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Press, Volume LV, Issue 16416, 9 January 1919, Page 6

There has been no such delay about the publication of Sir Douglas Haig's final despatch "as occurred in connexion with his despatch covering the groat German offensives in the first half of last year. The earlier despatch, dated July 20th, did not appear until October 22nd. The stirring despatch now made public was completed less than throe weeks ago. Some of the points in the summary cabled to us to-day may bo briefly noted here. The first is the importance of the American Army. One gathers that victory became, if not automatic, yet inevitable, if the French and British Armies could hold on until the balance of strength turned in our favour. A second point is the tribute paid to Marshal Foch by Sir Douglas Haig. This should end the 6illy talk of some peoplo about differences betw.een these two fine leaders. Some idea of the magnitude of the work on tho Western front will be conveyed by the Commander-in-Chief's mention of tho constructional work rendered necessary by the enemy's command of important railway points. Between April and July we had to build 200 miles of broad gauge railway and to dig 6000 miles of trenches! Sir Douglas Haig places it beyond all doubt that the German Army was really boa ton before the end came. Again and again from August onward the enemy was brought to battle' and defeated, and in the first week of November h,e was finally defeated and utterly without reserves. This means nothing less than that a military disaster, complete and irremediable, had begun. On the date of the armistice .the enemy was "falling back without a coherent plan in widespread disordor and. confusion." Even more significant is tho Com-mander-in-Chief's observation that by the end of October the British Armies were in a position to prevent tho enemy's withdrawal to shorter linos, and were able to force an immediate, conclusion. This appeared to bo tho case at the time, but to tho layman saying so a dishonest German could rotort that laymen were necessarily biased and irresponsible. But Sir Douglas Haig has no interest except to state the facts as an unbiased expert — that is his duty in the composition of his despatches. And his plain statements will .be accepted everywhere. Germany sustained a crushing military defeat. And she was crushed by those heroic men of a pacific race to whose great patience and valour their chieftain has paid the glowing tribute published to-day.

The Bolshevists, as we know, hare waged war incessantly on the "bourgeoisie"—those,. that is, who possess some education or money, or both. Paderewski now epigrammatically defines the aims of Bolshevism as "to kill all users of the tooth-brush." As a definition of gentility the use of a tooth-brush is certainly better and more up-to-date than the one that Carlyle satirised unmercifully many years ago. A witness at the trial or William Palmer, the Rugoley poisoner, had said of the accused that he was "quite a respectable person; he kept a gig." Carlyle's comments on what he termed "gigmanity" rogarded as a proof of gentility were in his most sardonic Btyle.

The new Republic of Poland is experiencing a stormy infancy, with Bolshevists advancing on Warsaw and Poles fiuiiting the Germans. The situation apparently also demands floods of oratory, for we are told of Paderewski being engaged in making speeches for twenty hours, though it is difficult to understand how he could spare the time, as he was stated the other day to be leading the Polish army against tne Ctimans Possibly, however, the 'oadersMp was not of a military na-

ture. From the outset of the war the gifat pinnis. has very largely devoted himsolf to the cause of his fel-low-cC"ntrymen, and it is said chat when Amcrica entered the war he shut down his pian'> and vowed that he would not touch a note again until Poland was free. He set about raising troops from among the Poles in

America, and some little time ago j went to Poland to assist at the birtn of tho free republic ho an d his brethren had fought for. There was a tendency, it appears, in America to smile at his war-work, but, as an American paper remarks, the edge of the joke seemed to be seriously dulled by the fact that at Cracow in November Ignace Jan Paderewski was acclaimed first President of the new Republic of Poland. — Some aviation exports are beginning to talk in a way which may tend to mislead the general public. Ihe managing director of an aircraft manufacturing company at Home was reported in yesterday's cables, for instance, as saying that "within a reasonable time" an aerial sorvice with a net speed of 100 miles per hour would become a regular institution between London and Sydney, and the journey would occupy four days. The accuracy of this prediction depends, of course, on the interpretation of tho qualifying phrase "within a reasonable time." Mr Holt Thomas, the constructor of the famous D.H. machines which wore employed in many of the bombing raids on German towns, in speaking of the future of aviation recently, expressed the opinion that Australia would be "within three or four days' run of England." To-day ho is 'again quoted for some very optimistic statements. On the other hand we read of the arrival at Washington from Saii Diogo of four aeroplanes which had just made the first trans-continental flight in a month. The distance between the two places as the crow flies is some 2200 miles, and even allowing for the breakdowns which delayed tho flight, there is a good deal of difference between this rate of travel and the 10,000 miles in four days of the prophets to whom wo have roferred.