orld at large had advanced as
much as in the previous century.

"Instead of turning this highly developed intelligence to good account,
they bound it hand and foot on the rack of an everlasting drill which
could not have been more soullessly mechanical in the days of Frederick.
It held them together as an iron hoop holds together a cask, the dry
staves of which would fall asunder at the first kick."

Lord Roberts has said that if ten points represent the complete soldier,
eight should stand for his efficiency as a shot. The German maxim has
rather been that eight should stand for his efficiency as a drilled
marionette. It has been reckoned that about two hundred books a year
appear in Germany upon military affairs, against about twenty in
Britain. And yet, after all this expert debate, the essential point of
all seems to have been missed--that in the end everything depends upon
the man behind the gun, upon his hitting his opponent and upon his
taking cover so as to avoid being hit himself.

After all the efforts of the General Staff, the result when shown upon
the field of battle has filled our men with a mixture of admiration and
contempt--contempt for the absurd tactics and admiration for the poor
devils who struggle on in spite of them. Listen to the voices of the men
who are the real experts. Says a Lincolnshire Sergeant: "They were in
solid square blocks, and we couldn't help hitting them." Says Private
Tait (Second Essex): "Their rifle shooting is rotten. I don't believe
they could hit a haystack at 100 yards." "They are rotten shots with
their rifles," says an Oldham private. "They advance in close column,
and you simply can't help hitting them," writes a Gordon Highlander.
"You would have thought it was a big crowd streaming out from a cup
tie," says Private Whitaker of the Guards. "It was like a farmer's
machine cutting grass," so it seemed to Private Hawkins of the
Coldstreams. "No damned good as riflemen," says a Connemara boy. "You
couldn't help hitting them. As to their rifle fire, it was useless."
"They shoot from the hip, and don't seem to aim at anything in
particular."

*Not Books That Count.*

These are the opinions of the practical men upon the field of battle.
Surely a poor result from the 200 volumes a year and all the weighty
labors of the General Staff! "Artillery nearly as good as our own, rifle
fire beneath contempt." That is the verdict. How will the well-taught
parade schritt avail the