New York Times Current History: The European War from the Beginning to March 1915, Vol 1, No. 2: Who Began the War, and Why?Various
History
New York Times Current History: The European War from the Beginning to March 1915, Vol 1, No. 2: Who Began the War, and Why?
Various
World War, 1914-1918
Meanwhile, the merchant shipping of the enemy has been hunted from the
seas [cheers] and our seaman are still patiently, or impatiently,
[laughter,] waiting for a chance to try conclusions with the opposing
fleet. Great and incalculable is the debt which we have owed during
these weeks, and which in increasing measure we shall continue to owe,
to our navy. [Cheers.] The navy needs no help, and as the months roll
on--thanks to a far-sighted policy in the past--its proportionate
strength will grow. [Cheers.]
Army's Glorious Record.
If we turn to our army [cheers] we can say with equal justice and pride
that during these weeks it has rivaled the most glorious records of its
past. [Cheers.] Sir John French [cheers] and his gallant officers and
men live in our hearts, as they will live in the memories of those who
come afterward. [Cheers,]
But splendid achievements such as these--equally splendid in retirement
and in advance ["Hear, hear!"]--cannot be won without a heavy
expenditure of life and limb, of equipment and supplies. Even now, at
this very early stage, I suppose there is hardly a person here who is
not suffering from anxiety and suspense. Some of us are plunged in
sorrow for the loss of those we love; cut off, some of them, in the
springtime of their young lives. We will not mourn for them overmuch.
One crowded hour of glorious life is worth an age without a name.
[Cheers.]
These gaps have to be filled. The wastage of modern war is relentless
and almost inconceivable. We have--I mean his Majesty's Government
have--since the war began dispatched to the front already considerably
over 200,000 men [cheers] and the amplest provision has been made for
keeping them supplied with all that was necessary in food, in stores,
and in equipment. They will very soon be reinforced by regular troops
from India, from Egypt, and the Mediterranean, and in due time by the
contingents which our dominions are furnishing with such magnificent
patriotism and liberality. [Cheers.]
Eager Territorials.
We have with us here our own gallant territorials, becoming every day a
fitter and a finer force, eager and anxious to respond to any call
either at home or abroad that may be made upon them. [Cheers.] But that
is not enough. We must do still more. Already, in little more than a
month, we have 500,000 recruits for the four new armies which, as Lord
Kitchener told the country yesterday, he means to have ready to bring
into the field. In a single day we have had as many men enlist as we
have been accustomed to enlist in the course of a whole year. It is not,
I think, surprising that the machinery has been overstrained, and there
have been many cases of temporary inconvenience and hardship and
discomfort. With time and patience and good organization these things
will be set right, and the new scale of allowances which was announced
in Parliament yesterday [cheers] will do much to mitigate the lot of
wives and children and dependents who are left behind. [Cheers.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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