Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1916-11-01

LONDON, Nov. 1.-"You will have to
ask Germany"
This was the answer of distingu-
ished English officer recently back
! from the front when the familiar
query was put to him: When will
the war end?"
I'VE know what we can give them,"
he continued, but we do not know as
yet how much they are prepared to
stand, or are willing to stand. In the
meantime We viii increase the pres
sure more and more until the break
| comes"
With the turning of the tide on the
western battlefields there was natur-
ally a disposition here to feel that
hostilities soon would be over The
officers and men of the army do not
share these views, however, and are
constantly cautioning the people at
home against the idea that the issue
will be settled within the next few
months.
From conversations with scores Of
officers familiar with the situation at
the front it can be stated that they do
not expect the war to end at the earl
! lest before next autumn. There are
many who believe there are two more
years of fighting before the Allied ma
tions.
I'VE have got long way to go"
said General Sir William Robertson,
Kitchener's successor, few days ago.
and We must be ready to go all the
way he added. Fight to a finish is
the order. There must be no slacken-
ing off. On the contrary, there must
be great tightening up"
No good soldier will make a definite
prediction as to the end of the war.
I'VE must be prepared to go on for
period of time which it is impossible
to estimate said Sir William. And
that expresses the opinion of the
army. There may be various influence
es at work which they know nothing
of, there is the constant talk heard
here of internal troubles in Germany,
but the army officer only looks at the
map. He sees a long road ahead
before the victory he has in mind can
4 become a reality. The military defeat
| of Germany, and that is the only de-
feat the army looks forward to, means
an invasion of the German Empire.
General Sir OMoore Creagh, the dis
tinguished Irish ~ c. has said:
"The Indian Lancers may never ride
through the Brandenburg gates, but
the end of the war will not come until
it is possible for them to do So"
Things Going Well in West.
Things are going as well at the
western front that it is difficult even
for any words of warning to dull the
spirit of citation in London. With Ger
many on the defensive it is felt here
that the enemy is no longer fighting to
retain all he seized in the first great
onslaught of the war, but is rather
struggling to hold as much as possible
until peace shall come. There is the
predicted shortening of the western
line" which Londoners confidently
look for from day to day.
On the other hand is the statement
OF General Foch, the French COM
mander, who declares the Germans are
so tightly held in the west it is i'm
possible for them to either advance or
to retreat in any great number.
1--WE are on Them" he said, like a
corrosive acid We have eaten into
their TANKS and they can't throw us
off. You cannot always see acid at
work. but the disinegrating process
is going on all the time"
The artillery of the Allies on the
Somme, where the great armies of the
belligerents are massed, commands
such an Overwhelming influence as to
prevent retreat, it is said. The she'll
ing behind the German lines is just as
Intense as it is in front. The expendi-
ture of English and French shells has
frankly amazed the Germans, the mil
itary critics here all agree, and the ar
t,llery activity has brought about a
distinct new phase in the fighting. 1t
has driven the once closely locked
| trenches further and further apart. 1t
has solved the problem of dealing with
a dug in" enemy. 1t has been dis
covered that the way to successfully
take a trench is to obliterate it, to
flatten it out with shell-fre. Recent
allied advances have been bought with
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