The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1914-09-05
EXHAUSTION ALONE Will
END EUROPEAN WAR

L. p. O'Connor Takes Pessimistic
View of European Struggle
of Nine Nations.
London, Aug. z9.-The gigantic
seriousness of the struggle on which
England has entered has been more
fully realized in the last week, and
the idea that this is life and death
struggle is passing from mere
phrase to conviction based on iron
facts. The first fact which brought
home this realization was the with
drawal of the English force, owing
to the failure of the. confident hope
that Namur would hold out longer.
The one bright spot was the splendid
bravery of our troops and Their obsti-
nate defense OF their ground, inch by
inch. before immensely superior fore
es, and now comes the first public an
nouncement of what lay behind Earl
kitchener's speech when he pro-
claimed the idea that all the re-
sources of this worldwide empire
would be called in to defend Eng
lands cause.
1t was thought at the tine that he
was referring only to the splendid
promises of help from the great do
minion and to his intention to begin
Immediately to recruit second new
army to be followed by third, but
the announcement that Indian troops
were to be summoned to the assistance
of the English troops came like a
crash of thunder and revealed grim
determination to fight this struggle
out to a successful finish.
1t is evident now that Germany has
to count on war which will not be
finished by any coups, however sue
cessful, on French SOL, and that
England, as in the days of Pitts
struggle with Napoleon, will go on
and yet again go on forming COM
binations. until German militarism
and overlordship of Europe are
brought to an end. It is possible
that, meantime the English army
may have to dash itself against
German guns, but another army will
follow until they have finally ex-
hausted the foe. This reduces to
comparative insignificance even actu-
al events on the continental field of
battle, but these events are serious
enough. ~
Germany may reach Paris within
short time, and possession by it of
all of northern France brings it close
to English shores and this, in turn,
may threaten such performances on
English cities as those of Zeppelin's
bombs in Antwerp. But the resolu-
ton of this country rises higher with
every such event.
Churchill took the first step
toward the threatened danger from
the continental sea coast, by de-
Tending Ostend and bring the fleet
once again as momentous factor
in deciding the issues of war. Doubt
less similar steps will be followed
up in other seacoast towns follow ny
German occupancy of them.
1t is also evident that even the
possession of Paris will leave the
French army in existence, and that
the conquest of the French capital
will not involve the conquest of all
France.
Meantime. the Russian advance
goes steadily forward until people,
amid tragic events, prophe-
sy that the kaiser at Paris will be
addressed by the car at Berlin.
What Italy will do yet remains a
mystery, but the general expectation
is that it will find some provocat on
from Austria which may justify it in
siding the allies and liberating the
italian irredenta from Austrian rule.
The opinion in favor of the war
now is so universal, that the at
tempt of Kerr Hardie, the we'll
31-Standard 1913 LDM
known socialist, to make case
against Sir Edward Grey in the nego-
tiat:ons before the war with Germany
was howled down in the house of
commons. In short, all England to-
day is one as the conflict becomes
more embittered by apparently YER
acious accounts of shooting out
RACES by German troops in Belgium
and Alsace-Lorraine.
Indeed, Alsace-Lorraine, in addi-
ton to being the final goal in this