Page:Heresies of Sea Power (1906).djvu/273

Rh Would not a free Press have voiced that large section of Russian opinion which—despite the pro-Japanese revolutionary element—did, (so those who know Russia best all assure us,) hold the view of that 'We must muddle it through,' which saved England in the S. African war.

In contemplating the victorious Japanese we are apt to forget that only in defeat can the real strength of a nation be assessed. Only an unrestricted press can show the nation what its real sentiments are, and this fact is a heavy thing to put in the scales against the palpable enough dangers of having leaders who have failed criticised to the men under them. Really perhaps the answer rests with 'Fitness to Win.' If Fitness to Win is a matter of leaders only, then a muzzled press is desirable; but if it be an affair of all the nation, of the nation as a whole, then freedom of the Press despite all the obvious disadvantages in specific cases is surely more desirable. Just as, whatever advantages Protection may convey, a Free Trade nation exposed to fierce competition must of necessity have a hardier trade, so the protection afforded by muzzling the Press is apt to produce 'hot-house' leaders. Terrible though the responsibility on an admiral in war may be, greatly as this may be increased by his being the target for half-informed and at times perhaps unjust criticism, a strong man is likely to be all the stronger for having to weather the additional storm. In all public careers such storms