eceived
greater assistance from the War Office. At all events that was so
during the earlier portion of the time when the branch, which in
pre-war days had been supposed to control such subjects, was under me,
but only held restricted powers. The foregoing paragraphs have not
been intended for one moment to suggest that British journalism did
not, take it all round, behave admirably during the war. Newspapers
almost always fell in readily with the wishes of the military
authorities. On many occasions they were of the utmost assistance in
making things known which it was desirable from the military point of
view should be known. But there is no such thing as perfection in this
world, and, even supposing the Press to be conscious of certain
foibles of which it has been guilty, it can hardly be expected to
advertise them itself. So an attempt has been made in this chapter to
indicate certain directions in which it was occasionally at fault. The
most important point of all, however, is that, when journalism and
officialism happen to come into collision, the public in practice only
hears the Fourth Estate's side of the story.

CHAPTER XVIII

SOME CRITICISMS, SUGGESTIONS, AND GENERALITIES

Post-war extravagance -- The Office of Works lavish all through
-- The Treasury -- Its unpopularity in the spending departments
-- The Finance Branch of the War Office -- Suggestions -- The
change made with regard to saluting -- Red tabs and red cap-bands
-- A Staff dandy in the West -- The age of general-officers --
Position of the General Staff in the War Office -- The project of
a Defence Ministry -- No excuse for it except with regard to the
air services, and that not a sufficient excuse -- Confusion
between the question of a Defence Ministry and that of the
Imperial General Staff -- The time which must elapse before newly
constituted units can be fully depended upon, one of the most
important lessons of the war for the public to realize -- This
proved to be the case in almost every theatre and in the military
forces of almost every belligerent -- Misapprehensions about
South Africa -- Improvised units could not have done what the
"Old Contemptibles" did -- Conclusion.

My period of service on the active list closed a very few days before
the Armistice of the 11th of November, so that no claim can be put
forward to have formed one of that band o