February 15.' 19^7 
LAND & WATER 
LAND & WATER 
OLD SERJEANTS' INN, LONDON, W.C. 
Telephone HOLBORN 2828. 
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15. 1917 
CONTENTS 
PAGE 
War's Hour Glass. By Louis Raemaekcrs i 
Winning the War. (Leader) 3 
Evacuation of Grandcourt. By Hilairc Belloc 4 
Le Credo du Soldat (Poem) By Emile Cammaerts 6 
German Failure. By Arthur Pollen 9 
Land Without Labour. By The Editor n 
The Soldier Who Sings.— I L By Lewis R. Freeman 1.5 
Memories of Many Waterfalls. ■ By William f. Palmer 15 
Prisoners of War in Germany. (Review) 10 
Books to Read. By Lucian Oldershaw 17 
The Golden Triangle. By Maurice Leblanc i« 
The West End -j 
Kit and Equipment *■ ^^ 
WINNING THE WAR 
IF a stranger to these islands had strayed into 
the House of Commons on Monday afternoon when 
the Chancellor of the Exchequer spoke on the 
Expenditure and apphed for a vote of 550 millions 
sterling, he would have found it difficult to understand 
how it comes about that Parliament is often regarded with 
light esteem by the nation during these later years. 
Never has the assembly appeared to better advantage. 
Mr. Bonar Law's speech was admirable in its tone and in 
its phrasing ; he spoke with a full sense of the importance 
of the occasion ; there was no rhetoric ; it was the simple 
but resolute utterance of a business man, addressed to 
a business audience which thoroughly realised the 
significance of his figures. His statement was received 
in sympathetic silence which was only broken when 
he referred with quiet confidence to the time " after we 
have won the war." At the end of the current financial 
year he told the House that ths gross National Debt will be 
between £3,800,000,000 and £3,900,000,000— figures so 
stupendous that it is difficult for anyone to grasp their 
exact meaning, but he also mentioned how when Water- 
loo was won and the Napoleonic menace finally at an 
end, these islands— there was practically no Empire in 
those diys — found themselves saddled with a national 
debt of £800,000,000, which taking all circumstances 
into consideration was a heavier burden than the net 
3,000 millions which this generation has to face. 
As then, so now, the hberty and progress of Europe 
were in the balance. It was the sword of Britain and her 
gauntlets of gold that turned the scale. There was no 
ialtering in those distant days although the nation 
was never so united as now, and for twenty years victory 
remained doubtful. The heavy burden was manfully 
shouldered, and looking backward after three generations, 
we can see that the sacrifices of our fathers' fathers were 
well worth while. Again the_ call has come to Britain and 
again she has entered on a liercc struggle for freedom — 
a struggle that has been none of her seeking. Life and 
wealth she willingly surrenders, holding that the ideals 
for which she fights arc of infinitely higher value in the 
upward advance of humanity than national riches or 
personal length of days. Not yet has victory declared 
itself, bvit in the chill of these raw winter days, we seem 
almost to detect the first cold flutter of the dawn-wind. 
But there arc dark and difficult hours ahead of each one 
before peace is really here with us. " The success of the 
Wa.rLoan" said Mr. Bonar Law on Monday, " depends 
not only on the amount ot money wlncli comes in but 
on the wide-spread character of the apphcations." This 
is the way in which even the humblest citizen can assist. 
Before the Loan closes to-morrow evening, there should 
not be a household in these islands which has not sent 
in its application for a share in it, howf;ver small. . 
Turning to. the present work for the successful pro- 
secution of the war, Mr. McKenna's criticisms on the 
duties of Controllers were very much to the point. As 
he remarked, when a Controller is placed over a par- 
ticular business, you cannot cut off tliat business from 
the rest of the social organisation. The appointment of 
such Ministers entails the necessity of even greater 
co-ordination than in the past. This is becoming 
recognised, and the final success of these new Departments 
must largely depend on the steps which are now being 
taken to rectify the lack of cohesion on which the former 
Chancellor of the Exchequer rightly dwelt. Between 
the Board of Agriculture and the Food Ministry there 
is evidently a want of complete understanding which is 
puzzling to the people. At the same time one has to 
recognise that so complicated and obscure are the rami- 
fications of trade, more especially retail trade, that the 
simplest order cannot be promulgated which does not call 
into existence unforeseen conditions, no matter how 
closely the subject has been studied. 
It becomes more evident daily that wherever it is 
possible to rely on voluntary effort, the result is the 
best. It has been so with the War Loan which everyone 
believes will plainly estabhsh in the minds of neutrals 
and enemies Britain's unflinching determination to carry 
the war through to an absolute military victory. And it 
ought to be the same as regards all other orders and 
regulations which the Government considers neces- 
sary to issue for the same object. Offences against the 
present licensing laws, which are committed by a \cry 
small minority, should no longer be punishable with a 
fine, but with imprisonment and hard labour. Since the 
community at large is willingly foregoing personal libert\-, 
it is intolerable that a small minority should be allowed 
to defy necessary regulations for the sake of filthy lucre, 
and if detected receive only the comparatively small 
penalty of normal times. 
There was one point in Mr Bonar Law's speech to which 
we must revert for a moment. He mentioned that the 
increase of daily expenditure was due partly to the in. 
creased cost of food, and partly to the greater output 
of munitions. He said that if he were at liberty to give 
the House the figures showing the supply of munitions 
at one period and another, they would be astonished. 
It is an increase which is going on all the time and is a^ 
marked now as compared with six months ago as it was 
at any previous time. The nation has willingly organised 
and disciplined itself for this purpose in a way which was 
deemed impossible three years ago, and it is most satis- 
factory to know that the result is so excellent. Germany, 
with her forty years of preparation, thought it impcssible 
that any nation could ever beat her in the matter of big 
guns and plentiful ammunition, but already on the 
Somme she is learning her mistake. She has still a good 
deal more to learn of the character and industry of the 
British people in the coming months. The fiercer her 
submarine menace, the more resolute are wc to defeat it. 
We know now that this depends not only on the Nav>-. 
but on ourselves, and are ready for any self-denial which 
the C.overnment may declare to be necessary. The 
example which our splendid fighting-men have given 
during the last terrible thirty months is not thrown away. 
Whether it be in the matter of lending money to the State 
or of foregoing excess and luxury, we— the great majority 
of us that is— are only too glad of the occasion for proving 
our merit. The present call to National Service is 
another welcome opportunity. 
