The Dominion. MONDAY, JUNE 26, 1916. KITCHENER'S SUCCESSOR

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2806, 26 June 1916, Page 4

The Dominion. MONDAY, JUNE 26, 1916. KITCHENER'S SUCCESSOR

The announcement by a London' newspaper that Mr. Lloyd George is almost certain to accept the position of Secretary of Stato for War will occasion little surprise. Both as Chancellor of the Exchequer and Minister of Munitions Mr. Lloyd Geobge has done great war work for the nation. He has firmly established himself in the confidence of the public as a man of action, and it is not surprising that -he should bo regarded as likely to succeed the late Lord Kitchener as War Minister. There may be other men who possess_ the necessary qualifications lor this important office, but Mb. Lloyd George has secured for himself a unique position. His tremendous energy and ability to get things done have made a deep impression on the public mind. His driving power, his success as an organiser, and his whole-hearted desire that Britain's resources shall .be put to the fullest and best uso for' the purpose of winning the war seem to mark him out for tho post of Chief Organiser and Director of the nation's fighting forces from tho political and administrative point of view. No civilian can be expected to fill tho position of Secretary for War in exactly tho same way as Loud Kitchener filled it. Lord Kitchener was able to speak with authority both as a soldier and an administrator. But for some timo before his death the greater part of his military responsibilities had been handed over to' Sir AVilham Hobertson. In tho course of a recent address to the Primrose League, Lord Curzon declared that it was quite a mistake to think that tho civilian members of the Government interfered with the military authorities in matters relating to the strategy of tho war. He said that a Cabinet of laymen, while responsible for what might bo called tho diplomacy and the administration of the war, recognised at once that they had no competence to give instructions regarding tho strategy or to direct the operations of the campaign. He went on to remark that Sir William Robertson, tho very capable Chief of the General Staff, was now in the main responsible for Britain's share in the conduct of tho war! The point of interest about this remark, which was made some time before the death of Lokd Kitchener, is that it indicates that in tho later days of his service to the Empire Lord Kitchener had mainly devoted his energies to tho political 'duties attached to his office, and more especially to undertakings of an international nature, such as were likely to promote a clearer understanding and closer co-operation between the Allies and their armies.

It is not necessary that tho Secretary of State for War should be a soldier, it is oven urged that it is nettcr he should not be one. Mr. Lloyd George, should he be chosen to succeed to the office, would find "full scope for his abundant energies. As Minister of Munitions Ho has achieved wonders. He organised tho nation's munition-making power so thoroughly that Britain has been 'described as "a huge arsenal." He undertook a great task and did it greatly. Having created the machine and set it going, its control may now he entrusted to other hands. The note which the Entente Powers have just sent to the United States expressing their willingness) to subordinate their American munition contracts to America's needs in connection with tho Mexican trouble is of itself a testimony to the success of Mr. Lloyd George's work as Munition Minister. It is stilted that this Note is regarded as an intimation that the Allies aro now able to supply their own munition requirements. Mr. Lloyd George has occupied his present position for just about a year, and 'during that time 1 - ho not only succecdecf in vastly increasing the actual output of war material, but, what is still more important in a long war, ho also caused an. enormous addition to the munition-mak-ing capacity of tho country. In an address at Conway recently no told his constituents that during tho early stages of the struggle, when recruits were coming in faster than they could be equipped, he concentrated his energies on the work of organising the engineering resources of tho country; and when, later on, there was a falling-off in the supply of men he did his utmost to secure the more effective organisation of the military resources ot tho nation. He advocated compulsion whole-heart-edly. Ho declared that compulsion did not conflict with tho principles of democracy. It simply meant tho will of the majority of the people— the voluntary decision of the majority. It meant that the nation was organising itself in an orderly, consistent, resolute fashiou for war. In word and deed Mr. Lloyd

George has shown that he realises that in order to make certain of victory tho nation must fight with all its' might and with every legitimate weapon it possesses. It is because of his clearness of vision and his firm grasp of essentials, combined with his steady refusal to be influencod by party considerations, that he is regarded as one of Britain's strongest war leaders. He may have lost some of his old political friends by his advocacy of compulsion, but lie has gained tho confidence of the 'Empire as a whole. He hates war, liko the majority of us, but ho believes that if a nation is forced to fight it should do it with all its strength. "You either make war, or you don't," ho says. "It is tho business of statesmen to strain every nervo to keep a nation out of war, out once they aro in it, it is. also their business to wage it with all their might. ... A badly conducted war means a bad peace, and a. bad peace means no peace at all. . . . It is important, whatever happens, that you should have confidence that tho Government is doing its best in tho firmest and most resolute manner to conduct the war. 1 ? This is excellent advice, but it is trie duty of tho Government to justify public confidence by waging 'the war 'in tho way Mr. Lloyd George says it ought to be waged. "Doubting hand never yet struck a firm' blow."