The Progress of the World. 



265 



Playing 



at 

 Soldiers. 



even the possibility of wars being taken 

 into serious consideration by peoples. 

 Kverydavthc worlil grows more commercial, 

 and evcrv dav's progress in this tlirection 

 must make it more anil more impossible 

 to think of spending mohey on wars ot 

 aggression or conquest when judicious pur- 

 chases of territory yield so abundant a 

 result. 



Foreign countries are 

 pleased to regard (ireat 

 Britain as the land in 

 which militarism is most 

 rampant. And this because, in lieu of 

 universal service, she prefers to maintain a 

 |)rofessional army, paid to fight, and leaves 

 the mass of the population without e\entual 

 risks of having to fight, irresponsible, and 

 dangerously addicted to Jingoism. A 

 man is frequently more courageous when 

 shouting for war means sending someone 

 else to fight. We do not wish to discuss 



The late Emperor of Japan. 

 An intcrating snapshot taken at the iiKUiocuvrcit. 



this Continental point of view, but we cannot 

 help wondering how our critics will regard 

 the way in which we train our army for 

 war. litis in view of the very elaborate 

 regulaticHis issued bv the War Office for the 

 guidance of the troops during the coming 

 mananivres. Were such restrictions and 

 regulations incorporated in the libretto of a 

 comic o])era, we might all laugh with a good 

 conscience, but when it has to do with 

 national defence, and incidentally with the 

 wasting of hundreds of thousands of pounds, 

 it is no laughing matter. And instead of 

 such manoeuvres being of use, it would 

 seem inevitable that they can only result in 

 giving to the troops so hopelessly incorrect 

 an idea of actual war conditions as to 

 militate largely against any good resulting. 

 It is all very well to let old ladies, old ruins, 

 golfers, pheasants and racehorses prevent 

 the effective training of troops ; but can the 

 country be sure that an invading enemy 

 will be as anxious not to be a nuisance ? 

 Suppose a hostile battery dared to gallop 

 across a golf course, or foreign riflemen to 

 fire upon British troops near a galloping 

 ground i'or racehorses! What could the 

 J5ritish armv he expected to do: is it any 

 wonder that our soldiers struggle on, hoping 

 for better treatment, but without much 

 encouragement? It would be better tar 

 to drop such expensive emascidated 

 maniriufes, buv more ammimition, and 

 sa\e money for more necessary sides of 

 national defence. 



We do not suggest that it 



The Duty j. ,1,^. |■.^^,|, ,,|- ,1,^. \\-.„. 



Olfue thai the mantvuvres 

 are thus rendered value- 

 less sinte they are tmder the domina- 

 tion of the Cabinet, and all government 

 nowadays is singularly susceptible to the 

 wishes of potential \t)ters. There may to 



of 



Citizenship. 



