Evening star., 1914-12-31

a delay which was wholly unexpected.
But the odds were too great. By the
end of August the terrible German war
machine had literally moved its way
through Belgium. leaving carnage and
ruin in its wake, and by September 4
had reached a point within twenty
! miles of Paris.
Having. thus. silenced the Belgian
strongholds, which involved a delay of
at least three weeks. the German
armies swept on toward Paris. which
was In active preparation for a siege
When the enemy had reached point
only seventeen miles from the outer
defenses of the city, the seat of gov
ernment was removed to Bordeaux. No
one on this side doubted that the Ger
man intention was to invest the city.
According to the German statement
however, the investment of Paris was
not part of their plan. Suddenly, on
september 4, the German army of the
right turned eastward. Since that time,
the kaiser's forces have been retiring
slowly. fighting with a persistency
never before recorded in the history Of
modern war, contesting every foot of
ground in a series of the most sangui-
nary engagements. .~
Russia Rapidly Mobilizes.
From the first, Russian mobilization
progressed with amazing rapidity. By
the middle of August it was practical
ly completed and the cars armies
were In rapid advance toward the Ger
man and Austrian frontiers. Great
forces were hurried to the east to op-
pose the Slavic advance and many
bloody contests followed in rapid sue
cession, the advantage about equally
divided until late in the autumn, when
the greatly outnumbered Teutonic al
lies began to show signs of declining
offensive ability
The Japanese confined their military
operations entirely to Asia. They Inn
nadi Solr-
man forts at Kiaochow. China, which
were taken by assault after the garri-
sons had withstood an attacking force
greatly superior in numbers for ten
have been engaged in the Black sea,
there has been fighting on a small
scale In Egypt. and the Portuguese in
Africa have made several attacks upon
been engaged with Turkish forces in
an effort to keep the Suez canal open.
From the first, there has been prac-
TIC: 1,eal deadlock In the naval situation.
The British fleet sailed under sealed
orders August 4, and a big naval bat
tie In the North sea was confidently ex-
pected by the waiting world. 1t soon
became apparent that Great Britain's
German commerce, safeguard that of
Belgium, France and its own and rem
der the enemy's feet imperative by
holding it in the Baltic. A week later
the port authorities Of New York were
notified that the Atlantic lines were
unobstructed. and few days after
ward the Pacific lines were pronounced
vessels guarded the exit of the Kiel
canal and prevented the thirty German
battleships anchored there from COM
ing out. Within few days more than
thirty of the great German ocean lin
ers were tnterned in neutral waters
and number of German merchant
ships were captured or destroyed.
Merchantmen Preyed Upon.
BY the middle of November more
than 400 war vessels and merchantmen
on all sides had been captured or in
termed in neutral ports. The Emden
in the Pacific and the karlsruhe in the
south Atlantic, two German raiders.
preyed successfully upon allied and
neutral commerce until the former was
put out of action. During the past
three months the Germans have de-
stroyed number of British cruisers
by means of torpedoes. In an action
on 6Ts tGe Gersa coast OF Chill Chile a squadron Of
mouth and Good Hope with all on
beard. october 27-although it was
not known to the public for a fort
dreadnaught Audacious was sunk BY
mine off the coast of Ireland. Shortly
afterward the British admiralty de-
clared the North sea closed military
area.
As a result of the immediate paraly-
sis in the financial world due to the
sudden embodiment Of the European
ma tons, Americans abroad were SUBJ
Jected to great inconvenience and not
little actual hardship. Speedy relief
was extended to stranded tourists. but
the interruption in ocean traffic caused
great delay and anxiety. The Amer
Ican Red Cross was early in the field,
the relief ship Red Cross leaving New
1ork Tor European waters, with a full
equipment OF physicians. nurses and
also. was afforded the Belgian suffer-
ers and large sums of money for the
purpose were raised all over the coun-
.ry. AT the close of the year opera
at a standstill, the allies maintaining
slight advantage. German forces
We're withdrawn from France and Bel
gum 81 IN considerable numbers and sent
10 the eastern field, where the strong
Russian- offensive had made notable
nt neaa~ay. Great activity prevailed
along the entire eastern line. without
decisive result. until December IL
when the Germans reported a eraat
victory in Poland. One of the most
| surprising military events was the re-
capture zap uoet OF Z, Belgrade M by the Serbs and
trian FORCES One Of the most -sensa-
tiona! naval performances was the raid
on on the n, 9nfortified English seacoast
~ >.G1 4hdH "<1FSNlpS- the morning
of-December 16..~ The most Important
sea tight of the war. Off the Falkland
Islands. December 8. resulted in the
sinking OF three warships belonging to
! the German squadron which. a few
weeks earlier. sank the Monmouth and
GOOD Hope Off the coast OF Chile:
Chaotic Year for Mexico.
/ The trouble in Mexico is cumulative
! While everything is being done by
| the various factions to destroy the
last vestige Of a stable government,
little effort is put forth In any quarter
to mend existing evils, with the result
! that state of political chaos stiil
prevails In the unfortunate republic
Early In the year 1t became evident
| even to the most ardent advocate OF
| universal peace that nothing short of
armed intervention by the United
States could be expected to stralehten
out the tangle. Foreign nations began
to be critical of the administration's
''hands-off'' policy and to insist that
the Job Of pacifying Mexico belonged
| logically to the United States Vic
| toriano Huerta had held the provisional
presidency for year in disregard and
even in defiance of the plainly ex.
| pressed wish of the Washington au-
thorities. and boasted in his cups that
lie should hold his office longer than