October 5, igi6 
LAND & WATER 
LAND & WATER 
EMPIRE HOUSE, KING SWAY, LONDON, W.C 
Telephone: HOLBORN 2828 
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 5, 1916 
CONTENTS 
rAG3 
I 
The Fiery Dragons. By Louis Raemaekeri^ 
A Fight to a Finish. (Leader) 3 
The Red Tower Pass. By Hilaire Belloc 4 
Submarines : Neutrals and Peace. By Arthur Pollen 9 
Intrigues in Athens. By Colonel A. M. Murray 12 
Labour, Capital and the State. By Arthur Kitson 13 
The White Road to Verdun. By Kathleen Burke 15 
Arts and Crafts Society. By Julia Cartwright 17 
Some Novels of Note. ' (Literary Reviews) » 18 
Greenmantle'. 20 
The West End • 26 
Town and Country xvi. 
Kit and Equipment xix-. 
A FIGHT TO A FINISH 
LAST week was remarkable for two official state- 
ments— one in the form of an interview given 
by Mr. Lloyd George to the United Press of 
America, the other von Bethmar^ ^ollwegg's speech 
to the Reichstag. 
The Secretary of War has put the case for the Allies 
very clearly ; he has voiced their unalterable determina- 
tion to light to a finish, and he deserves all praise for the 
timely hint which he has given to neutral States that the 
victors, and the victors alone, intend to dictate the terms 
of peace. 
His warning does not come too soon, for already we 
had begun to hear the suggestion, emanating from un- 
worthy sources, if not actually inspired by the enemy, 
that the prolongation of the struggle was not worth the 
dreadful toll of human life. The answer is best contained 
in M. Briand's noble words : " The conclusion of peace 
to-day would be weakness for the memory of the dead." 
But we think that Mr. Lloyd George was very unhappy 
in his choice of a metaphor, and his allusions to the 
prize ring scarcely fit the facts. We can only deplore 
his statement that the British soldier " took his punish- 
ment, even when beaten like a dog." It is not true to say 
that the British soldier was beaten in this fashion, even 
in the retirement from Mons, which will probably be re- 
garded as the greatest fighting retreat in history. Still 
less is it true of the events which have occurred since 
September 1914, a period in which our army has proved 
its supreme quality as a fighting force, to the admiration 
of our Allies and the confusion of the enemy. 
It is no doubt encouraging to contrast the military 
position to-day, when we have a steadily growing army 
and an abundant supply of munitions, with the situation of 
eighteen months ago ; and much of the credit is due 
to Mr. Lloyd George. But it is only because the British 
x-irmy was never at any time defeated that we are now on 
the certain road to victory. 
An instructive commentary is afforded by von Beth- 
man HoWwegg's speech to the Reichstag. We need 
not concern ourselves with the fine biit unintentional 
tribute which the Chancellor paid to England in his 
recognition of our determination to go on with the war 
until the military power of Germany is utterly destroyed. 
He adds that " Great Britain is fighting for this object 
with an expenditure of strength without example in her 
history and with methods breaking one iiiternational law 
after another." The last remark sounds strange from the 
citizen of a country which has been guilty of the wholesale 
massacre of women and children and which has respected 
no law, human or divine, in the application of its " gospel 
of ruthlessness." But above all, we must mark the 
repetition of the lie which regularly appears in German 
official statements and in the officially inspired German 
press. " When in August 1914," he says, " we had to 
draw the sw'ord, we knew we had to protect hearth and 
home against a mighty and almost overwhelming 
coalition." Similarly, the Frankfurter Zcitung announces 
that 
" Germany neither decided to liglit to a finish, nor did 
she desire to fight Great Britain at all. Germany would 
have been very glad if her neiglibours had left her in peace 
to pursue her peaceful Kiilliir work, but she had to draw 
the sword because Russia and her Ally, France, supported 
by Great Britain, left no other possibility but humiliation 
or war. Mr. Lloyd George's assertion is particularly 
audacious, because he, like ah Europe, knows perfectly 
well how hard Germany's Statesmen tried to avoid war with 
Great Britain and to facilitate her netdrality." 
Apropos of the absurd fiction that Germany drew the 
sword in self-defence, it is worth while to recall the history 
of those memorable days between July 24th and August 
4th, 1914, recorded in the actual despatches and telegrams 
exchanged between the representatives of the Grc:^t 
Powers. 
Everyone will remember the consternation created 
throughout Europe by the aggressive character of the 
Austfian note to Serbia, which allowed only twenty-four 
hours for a reply, and was put in a form that no inde- 
pendent State could accept ; and as M. Sazonof truly 
said, Austria would never have taken such action unless 
Germany had first been consulted. But the most damning 
evidence of Germany's guilt was her summary rejection 
of Sir E. Grey's offer to join in an international conference 
—a proposal to which France had readily consented. 
In the days of the devastation of Belgium and the sweep- 
ing advance on Paris, nothing but bluster and boasting 
was heard in Germany. It is only since defeat has become 
inevitable that German statesmen have begun to talk 
of self-defence and to disseminate twaddle concerning 
their love of peace, of which the Crown Prince has become 
the latest apostle. We can believe, with the Frank- 
furter Zeitung that " Germany was most anxious to avpid 
war with Great Britain and to facilitate her neutrality." 
But that highly patriotic organ does not add, nor does 
von Bethman HoUweg emphasise the German definition 
of neutrality which amounted to the shameful conni- 
vance of Great Britain while Belgium was despoiled and 
Russia and France were wantonly attacked. We may 
rest assured that the real reason for the violent hatred 
of England, is not the fact of our participation in the war, 
but the unexpectedness of that event. But neither 
convulsions of hatred nor protestations of innocence will 
avert the just punishment that the Allies are determined 
to inflict. 
The Editor is able to announce that 
a Short Story by 
JOSEPH CONRAD 
win shortly appear in Land & Water 
