could
suggest to mitigate these hardships was employed, the sufferings of
the men have been very great."

"In spite of all this they present a most soldier like, splendid,
though somewhat war-worn appearance. Their spirit remains high and
confident; their general health is excellent, and their condition
most satisfactory."

"I regard it as most unfortunate that circumstances have prevented
any account of many splendid instances of courage and endurance, in
the face of almost unparalleled hardship and fatigue in war, coming
regularly to the knowledge of the public."

So it is clearly not the fault of Sir John French that England does
not know the names of her heroes, or that their families are denied
the comfort of knowing that their sons fought bravely and died nobly.
It is not the fault of the British people, waiting eagerly for news
that does not come. Surely, in these inhuman times, some concession
should be made to the humanities. War is not moving pawns in a game;
it is a struggle of quivering flesh and agonised nerves, of men
fighting and dying for ideals. Heroism is much more than duty. It is
idealism. No leader is truly great who discounts this quality.

America has known more of the great human interest of this war than
England. English people get the news from great American dailies. It
is an unprecedented situation, and so far the English people have
borne it almost in silence. But as the months go on and only bare
official dispatches reach them, there is a growing tendency to
protest. They want the truth, a picture of conditions. They want to
know what their army is doing; what their sons are doing. And they
have a right to know. They are making tremendous sacrifices, and they
have a right to know to what end.

The greatest agent in the world for moulding public opinion is the
press. The Germans know this, and have used their journals skilfully.
To underestimate the power of the press, to fail to trust to its good
will and discretion, is to refuse to wield the mightiest instrument in
the world for influencing national thought and national action. At
times of great crisis the press has always shown itself sane,
conservative, safe, eminently to be trusted.

The English know the power of the great modern newspaper, not only to
reflect but to form public opinion. They have watched the American
press because they know to what extent it influences American policy.