Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1916-04-16

OF the A"rigtlc. Two Of those tanglcs
are no longer insoluble. If my infor-
nation that Germany il willing t.
abandon her aims in connection witt
/ Turkey and Belgium is correct. And
I " Gcrmany comes To- such a pass that
She must give over Asia Minor she
/ may have no qualms in throwing over
/ het protege bulgaria. useful only as
/ a gateway to the east. Bulgaria.
, thus abandoned. would be dospoilcd
| o. her new conquests and Serbia re-
habilitated. This analysis of the sit
Latlon would make It appear that only
! the future Of Poland and the Adriatic
! is at present beyond hope OF settle
/ ment.
Germany wants Poland set up as "a
seHt-indcpcndcnt state. under her mil
ltary control, because the possession
! by the Teutons Of the fortified river
| lines Of the Bug and the Nistula,
under conditions Of modern warfare
would make Germany practically i'm
prcgnahle against attack by Russia.
rms IS u nightmare to the entente,
for IT would mean that Germany in
the future could attack France or
England, or both, with no rear of
Russia TO drive the Germans out of
Poland or for Poland to be made a
buffer state and neutralizeG. Few
military men think Russia is capable
OF ejecting the Austro-G ermans by
force of arms. The strong feeling by
both sides that the future of the
world, in the next great war. may de-
pend upon the fate Of Poland after
tins drawn war makes the Polish
problem the most difficult of all.
Adriatic Problem.
The problem of the Adriatic is in
VOWED in the fate of Trieste and the
peninsula Of lstria, including the
Austrian naval base OF Pola. which
Italy demands. Austria would make
territorial concessions TO Italy, but is
not willing to admia Italian naval
supremacy in the Adriatic, which
would follow any cession on the east
ern shore. Prussia could doubtless
coerce her ally into giving UP Trieste,
but Germany regards the Adriatic
problem as her own. on the theory
that Vienna is vassal of Berlin.
AT the commencement of this arti
Gle II was said that the war had en-
tered upon new stage with the really
auoh or the German people that the
best they can hope for is a draw and
that the German armies are not in.
Vincible. This fact does not necessarily
mean, as II Is taken to mean, that
Germany is on her last legs. She is
Wabbling now, tired and dsgusted
that she cannot obtain victory. As
soon as she realizes that she cannot
OBTAIN peace at present on any terms
short of humiliation. she may catch
her second wind and fight logged
defensive battle in the hope OF tiring
her enemies out.
1t is never forgotten by the diplo-
mats, and should not be forgotten by
the public, that in the final phase of
the struggle Germany has on her side
an advantage more important even
than the overwhelming odds conferred
on the army which is fighting on the
defensive.
Germany and Austria have between
three and four million prisoners, and !
their armies occupy territory inhab- |
tied by nine millicn subjects of the |
ear seven million Belgians and three
million Frenchmen. The allies, be-
tween them, hold only four hundred
thousand Germans and eight hundred
thousand Austrians.
twenty-five million hostages, They |
guarantee, in my belief, that nothing
extreme will be done to Germany, I
even If the allies find it in their power |
to crush their enemies.
All things considered, the Germans !
seem to have treated their prisoners |
and the populations of the occupied |
countries pretty well. judged by the |
standard of former wars, although |
there are black pages in the record |
so long as Germany was winning, so |
long as the war remained "A deadlock !
German opinion would never sanction |,
any systematic ''frightfulness" at the |
expense of the helpless twenty-five |
million.
What of Famine?
But If the armies of the allies move |
forward / a
duces famine in the Fatherland? The |
least to be expected is n notification |
to the allies that If they want their |
their million soldiers fed they must |
send in the food Tor them. That move |
Is expected by many before the be- |
ginning of next winter. The next |
move, accompanied of course by cries
to all the world that Germany was |
willing to quit and call the war u |
draw, might be threat to expel all |
enemy civilians from the conquered |
territories unless peace were |
granted.
The terrible prospect might well |
give the allies pause. 1t could not |
but disorganize the internal condi-
tions of Russia and France. while the |
horrible suffering involved would be |
beyond imagination. These are some |
of the things that men mean here
lapse of Europe into savagery. The |
phrase may prove to be no mere
rhetoric.
Aside from the possible use of prs
oners and civilians as weapons of
warfare, there are two ways only in
which Germany might attempt to car.
ry out the dark threats of Editor
Harden and inflict more frightful-
ness upon enemies who will not grant
her peace. They are by developing
the submarine war and by making
use in land or air fighting of hitherto
chemicals or germs.
The submarine issue, which SO
vitality affects America, is we'll un-
derstood. The new per-submarines
now upon the trade routes have not
up TO this point been very successful.
and a number of them have been cap
tured or destroyed by the British
fleet | am in possessionNof positive |
facts regarding the success of the
against these crafts, which
| am unable to make public at pres
ent. the admiralty desiring to keep
the Germans in ignorance concerning
the exact fate of their boats. The
rage ana chagrin OF the Germans at
their failure may, now or later, result Il
in an order tO sink eNerythipr II