Omaha daily bee., 1915-10-24
GERMAN DRIVE ON
RUSSIA A FAILURE
Prince Demidoff of the Richest
Family of the Cars Empire
Reviews Situation.
PURPOSE OF THE MOVEMENT

Correspondence OF the Associated Frc7sN |
ATHENS. Sept. @.-That Russia is
warning quite as much against militarism
In Russia itself a. In Germany Is the
declaration OF Prince Demidoff tho ddke
OF san Donate, who Is imperial Russian
minister to Greece In frank summary
OF the present situation In Russia, Prince
Demidoff told the Associated Press Cor
respondence that he could not see upon
what the German claims TO victory over
Russia were based, and ne developed a
view Of his own OF the situation which
left the central empires In perilous
rather than satisfactory position. fol-
lowing their successful drive on the i'm
perlal forces OF Russia,
Prince Demidoffs family Is popularity
supposed TO be the richest In Russia, ts
foundations having been laid In the time
Of Peter the Great by Niklta Demidoff,
who opened up some Immensely produc-
tive mines at Nevianskiy, In tho Ekater-
inenbourg district OF the empire, in 1899.
Tho first OF tho Demidoffs became the
Krupp OF this day. having been entrusted
by Peter the Great with the manufacture
OF cannon for the imperial armies
German Drive n Failure.
From every standpoint" said Prince
.
seems to have been as much OF a failure
as the German drive on Paris year ago
II had two definite objects-to crush the
Russian army in a great pincers and to
force Russia 20 Que for a separate peace
The first has patiently failed The
Germans have given II up. They are dig
ging themselves in, as they did in France,
and are preparing to transfer part of
their troops elsewhere. II was a mad
! thing TO attempt, anyhow-you might as
we'll call it drive on Irkutsk as any
thing else, for all the definite object Il
may be said to have had. Pounding at
an immense Russian force, withdrawing
with admirable order across the Russian
steppes as like chasing a will O. the wiap
through swamp the farther you 20
the worse Il gets, and tho less chance you
have to get out safe and sound. Russia
is like pillow-you can make a hollow
In II by punching II with your fist; but
when you take your fist away, slowly,
inevitably, Il comes back"
but suppose the fist is kept thereY'
Problem of Mathematics.
How long do you suppose the Germans
can do that2 It's simply problem In
mathematics. Remember one thing: the
farther an army extends Its line, the more
men are required to hold the line; and
the farther the line is from It's base, the
more men IRE required to feed and clothe
and supply II with munitions And the
increase Is In geometrio not arithmetic
progression; while at the same time the
process OF extending the line In the face
OF series OF daily rear-guard actions,
itself reduces the effective with which
the movement Is made. For there is no
advance without its price in men--dead.
permantly disabled, and those taken
prisoner-as we'll as In the freshness OF
the trooCs engaged.
Now nth the Austrlans and Germans
there Is n definite, known. maximum
number OF men available. II may be at
great as you please. but II Is fixed
Every German killed, permanently dis
abled or taken prisoner IL one available
German less. This 3 the key to the whole
situations; Il IL problem In subtraction.
So long as the Austrlans and Germa ms
have not succeeded In crushing Russia,
the process of subtraction goes on in
definitely. Extending their line only
hastens the inevitable end because It in
creRses the number of men essential
merely to hold the line. ..
80, on the German side, you have two
cardinal elements Of the situation, neither
OF which is an element OF victory:
price paid In men and strength without
definite, concrete result; and an ever in
creasing price to pay In the necessity
for supplying and victualing an i'm
mensely extended line, an element of de-
feat; an unbroken. undiscouraged. de-
termined force and an. as yet. scarcely
seriously touched reservoir OF fresh
troops.
Some Resources Limited.
The Same analogy holds true OF the
financial situation OF the central EN-
pires in relation to the allied powers,
and especially in Russia. Our resources.
our borrowing capacity II you please is
virtually unlimited, because the security
we have to offer is unlimited The re-
sources OF the central empires are very
limited indeed, and do not become less
so with time.
1T is In the knowledge OF this that
we are serene In our conviction of final
and complete victory
THE second purpose OF the German
drive on Russia was 10 force Russia to
conclude n separate peace. II only shows
how the Germans have wholly misunder.
stood the Russian character. as they
wholly misunderHtood both the French
and the English. They thought the
French were a degenerate people. who
had no fight left in them. Since the
battle OF the Marine they have abandoned
that theory. They though that Great
Britain was sadly divided. on the verge
Of civil war. Instead. the entire British
empire Is In the struggle heart and soul
And, instead Of forcing Russia to a
separate peace. the Germans by their
very drive on Russia, have unified the
Russian people as they have never been
unified before. You have today a specta-
Gle in Russia which Is truly grandicose.
100000 of people. absolutely united.
with but one thought their emperor in
person at their head, determined TO
purge Russia of the invader forever II
II take a generation. There Is. ss a mat
ter of fact more unity OF understanding
and confidence among the allies at this
moment than there Is among the Ger
mans themselves.
THE central empires have failed IN
both their attempts. Where, then, is
their victory over the Russians? Though
lacking sufficient munitions to undertake
an offensive all along the line, we can
stll harry the Germans. at the very