The Democratic banner. (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?, 1917-08-31
He Criticised
His Commander
By JAMES BRANARD

fnu was tnen UepObc0 by the car, VIII
doubtless be rated by historians as n
great military leader. Sent to the Cau-
casus, he was equally successful In that
field.
When the grand duke was going
southwark to his new command he
was travelling alone and incognito one
day in railway carriage In which
there was young man in the uniform
Of a lieutenant of engineers. The grand
duke, who Is n very tall, spare man
Of serious mien, leaned back in a cor
ner wrapped in his cloak. The lieu
tenant, on the contrary, was alive to
everything about him and disposed to
be gairulous. He told every one in the
compsrtmcSt that he had just been
graduated from the Russian military
school for officers and had been or
dered to engineer duty in the army in
the Caucasus. AT this the grand duke
looked at the young man and said:
you must have been good scholar
to be appointed to the corps of en-
gineers.'
ri stood Hrst In my class"
You will serve on the general staffT"
II suppose so. What do you know
about the army, sir? You cannot be
soldier or You would be In uniform"
almost any civilian could tell you
that the engineers require scientific
education. 1t Is an engineers part to
think; the other corps Of the army
have only to die"
How about the generals?" asked the
lieutenant.
S'Tbe generals are to act"
Just 80. If the grand duke had act
ed Ia the recent push Of the Germans
on Warsaw he would not have been
deposed from the command Of the
army. 20
r"You do not consider successful re-
treat evidence Of generalship, l sup
poser
."The grand duke was at fault in not
having prepared the ground behind
him. The books have been studying
lay great stress on a general having
ample defense ready In case he is
forced back"
TN other words, he should have
eyes in the back of his head as well
as In front?"
TIE lieutenant looked at the grand
duke inquiringly.
"For my part" the grand duke con-
tinued, II don't believe the books hereto.
| fore written on the conduct of war are
Of sny value"
what, then" asked the lieutenant,
lis the use Of military schools?"
! ."They are no use In teaching the art
Of war. They are useful In preparing
| men to use such methods as their nat
uroi fitness for war may suggest"
| "Then am to understand that 1,
! who have been educated in the science
ofNwar, am no more fitted to be a gen
eral than your
| ;HYou assume to be better fitted for
leadership than the grand duke"
Il "How soT
| You have criticised his leadership in
the recent campaign"
tNell," rejoined the lieutenant
theughtfully. may not I, who have so
| recently studied the art of war, be
Win II tuu lut Slullu
duke, who, presume, stulied it some
thirty years agof"
There Is no such thing as the art
Of war. There is that which we as
sumo at different periods to be the art
| Of war, but these assumptions are con-
stantly changing. The great Napoleon
demolished the art as 1t existed ut the
beginning of his career and mnde a
| new one. At present there Is one art
! OF war on the Russian frontier and an
| other in the west. Our enemies have
developed new art of war in the
present struggle, based largely on sci
entific discovery. This scientific dis
cOvery, or, rather, development, of nat
ural resources has changed war on
land as the battle fifty years ago be-
tween two American ironclad vessels
changed 1t on the water"
The lieutenant's eyes and mouth by
this time were wide open with aston
ishment at listening to this man with
out brass button on his clothing dis
course upon the art of war.
II thought, SIR" he stammercd, that
| | had learned something about war at
the military school. | admit / am am
bilious to lend great army, but in
any event ! shall not do that for per-
haps twenty or thirty years. BY that
time what have learned will likely be
obsolete"
"You have learned what there Is to
be learned up to the present war. Take
care to notice as the years slip by
those developments that tend to mod
| ify the past"
The grand duke wrapped his cloak
about him, leaned back again in his
corner and was soon asleep.
When the lieutenant arrived at his
post OF duty he was sent by the chief
of engineers one day to the general
headquarters with message for the
general commanding. What was his
astonishment, his horror. to see in the
tall, spare man with grizzly whiskers
who received him the Grand Duke