Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1915-03-25

/ Sdg len our ITteQuS IN AHSTlCd-duO
| also those who do not love us-that |
am looking forward with unshakable
| confidence to the final victory-and a
| well-earned vacation" he added whim-
| sically. "I should like nothing better
| than to visit your Panama exposition
| and meet your wonderful General Goe-
/ thals, the master builder, for imagine
| our jobs are spiritually much akin;
| that his slogan, too, has been 'durch-
halten' (hold OUT until endurance and
organization win out against heavy
Odds
Then with sudden, paradoxical, ter
| rife, quiet earnest: Great is the task
| that still cOnfronts US, but greater my
faith in my brave troops" One got
| indelibly the impression that he loved
| them all, suffered under their hard
ships and sorrowed for their losses.
For you, this war is only titanic
drama; we Germans feel it with our
hearts" he, said thoughtfuIly
The field marshal spoke warmly of
the Austro-Hunger ian troops, and cited
| the results OF The close cooperation
between his forces and the Austrian
armies as striking proof Of the
| prOyerb, In union there is strength"
Like all other German generals whom
I had "done," he, too, had words of
unqualified praise for the bravery of
his enemies. THE Russians fight
well; but neither mere physical brav-
cry nor numbers, nor both together,
win battles nowadays"
| How about the steam roller?"
at hasn't improved the roads bit,
| either going forward or backward" he
said with a grim smile.
Are you worrying over Grand Duke
Nicholas open secret" l asked, citing
the report via Petrograd and London
of new projected Russian offensive
that was to take the form. not of a
steam roller, but of a tidal wave of
| cavalry"
1T will dash against a wall of loyal
flesh and blood, barbed with steel-if
it comes" he said simply.
Lauds American Genius.
My impression, growing increasing
ly stronger the more have seen, that
German military success had been to
no small extent made possible by
| American inventive genius and high
speed American methods, received in
teresting partial confirmation from the
field marshal whose keen. restless
mind, working over quite ordinary ma
terial, produced the new suggestive
|
America might possibly be materi-
ally assisting Germany's enemies with
arms, ammunition and other war ma
terial certain it was that America, in
the last analysis, had helped Germany
far more"
| But for America my armies would
possibly not be standing in Russia to-
| day-without the American railroading
genius that developed and made pos
sible for me this wonderful weapon,
thanks largely to which we have been
able with comparatively small num-
bers to stop and beat back the Rus
sian millions again and again-steam
| engine versus steam roller. Were it
for nothing else, America has proved
one of our best friends, if not an ally.
I'VE are also awaiting with genuine
| interest the receipt of our first Ameri-
can guns" the field marshal added.
How was Germany expecting to get
| guns from America? He was asked
to explain the mystery.
q read sC-lewheTe in the papers
that large shipment of heavy cannon
had left America for Russia" he said
with dry humor, ''in transit for us
for if they're consigned to the Rus
SLAMS, We'll have them sooner or later,
l hope" adding, with his habitual ear
nestness: THE Americans are some
thing more than shrevd, hard-headed
business men. Have they ever wildly
| pictured to themselves a German sol
der smashed by an American shell,
or bored through the heart by al
American bullet? The grim realism
of the battlefield-that should make
| also the business man thoughtful"
Shall you go west when you have
cleaned up here in the east?" I sug-
gested.
81 can't betray military secrets
which 1 don't know myself, even to
interest the newspaper readers" he
| said. He gave me the impression,
| however, that east or west, he would
be found fighting for the fatherIand
so long as the fatherland needed him.
Is a Hard Worker.
'Now it means work again. You
must excuse me- he concluded, cour-
teously. you want to go to the front.
Where should you like to go?'' SIS
ITO Warsaw" I suggested modestIy
"I, too, he laughed, but today
ausgeschlossen ("nothing doing" in