A A 2 8 4 4 9 9 Great Britain's Share BY Earl Cuhzon of Kedllston, K.G. (Mem.er of the W«r Cabinet) spkech dblivebed in orat's IKN KALL, JOLT ^, 1918 KAIIOSAI. WAR AIMS COMMITTKB lilSTKIBUTEl) BT ir. B. HMITH & BOH, LUNOOS \ SEARCHLIGHTS. 1. Britain and France Call. 2. Under the Kaiser's Rule. By W. S. Sanders. 5. A German Speaks to British Labour. By Or. Herman Koesemeier, formerly Editor of the Berlin " Morning Post." 4. Is the Capitalist to Blame ? By W. S. Sanders. 5. A Socialist Talks It Over. 6. America's United Effort. By W. A. Appleton, Secretary of the General Federation of Trade Unions. 7. My Message to Labour. By Ben Tillett, M.P. 8. Our Two Duties. By President Wilson. 9. When Germany will Break. By James W. Gerard, United States Ambassador to Germany, 1916. iO. Fighting for the Faith. By Dr. Fort Newton. 1 1. Those Secret Treaties. 12. The Plot of July 5. 13. The Blast of Truth. By A. G. G. i4. One or the Other. By Lord Leverhulme. 15. Our Real War Aim. By a Socialist. 16. Germany's Last Chance. By Victor Grayson. 17. The Challenge of the Present Crisis. By H. E. Fosdick (U.S.A.). 18. Gerp>any Condemned by Her Own Ambassador. 19. " We Can Endure." By Dr. J. H. Jowett. 20. A Letter to a Countryman. 21. The Supreme Test. 22. The So-Called Belgium Bargain. By G. K Chesterton. 23. The Pacifist Blind Spat. By J. M. Eobertson, M.P. 24. The British Navy's Part: The Prime Minister's Tribute. Ask at the Bookstall for Copies of these SEARCHLIGHTS. liCSB LIBRARY Grevt Britain's Share. ISF^EAK ;it a moLiient of ^reat significance in the history of the War. I am not so foolish as to suggest lliat we are at the turuing-point of the War; to say that would be to iiululge in premature and foolish jiibilatiou. iait it is conceivable that the events of the last fortnight may be destined to exercise an influenct! on the wliole Course of the campaign I ot less leinarkable than the original and famous battle of the Marne four vears atro. For what has passed ? After their great successt'S in Maich, April, and May, the enemy was in a posiiiun which constituted a serious me:j;ice equally to the Channel Ports, to the continued juncti:)n and co-operation of the French and iiritish Aimies, and to the capital city of France. The initiative rested with hirii ; he could choose both tho point and the fnomeut <'f attack ; he could support it any- where with superi.jr numbers ; neither the —3— GREAT BRITAIN'S SHARE Frencli nor ourselves could retreat without the risk of serious disaster. Ludendorff and Hindenburg had promised their countrymen the luxury of a knock-out blow. That blow has been delivered and has failed. The enemy has lost more ground thau he gained in the opening days of his last offensive. He has lost in prisoners, wounded, and killed, a larger number, in all probability, than we have any idea of. He has lost the initiative. But the greatest loss of all is the blow that has been inflicted upon the moral of his troops and the prestige of his country. Of course he still has very considerable reserves. His military position and his prestige are equally at stake, and he will make every endeavour to retrieve the position. It is too early to talk of victory, too early to imagine that the enemy is beaten ; but it is true tbat the situation has changed. There is a break in the clouds and the sun is ridiug high in the heavens. FRENCH GENERALSHIP. This change in the situation has been due, in the main, apart from the uniform gallantry of _4— GREAT BRITAIN'S SHARE the tiglitiug forces of the Allies, to two factors : firstly, to the strategy of General Foch, and. secondly, to the magnificent response of America, in General Foch the Allies would appear to have found a Generalissimo — a tew months ago we boggled at the name, but we now confidently and gratefully accept it — who combines those qualities of accurate intuition, quick decision,, great moral courage, and the power of inspiring his troop.i with confidence which have been characteristics of the great commanders in history. AMERICAN AID In America we have found an Ally of whom. we are proud, and who has every reason to be- proud of herself. For nearly three years, for reasons best known to