Las Vegas optic., 1914-12-17

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adherents fell away, and among the
younger men who came up and went
higher up until they grouped them
selves as the emperor's immediate ad
visers was none who would agree with
Won Hindenburg They pointed Out
countless impossible difficulties as
they saw them. Won Hindenburg isn't
possessed Of an overstock of patience.
He was intolerant of these critics. He
flew into red-faoed RACES, he created
portfolio after portfolio of maps of
the region, as lecturer in the war
academy he expounded with pounding
fists his belief than an invading Rus
sian force could not only be defeated
but absolutely entrapped in the vide
spread lonely marshes and lakes of
the Mazurian region and annihilated.
il got to lie a stock Jest at the end
Of every semester of the war academy.
At the conclusion OF the talks from
the platform some officer would al
ways bring up the subject of the de-
fense Of east Prussia and they would
watch Won Hindenburg's face empur-
pie as the officer went on to point out
the impracticability Of attempting a
defense from Russian invasion of this
meek Of the German empire. Any and
every one of them always got rise"
|out Of Won Hindenburg. You could
have heard his replies for a block.
And when he moved up into mem
bership on the general staff, then the
army got its fill Of the "lales'' liter
ally. For ten years annually Won
Hindenburg would take his forces out
for Mazurian maneuvers. When the
orders would come, officers and SOL
.diers used to growl and grumble and
say-well, whatever It is you say in
German when you want to put a big
punch In your talk-"Here we go for
cur annual bath"
The fellows with the red buttons on
their caps were the ones to get the
bath. Red buttons were Russians;
blue, Germans. The maneuvers al
ways ended September 20, and on
September 20 for ten years many
thousands OF perfectly good German
officers and soldiers would find them
selves strategically driven from points
in their anatomy ranging from their
knees to their necks INTO the waters
Iof the Mazurian Lakes or the black
muck of the morasses. Some of the
officers used philosophically to take
along union suits Of rubber.
Then some of the members of the
general staff grew impatient of old
Won Hindenburg. mtrigues began,
looking toward his retirement. But
they had to work very cautiously. The
kaiser had great personal fondness
for the square jowled, bold eyed, roll
liking, rough spoken war dog. Be-
sides, this isn't the first time Won Hin
'denburg has ranked as a, hero~ He
was only a young lieutenant when he
won the iron Cross Of the first class
at the battle of st. Privat in Lorraine
in the war Of 1870 He was found,
desperately woundec and pinioned by
his dead horse, the only man alive of
his entire regiment.
But in the end-just how the thing
was done the ablest German journal
lists can't tell and Won Hindenburg's
old associates just about this time do
not care to-he was retired and put
upon a pension. That was about five
year ago. But if these military
schemers thought they had got rid Of
Won Hindenburg, that he'd go quietly
off to some obscure corner and nurse
his sulks and his gouty foot (for the
has gout; though he swears by all
the laundering gods he hasn't any such
thing and can put in as long day
in the field as the youngest Of his lieu.
tenants), they were very much mis-
taken. He left Berlin in disgust But
he went to the almost equally lively
city of Hanover and from thence his
rumbles and growls were almost in
cessantly heard He refused to dry
up about his ''lakes."
Every little while he would appear