Free trader-journal. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1916-1920, 1917-06-26
DEFEAT Of GERMANY
MEANS VAST LOSSES
SAYS j. s. GENERAL
ENGLISH AND AMERICAN NAVIES
MUST PAY WITH SACRIFICES
IN ORDER THAT PEACE MAY
BE SPEEDILY BROUGHT ABOUT.
BY RICHARD MARTIN BOECKEL
international News Service Staff
Correspondent

Correspondent
Washington. June 90" England can
land troops on German territory, flank
the Hindenburg line and force
sweeping retreat of the Germans on
the west front, If she will pay the cost.
but it viii ia staggering
That is the opinion Of high officers
of the American army and nag. The
above statement was made today by
one of General Rank. It emphasized
American military opinion And, in
view of the recent statements made
by Winston Churchill and other Noted
British advocates of the necessity of
winning the war at any cost il is
CONSIDERED certain here that If the
Hmdenburg line holds thruout the
coming summer and fall movements,
the allied war council, with Ameri
can officers Sitting in must decide
whether England and America viii
not have to accept the remedy ~ face
defeat
The big obstacle to British accep-
lance at present is the knowledge
there, that despite the optimistic ut.
terances OF many men in high places
that this will be the last great war
English public men deep in their
hao rtu do
ment. Neither do Americans who
know the game as matter of fact.
This was emphasized over and over
again to me by the General N cues,
ton, who, because Of army regula
tons, cannot be identified
England can throw her arl.ies he
hind the German line by utilizing all
Of her great battle feet to reduce the
land Notifications on the German
coast" continued the general "She
can then bend back the Kaiser's forces
all along the Hindenburg line and
force the Germans out of France fas.
ter than they original advanced en-
Paris"
Then why in heavens name does
she not do so?" he was asked
He hesitated He drew on his pipe
and sent great smoke rings floating
into the air
why doesn't she do it?' He re.
peated We'll she has counted the
cost in men. but especially in war
ships, and she is not ready - pay the
total"
What do you think the total would
be-"
Frankly don't know the General
admitted But that does not mean it
and ships can be calculated exactly
and England has calculated it. you
may depend The calculation prohab-
ly was made when Winston Church
Ill was head of the admiralty lie
was in favor of going after the Ger
man fleet, even if he had 10 go into
Heligoland.
THE calculation he made then
would have to undergo some altera-
ton now" The general added. mo
one can believe that lha Germans
have not seen and tried to guard
against the possibility Ct such an at
tack Their Notifications on the coast
undoubtedly have been reinforced but
they have not been made imureSnaDle.
Geographic conditions do rot bormt
of impregnable Notifications there.
"Gibraltar is impregna1Ie and so
are the Dardaneles. !hero are a
few other such fortresscs in the
world Heligoland may be one OF
them, but the Belgian coast is NOT
The German coast fortihcat'ons can
be reduced and England can land an
army there. THAT army can turn
Hindenburg's flank and force re
treat that might push The Germans &c
the very gates Of 1erli1 1'he blow
would be the heaviest mcat',lrst
the central powers have sustained
with the audacloi.s Winston
Churchill at the helm, the British
navy did not hesitate to go mp tn,
Dardenalles when ,nay wanted to opci
the way to the Black Sea- the gen
eral said "Whv do sou suppose thu
British Navy now nesitates to 80 VI
against the more vulnerl Die German
coast fortifications"
The veteran warrior shifted and ap
piled another match to his pipe? II,
was silent moment, then ne con
tinued:
"At the Dardanelles the British sac
rificed half dozen second line ship
then they had a second thought
Even at the price paid they did no
succeed. It is certain that reducing
the German Notifications would b
more expensive. But it's worth Il
1t is worth the whole British navy
And the United States probably woul
not he unwilling to toss few OF ne
ships into the pot J."