The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-06-07
CAN GERMANY WIN THE WAR?

Sydney Brooks, the English Publicist in 1 Lesiie's
 1 S7F one could imagine the allied govern | ments speaking out frankly to Ameri-
 cans they would certainly say: You
 cannot prepare too much You cannot pre- pare too quickly. Be assured that every
 atom of strength of which you are capa- I ble will be needed. Be assured also that | in putting it forth you will not only l be beneiting yourselves and your own nation but that nothing less will suffice I to carry the cause of democracy and civ | ilzation to victory We have borne for all but three years the strain of this t tanic conflict. It has exhausted us more 1 than you know, more than we are will ing to confess. We are prevailing, but the forces at our command are nearing their last reserves. And war, remember, is of all enterprises the one in which
 chance plays the greatest part A lucky
 sea action might even now change the whole destinies of the world and restore the balance of fortune in Germanys fla vor. And there are other possibilities to
 which it would be madness to close ones eyes
 What for example is happening in Rus sia?e We do not know. We do know that traitorous, disaffected or half-hearted in auences and personalities have for the time being been deposed and suppressed
 But whether they will rise again, whether the new government has the unity and stability to maintain itself against the internal enemies and at the same time wage an aggressive war against a for eign foe-this is hidden from the allies and very possibly, too, from the Rus sians themselves. He would be very bold man who would attempt to esti- mate the fighting strength that Rus sia either has at her disposal today or
 is likely to develop within any calculabe
 time It is out of the question that the
 Russian revolution should follow the course of other revolutions, that the pro- visional government, confronted with too huge a task and slowly slipping into inn potence and chaos should be overthrown
 by soldier of fortune and that mill tary dictatorship should in it's turn give way to limited monarchy? And if this, or anything like it, should indeed prove to be the turn of events, what might not be the resultant of German intrigues, domestic disorder, disheartened, ill., provided, badly nourished soldiery and a
 reyolting peasantry?
 We hear repeated tales that Turkey Is at the end of her tether that Bulgaria
 is looking anxiously for a way out and that Austria Hungary, or Austria with out Hungary is seeking to throw off Prussian domination. But let us not for get that the solidarity of the allies is likewise threatened and under circum- stances that make both physical rein forcement and moral suasian peculiarly difficult. The temper or the Russian peo~ ple the effectiveness of the Russian gov. ernment, the morale and equipment ot the Russian government-arc all enigmas Are we to suppose that the answer tu them will in each case be favorable to the allies, that all danger of a disn- tegration of the eastern front may be dis regarded and that the striking power of Russia may not continue to be ham, strung, as it has been for the past year, by civil tumult and by the sheer magni- tude of the administrative problems be- hind the lines?
 It seems incredible that the rulers of the United States, while doing everything in their power to strengthen Russia and support her, should not be taking into ac- count the possibility that these best et- forts may fail. And if they were to fail, ] the reaction of so grave a development upon Italy would be swift and deep. | Fighting amid difficulties that are too lit- tie understood abroad Italy's cu.itribu- tion to the allied cause has been the very valuable. but in sense negative