Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1916-01-08
WATCHFUL WAITING
RUSSIA'S POLICY
The 1915 Review Of the War Shows
What Course She
Pursued

policy regarding Mexico some months
ago, sums mp the war situation in
Russia today, but watehful waiting
in Russia has a meaning all its own.
Whereas Uncle Sam, after expert.
eucing few pin-bricks In his patti.
ence, remained passive the great
Russian bear after sustaining heal.
thy, life-sized wallop on his tender
shout let out a roar that shook the
earth continents away Reduced to
plain English the roar was;
Give me munitions; I've got .
nough men"
That was several months ago. Rus.
sia's greatest arsenal near Petrograd.
had been blown to smithereens; the
armies of Grand Duke Nicholas, yield
ing TO the Austro.Ge rman steam rol.
Ter. had been driven from the Car
pathians back into Russia and had
lost Warsaw and the whole OF 20.
land; there was political dissension
in Russia; alarming semi-revolution-
airy outbreaks were occurring here and
there; the ever advancing enemy was
threatening even Moscow and the
greatest seaport in the Baltic, Riga.
appeared TO be about to fall
In winter bears usually hibernate,
but all thes things and more which
| happened to the Russian bear In the
Summer and Fall of 1915 precluded
any idea of his going into winter
quarters this year Russia is today
| the ost active winter bear extant.
Russia has now modified her in.
dustries and shells and other munit.
| ions in great quantities have begun to
flow from the factories and shops in
| every important Russian city; the
Russian cabinet has been reformed
with particular refereace TO a more
| active conduct of the war: the peas
ants who used to drink vodka have
| become used to a vodka less Russia
and are putting their profits from
| vodkaless harvest--hence bigger har-
vests into the provincial banks;
Grand Duke Nicholas has been super
seeded by the Car as COMMANDMENTS
Chief and has dtaleen hold of the i'm.
portant campaign in the Caucasus.
Stirred to renewed ygor under fra
Ruler, the army has used the shells
born Of the Industrial mobilization
and repulsed the enemy in the vicin.
ity of Riga, besides putting him on
the defensive elsewhere.
These and many more things have
happened in Russia since the double
eagle whacked the bear on the snout
The roar for munitions which the
bear let out soon reached Japan, Eng
land and America, and for the last
three months rifles, shells and can
non have been pouring into the Pa
cific and Attic ports. Canadian ice
breakers will keep Archangel open all
winter for munition,laden ships from
America. Heavily loaded trains are
crawling across the Siberian plains in
almost endless procession stopping
here and there to deposit rifles ana
cartridges for the men who have been
| training with sticks and only lacked
! the arms where with to join the arm
les now preparing for Russia's future
campaign.
With the beginning Of the New
num-nsskkkc sbaetaoin shrdlu etaao
Year various estimates place the
troops at five million. At least two
million more are beins armed at the
rate Of over half a million a month.
An additional million of twenty-year-
old youths were called upon Decem-
Der 4. These will take their places
in the ranks early in the year.
Russia's veterans already holding
the battle-line from Riga TO the Black
Sea and operating in the Caucasus
are estimated to total at least 1000,
900, all hearty fighters, making the
total of Russian military strength in
sight approximately twelve million
men.
Like England, France and Italy,
Russia is preparing to fight in the
Balkans, This campaign, which is
already under way, is under. the lead
ership Of General Dimitrieff. ex-com-
mander of the Ninth Bulgarian Army,
who renowned Gar Ferdinand and
Bulgaria and sent back the military
decorations rendered him by his form
CIR sovereign. Dimitrieffs first object
i've is Bulgaria. anticipation of which
early in December sent Austo-German
and Bulgarian regiments hastily to
Rustchuk, the nearest Bulgarian city
to the Russian border.