The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1916-06-06
LORD KITCHENER
NOTABLE FIGURE
CONTINUED FROM PAGE ONE,

from time to time were reports in
dicating his failure to get the num-
Der OF men he wanted, but within a
year after the war opened Premier
Asquith officially announced in mar.
Lament that about 100000 men had
enlisted in the United Kingdom alone
and almost another million in the
overseas dominions.
Kitchener, however, was the oh
ject of no little criticism. There was
much grumbling because of the strict
censorship he imposed on newspa-
pers and his utter disregard of war
correspondents. Notwithstanding this
the British newspapers gave him act
Ee support prior to May, 1915. Dur
ing the winter months the war sec
retary had announced the big drive
would began about the first of Nav.
The battle of Neuve Chapelle occurred
in May, and England believed this
was the beginning of the big drive.
Shortly afterward. reports reached
England that the drive had halted
owing to shortage of munitions.
especially high-eXplosive shells. A
section of the London press then de-
clared that Kitchener had made
serious mistake in providing large
quantities of shrapnel and insuffc-
lent high explosives. Newspaper
attacks went so far as to suggest his
being displaced as war secretary, but
the majority of the papers defended
him. 1t was agreed that the raising
of a big army and supplying muni-
tions at the same time was too great
test for one man. The discussion
developed the formation of coalition
cabinet and the creation of the new
portfolio of munitions, of which Da-
vid Lloyd George took charge, while
Kitchener remained as war minister
Without his crowning achievements
as the great organizer of the British
campaign in the European war, Kit
chener had already won wide and
lasting fame by his many campaigns
in Egypt, South Africa and in India.
He was born June "a, 1850, in Coun-
ty Kerry, Ireland, fact that gave
rise to a general belief that he was
of Irish blood, but his parents were
of French and English descent.
The Kitchener campaign that end
ed in the recapture of Khartum was
considered by military experts as per
fectly organized and faultlessly con
Quoted. The Egyptian army that
Kitchener had worked up to such re-
markable efficiency was, when he
first took charge of it, band of un-
paid, unfed and undermined fela-
heen. 1t was said to be an army
without a stomach, heart or back
bone" but Kitchener worked over
these helpless reeds of broken ma
tives and made of them some of the
finest of black battalions.
The fight at Omurman, September
g 1898, just across the Nile from
Khartum, was the greatest battle of
Kitchener's time in Egypt. Osman
Digna faced him with $4,000 Nah
dists, while he had but 10000 men.
When the battle was over 1000 of
the Mahdists had been killed out
right, 10000 wounded, and 1000 TAX
en- prisoners, while the English and
Egyptian loss altogether was under
500 men.
With the capture of Khartum, capi-
tai of the Sudan, which meant the
establishment of British posses
sion of these upper reaches of the
Nile, Kitchener became the object
of hero worship in England.
For his triumphs in the Sudan he
was raised to the peerage as Baron
Kitchener of Khartum, and received
the thanks of parliament and grant
of $50. 900. Shortly afterward he
was promoted lieutenant general and
then chief of staff to Lord Roberts
in the South African war, and on
Lord Roberts return to England in
November, 1900, succeeded him as
commander-in-chief in that field.
Immediately after peace, General
Kitchener went to India as command
er in chief of the British forces there,
and in this position, which he held
for seven years, he carried out not
only many far-reaching administra-
tive reforms but a complete reor-
ganization and strategical redistribu-
ton of the British and native forces.
On leaving India in 1909 he was pro-
NOTED field marshal, and appointed
commander-in-chief and high commls-
sioner in the Mediterranean, and Ia
ter on took tour of inspection OF
the forces of the entire empire
,.,,,;,r, IN a ccheme of defense for