10 
LAND & WATER 
January 17, 191S 
staff departnifnts, nre neverilielcss not altogether neglected. 
The First Lord lias probably siipposal that his nine new 
Directors — n group of men "it is nu exaggeration to call 
lirilliant— working umlor the Deputy First Lord and thi; 
Deputy and Assistant Chiefs of the Naval Staff, together 
with their several expert assistants in each department — all 
o( them fresh from sea experience and mostly of forty years 
t)f age or less— must from their own personal knowledge 
:md from their manv facihties for communicating with those 
nrtivelv engaged in operations, have at their disposal all the 
technical knowledge and all the teclmical developments that 
tiie war has brought about, and that therefore their plans 
and advice will be perfectly in accord with flie possibilities 
<i( the ships and weapons they recommend to be employed 
lor putting these ])lans into effect. But it is doubtful if in 
;iiiy department of naval technique it is wise to rely upon such 
a general immanence of this vitally important fonn of wisdom. 
We must not forget that at Galhpoli the naval guns were set 
to perform a quite impossible task on the advice, as Mr. 
Churchill told us, of the gunnery advisers at the Admiralty, 
" the best that the world possesses." The failure of the most 
nmbitiott? of all Mr. Churchill's war plans was perhaps the 
revenge of fate for the most thoughtless of all his blunders as 
an administrator. Only eightem months brfn,-. i„. imrl 
banished from the Admiralty organisation the office of In- 
spector of Target Practice --the only element in the whole 
organisation, which the genius of a })jevious holder of the 
Inspectorship had developed into a highly perfect example of 
what a staff department should be. It was the depository oi 
the active fleet's experience, judgment and wants as to'the 
gunnery inethi)ds. The British Meet had fired more rounds at 
battle practice targets under the supervision of abler an<l 
keener gunnery oiilieers than any fleet in the world. No body 
of men could have been more "sensitive to their faifures, nor 
better aware that it was caused by the inadequacy of then- 
equipment. None could better indicate the lines on which 
progress should be made. But the Admiralty did not know 
how to use the only staff element it possessed. The fatal taint 
of administrative infallibility made the mere existence of a 
critic, even if his ad\-ice was not followed, intolerable to the 
lesser bureaucrats that served the autocrat. And Mr. 
Churchill was persuaded to abolish the office so as to .silence 
criticism. The Galhpoli failure followed inevitably. 
Is it not probable, is it not at any rate possible that the 
creation of branches, equivalent to the old Inspectorship, to 
elucidate the methods of using weapons, might not, even at 
this late date, give us prompt results which would be reflected 
in tlie ficrjitinnr |->n\vi>i- mF fV... flp-.f- } AinilT'R FoTirN. 
Leaves from a German Note Book 
The Cult of the Theatre 
THE theatres m BerUn — and in A'ienna — are sold out 
ever\' night. Prices have been raised to what the 
Germans themselves call scandalous heights. And 
yet it is as difticidt to obtain a seat as an ounce of 
butter. The Berlin correspondent of the Vienna Xeit, fur- 
nishes the explanation for this curious fact. In the first 
place, the demand 101* enjoyment is as strong in Berlin as the 
demand for food. The soldiers from the front coming home 
on leave desire to be amused ; the people' at home, thoroughly 
tired of the "melancholy business" of holding out, are 
equally insistent on pleasure. In the second place, social 
life in Berlin is quite dead. 'The shortage of meat, cakes, 
beer and other drinks, makes it impossible to entertain with 
any hope of attracting one's friends, and invitations to drop 
in after supper have proved unpopular. Dancing in cold 
rooms is out of the question, and so social Hfe in Berlin con- 
centrates on the theatre. 
The fare is certainly abundant, though revue is appa- 
rently unknown. So is the specifically war play. A glance 
at the weekly programme of the Berlin theatres shows plenty 
of variety, suitable for all tastes. During the first week of 
the year, for instance, the Beriin citizens might hear at the 
«)pera " The Barber of Seville" on Monday, " The Meister- 
sinper " on Tuesday, and " The Marriage of Figaro " on the ' 
Monday following. There were several classical plays, in- 
cluding " The Merry Wives of Windsor," and a host of inodcrn 
••omedies, for the most part problem plays, by well-known 
authors. 
ft is felt that these joys should also be brought within the 
reach of the less well-to-do, who cannot afford the pleasures 
of the theatre. A new organisation has therefore come into 
being, under the style of " Happy Evenings," for the purpose 
of providing musical and draniatic entertainment for the 
masses of Berlin. Herman Sudermann and Lndwig Fulda 
are among the patrcais of the society, and their appeal for 
funds, IS mteresting reading for the light it sheds on the con- 
ditions of life in the German capital. " To bring a little 
gladness into the existence of those who are oppressed by the 
cares of subsistence, darkness, cold and the dearth of clothes 
is the aim of the " Happy Evenings " Society. ... A 
few hours each evening spent amidst warmth and light and 
laughter may generate the new strength necessary for bearing 
want and deprivation." 
