The Eureka sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1902-current, 1917-10-27
Truth About The War

4 INOW lilo 0AAOtAASA -
about to close it is well to cast up
the account. nothing to extenuate.
nor set down aught in malice" in
prejudice or in unwarranted pessim-
ism.
At the end of the fighting season
the war seems still in deadlock, no
nearer a decision than it was when
the year began. The balance of pow
err, on the surface at least, has shift
ed little one way or the other. In
Europe the territorial gains are
largely in favor of the Teutonic pow
ers, as they have been ever since the
nations closed in the world-convulsing
struggle.
If the allies have grown stronger
and they have in certain ways
| Germany has not grown appreciably
weaker. In fact, Germany is more
powerful to-day. in some respects.
than she was a year ago. In an eff
fort to calculate the comparative
strength of the two sides it is easy
to go wrong, because we know only
in an approximate fashion the condi-
ton of our own side while being
more or less in ignorance of the con-
dition of the enemy.
There are some salient facts which
can be stated briefly and which will
appeal to the studious observers of
the war game. We have alluded to
the territorial gains in Europe. but
| should mention the conquest of pract-
ically all of Africa by the allies, the
British successes in the Bagdad reg
ion and in the Holy Land, the slight
| German retreats in France and the
retirement of the Austrians before
the Italians on a front of a few miles
to a depth of still fewer miles. Nor
must we forget the recovery of Cali
cha by Austria when we are noting
the extensive acquisitions of terri
tory by the Germans in Russia.
1t will be contended with justice
that occupation of territory is no
true measure of success in such a
war as this, that a few military or
naval victories of a decisive charac-
ter would quickly change the map
of Europe. We see the truth of this
in Germany's naval ascendancy in
the Baltic. If that ascendancy can
be improved by the destruction OF
the Russian fleet in the Gulf of Fin
landau eventuality which is most
probable-the Germans a make
themselves masters of Finland anC
the Petrograd region, extending
their occupation I'VE scores of thous
ands of square miles. On the Other
hand. a smashing victory by Genera
Haig in Flanders-which is improb
able this year-would clear the Ger.
mans away from the Belgian coas'
and restore another part of northern
France to the rightful owner.
But the relative strength of thu
two sides must be calculated by
different standard. We must ash
ourselves whether the military pow
err of the allies has increased anC
will continue to increase by compar
ison with the Teutonic power. The
difficulty in working out the equation
is the unknown quantity beyond the
Rhine. We know in a general way
what the allies have done in supply
ing var materials; we know wherein
they have been strengthened anC
wherein they have been weakened,
We r ignorant as to many condi.
tions in Germany-the food supply,
the supply of raw materials for the
war factories. the state of the rail.
roads. the power to produce air
planes. submarines and to replace
the wasted ranks Of the army.
The allies have been fond Of telling
one another that their duty was to
keep on killing Germans and that
the war would end as soon as enough
Germans had been killed. There
was a flaw in the argument that they
did not think it worth while to point
out. but there is no advantage in hid
ing from the American people the