themselves, which we do not presume to criticise, the Americans held aloof from a war in which the sympathies of the vast majority of their people were always on our side, leather more than a year ago they came in. Then ensued a period in which littl& or nothing seemed to be done. Disappointment —5— GREAT BRITAIN'S SHARE was expressed by their friends, gibes and jeers were indulged in by the enemy. But with the events that began on March 21 the American •effort leapt np at a bound. The lid was taken off the cauldron which had been simmering for so loug, and from it a flood of red-hot manhood, boiling over with virile energy and righteous indignation, was poured forth on to the battle-grounds of Europe. Such a spectacle has never before been seen in history. It came so suddenly. It Avas not the appearance of a regiment, of an army corps, of an army, but of a nation in arms. The effect was electric. The material value was enormous in changing the enemy's superiority, first to a state of equality, and secondly, as time passes, to one of numerical inferiority. The military and strategical value was great, in converting a rearguard action into an active counter- offensive. But the mural value was greatest of all in its effect upon the spirit both of the enemy and of the Allies. And this will be a cumulative effect, for, as the mouths pass by and hundreds of thousands of splendid —6— GREAT BRITAIN'S SHARE men are landed on the shores of France, th& Allies will be heartened and the enemy will be- correspondingly depressed in the later stages- of the War. TRANSPORTATION OF AMERICAN TROOPS. I invite yon to consider how this great acceleration of American effort has been effected. First let us pay our tribute to- President Wilson for his foresight and courage,, so much greater than our own, in the early introduction of compulsory military service irb America, which enabled the men to be forth- coming. Nor must we forget the steps Avhich he took to seize German shipping in American har- bours and to build up American shipping as well. All this is true, but it is also true that this great feat of transportation, which has changed the face of the War and given promise of ultimate victory, could never have been accomplished but for the Jiritish Navy and British shipping. We were told the otlier day that more than 1,000,000 American troops have been landed in France, the great majority of thorn in the last few —7— GREAT BRITAIN'S SHARE ?noutlis. Let me tell you that nearly 60 per •cent, of these have been brought by British tonnage.* In this month (July) alone we ai-e >carr3'ing 200,000 American soldiers to France. In April we had fifty-six ships bringing American troops. In the m.outh of July we have had 170. This great procession of skips, crossing thousands ■of miles of ocean in regular formation, presenting a large and visible target for attack, hunted and harried as they enter the danger zone by au invisible and desperate foe, but guarded by an ever-moving screen for the most part of British ■destroyers and British men-of-war, and weekly landing its complement of men in the ports of England and France, is one of the most impres- sive spectacles of the War. It reflects equal ■credit upon the British Navy, who have guarded tbe passage and held off the enemy ; upon the Minister of Shipping, whose consummate organi- sation and efficient handling o^ tonnage have been mainly responsible for the supply of ships; * Of the 305,000 American troops brong-ht over iu July, 1918, more than 61 per cent. (188,000 men) were transported iu British ships. —8— GREAT BRITAIN'S SHARE ^iid lastly, upou tl:e captains and men of the l^ritish Mercantile Marine. If ever a new edition is required of Captain Malian's immortal work, a chapter may well be added on this convincing demonstration of what sea-power means. BRITISH CONTRTRUTION TO THE ALTJPD CAl'SE. Hut thi.