The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1915-08-26
GERMANY'S PLEDGE TO AMERICA
GERMANY

O1U0VkDUBuU
| UNITED Press Leased Wire Service.1
BERLIN, (vIa Amsterdan), Aug. 20.
Capture Of the fortified Russian city
Of Bielostok 10 expected within few
hours.
General Won Gallwltx was within
eight miles Of Hielostok early yester-
day. His troops fought their way over
tho Narew on the preceding day and
reached the Warsaw-Petroorad rail-
way southwest Of eieIotsok. The Rus
SLAMS wore making 4 stubborn resist
anoe whom the last officlal dispatches
were filed, but vvere retreatin0 slowly
eastward, instead Of falling back on
tions for Bielostok's evacuation have
been made.
With the Russians driven from 1leI-
ostok, the Germans will hold the en-
tire 40 miles Of the Warsaw-Petro-
! grad railway from Warsaw to Bieios-
! tok. Part Of the railway from Bleios-
! tok to Brest-LItovsk already 70 In
German hands.
! General Won EIehorn 10 making sat
isfaetory progress toward Wilma, the
war Office reported today, but offciai
dispatches do not Indicate exactly
what distance the Germans must trav-
erse before they reach wilma.
FRENCH JINaoEs.
BERLIN (vla wireless to sayvliie)
Aug. 26.-French Jinaoes realized be-
/ fore the war started that the nation
! must plunge into war or abandon her
military policies because Of the heavy
burden they laid on the French pso-
| pie, the North German Gazette de-
ciared today In printing the last Of
what purported to be secret letters
/ Of Belgian diplomats.
The Belgian ar,ba ssador to Paris
reported to hIs home office on May 5,
1914, that the French people were
! growing restless under three years Of
/ military service. The Iingoists were,
/ therefore, active 70 stir up the nation,
The wrote.
1 FORTRESS Is TAKEN.
4 BERLIN; Aug. 20. tvIa wireless to
iSayvllie.) The fortress Of Brest Lit
ovsk. Russla's greatest stronghold,
has been taken by the Germars.
| An OFFICIAL announcement from the
war office this afternoon said:
/ The fortress Of Brest Litovsk has
been taken by German and Austro-
Hungarian troops.
| "They stormed the works SoG .the
western and Northwestern front and
entered the center Of the fortress last
night. The enemy thereupon sur.
rendered the fortress"
The Russians are believed to be re-
treating eastward and northeaetward,
their right flank protected by the for
- AkAt 1A$A AA al
covered by the marshes that delayed
the Austro-German advance from the
south.
The ease with which Brest Lltovsk
was taken 10 ono Of the greatest mill
tary surprises Of the war. The fork
ress has been under direct attack but
few days. The western forts evide Mt
~ gave way quickly to the pounding Of
the German AZ centlmetres. Once
these forts were pounded to pieces the
Gernan tide rolled In upon the Inner
forts and the Russians were forced to
evacuate.
II 10 believed here that several
thousand Russians were taken when
the fortress fell. Russian strategic
clans, IL is considered certain here,
/ did not provide for tho surrender o.
the fortress for at least a fortnight.
/ The loss Of Brest Litovsk makes ]:
imperative that the Russians surrend.
e. the whole Of the Brest Litovsk line
Of defence upon which the slavs had
depended to stop the German rush
after the fall Of Warsaw. kovno and
koveI, the extreme ends Of this great
defeneive lire already arc In the hands
Of the Austro-Germans. The fall OF
Blelostok and Grodno, the only other
points Of Importance are expected
momentarily.
Capture Of erest Litovsk deprives
the Russians Of field base OF suf'
ficjent size to serve for the operations
Of the huge Russian field armies. De-
prlved Of their base at Warsaw, tho
siavs counted upon Brcst Lltovsk. No
other Russian city possesses the rail-
way and natural advantages necessary
for an important military base nearer
than Moscow or Petrograd. Some
military critics rated erest Litovsk as
Of more importance to the Russians
from the strategic standpoint than
Wareaw itself.
The first official advices to the war
office carried no mention Of the booty
taken. Il is believed large numoero
Of cannon fell into the hands OF the