The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-09-29
WAR ECHOES

Cleveland Plain Dealer: If the Euro- pean war lasts a year or two years the alliances may be put to a severe strain. Men of different nations have different
 views and different ideals. Complete har-
 many is preserved only by single-minded
 devotion to a common aim.
 The most remarkable alliance is that
 between the French and British. These
 two peoples arc traditional enemies.
 Never, except in the Crimean war-a
 struggle which was of no vital interest to the people of either nation-have French and British fought side by side Yet, in the present war, they have co- operated with the greatest enthusiasm. Both peoples appreciate that they are fighting tho greatest of all wars. and that their national existences are at stake. Despite the complete friendliness. of the l soldiers, there are persistent rumors that the French and British leaders were far from harmonious during the earlier weeks of the struggle The British, after their defeat at Mons by German force which 1 outnumbered them more than two to one, claimed that they had not been properly
 supported by the French. It Is now re- lated, with some show of credibiity, that Lord Kitchener made complaint directly to President Poincaire after this action, and that the President dismissed his en- tire cabinet because it was inclined to uphold a war minister whom Kitchener declared to be incompetent
 At any rate there has been no friction since the new French cabinet assumed control. Cooperation along the entire line has been complete. and results have been shown in the increased efficiency of the army.
 Though Austria and Prussia have more than once been at war with each other there is no such tradition of hostility as that which has existed in the case of Great Britain and France Moreover, these allies are largely of the same race Russia and Servia are also of close kin ship. Of the anti-German allies of west ern Europe, France has long affirmed her strong friendship for Russia, while Belgium and Great Britain have no anti Russian bias
 The real test, however, comes only when men of different nationalities fight side by side during long campaign. This has occurred nowhere except in the Fran co-Britsh lines of northern France. Be- fore the war is ended, the men of Aus tria, Germany and Hungary may form
 a single line against the combined Russo Anglo-French forces and real battle of the nations may be staged.
 Philadelphia Public Ledger: Napo- a iafr ipfn who strike quickly and have the heaviest battalions is still borne out by the vary ing fortunes of the allies and the Ger
 mans in the great battle of the four
 rivers, the somme, the Disc, the Aisne
 and the Mouse, where, after fortnight of warfare unparalleled in intensity and
 extent, the general results are still incon- elusive.
 The play of the infantry has been some what obscured by the extraordinary use of the great siege guns, which, in their temporary emplacements having all the value of improvised fortresses, have made the battle series of siege operations, fin which fort responds to fort without marked advantage until the moving bat ta1ions take the trenches. This warfare of fixed artillery has been the feature that has led both sides to re- port slight changes in the centre of oper- ation, near Rheims, where a more or less permanent system of intrenchments for the haviest guns has been effected. In consequence it is on the extreme wings in the valley of the Oise and of the Mouse that ground has been gained and advances made, thrust and counterthrust all being a matter of fresh troops and enough of them either to hold the front while the flank is being attacked, or for direct frontal attacks themselves. While the battle in France has been marked by this extraordinary ebb and flow, on the Russian frontier, while the Czar's forces have evidently been out generated in their campaign in east Prus- sia and are probably within their own borders in Poland, there Is no question that, even allowing for exaggeration, they have carried everything before them
 in Galicia and have forced Austria into a position where it's value as an efficient ally of Germany seems to have been fa- tally impaired.