Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1917-07-06
WHO'S LYING NOW?
WHY, THE GERMANS,
SAYS GEN. MAURICE
Director Of Military Operations
for the British Army Talks
Frankly of Concealment and
Necessity Therefor

LONDON, May 25.-(By MALL
Major General Maurice. director of mil
itary operations for the British army
a few days ago answered the question
that has been bothering American cor
respondents for many months. the
question was:
Who's lying now?"
His answer, given emphaticaly was:
The Germans"
However, 1t wasn't all as simple as
that. The correspondents didn't ask
the question out loud They just look
ed 1t. They looked 1t hard enough to
get it across, for right in the midst Oh
an Interpretation of recent events on
the west front, the general suddenly
stopped and smiled and said:
Perhaps I'd better explain some
thing about communicates. For long
time there was a general impression
that the German communiaues were
more reliable than our own
The correspondents couldn't help nod
ding assent to this. They knew, too
what American editors have thought on
the subject. The general smiled again
and went on
We'll. that impression was more or
less correct"
The correspondents opened their sew
eral mouths and popped their several
pairs Of eyes. This was painful frank
ness.
Here's a general rule: The dis
patches of winning army commander
are usually more to be relied on than the
the dispatches of losing commander.
This is true even If they are equally
honorable men.
Suppose we lose a village in the midst
of a hard days fighting. Does the
British officer directing the fight at that
part cular point Immediately wire the
fact? No. He says. Well they've
got 1T now; but we'll get it back before
this days work is done There'n be
time enough to report it tren. But
the German commanders very first ac-
ton is to shoot along the news to head
quarters that he has captured that VIII
lage. l know that to be true, because
1t Is exactly what the British officer
would do If he were in the Germans
place.
And in the same way when the Ger
man officer loses a village he holds up
the report-sometimes more than a day
i'm tine hope of winning it back before
reporting. There's certain amount of
human nature in the army, you'll OBJ
serve.
so the communique OF the advancing
army is the more reliable in that re-
spect Then there's the matter of priS-
oners taken. The advancing army sends
it's prisoners back of the lines to the Ie-
tention cages as fast as they are taken
and they are counted as fast as they
reach the cages. The losing army COM
mander, driven out of his own ground
doesn't know what proportion of his
,frTei LII -
the field, taken prisoners or isolated
for the time being.
These two facts. taken together with
the fact that a defeated army is al
ways more disorganized than a win
ming army, explain in large part. why
the communioue of the advancing army
Is likely to be the more accurate.
The period in which the German
communiquo got its reputation for ac-
curacy was the period when the Ger
man army was advancing on almost
all fronts. That period is long past.
The accuracy tables have been re-
versed."
One correspondent suggested that the
general rule described scarcely covered
the recent wide disparity of German
and British statements.
No" said the general for the first
time-and think 1t is rather significant
OF the way the war is going-German
headquarters has been compelled to fall
back on plain lying. Their COM
muniques read more like fiction. They
have one simple plan for most of them.
They begin with attributing to the Brit
ish and French armies a purpose, which
isn't our purpose, and then show that
we've failed to achieve 1t. A British
effort to break through our line at
such-and-such-a-plac failed That
sounds familiar doesn't it? Well, the
fact would be that we had not sought
to break through their line at that
point that we had a definite, limited
ob'ective--and that we gained it. That
has been the case. time and again
this spring.
And, then TOO. there have been in,
teresting descriptions in the German
communicates, of battles that never have
taken place. | have no hesitation in
saying German headquarters has en-
barked on a campaign of lying. IRIS
purpose may be to keep the Ger
man people fooled, or there may ba an
other reason. The German high COM
mand only knows"