Photograph by F. J. Koch 



AN OBJECT LESSON IN HIGHLAND KIT PACKING 



THE REASONS OE BRITAIN'S POWER 



But unquestionably our habit of not 

 talking except when things are going 

 awry has led to some curious misunder- 

 standings and underestimates of the 

 scope and character of the British effort ; 

 and I can well imagine that Mr. Lloyd- 

 George's statement, with which I opened 

 this article — his statement about the in- 

 creasing dependence of all the Allies upon 

 Great Britain and about the main burden 

 of the war falling on our shoulders — must 

 have been received by many Americans 

 with something like incredulity. 



It is worth while, therefore, to examine 

 it more closely and to inquire in some 

 detail what it is that has given Great 

 Britain in this immeasurable cataclysm 

 her extraordinary position as the axle on 

 which all else depends. 



It is, first, her naval power ; it is, sec- 

 ondly, her wealth ; thirdly, it is her indus- 

 trial resources ; fourthly, it is that serene 

 and silent doggedness in the national 

 character which in two and a half years 



has converted an unarmed, commercial, 

 and rather easy-going nation into a mili- 

 tary power of the very first rank, and 

 that animates all the Allies with the 

 knowledge that Great Britain can be re- 

 lied upon to the uttermost. 



THE BRITISH FLEET 



I like to think of some future Mahan 

 using the history of this war to point the 

 deadly realities of sea-power. He will 

 need no other example. Everything that 

 naval supremacy means or can ever mean 

 has been taught in the past 32 months in 

 a fashion that he who runs may read. 



Suppose Great Britain had remained 

 neutral and the British navy had never 

 moved. What would have happened? 

 The German and Austrian dreadnoughts, 

 with a five-to-one preponderance over 

 the combined dreadnought strength of 

 France and Russia, would have held an 

 easy command over the sea. Germany 

 could then have supplemented her land 

 attack by disembarking troops on both 



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