The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-03-26

l
 Trench Warfare
 "A good deal has been said about the novel conditions which trench war fare in this war has developed was the next thing said by the correspond ent Has it changed the qualities re- i quired of soldier?'
 No" he replied. Human nature re mains the same and 1t is the man who gives and takes the blows, whatever the nature of his weapons fittest l Courage, discipline and tenacity are 1 still the dominant element of success ''
 And the guns? It has been repeated ly stated that this has become a war Of artillery"
 q think there has been an inclina- 1 ton to exaggerate the importance of artillery Sir John answered. No | doubt efficiency of artillery has in- creased in relative importance 1t may i take d dozen shells to get one man | but one bullet will get one man. The weapons which decide the day is the 1 rifle and the machine gun and the in ] fantry is still the queen of battles
 Sir John was far from deprecating l the fighting qualities of the Germans But they are no greater than other 1 soldiers" he said. q attribute their valor and their we'll disciplined CO., hesion to the fact that from the cradle they are taught discipline and to wor- ship their Emperor and the father ! land. and that it is their duty to die for the fatherland when their Emperor commands"
 As to the conduct of the Germans, 1 Is it as bad as represented? Have they consistently broken the rules of civ ilized warfare?"
 Conduct Bad
 For the first time the British com mander hestated before speaking. Evi- dently as a soldier he wished to be entirely just
 Yes" he then replied with firm conviction Tn many instances their conduct has been bad, very bad; know that it has been. But it has varied. It has seemed to depend on the com manders. If a commander approves of outrages they occur.
 And the French army? You have been fighting as it's ally for eight months. How does it compare with the Germans?'
 "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 al ready have learned the contrary and the world soon must if it has not need not speak of their splendid gen. eralship, or their courage in driving the Germans back from the Marne. They have the enthusiasm of Napo1 cons time. thanks to the spur of re- newed confidence. Man for man, they are better than the Germans today, and their army has continuously inn proved since the war began. while the German army has deteriorated.
 "We have abundant evidence Of the deteriorated on our own front of the Germans. Their attacks lack the former vigor and spirit. Neuve Chap belle was a nimportant victory. It proved that with strong push We could put the enemy out of well fortified position and then hold what we gained"
 "One of the gratifying things to us.' the British commander in chief said in conclusion to the press messenger, "is how well our territorials have done since their period of preparation which leads to the opportunity of war. I be- lieve they occupy much the same rela- tion to our forces as your national guard does to yours. They have surpassed our expectations. As for the Canadians, I cannot pay too high tribute to them"