When I Commanded neral During the War Of course there are sensational moments in life, particulars of Which only a very communicative man will communicate to the world Apart from such moments, I. ca not recall that either before or after the war I experienced any thrills worth mentioning. But during the war a few thrills came my way.
As representative of the War Office I" had. charge jof the civil organization for moving the cutie population in cafe of need out of 2 certain area where the War Office believed the Germans would Jond—if they did land, was talking to a considerable officer one night when he said to me gloomily: "Why aeroplanes destroy Essen? I will fell" you. Becauoo Asquith has shares in. Krupps, and won't allow it" Tr thrilled me to think how easily we should win the war under the direction of such masterminds as this one. had another and a different thrill when Twas summoned by a Cabinet Ministar to a meeting of distinguished authors who were to help in putting Britain's case persuasively before the whole world and especially America, I there Jearnt that very distinguished authors had been patriotically sending gratis articles to America and having them refused by very distinguished "American editors. thought that this difficulty might be overcome, I wrote an article state ing the British ease, and "The price of this stut It was at once bought and publ shed. I wrote more and lengthier stuff, about our armies, and aid; "The price of this stu is 21,800. It was at once bought and printed. The editors were pleased. The British Government was pleased. And great moment for the last-named!
In the last year of the war I way summoned to the Ministry of Information and asked to sit ister told me that I' understood the psychology of the French. Tdid not deny it. He also said..—"Whatever you do, I will back you." He did.
T had always had a passion for organization. I now gratified the passion. Next to running a great hotel, this business seemed to me to be most sensational that any human being could indulge in, I could contradict and withstand ambassadors, and did, But soon' afterwards I had a lit, the most terrible of T was told:
The Minister is very ill, and will resign, No new Minister is to be appointed at present, but you will be put in charge of the Ministey, with supreme responsi-no experience of Thode; having dominion over hundreds of exalted persons, including railway directors, historians, K. C.' heads of trusts, pocts and generals! You cannot. At least, I could not. T told 'a Minister that could not sleep for responsibility. He said:—
"You will get used to It The strange thing is that T did.
Great and lawful days! What tales I could tell of rival Ministries fighting one another quite as tenaciously as the Allied armies fought the German armies—and with far more bitterness. A friend of mine in the War Office told me that an order had been issued forbidding any member of his see~ tion, under any pretext whatever, to enter my Ministry.
Still, when iT visited the War Office, even the mightiest swells had to sce me. Which was something.
Thad a few generals of my own. I remember the first time I rang the bell and said to one of my "Ask General X. if he will be ood enough to come and see me at once."
And General X. came and was 'A great ment for a novelist! But if you the greatest of all, you are, mistaken. My generals, 1 were charming and unbureaueratic men, and I had no sort of grievance against them. they ware generals, them I felt that was doing something to redress the balance on behalf of all privates, and all officers, from colonels downwards, in 'aM the British armies.
'The greatest moment of all, the moment when I knew that my had touched its climax, in November, 1918, when' my. principal tary came into my Foam and sai "Fellows at the War Office are continually ringing me up to know lether the Armistice has been "Don't tell them, said I. (Not that we knew.)
Such was the ce-ordination of Ministries in the War that I got my first news of the Armistice from a newsboy in Regent-street at 1045 am. on November 11th. Everybody knew: at eleven o° clock, T returned to my Ministry, the stof of which was highly excited, and oven hysterical, particularly the women. I affected nonchalance, and urged the women to remain calm, But. perhaps this moment was the" supremely great one for me, after all. I was free,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.