The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1916-02-01
GEN. HAIG'S STAFF
SCARCELY SPARTAN
Luxury at the Front Said to Exist
Now as in the Days of Sir
John French.

One of the first acts of Sir Douglas
Haig, the new commander in chief of
the British forces in the West has been
to appoint to the staff the Duke of
Teck and the young son of Sir Ernest
Cassel. The latter, it is said, is in the
habit of having sent out to the front
by a well known catering firm in the
West End of London an elaborate lun-
cheon basket which provides an excel
lent dinner party for himself and his
friends.
This is just the kind of thing Lord
St. Davids complained of in his recent
speech IN the house of lords in which
he alleged that dinner and card parties
were given at general headquarters
and that society women were occasion
ally present, having received passes to
/ go to the front from the military au-
/ thorities in England. The mutterings
heard at the time OF Lord st. Davids s
speech are now being repeated. "Plus
ca change, plus est la meme chose, :
is the burden of the complaint.
Holland apparently does not think
much of the value of the allies war
council as the directing brain of the
Allies strategy. Discussing the higher
command of the armies of the quad
rupal entente the military expert of
the Amsterdam Nieuwe Courant says:
I've doubt whether the much dis
cussed united strategy of the allied
armies has actually been achieved. 4
stategic Hercules is needed to slay the
many headed monster called the wal
council. Neither France nor Great Brit
ain seems to remember in these days
what Napoleon said to the directoire
If / do not get a free hand expect nj
more conquests from me. The gener
ais leading the operations in Salonic;
are advised by their government, tht
war council, the commander in chief
none of them having any knowledge
of the locality. Their own responsible
ity and initiative are thereby crippled
owe doubt very much whether unde
I these circumstances the recent change
fin the Aarmv command VIII in the fu
ture give better resuFts'than before.
-A- ~
In order to prevent as much as pos
sible the flooding of stock broker
with orders from their clients to sell t
the British government the less desir
: able of American securities, steps ar
: being taken by the British treasury t
issue a list of those securities whic
-. will be acceptable 70 the Government
!, With regard 10 the price, the treas
: ury memorandum provides that tn
! closing New York stock exchange que
= tation of the day on which the sect
rites are purchased will normally b
taken as the price. This price, 1t
>. pointed out, is unknown at the time O
:, the offer by the owner. 1t may be lowe
: than the current price on the day o
off hat y
=. fairer and simpler to take the price c
4 the day of offer, so that the treasur
' taking 4 few days to purchase shout
, not affect the trapsactioa.
: In eases where after a deposit o
y loan an owner of securities arrange
with the treasury to purchase the d.
posted securities the price of 10 tn
: day upon which the proposal Ito sell
= IS received - governs the transaction.
. That Germany has reached the stag
q where she is really more seriously col
! cerned about the financial outlook
. asserted by the Ideal Nazionale c
- Rome. which has obtained from Swis
- banker who was recently in Mannh I'll
some details of a meeting of Germa
I financiers which took place at the re-
s idence and under the presidency of til
= director of the Disconto Gessellschaf
% The chairman. in a statement on til
r financial condition of the German en-
# pire, said the position of affairs Il
It longer permitted the situation to [
( considered with optimism. The Germa
d people, he said, must be accustome
q to the idea that they must renou1t
n all hope of war indemnity. The
ir must be brought to realize that if Ge
many is victorious it will be the tas
re of the German people to rebuild &c
IF many as was necessary after the Thi
8. ty Years war.
st
IN Few things have done more to i