IN DEFENCE OF KITCHENER

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 217, 7 June 1919, Page 8

IN DEFENCE OF KITCHENER

THE SHELL SHORTAGE NORTHCLIFFE PRESS ATTACKS Writing in the ".Daily A'cwf," MajorGeneral Sir F. llaurici! replies U> Jjortl Northclifl'e'fi article in the ".Now Jlluetrated" of February 15 on Air. Lloyd George, in which occurs the following passage:—"The British nation is onerous towards those who servo it'well. Lt allows good service to wipe out past weakness or error; and it is right in this. It did not recall Mr. Lloyd George's silenco in l'Jls, when it was whispered about, and known for- a rorlainty, thai by failing io send our armies in. France tho high explosive for which Sir .lolin French (then Comman-der-in-Chief) was repeatedly asking, .T,ord Kitchener was endangering our chance.-) of victory." To this charge Major-General Maurice 'replies:— 'J'ln'c •;» a -ronnKHnn nf the' atlacks marie npon Lord Kitchener. by Lord Northclifle's papers in May, 191").' Thoso attacks were then so far justifiable that they were, ah attempt to rouse the country to a sonsn of the daggers of a very perilous situation. It is notorious that at that time' thore was a grave deficiency of heavy guns, of high explosive shell, and of monitions of all kinds. It is| at least, excusable that Lord Northcliffo did not stop to inquire too nicely who was. responsible for this state of affairs. Further, Lord Kitchener i;-as then alive, and was able to defend himself if he though fit to do 6p. Now ho is dead, and Lord Northcliffo has had ample time in which to investigate the truth of this charge, which he repeats.

Kitchener's Vision, Lord Kitchener was called to the War Otiice by Mr. Asquith on the outbreak of war.- He was not a magician, and he could not ut a touch provide tlie vast maohinery and establishments required to equip a nation in arms, but he could and did foresee, what no oue else foresaw. that in order to win tho war we should have to arm and train tho maiW hood of the nation, ■Neither 1m nor any other soldier in I'Juropo had, however, conceived of a war iii. which guns would be in action all day and every day. In previous wars collisions between tho opposing forces had been incidents; in this they were permanently in (ouch, and need for their daily work as much ammunition as had in the pnst sufficed for a engagement. I remember well hearing of Lord Kitchener's look of horror when he heard that on'the morning of March' 10, 1915. at Nenve Chapelle, the first nud least-of our battles- in trench warfare, our gun* had fired off more ammunition than had .ken expended (luring the whole of the South African war. The Germans hail not supposed that each masses of shell would be required, and they attribute their failure' in )914 largely to tho fact that they ran short of ammunition; our I'rencli comrades were equally surprised, and Sir. Job# I'rencli, .who as Chief of the Imperial General Staff before the war was responsible for our preparations, bad not supposed tlmt we should be insufficiently provided with shell. All armies engaged bad, in fact, to learn by -experience what the new conditions entailed.

. Mr. Lloyd George's Part. None the less 'Kitchener did not onco proceed to expand our manufacture of guns, shells, ;aud olhor. munitions. jn October, 11)11, Mr. Asquitli appointed a Special Munition; Committee of the Cabinet, of which Mr. Lloyd George, t r Vn Chancellor of the Exchequer, was a member, to assist the War Oflicc in these matters. The next warning as to tlio seriousness of our position came, not from Lord 'Northcliffe, . but from Lord Kitchener, who on March 1!>, slated in the House of Lords that owing to such difficulties as "absence, irregular timekeeping, slack work, anil the temptation. l ) of drink," the output of munitions was insufficient to supply "the enormous demands, u'ot only of ourselves, but of the Allies," and he added, "I can only say that the silpply of war material is'causing me very serious anxiety." He said further: "This output, can only ))e obtained by a careful and deliberate organisation of the whole resources of tho country.'" Mr. Asquith's Government recognised that it would be beyond the power of the War Oflico to carry through alduo such an organisation,• to obtain tho necessary labour, to smooth over Labour difficulties, and to develop to the utmost: such of our inmanufacture of war material. Therefore, early in April, 1315, Mr. Asnuith appointed a special committee, with Mr. Lloyd George as chairman, to deal witi these matters, and the responsibility for them passed out of I|ord Kitchener's hands.

The Ministry of Munitions. As is well known, the attacks made by Lord jS'ortbcliffe's paper in May, 1915, nine months' after the outbreak of war, upon Mr. Asijiiith's Government and upon Lord Kitchener, were largely instrumental in bringing about a political crisis and the formation of the-first Coalition Government. The Ministry of Munitions was inaugurated on Juno 5, 3915. In May, 1910, that is, just eleven months later, and thirteen months after the'institution of Air. Lloyd George's committee, the first' complete shell produced by the new Ministry was fired in France. In the interval between May, 1915, and May, 191U, every round of ammunition lived, by .our guns was produced under arrangements for which Lord Kitchener was responsible; this included the provision of the large quantity of shells fired iu the Battle of Lons, in September, 1915. Lord Xorthclilfe, in fact, charges Lord Kitchener wifh having failed* to do in nine months what Mr. Lloyd George lirst began to accomplish in thirteen. .During those thirteen months Air. Lloyd George had, and lightly had, far larger powers to control labour and industry than Lord Kitchener over possessed. Further, when -Mr. Lloyd George assumed control, tin: needs of our Army and the requirements of trench warfare, which bad surprised the military world. Were beginning to be appreciated, and lie had tho benefit of all the experience which Lord Kitcbencr had_ gained, and of all the preparations file latter had made. Lord Northcliffe's statement—"That, by failing to send to our armies m France the high explosive for which Sir John French was ropnafcdl} asking, Lord Kitchener was cnuangoring our chances of victory"—is therefore an unwarrantable attack upon the man who laid tho foundations of the victory which we have won. May We hope that, iu future Lord 'Korthcliffe, like the British public, will be onerous towards those who have served as Veil.