"HOW I BECAME WAR MINISTER."

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1614, 4 December 1912, Page 3

"HOW I BECAME WAR MINISTER."

LORD HALDANE TELLS AMUSING STORY. Ifrd Haldane.made the interesting, suggestion of a military degree at the Universities, and incidentally told the story of how he becamo War Minister, while addressing members of the Officers' Training Corps and students of Bristol University. "Seven years l ago," he said, "when a now Ministry was being formed, the late bir Henry Campbell-Bannerman sent for me, and suggested one or two offices. I replied to him, 'There is another office I should like. I do not know much about it, but it is full of the most fascinating problems.' Sir Henry asked, 'What is that? I answered, 'The War Officeis it full?'. Sir Henry exclaimed, "mI No one will touch it with a pole (Laughter.) Well, Lord Haldane went on, he went to the War Office, and he really had a very easy task. Ho found a number of young Generals, with their minds full of our shortcomings because they had come fresh from tho South African War, with its evidence of unpreparedness. The Army was not organised in peace, as it would; require to be in war, so they all eat down. He was a layman who scarcely knew the distinction botween a battalion and a brigade (Laughter.) They sat down to think together. '?, ll6 „ n t \S !nel ? 1 , staff S rew "Pi and they fiaid, Ihe first problem- we lmve 'got is that of mobilisation, and we must reorganise tho Army so that the peace footing shall bo the same as war footing." They did so. . Then they found they wanted a reserve of offioers, ■ and thev turned at once to the,'universities. (Cheers.) The Officers' Training..Corps was organised by the General Staff to" provide for scientific needs, and ho was not-without hope that there would be something like a military degree in the universities, which would be on tho samo footing as any other degree.