New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1922-09-03

~. " II HS& DNtfl sIOfU-@-kH every
A manner of chronicle. by every
\5 manner of chronicler. Conn
"a pared To this literary bonn
parchment the storraing OF the
Hindenburg line was faint shadow
boxing. The whole gasnut Of high ex-
plosive has been run, from the machine
gun lire OF the Kepingtons and the
atargots, through the 55s manned by
the gentlemen with the busters, to the
big berthas of the Keyneses and the
Lansings
Dam.dus adjectives have been burst
ing in msdair; the defamation of irregu-
lar verbs has been deafening; figures
of speech have rolled in banked clouds
from the publishers projectors. The
8 ungentle reader is Keeling from she'll
shock; tell him that new war book is
hurting toward him and. cIapping his
hands to his ears, he will rush Wild
eyed to his dugout.
Yes. indeed, it has been told from
the front and from the rear, and from
both sides; from observation posts on
the backstairs and from behind the truf-
fcs at the dinner tables; from 10 Down
ing Street and from the far-fung by
ways where secrets of state are re-
vealed with an omniscient wink, from
Two dollars per copy up. But whether
IN this huge haystack of gossip and
conjecture and rumor the shining
needle of truth can be found time
alone will tell.
Take away the blind spots, the preiu-
dices, the craving for publicity. the
lust for the sensational, the alibis AMI
you shall scratch the surface of the
truth. This calls for a devilish cum
ming, a piercing knowledge of the hui
man processes and Il huge sense OF per-
spective Yet. il history is to be set
straight, this must be done, and done
quickly For from this greatest of
wars all sorts of morals are being
drawn, and how may we be sure of the
conclusions if we are doubtful of the
premises?
Therein lies the Importance of this
latest war book. Like some of it's fore
runners, it is anonymous, with the Gus
tomary hint thrown out on its jacket
that it is written by parsonage who
had Lloyd Georges ear. Like more of
it's forerunners, it relates a measure of
gossip and retails apocryphal anecdotes
of statesmen and soldiers. But, like
few of its forerunners, it attempts to
apply perspective TO all the docu-
ments relating TO the war and the
peace.
Here is a critical review of the vol
umes and the brochures on the war
that have been flooding the book
shelves, review by one who was OBJ
yiousiy in position to judge whether
she laurel wreaths had been properly
placed and the black balls dropped in
the right inches. Such diverse docu-
ments as the official reports of investi-
cations into the conduct of the war,
Colonel Repington's impassioned COM
ment, Margot Asouith's ubiquitous Cos
sip, the Lansing broadside, the refiec-
tions in the Mirrors, are consulted and
appraised The result, while it is far
from sensational, clarifies and corrects
many conceptions of the war and the
peace and of those who waged them
And what do we find? The Heroes,
who are worshipped like divine beings;
the Prophets, who are without honor
in their own countries until calamity
impends, and the Politicians, who are
sometimes Heroes and sometimes
Prophets and sometimes neither.
war that tries the souls of men
makes them see black or white;
the intermediate tints of peace vanish
Leaders are venerated to the skies OF
cursed to the utmost depths of hell
Generals become symbols and premiers
spinners of destiny. But now, in the
comparative calmness of truce, the pic
ture may be redrawn and our anony.
nous chronicler redraws it in the fol
lowing manner:
Foremost among the Heroes we fine
Joffre and Haig; among the Prophets
Foch and Sir Henry Wilson; among
the Politicians, Asquith and Lloyt
George and BRAND and Caillaux.
The plot is simple. The Heroes bat
tie with the Prophets for supremacy anc
momentarily are victorious. They have
had their fling, with the result thai
their countries are brought to the brink
of disaster The Politicians have beer
watching silently, for the public will
not brook interference with its Heroes
in the heat of war But now calamity
has sounded it's tocsin. The Politicians
in an effort to avert confagratior
call in the Prophets and the day i
saved.
Now the cast of characters. We
start with Joffre to whom for tive
years the world accorded all the
homage in its power He was the
greatest of HeroeS and yet, says
our chronicler, "it is highly improb
/. able that he was able to evolve OF
draft any plan of campaign" But he
had a huge, arresting calmess. "He
slept soundly during the most trying
times"
Joffre had blind faith in short
war and quick victory; he believed ir
the famous Plan XVII, which elinli
mated all idea of maneuver (ever
though, as was later demonstrated
maneuver won the battle of Marne)
which was based on the offensive anc
made no provision for defensive war
fare. Symbolic of Plan XVII were The
KEPT and red trousers which the French
soldiers wore at the beginning of tht