Polygamy 
The Germans appear to he greatly annoyed at the accusa- 
tions levelled against tlicm in the press of the worid that a. 
suggestion to encourage ])olvgamy had been favourably, if 
not officially, received in the I'atheriand. The Berliner 
'J amebian, which may be described as a moderate and respect- 
able daUy, does not deny that the cult of polgyamy is not 
unknown in Germany, Intt it declares that it is "limited to a 
few fanatics who are of no significance. In making this 
admission it mentions iwi less than six organisations, founded 
for the purpose of inrprovmg and increasing the German 
race— (i) The " Eden " se-ttlcment, {2) The Mid-day Union, 
U) The Hammer Comsmunity, (4) The German" League 
for Regeneration, (5) The New Order of Templarp, and (f>) 
The Ariana Society for the propagation of I^rce Love. 
The Berliner Tagehlatt is at pains to minimise the influence 
of these bodies, and in so doing reaches the height of im- 
pertinence by asserting that the man who is to blame for these 
ills is the Englishman, Houston Stewart Chamberlain ! 
Chamberlain an Englishman ! Whatever his origin may ha\e 
been, there is little either of the Britoa or the British 
outlook about him. He himself claims to be a German of the 
purest type, and is devoted to the highest German ideals, 
ideals exemplified in the stripping bare of Belgium, the sinking 
of hospital ships and the poisoning of wells. Yet this man 
is dubbed English when it suits the German book. 
Yet another instance is very instructive of German men- 
tanly. The Frankfurter Zeitimi^, commenting on Mr. Lloyd 
George's reference to the (lerman colonies, calls atten- 
tion to the demand of the English Premier that the fate of 
the natives should be determined by their own choice. Th<> 
South German journal is aghast at the proposal. " Pre- 
sumably Mr. Lloyd George means," it argues, " that the natives 
of the German colonies should express their views while yet 
British troops are in occupation." That would never do. 
Yet while Mr. Lloyd George, even according to the Frank- 
furter Zeitung only " presumably " desires this,, the German 
(iovernment actually claims a s"imilar right in Couriand an. I 
Lithuania ! 
Gall to Repentance 
Far-sighted Germans appear to realise the hopelessness ot 
this attitude, and they are striving to recall -their fellow 
countrymen to their senses. Among such people pride of 
place belongs to Rudolf Eucken, professor, philosopher, 
theologian, one of the few men of independent spirit in Ger- 
many. In a Christmas message to the readers of a Hamburg 
^ paper, he pleads for an understanding of the e'nemy. And 
yet even Eucken speaks with condescension. The "war has 
shown " that our opponents are more capable tiian we were 
at first inclined to think. It was a common thing among us 
to speak of the English as a nation of shopkeepers. But a 
nation of shopkeepers would never ha.ve been able to put 
forth such political and mihtary energy as the English ha\'e 
done and continue to do." " ' 
In the same way Maximilian Harden, unmuzzled once 
more, urges reconciliation with America. On this he insists 
in his lectures as well as in his weekly organ, which is now 
allowed to appear again. Of President Wilson, Harden writes, 
"Never did the German people hear an iminire word front 
Ins mouth." The way to end the war lies by way of Washing- 
ton. Harden told an audience in Beriin three days after last 
Christmas, and he conehided by appealing to tlie people of 
Goethe and Diirer to contribute its share in constructing the 
Temple of Righteousness. The pity of it is, however, that 
few people lake Harden seriously, enteiiaining as he is. 
The man who is in reality all-powerful is Hindenburg, and 
he breathes a very different spirit. " Do not let us talk so 
much about peace," he told a deputation of. journalists on 
December 23nd. " Only \'ictory leads to peace. That was 
the case in the East. It will be the same elsewhere. Victory 
and peace are certain, and they \\ill come all the sooner i"f 
