Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-07-29
War as q Business, and Its General Sales Mana&

moment was shifting the pawns of life
and death. Outside, rooster crowed.
a dog barked; you heard the familiar
sounds of the country. 1t was one OF
1ict that is one dramatic succession of
contrasts.
This was general headquarters. or
&c. H. O." as 1t is more Familiarity
known. The moment you entered you
felt you were establishing a contact
with something significant. 1t was not
the desk, the maps, the telephone, the
typewriters or the movement Of soldiers
to and fro. 1t was the personality OF
the man who dominated the stablish-
ment. and instinctively. you acknowl-
edged this unseen authority.
I was talking with one of the young
staff officers in an anteroom when the
buzzer on his desk barked. 1t was the
signal for my entry to the office of the
commander-in- chief.
In a moment found myself facing
one of the handsomest men l have ever
seen. He was tall. 1.-THE, well knit.
Without the slightest clue to his voca-
ton, you would have unconsciously
sized him up as soldier. Dignity. dis
tinction and vet gracious and charm
ing reserve mingled in his bearing. His
hair and mustache are fair. His clear
steely-blue eyes search you. His chest
is broad and deep. yet scarcely broad
enough for the rows of service and
order ribbons that plant a mass of
color against the background OF khaki.
He Is the personif1cation of grace and
ease. His cavalry training is instant
~ evident. 1t shows in the long shape
ly outlines of his legs and the rounded
calves encased in perfectly polished
boots. When he walks. 1t is with the
rangy. swingy stride of the man who
rides much Such is Sir Douglas Haig
hA to VI, Irr Lof hA to
person the minute you enter his pres
ence.
After the preliminary greeting he
sat down at a plain, fat-topped desk
Just at this moment an ofhcer entered
with a paper to be signed. I looked
around the office. 1t was the drawing
room Of the chateau, and with few
exceptions. maintained the integrity of
its original furnishing. The old fam
lily portraits still looked down from the
walls; the ancient works of art stood
upon the fine old marble mantelpiece;
in the corner were brocaded divans,
where in other and happier days young
lovers had whispered their tender
words.
Now those sofas were used by smart
and businesslike men in khaki. The
lovers they succeeded had been torn
asunder by the great war: the men to
fight or die, the women to wait or
weep.
Nevertheless. this conventional room
was a soldiers workshop. and his tools
were close at hand. Chief among them
was an immense relief map of the
whole Somme district which stood on
a large table just behind the field mar
shars desk. I had more than one. op-
portunity later to study that map.
Every time I looked at 1t there arose
in my mind a picture of Sir Douglas
Haig. porting over the green and red
lines that told the whole triumphant
story of the advance of the British
army. and which incidentally put the
Hsig name brilliantly into the worlds
news for the first time. The first bat
tie Of the somme was his initial opera
tion as Communicated chief. and much
of it was planned from this simple
room with Its Distinct and picturesque
oldworld setting.
Like most of the outstanding soldiers
that / have met in this war. Hafg's
whole personality suggests the very
human thing rather than the inhuman
business which he directs. For one
thing his voice is most attractive. 1t
the Fife country that gave him birth.
He is sparing of words as he Is Of men.
Therefore. he Is one of the most DIFF
ficult Of men to interview.
/ have had to interview the old cap
tains of capital from Morgan down.
They were the most unresponsive group
of men in the world-that is. unrespon-
sive for publication. Haig is the same
sort. Like our Wall street chieftains.
who always minimize the value of their
utterances. he has something definite
and worth while to say when he talks.
He asked me among other things
what outstanding fact had impressed
me most among his armies. ] told him
that 1T was the extreme youth Of his
men, and especially the Royal Flying
Corps. where the average is from eight
cen to nineteen years.
Yes" ne replied. this Is war Of
youth. 1t takes youth to, win"
In this connection 1t is no breach Of
confidence for me to repeat something
that Sir Douglas Haig once said to
friend OF mine who happened to be
very well known English editor and
who had made the usual comment on
the extreme youth Of the great bulk Of
the British army. Haig's answer to him
was:
why shouldn't a soldier be young?
Would you choose men Of forty to play