The Washington herald., 1915-09-05
By JAMES MORGAN.

,Coprnsht. 1875 By Mcclure Newspaper syndicate|
Can Russia come back? How can she
repair the broken link in the chain
which the allied powers drew around
their Teutonic foes at the outbreak of
the war?
If it is too early TO estimate the full
and final effect of the Russian retreat,
it is too l1te 70 underestimate the disas-
ter that the Austro-German advance in
the east has brought upon the cause Of
the allies Nor will it longer serve TO
l!ken the great operati to a nutcra"k-
or For It really is more like hatterins
ram. which has destroyed the outer wall
Of the Cars fortress. or perhaps like
an enormous Cleaver which has dissever-
ed his empire,
In taking Poland. the Germans cap
-,Ired the Cars front door. And they
have turned the key on him. For the
time being he is locked IN and finds his
own guns trained upon him from every
fallen fort For they have been re-
versed and no longer point outward
toward iIeTnldNN anu FH'4SN4 lS 'H'
ward toward Russia herself The Rus
sian Bear may he as ferocIous beast
as Kirling painted him. but how can he
.trik. or claw with Germany gripping
h,s r1-ht forepaw and Austria his left?
Closing Rus.ia's Gate.
Russia Is A land of military legends.
The country is so vast and remote that
when We talk about IT we are likely to
substitute fables for facts. Just as
Geographers. in Afric maps.
With savage pictures fiji their gaps.
And DER unlnha hitahle downs
Place elephants for want Of towns.
since the beginning of the present
camrsicn il has heen 4 popular fable
that if the Grand Duke Nicholas could
snatch his army from the nutcracker he
would leave the Germans only barren
Victory. They would have caught War
saw and Poland. which would h" bril-
liant hut useless trophies.
II is true that the prime object "t any
campaign is not the capture OF a CITY
or =, nroyinCe. with its unarmed poHu-
r,re hut the destruction of the enemy
armed forces. When war comes 'he
street crv always is "On to Berlin. oh
N Paris ''Or to Warsaw or On 10
Richmond" But none of those places
j. the true objective Of the advance.
Oftener the decisive victory is won at
an obscure village like AppomattoX
Once he had received the surrender OF
I.ee.s army. Grant did not trouble even
10 look at the Confederate capital.
When Russia lost Warsaw and Poland
however. she lost more than city and
= nrovinCe. She lost her gateway to
the theater of the war. For whatever
the fate of her army. the whole RUSSIAN
empire is caught in the German trap as
long as the enemy stands astride every
raiIroad that links Russia directly with
the west
Only one exit in that direction re-
mains to her The window which Peter
the Great opened on Europe when he
planted his capital in the desola,e marsh
by the Neva is closed and barred b.;
the German Baltic feet. But Russia
still has Archansel. that little port On
the White Sea. some In miles b. raj!
from PetrograG. And the frost of tn"
long, Arctic winter soon will gather OF
that single pane. In bat a few weeks
the great empire will DC narooned in
me ice and its last independent COM
m n4niCation with the rest % EU-crc and
its allies Will be cut.
Russia's sole means Of entry into Eu-
rope then will be by rail through neu-
trail Roumania. il that country should
still be neutral, and thence to a neutral
port on the Aegean. She is Fastening
to complete a long rail connection with
Sweden around the top OF the Gulf of
Bothnia. and this may give her by
October another outlet into a neutral
nation, i: indeed. the kingdom of the
Easas should persevere in its neutrality.
But at best she will have no road to
bear her to the frontiers OF her foes.
The New England of Russia.
And an army without roads is help
less thing. The Austro-German advance
has been well enough rewarded in cap
turing Russia's railroad outlets. Won
Hindenburg and Won Mackensen have
seized her arteries and clapped their
forceps upon them.
Moreover. when Russia lost Poland,
she lost her New England, and the eco
nomic sacrifice must be added to the
military in computing the total loss Her