To the Editor of The Times:
Sir: Perhaps, after an experience of ten days in which I have had the opportunity of speaking nightly about the war to great audiences of my fellow-countrymen in places so wide apart but so populous and important as Hull, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Dundee, Reading, and other towns, I may be permitted to send you a few observations on the subject of the campaign for which I pleaded in your columns a fortnight ago, and which has been prosecuted energetically by a multitude of speakers ever since.
In the first place, the meetings have shown the absolute fusion of all parties and the disappearance of all minor issues in the face of a national crisis. In each case the chair has been taken by the Lord Mayor or Lord Provost or civic head of the town. On the platform have been seated members of all parties and denominations; and Lords Lieutenant, M.P.'s of all sides, including labor members, and representative clergy, have addressed the meetings. The interest taken by the people has been shown by the fact that the largest halls, though sometimes holding audiences of 3,000 to 4,000 men and more, have been unable to accommodate the crowds, and in every case overflow meetings have had to be held.
I have not found anywhere the slightest misapprehension as to the causes of the war. The fears that were entertained that we should be thought to be fighting on account of Servia or some remote international quarrel, in which we were only indirectly engaged, are groundless. The people realize clearly that we are fighting, not merely for our own honor and good faith, but for ourselves and our own national existence.
Further, I think that the policies and ideals which are represented by our opponents are becoming much more widely understood. The circulation of books such as von Bernhardi's and the clear exposition on many platforms and in the press of the objects preached with such amazing frankness by German writers for at least thirty years and treated with such characteristic indifference by ourselves are bearing fruit, and our people realize that German victory is inconsistent not merely with the continued existence of such an empire as ours, but with the conception of self-respect, humanity and freedom upon which modern civilization and democratic government in particular take their stand.
No doubt the German proceedings in Belgium have done much to accelerate this conviction; and the mercilessness and savagery of the methods by which the war has been fought by them (and for which no vestige of an apology has been forthcoming) have taught men that here is not only an enemy to be beaten but an evil spirit to be driven out.
The response to the appeal for recruits has, on the whole, been wonderful and inspiriting. Employers of labor, whether on a large or a small scale, have, as a rule, behaved with generosity both as regards releasing their employees and in making provision for them and their families. A good example has been set by families and persons in leading positions. Domestic servants have come forward in great numbers. The working class population have awakened more slowly—as was inevitable until the nature of the war and the urgency of the call were brought clearly home to them—but are now responding with alacrity. The brave deeds of their countrymen in France have proved the surest stimulus, and disaster, as, for instance, that reported to the Gordon Highlanders, at once raised the tide of recruits. This is a very typical and encouraging feature, showing that all that is wanted to convert interest into enthusiasm and to blow the embers into flame is that the case should be brought home by the sense of patriotic achievement or national loss.
Unquestionably the two incidents that have appealed most to the public sentiment have been the heroic resistance and tragic sufferings of Belgium—to be compensated by all that our national generosity can provide and atoned for by whatever reparation the Allies think it ultimately right to exact—and the splendid contribution from India. These events excite the loudest cheers and touch the deepest chords of emotion.
In some cases, where recruiting has been slow, men have been affected by a too exclusive but quite pardonable regard for the interests of themselves and their families. The provision made from various sources for the bread winner who has joined the colors or is at the front might easily be made more generous. But the outlook for those who are wounded or disabled, or for the families of those who lose their lives, and perhaps most of all for those who on their return may find it difficult to secure re-employment, is thought by many to be insufficiently assured. Private employers and business firms have, on the whole, met the situation with liberality; and a similar attitude on the part of the Government would meet with its immediate reward. It is perhaps a selfish utterance if a man is heard to say, "How am I going to come out of it?" or still more, "What good is it going to do to me?"; but if he put the same question on behalf of those who depend upon him for subsistence he is entitled to a definite and a not ungenerous reply.
Two dangers may have to be faced as the war proceeds. One is that the nation, exhilarated by smaller successes, may think that the war will soon be over, and that no excessive effort is therefore required. Traces of this feeling are sometimes visible in the published letters (how admirable, as a rule, they are!) of soldiers at the front, telling their families to expect them back in a month or two's time. The other danger is that, harassed by the continuance of the struggle, or attracted by delusive offers of peace or affected by economic or industrial conditions which have fortunately not so far developed, a section of the nation may cry out for peace before the victory has been consummated and before the peril we are fighting to avert is forever destroyed.