-i is only one illustration of the contri- butiijn that Las been uiade by Great Britain, una«lvertised, for the most part unseen, and often quite unknown, to the Allied cause. I pass over the fact that, alone of the Allies, we are fighting no fewer than seven campaigns, Fome of them at a distance of many thousands of miles from our shores — France and Flanders, Italy, Salonica, Palestine, Mesopotamia, Persia, and Enst Afiica. I pass over the more than 8,000,000 men whom we have raised in this country for all the purposes of war. I say nothing of the 3,000,000 British soldiers who are uow serving abroad. Not one of these men ii —9— GREAT BRITAIN'S SHARE fighting on Bntish soil. Each one of them is risking his life — thousands of them have already shed their lifeblood — for the defence and the emancipation of foreign people" and foreign lands. Truly we may be said to have proved ourselves the knights-errant of civilisati( n. I do- not wish to speak of that. I wish to speak rather of our contribution to the success of others. We are so deservedly loud in praise of the splendid efforts of our Allies that we are apt to forget our own virtues. There is much to be said for the saving grace of humility, but it is. a doctrine that is capable of being pushed too far. I submit to you that we are entitled to a. good conceit of ourselves. I cannot imagine a. more interesting subject for aa ( ssay than a. summary of the contributioTis that have been made in so many directions by Great Britain tO' the common cause. I have in my own mind a. sketch of how svich a statement might be framed. I would point out that this country is the feeder, the clothier, the carrier, the banker, the armourer, the Universal Provider of all ouir Allies. —10— GREAT BRITAIN'S SHARE RRITISM AH) TO FR\NCE. Take the case of Frauce alone. We cannot sufficiently express our admiration for the spirit and resolution with which the people of France liave over nnd over again resisted and repelled the invasions of the enetny. We admire her Veteran and indomitable Prime ^linister, the skill of her commanders, the brav(M-y of her troops, the patriotism and self-sacrifii-e of her c tizens. We are proud to fight by tlieii- side and in their cause. Hut, witliout our aid, this S'iperb effort could never hnve been made or sustained. Lnst year we carried to France 4o per cent, of her entire imports, and the same proportion to Italy. Wo carry to her shores over 50 per cent, of the coal by which her furnaces and forges, her railways and arsenals are fed.* We catry over 60 per cent, of the cereals by which hor armies and her civil r).)pulation are ke))t abvo. We have at this • Tlie <•<)•! siiiiplicd to I'r.nici' .-ukI licli,'!!!!!! (liii-iiii»- thfl war poriwl up to tli« «'ii(l <»t" June, li)l8, aniounliMl fri H7,.'149,(H^)() tons, anil It.tly liad rfccivcrl froiii us — 11— GREAT BRITAIN'S SHARE •moment 1,000.000 tons of shipping in the service of France, and half a million tons in the service of Italy. We carry to France tin ■enormous amount of the railway material which .-she uses, the steel and iron — no fewer than •2,000,000 tons of the latter in the last year .and a hulf — of machine-guns and trench mortars, :aud every variety of munitions of war, including no fewer than 120,000,000 lounds of small aims ;atnmunitioQ in the year 1917.* This has nothing to do with the British army in France. We supply her with the blankets, the sock>, the •woollen cloths, the cotton and jute, with which her people are clothed. t We are responsible for the entire supply of petrol and frozen meat; •which are required for her forces at Salonica. BRITISH AID TO ALL THE ALLIES. And what we have done for her we have done, and are doing, for all the Allies. Since * The total amount of steel sent by us to Franre from ^he outbreak of the war up to the end of the fir8t half of 1918 was 1,827,000 tons. f Four million blankets have been supplied during- tha "war to France and uearly four millions to Italy. —12— GREAT HRITAIN'S SHARE tlie beginning of the war we have carried 24,000,000 tons of stores for the Allies alone. The total value iu tlie la«;t year of the "-oods which we have supplied on special cc») tract fnr the Allies has amounted to £17,000,000. 'J o Italy, apart from our fighting Army, we have sent thousands of guns and machine-"-uns hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammunition, and an immense quantity of explosives. The bootmakers of Northampton and Ketterintr and Jjeicester have supplied tlie greater part of the foot^jear with which the Allied Armies are shod.