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A WOMAN
AND THE WAR
BY
THE COUNTESS OF WARWICK
AUTHOR OF
"WARWICK CASTLE AND ITS EARLS," "AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF JOSEPH ARCH,"
"AN OLD ENGLISH GARDEN"
NEW YORK
GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY
COPYRIGHT, 1916,
BY GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
PREFACE
It is not without serious reflection that I have collected thesethoughts in war time to offer in book form to those who may care toread and ponder them. They were written for the most part on the spurof vital moments, when some of the tendencies of the evil times throughwhich we are living seemed to call for immediate protest. I have feltmore strongly than ever in the past two years that we are in dangerof accepting as something outside the pale of criticism the judgmentsof those who lead, and sometimes mislead us. The support or hostilityof the newspaper press—in some aspects the greatest distortingmedium in the world—is still ruled by party considerations. Loyaltyor ill-will to the men in office colours all the views of those whopraise or blame, and it happens often that a good measure is damnedfor what is best or lauded for what is worst in it. Again, I have feltthat while much of the fighting spirit of the country is subject toarmy discipline, the tendency of government has been to make helplesspuppets of[Pg iv] the citizens who remain behind the forces in the field.In the near future, if we would save what is left of our heritage offreedom, and would even extend the comparatively narrow boundaries thatexisted before the autumn of 1914, we must relieve the press of theself-conferred duty of thinking for us. We must not give our rulers ablank cheque; their best efforts tend more to rouse our suspicions thanto compel our confidence.
Judging all the matters dealt with in these pages as fairly andhonestly as I can, I have found myself repeatedly in opposition to theauthorities. The legislation from which we have suffered since warbegan, the efforts to relieve difficult situations and prepare forobvious emergencies have savoured largely of panic and can boast nomore than a small element of statesmanship. So I have protested andthe protests have grown even beyond the limit of these book covers,while an ever-swelling letter-bag has told me that I have interpreted,however feebly, the thoughts, wishes, and aspirations of many thinkingmen and women. We are on the eve of events that will demand ofevolution that it mend its paces or become revolution without more ad