Evening star., 1925-10-14
EDITED BY BURTON J. HENDRICK.
Continuing the letter of December
81, 1915. from Walter H. Page to
President Woodrow WilsOnD

81, 1919, from walter II. Page to
President Woodrow WilsOn.)
Meantime at the embassy we have
a very full days work every day
now fortunately routine business in
the main, but an enormous volume
Of it. The government is as courte.
Gus as ever. but everybody in the
government Is worked to death. A
dense cloud of weariness hangs over
all London. Every day or two some
man breaks down and has to go off
or to give up. Administrative work
has its casualties. There are no idle
people here-men or women-of any
class. Nobody reads a book. The
newspapers are meagre. The thea
ters have mere funny
shows" chiefly. Social activity is re-
duced to a minimum. Punch is un-
utterably dull Thank Heaven for
sleep. and a London Winter is foggy
and heavy-eyed.
At this place in my letter I had an
interesting interruption. (Mr. Page
here mentions a caller who brought
him news from the frontD I've
found out more from him than from
a dozen or two high officers back
from the front. The Englishman has
remarkable endurance. He has no
nerves. Cornered he will fight as a
tiger He doesn't mind dying and he
dies heroically. But. with all these
qualities, he is such stupid ass
that you wish to brain him with the
butt of your gun. He is unorgan-
liable. You can't make a fighting
machine of him. He loses twice as
many men on every move as he need
lose. Man for man. he is worth nVe
Germans-alone. In an army every
German is worth five Englishmen.
This sort of fighting. therefore, can
be carried on for years and years.
Both sides lack initiative. Both sides
have Old World faults. The Aus
tralians, New Zealanders and Ca
,ladians (being Englishmen set free,
are by far the best soldiers IN TINS
war.
This estimate of the English Is
startlinely accurate. They lack
knack. Else, they'd end the job
quickly. They lack knack at all ne"
tasks. That's the trouble with theT
government in war time Ihey naah-
age their finances and their navy IN
cornuara bly-two tasks they've done
f,r centllrieS--cOntinuO done.
came near writing that they muddie
everything else; I think they dox.
4 very well informed Dand4fom
undersecretary in
mo department of his government
told mo last night after dinner ana
cigars. that he often fears that the
English will drive the Danes INTO the
war on the German side by thelr
stupidity about preventing Dahlsh
.-ode-in spite of the fact that every
+,,,.a Danes out of four are pro-
P,itish. am told his judgment may
he twisted by the trade troubles that
he has to handle. But he sald lnat
he knew the Germans were puiuiiiS
% gigantic submarines. When lney
are ready they will come out Tor
,bins to and from the United states
much farther out at sea than the
scene of the Lusitania ana ARABIC
attacks. and consequently La Ine.
from danger of British attack. lJusl
as | am about to seal THIS, priHa'e
information comes from LlFeipooi
that German submarines nave suiih
several British ships in the irish oed
during the past week.
Well. my poor letter is dwinullnS
down to mere gossip, ana IL 'he
dnllest week of the year in Lonuoh.
of me add my most hearty sooo
wishes to you and Mrs. wilson ior
Nauy Year. We keep in our trehcheS
here with good spirits and unweafy-
inc efforts. and, contrary to the pre-
auctions of wiser men, 1 still nope
that the war will end in 1915. Yet
7 confess | fear the wiser men VINO
saw 1917 or 1918 may guess petter
than I.
Sincerely yours.
WALTER H. PAGE.
The long anticipated change IN the
British ministry took place IN Decem-
her 1916. Lloyd George became prime
minister and Mr.. Balfour succeeded
Lord Grey as foreign secretary. rage
IMPRESSION of the new premier ap'
pears in the following letter:
TO THE PRESIDENT.
Embassy of the United States of
America,
London. 80 December, 1916.
Dear Mr.. President:
| made my telegram about Lloyd
George SO full last night that | have
little left to write on that score. The
prime minister has been Ill, the for
eign secretary has been i'll there Is