New-York tribune., 1917-12-10
Dictator or 7own Meeting?
a Plea for the Selection Of General Manager by
The Allies
By Gardner W. Pearson
Late Adutdnt General Of Massachusetts,

MANY close observers have fNlt thGl the IN
uerse resources of the Allies in men and
material had not been used 10 the best ad-
vantage in the conduct Of tho war, and u
therefore was relief when Lloyd George
rlaccd his finger on the weak spot and sug-
gcsted a remedy in an Allied council for the
conduct Of the war.
Our great Secretary Of War, Elihu Root,
las said "You cannot have free democracy
and successful war at the same moment
It has always been an axiom among mill
tsry men from the time Of Alexander CSsar
and Napoleon that there must be one com
mander. Military councils and general stats
are very valuable, but in war, as in bust
ross, there must be one mind, and only one
mind, to direct an operation. This mind may
rot he the official head and may not be that
Of the technical man, but no one ever heard
Of council of officers winning battle
Germanys Example
With the Central Powers Emperor William
is and has been the one directing head. Charles
q Austria, Ferdinand of Bulgaria, the Sui
tan. Hindenburg and Won Tirptz, all have
their parts and all advise, but william is the
executive officer. After all conferences, what
/ c says goes.
He does not know as much about armies as
Rindenburg or Mackenzen, nor about navieS
a. much as Won Tirptz. lie may not Know
~ much about finance or diplomacy as MS
cyperts in those lines, but his Is the hand
and the brain which sends his fleet TO the
Black Sea 20 threaten Petrograd at the same
time that his secret agents start counter
revolution in that city, while an Austrian
drive is hurled against Italy. and the French
front is yieldingly held perhaps by the OLD
men and boys of his armies
Like the clever boxer, he is always on the
alert TO find weak spot and on the in
stant to deliver knockout blow.
Lloyd George has finally told US that the
weakness OF the Allied cause was the lack OF
cooperation, and that millions in men and
money had been sacrificed in the attempt OF
each nation TO go it's own way, 10 fight its
own way, and perhaps for its own ends.
Are millions Of American money and the
lives of thousands Of our men to be sacri-
feed in the same way, or shall we heed the
warning and act now?
A central war council is much better than
unco6rdinated action by various nations but
why rot 90 the limit? Why not do as is
done in our great industrial enterprises,
where the board of directors elects an execu-
tive manager, whether he is called president,
treasurer or agent, and makes his decision
final?
War is similar TO chess and football, but
differs in the vital point, that the players
DO not take turns. hard, sudden blow at
the right time and place may accomplish
more, as the Germans have repeatedly de-
raonstrated, than a steady hammering.
For that reason, the manager of great
business should have free hand, and the
director Of a great war should have free
hand to assemble his tools and to strike a.
the right moment and at the right spot The
cautious delays and doubts OF a council no
matter how able, are always dangerous.
In England Lloyd George is for the time
being dictator In Russia Kerensky was die
tator, and in the United States President
Wilson is dictator.
For Supreme Dictator
II dictatorship is wise in each country.
Il is certainly wise to have one over all.
There is no one among the Allies who nat
urally fills this position does the German
Emperor with the Central Powers. We arc
lighting for democracy" and cannot have the
King Of England, Of Italy or Belgium as COM
mander in chief. nor the Grand Duke Nicholas
of the Russian Republic.
Jotrre is as good a general az Haig, and
we hope that Pershing is as good as Ca
Gorns. Whether if ore of these was elevated
his vision would be broad enough and
Whether the others would give him hearty
cooperation may be a question.
This war is not alone one Of armies: il is
one Of navies air fleets. finance and indus
tiial production. 1t is not clear that gen