WAR MEMOIRS OF DAVID LLOYD GEORGE 1917

THE UNITED FRONT 509
baffles every purpose. Both Haig and Robertson working
together were adepts at that game. All information came
through their hands. It was selected and prepared for our
consumption. I have shown how over the preparations for the
Passchendaele campaign it was handled in such a way as to
guide the Cabinet inevitably to the desired conclusion. Some
facts and figures were exaggerated or overemphasised, others
understated or suppressed altogether. The professional conscience
is a mystery which defies every ethical system ever
yet inaugurated. Historically, we know of instances where the
most exalted Christian ethics have bowed before the inexorable
plea of its agents that the end justifies the means.
Both Haig and Robertson were genuinely convinced that
victory was only attainable on fronts under their direct control.
Every scheme for diverting endeavour elsewhere, in
their honest opinion, placed the ultimate triumph in jeopardy
and must be thwarted by every device. I had to judge these
eminent soldiers as I found them at the end of 1916. They
were both able, conscientious and hard-working men who
stood high in the esteem of all in their profession. Those
who are in charge of a great concern know that there is no
more difficult question to solve than the dismissal or retention
of men under their command who are competent,
upright and experienced, with a thorough knowledge of the
details of their business, and working without stint to the
best of their ability for the success of the business, but who
are obstinately attached to old methods when a change of
policy is desirable. If they deliberately disobey an order, then
one's course is clear. But if they are clever enough just to
avoid that indiscretion, then the question of how to deal
with them is the most embarrassing that confronts any
business man. It often needs a smash to make a change of
personnel practicable without creating a sense of injustice to
worthy men. If it is done when the reports that come in from