“PEACE TO-DAY A CRIME.”

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXVII, Issue 1488, 21 December 1915, Page 2

“PEACE TO-DAY A CRIME.”

+ In a conversation with the wellknown American writer, Mr Owen Johnson, General Joffre was asked if it was possibledo reconcile the military with the democratic spirit. The general replied : “ In a republic where the sentiment of individual liberty is always strong, military service gives to the citizen a quality of personal discipline of which he perhaps had need, in order to respect the rights of others, and which makes him at the same time capable of acting as a member of an organised body.” When the American writer spoke of the fraternal feeling which exists between the French soldiers and their officers, the general observed: “When we charge the enemy the officer is always at the head of his men; there is no need to tell him to see if his men are following, nor has he himself any reason to look.” The question ol peace having been raised, General Joffre declared; “Peace to-day would be a crime against posterity; it would be, besides, nothing but an armistice, during which each nation would continue feverishly to prepare for war. The French people is ready for everything, because it knows what is at stake in the fight. We have no reason to tell lies. To our soldiers how long the war lasts is of no consequence. We shall fight on until we have conquered the right to leave a heritage of peace.”