On the heels of the Italian and Russian flascos comes the report from the Near East of the death of Lieutenant-General Sir Frederick Stanley Maude. The loss of the leader of the British forces in Mesopotamia is a blow which will be felt on two continents: in Europe, where his repeated successes against the Turks were the one bright ray of hope amid a policy of bungling; and in Asia, where his name and fame were the admiration, if not the idol, of the natives.

When General Maude took command of the army of the Tigris, some months after the fall of Kut-el-Amara, he found that the most difficult problem facing him as he planned his advanced on Bagdad was the absolute lack of an effective system of rail communication. It was this condition which prevented the relief of Kut during the winter of 1916, the river transportation proving inadequate. Under the direction of the new commander a complete railroad system was built from the Persian Gulf to Amara, and in addition the British Army was reorganized on a basis superior to that of any other overseas force.

What counted most, however, in the British success against Bagdad was Sir Stanley's ability to control the Arabs. Where others had embittered the natives he won their friendship. His personal influence has been the great factor in preventing the ever-incipient revolts.

General Maude turned Mesopotamia from a war theatre of disappointments and disasters to one of great possibilities. Where so many British commanders failed, he made good. Heavy is the sudden loss of one who many believed would be England's second Kitchener.