*" .Since the beginninijf of the War they have turned out 60,000,000 pairs of boots. Similarly, the mills of Yorkshire, Iluddersfield, Bradford, Leeds, and many other places have furnished the cluthing with which the Allied Armies are clad. The Serbian soldier, who will shiver during thf forihcoming winter in the liii'li- lands of Monastir, wears a fur e(jat and < ap that comes from (Jreat Britain, Tiie Uumanian • 'J.l.'iil.OOO p?iirs of l)()ot8 liavo been su])j)li(Ml to Fniiuv) duriiijc tlic war (uj) to and iin-liidin^r June, lt(l8). In tli.» baiiiu period Italy lias had from us l,U'il,i)<>i} i>air.s. — 13— GREAT BRITAIN'S SHARE soldier, before the collapse of his country, wore a British shirt. We have supplied 2,000,000 respirators to the Italian Army to enable them to breathe the air of victory in the forth- coming twelve months. To Russia, as Lord Milner could tell you, we sent 7uO guns and howitzers, 12,000,000 rounds of ammuniiion, i nd thousands of sets of artillery harness, the greater part of them, alas ! engulfed in the appalling morass iti which the destinies of that unhappy country have been plunged. The Chinese coolie who works behind the lines in P' ranee, the Kaffir boy from the Cape, the Portu- guese and the Siamese soldier fighting with the Allies — each wears a British-made diess or uniform. In this contribution great credit is due to our Dominions over the seas, to Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, who allowed us to ]-)urchase their wool clip for the purpose of the war. Nor must I forget the Royal Air Force, which supplied a training staff, machines, engines and accessories to our Allies iu every part of the world, including as many as 70O completed aeroplanes. —14— GREAT BRITAIN'S SHARE SRRVICE (F THE BRITISH NAVY. How have we been able to do this ? The whole of this economic service depends upon our comtuaud of the seas. It has been secured by the predominance of the British Navy."^ Had we lost command of the sea we could not have helped our Allies to fight; we could not even have kept our own population alive. The Kavy has kept the seas open for the Mercantile Mariue, and the Mercantile Marine has been the life- preserver of our Allies. BfUTISH FINANCIAL Ain. In this enumeration 1 had almost forgotten the financial assistance which we have been • Mr. Lloyd George iufonnod the House of Coiiuiidiis, on August 7, that the touuay^o of the Britisli Navy liad beeu 2,oOO,W(J in August, 19U, and would bo 8,000,001/ (including the Auxiliary Fleet) in August, 1918. In one month (June, l^liS) shi])3 of the British Navy sto.iincil 8,0,000 niilos. The niunher of men required to man and maintain the Navy and the Mercantile Marine exof-ed-s 1,500,000. The British Navy ha» destroyed at leaat 150 enemy bubuiarincs. — 15 — GREAT BRITAIN'S SHARE enabled to render. This " nation of shop- keepers " has kept open shop for the entire world. r)nt we have also been the bankers who have placed them in funds. I recall that only a lew days ago the Chancellor of the Exchequer stated in the House of Commons that since the beginning of the war we have advanced £1,370,000,000 to our Allies, and £206,000,000 to the Domioions.* British credit has been the mainstay of the alliance. Our advances have relieved them of the necessity of ]*aising funds in their own countries. Our credit has enabled them to obtain supplies of raw mateiial, of food, and the implements of war from all the world. f * By August 1, 1918, the amoiiut of tlie loans to the Allies" ha 1 riseu to £l,40J,u00.000. Of this total, £119,000,000 had been lent to the smaller States of the Alliance (Belgium, Serbia, Rumania, Greece, etc.) ; Italy's debt was £313,000,000, France's was £402.000,000, and Russia's was £568,000,000. The amount advanced to the British Dominions was £208.500,000 up to that date. f The Chancellor of the Exchequer has \ ointed out that the Allies were able to use British loans to obtain Foreign currency required for urgent supplies from —16— GREAT BRITAIN'S SHARE The finjiDciug of our Allies for the past four veiirs hap, iu fact, beeu one of the great achieve- ments of the war. Nor can it be said