The weekly soliphone., 1917-08-02

seem definitely doomed to failure. Despite the continued tightening of the British blockade, the Central Powers have reached harvest time without collapsing. The Uboat war fare, although serious, has not met the expectations of it's instjgators Germany has been very hungry but she is used to it. England has scarcely begun to tighten her belt. The Rhine is still a long way off Russia is an uncertain quantity. America is in with both feet but the full effect of her participation cannot be felt for a year or more. When Kitchener foretold three years of war, he had certain definite facts on which to base the predic- tion. Better than any man then liv- ing he knew the state of Britain's unpreparedness, as well as the ex- tent of Germany's preparedness. He knew, too, Britain's potential strength; therefore he discounted the possibility of Germanys win ming the war by quick, decisive, overwhelming campaign - which Was her expectation.
 Were Kitchener alive today it is doubtful whether even he would risk his reputation as seer. The experience of the past three years have strikingly illustrated the fal- liability of human calculations, the limitations of human forethought. Who, for example, would have been so rash as to predict that before Kitchener's three years had expired IA countries would be fighting Ger many and 9 others not on speaking terms with her? Or that the war now would be costing Britain alone forty million dollars day?- Or that the Russian steam roller was to change chauffeurs? Or that dollar mad" America would finally have found her soul? 2
 ENGLAND IN THE FIELD.
 (By William Philip Simms, United
 Press Staff Correspondent
 With the British Armies in the Field, July. 30.--Today Britain is on top At the close of the third year of the war the British bulldog Is no longer on the bottom. The "contemptible little army which the Kaiser sneered at in 1914 has taken it's medicine and, despite the hammering it has received. now has Crown Prince Ruprecht's men rather more than matched
 The first year of the fight the Kitchener to take the place of the first hundred thousand of the reg ular army, simply caught hail Co., lumbia. But thought their heads were bloodied, they held their own The second year saw more troops more guns, more ammunition, but even as late as Loos the Prussian was too strong for the new British army, still lacking as it was in Ill the machinery of war.
 But, at the beginning of the third year, England had caught up For the first time since Armaged- lon began the British army faced the enemy on fairly equal footing There were plenty of men and plenty of machinery and with these in hand Sir Douglas Haig. in July, 1916, began the Battle of the Son. me.
 For two years the Prussians had been preparing the Somme positions and. at the time Sir Douglas began the great advance, Field Marshal Hindenburg considered the line lmpregnable. History had never seen anything approaching it. Be aind first line trenches, deep and reinforced with concrete and steel, were reserve lines juTt as deep and just as strong. Machine guns, in betoned emplacements fairly bris- led along the firertrenches and many more were in hidden pits further back, while every wood and thicket had been turned into i'm passable entanglements made of special barbed wire as thick as child's finger with wicked barbs every inch. Concealed turrets of armor-plate steel had been sunk in the ground at strategic points, leaving only their revolving tops and gun-muzzles above the level of the earth and in between were re- doubts and strong points, labrynths, tunnels, quadrilaterals and every other device cunning Hindenbuerg could put into play.
 The French and British struck together. the French below the Somme River, the British north Of
 tt, towards Bapaume. Combles ad Peronne. British artillery for the first time in the war showed su- periority over the German and it's continual roll rumbled day and air