Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1914-12-03
HOW LONG will
The WAR LAST?
Protracted Struggle Predicted
by Noted Persons.
MANY EXPRESS OPINIONS.

View of international Banker That
Struggle Will BE Over In Six Months
Not Shared by Soldiers, Statesmen
and Other Bankers Generally-Lons
War. Says Lord Kitchener.
The question How long will the war
last?' ~propounded to eminent soldiers.
statesmen and bankers in London.
Paris, Washington and New York.
brought the following replies:
BY Lord Kitchener:
1T Will be q long war"
BY the car OF Russia through the
London Daily Telegraph correspondent
at Petrograd:
There can be no peace negotia-
tons before the enemy is completely
crushed"
BY Lord Northcliffe. publisher of the
London Daily Mail and other leading
publications:
expert opinion considers that the
war will be over by next August, but /
think 1t will drag on much longer.
Modern warfare is siege warfare. And
s1eges in trenches apparently last much
longer than sieSes in fortresses. so that
tie driving back Of the Germans into
the trenches they have prepared on
their own side Of the Rhine must in
evitably last an almost indefinite pc
riod."
By Lieutenant Colonel Rousset, prom
inent French military critic:
1T is utterly impossible to predict
the limit Of the wal. Both sides are
fighting a battle Of trenches simi'qr to
that at S~ebastopol. which it took two
years to capture"
Germany Must Accept Terms.
By L. P. O'Connor. member of parIa-
ment and editor:
MY impression is that the war will
last a good while yet. The only terms
which the allies can accept will be
terms which Germany is likely to re-
fuse unless she is thoroughly beaten,
and that will take some time"
BY Josephus Daniels. secretary of the
United States navy:
Il would not dare even to guess at
it. No man in this country can know
enough about the forces. their position
and their capacity in Europe to make
a prediction"
The CONSENSUS of opinion of military
men both IN the navy and in the army
who Lave made Il study of the war is
that it will .ast through next year.
Some high authorities among the twen-
ty-tive to whom the question was put
say that it may go on for two Years.
One Of the highest authorities in the
navy department said:
The answer to the question is made
by Great Britain herself. who is calling
for another 100000 men for service.
That means that Great Britain and
the other allies know hat if even they
push Germany into her w territory
Germany will then only have begun the
long struggle against those who mean
to conquer her. Just nov there is
scarcely any use to talk about the end
Of the war, when Germany is fighting
beyond her own territories. with a
navy yet untouched and Il people at
home ready to supply the sineWS OF
war"
An international banker in New York
said:
THE war will be over within six
months"
Long, Bitter Contest.
Frank A. Vanderbilt. head Of the Ma
has just loaned $1O.OOO.O0O to France,
said:
1.-The stubborn resistance.and the rela-
lively small gains that have been made
on either side since the retreat from
before Paris indicate a long. hard
fought contest. Indeed. it seems to
come down to a question Of r%esources
In men and supplies"
By e. 81. Gary, head of the United
States Steel corporation:
my guess at the beginning Of the
war was a continuance for eighteen
months. have seer no reason to
change my opinion"
BY George Sutherland, United States
senator from Utah:
II do not think the war will be end
ed In less than a year. If the allies
succeed in throwing the Germans back
within their W borders the Germans
will be stronger there than on the Of
fensive."