that we- have done this for selfisli reasons or for profit to- ourselves. Had we not beeu n)aiinractniing for our Allies we should have been manufacturing- tor export and for the upkeep of our twu. tiade. To help others we have temporarily dislocated our trade. Some branches of it have been altogether ruined. We have had to- reduce our own consumption and to ration our coal — and how serious that sacrifice has beeu the furthcoming winter will show. We have- had to sell or pledge British securities and to- incur severe losses in foreign countries. HRITI^H rONTRIHUTION IN MFN . I have spoken of the contribution that we- have made in respect of shipping, of tnateiial, and of money. Do not let us forget the sacrifice i.outml PoiuitncH.ef-pccially from llii- United States in the- first tliree jiars of tlio war. Tluis tliey conld uhtaiu (liillars in Auiorica or florins in Holland ajrainst British <-p dit and Britisli sccurilieH. -17— GREAT BRITAIN'S SHARE of men. We are sometimes reproached for the number of men who are kept in this country. They are retained here not to defend our shores, but because they are carrying out invaluable and necessary service for our Allies. At the present time there are 200,000 men in this country engaged solely in industrial service for the Allies. Of the 375,000 men who are employed in digging coal, of the 1,000,000 men who are engaged in industrial work for the Admiralty, of the 1,500,000 men who are employed by my friend the Minister of Munitions on munition work, a large proportion are working not for us alone, but for the Allies as well. When we contemplate this accumulated effort, the most gigantic that this country has ever put forth, the wonder is that our military effort has been so great, and that, in addition to taking so large a share in the joint campaigns, we have been able to conduct three or four separate campaigns as well. WAR AIMS. I submit that this great effort should be equally known to our own people and to our —18— GREAT BRITAIN'S SHARE Allies. I doubt if, at present, it is at all adequately recognised by either. In four years it has built up the great fabric of military resistance which has enabled us to hold the enemy iu check in Europe and to throw him back in defeat and disaster in so many other parts of the world. It finds us, after four years, weary, it is true, of war, because no one would wish to protract for an hour longer than is necessary so agonising a struggle for which so terrible a price has had to be paid. It finds us anxious for peace, provided it is the kind of peace to which we can honourably cousent. But it also finds us with unabated resolution, with a fidelity to our friends and Allies which has never for a moment been shaken, and with a determination, which we share with them, to persevere without relenting until we attain the common goal. At the beginning of the fifth year of war we go forward with pride in our achievements, with gratitude to our own people and to our Dominions for the splendid response that they have made to our appeal, and with unaltered confidence in the — 19— ^f/ GREAT BRITAIN'S SHARE c. 9 jastice and righteousness of our cause. ' Do I err if I say that there also enters into our hearts some spirit of exaltation that transcends the din of the workshops^ the roar of the battle- field, and enables us to vanquish the worries and troubles of our every-day life ? We feel that we are fighting for something bigger than the War itself, bigger, even, than the peace by which we hope it will be followed. A new world is in process of being built up out of the smoking and battered ruins of the old; and it will be a pride to those of us who are privileged to play a part in these great events that we have been among the architects and masons who are setting up this edifice. If that be so, it will be our consolation for all our efforts and losses and sacrifices : it will be to us a great and crowning and sufficient reward. PaiNTED BV IHE FIELD i QUEEN (HOKACE COX) LTD., WINDSOR HOUSE, BUEAM'S BUILBINQS, LONDON, £.C. 4. UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY iiilli III Ml II II II III Ml I I MM I III I"" I 11 Mill MM M II II II' A A 000 284 499 i