
German deterioration on our own front.
Their attacks lack their former vigor
and spirit. Neuve Chapelle was an i'm
portant victory. 1t proved that with a
strong push we could put the enemy out
of a we'll fortified position and then
hold what we had gained.
Zone of the gratifying things to u.s."
the British commander in chief said
in conclusion, "is how well our terri
torials. have done, once their period OF
preparation was over and they had an
opportunity. | believe they occupy
much the same relation to our forces
as your national guard does to yours.
They have surpassed our expectations.
AS for the Canadians, cannot pay too
high a tribute 10 them"