Evening star., 1918-08-04


(British 0fncial Photography
ranks. Our universities are empty.
Oxford and Cambridge gave eight
thousand of their undergraduates to
the army in the first year. Of the war.
and, be 1t remembered. no matter
what view may be held as to the value
of a university education. these
young men were the future rulers of
the British empire. Its prime min
listers, its secretaries of state. its
judges. its governors of far-off lands.
sors. scientists. its undouhted leaders
in every branch Of human thought and
endeavor.
That Is part of the price asked Of
US for choosing to support right
against might. and it is a heavy.
nearly every ofiicer and man of that
small but superbiy efficient rarmy
which we threw into France early
in August, 1914. Oddly enough. that
army. q paid one. never thought of its
own interests in the great game of
mitted. Sir Walter Raleigh. professor
of English literature at Oxford Uni
versity. has put this phase Of Britain's
entry into the war 80 clearly that /
must quote him:
We have sometimes fought in the
wrong causes, but this time there is
no mistake. Our cause is better than
we deserve; We embraced IL by an
act of faith. and II is only by continu-
ing In that faith that we shall see 1t
through. The little old army. when
they went to France in August. 1914.
did not ask what profits were likely
to come their way. They knew that
there were none. but they we're will
ing to sacrifice themselves to save
decency and humanity from being
trampled in the mud. This was the
army that the Germans called a mer-
cenary army, and its epitaph has been
written by good poet:
Those. in the day VIXEN heaven was
The hour when earth's foundations fed,
Followed their mercenary calling.
And took their wages, and are dead,
Their shoulders held the heavens sus-
pended,
They stood. and earth's foundations
What God abandoned these, defended,
And saved the sum Of things for pay.
We must follow their example, for
We shall never get better!
And now I have done with the debit
side of the ledger. for I count as dross
the stupendous figures which finance
puts forward. At any rate, what good
purpose win 1t serve If a Iayman tries
to state in dollars OF pounds sterling
the phenomenal cost Of this war; MIL
lions. billions. the mind reels at the
sum. One counts no longer as a bank
er even, but rather as an astronomer.
I suppose the bills will be paid some
how. Evidently much wisdom and
even more forbearance will be needed
before the cost Of this war Is levied
with reason and justice Most GER
tainly 1t is q problem cannot tackle
today. ~e-5-Y 80 .Se IS
1t has been estimated that Britain
has fought on seventeen fronts during.
the past four years. One can readily
enumefate most Of them, for. her
troops have been to the fore In Bel
sium. France. Italy, Serbia. Greece;
Russia. Palestine. Mesopotamia, China
and North, East and West Africa. to
name only the main -theaters of the
war She and her colonies have rafs-
ed 100000 soldiers. and Of this total
Engiands mot Great Britafn's) pro-
portion is 60 per cent. In this regard
I must remove . misapprehension.. or.
to be candid. nail down Hun lie.
(which has found credence IN some
quarters ] shall not labor the point:
It should sufice IL I state with abso-r
lutte authority that one man in every
seven and \ half Of the population of
England is in the army. The same
ratio holds good OF Scotland. Wales
has contributed one man in every ten
and q fifth. Ireland one man in every
twenty-six. and third, and the over
seas dominions one man in every hf-'
teen. Those are the cold. hard facts
as to man power In the army. while
and refutes another Hun lie: ~ e =
Relative, pr0poEtions -of sSmen. lin
Brftish forces and Of Casualties suf--
hv ~ AL