The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1915-07-27
AS SEEN IN ENGLAND.
By Ed L. Keen, United Press starr
Corresnondent.
{ Second Storyl

1 correspondents"
Second Story
LONDON, July 27-After year Q
war. the British empire has SONS
what less than threequarters OF
million troops in the field; It's anne
have approximately ten million.
I The British front in the western
theatre is about forty miles
length; the lines Of the other allie
east and west, including Serbia ant
Montenegro. cover some sixteen nun
bred miles. AS the ratio OF troop
employed is one to fourteen and TN
ratio of mileage is one to forty, tner'
appears to be some justification 10
the complaints recently made-quitf
unofficially, of course-botn II
France and Russia, that England Il
not doing her share of the work
But the question as to whether
England is fulfilling her obligations
should be considered in the light OF
her promises. On this basis, she mas
delivered more than was specfned IL
! the contract. There were two clauses
| in the secret agreement made Wltn
/ France long before the war started:
England would take care OF the
seas.
4
force to France OF 10000 men.
That's all there was to 1t. She
has carried out the first clause to
the letter; she has sent nearly SIX
times as many men to the firing
line as she pargained 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 edi'
torial commenting on recent tributes
paid to France by the British press,
made these significant remarks:
| "F,rankness should be mutual. Ii on
the land the support of our British
allies is still only limited, we must
not forget that on the seas 1t Is they
who have had much the heaviest
task. II at the beginning OF the war
we were able to complete the equip
ment of our army with a rapidity
which was not one of the German
staff's least surprises, we owe 1t to
the fleet which rendered us masters
of the seas" The Temps then adj
mits that to this capital support on
the sea, the British empire has
brought it's industrial and financial
resources, while its military effort
on land has really surpassed all fore
casts
There probably always will be
some difference of opinion as TO
whether it was British valor or Ger
man laundering that saved Paris IN
the early days of the war. Perhaps
it was the two. Anyhow, Paris was
saved, and Britishers at least always
will give the lions share Of the
sY%.- hal hjs
generals and his soldiers. But even
II the salvation OF Paris was not due
to the British, there is no question
that they and they alone saved Calais
and the other channel ports. OF
course In accomplishing this. Eng
land has done herself greater serv-
ice than she has the French.
Since the failure OF the Paris at
tack, Gsrmany's main effort has beer
concentrated In the direction OF Ca
Iais, and that is the reason why, un-
til he has received sufficient rein
forcements, General French will be
unable to extend his front. The fate
of the British empire rests upon the
holding OF those forty miles
All idea of the "big Spring drive
unon which the military writer's had
fed the Imagination Of the British
nubIic for months was abandoned at
Neuve Chapelle, when at the cost CT
13. 600 men, the British barely made
a dent in the German line OF highly
fortified trenches. In what was &C
complished. the Neuve Chapelle OF
fensive was in sense, victory; IN
What II failed to do, 1t was defeat
for Lille was the objective and the
Germans are still firmly planted In
Lille.
Than after the second battle on
ynres in which the Germans frst
u<ed asphyxiafing gases, came the
hattie of La Bassee. This showed
the British public why the big
drive" had become impossible. The
british and French troops were to
make Joint advance after prelfm'
inary bombardment for three hours
~ the German trenches and the field
n, wire enhancement intervening. In
that time the French fired nearly
300 600 high explosive projectiles; IN
one hour the British had exhausted
their supply of 10000 high explosives
ana the rest of the time used shrap
nal Result: The French infantry al
vanced two miles into trenches tina,
had been practically ciea.eu, win
loss of only two thousand; the Bit
isb lost $4,000 men IN attempting 70
take trenches that hadn't been
cleared.
A newspaper man Witnessed this
hattie He told the public through
the medium OF the London Times, the
reason why the British had failed
starting the scandal that disrupted
the British liberal capinet, causea
the formation of coalition ministry
sbesraa Lord Kitcheners' wings and
created a new department OF NUN.
tiong. with Lloyd George at it's head
somebody had blundered LORD
.n D, on Kitchener. While giy
inp him due credit for his magnin
cent work in raising ORGANIZING an
raining the largest volunteer army
80 -ro1,d has ever seen, they charged
,,iry NTH neglectiug the one thinp