Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1917-04-22

If not division, only brigade. Their
presence in France, it is said on all
sides, would wonderfully inspirit
French. Belgian and British soldiers,
! and corrcspondingly dcpress the Ger
| mans, for friend and foe alike would
regard comparative handful Of
Americans as symbolical of great
reservoir of manpower that could he
tapped If necessary to prevent Ger
man triumph.
II is no secret in Europe that the
supply of men, outside OF Russia. is
running very low. France and Eng
land may be hard put To it to main
tain their existing units for another
years campaign, If one is necessary.
while Germany and. above all, Austria
are in worse case than their enemies.
Even II no United states troops cross
the Atlantic, the raising of volunteer
armies at home that are never likely
to fire a shot would have an extra
ordinary effect upon the bclligerents.
For in that case. these new armies
formed of first-class fighting men, not
the dregs of the nations like the levies
the European beiligerents are now
sending to the front would consti-
tute potential reserves ready to deal
the finishing blow in case the Ger
mans held on in the occupied terri
tories thru 1918.
Assuming that the United States
will raise, equip and train armies
whose ultimate appearance i'm Europe
is at least possibility, there is much
curiosity here as t. how the inst-uc-
tion of officers an men in modern
warfare is to be undo .takeu. The art
of warfare has been utterly revolu-
tionized in the past three years, as
p Isu Ii Of
Rumana discovered when they
clashed with men experienced in ac,
tual fighting under the new conditions
1t is understood that American Off
GERS serving in the entente armies
would be called home to impart the
benefit of their experience, and no
obstacle to their departure is likely
to be raised by the countries which
they are now serving. If British and
French officer are wanted for in
structional purposes. limited number
of them can probably be spared
Get Experienced OFFICERS.
No such suggestion, of course will
come from this side Upon such IA
delicate matter no Briton would COM
ment at ALL but as an American the
Wr.tCr can poin out that consi1era-
items of pride and unwillingness to
profit by the lessons of others have
proved exceedingly disastrous to sew
eral nations now in this war. And If
there is the most remote possibility
that United States soldiers will be sent
to Europe, the country owes them the
best possible training and leadership
To send soldiers to fight in the highly
specialized trench warfare of the
present under officers who have not
learned the lessons of the new tactics
ie
Grafton for Americans alone, because
since no large American armies are
likely to come over, the reason why
the allies would like to have Ameri-
cans i'm France is for their moral eff
feet not their prowess, and If we
suffer avoidable casualties thru our
own ignorance, that will be our own
lockout.
The system applied in England
since early in the war has been to
assign certain number of wounded
officers who have been thru the mill
of trench warfare to lecture to young
officers and prospective officers and
teach them, in actual field practice,
the realities of modern war. If there
are not enough veterans of the west
front of American nationality to do
this at home, in my opinion foreign
officers should be asked to help
one of the most pleasing prospects
opened up by active American inter
vcnton is financial. Even the purse
of Great Britain is not bottomless,
and France is feeling the strain very
severely indeed. The extension of
unlimited war credits by American
bankers under the auspices of the
United States government will do
more than anything, it is felt, short
of Il ..f h.
menace, to make allied victory certain.
French Are Touched.
A member of the French military
mission in London shed tears in dis
cussing with me the proposal to give
France great sum of money in
token of sympathy, and of apprecia
tion for the credits advanced to the
struggling American republic during
the revolution. ut is not posSib BILE that
such a thing should be done in these
material days" he said, but that some
of you want to do it will never be for
gotten by France. And it is proof
that the threat which cut us so deeply
few months ago. that our credits
might be restricted in America is
baseless. France will not grudge the
interest, but will pay it gratefully, If
your rich country will see to II in the
raw materials and food we have to
import. SO much of our industrial
region is in the hands of the enemy
that the struggle has been a hard one.
but with the United States, as well as
England behind us the result is no
longer doubtful. We shall be able to
hold out until we have crushed the
enemy
The one fly in the ointment, as most
moderate Britons regard the entrance
of the United States into even limited
hostilities, is the possibility of Ger
many pulling the wool over the eyes
OF Americans and using President
Wilson at some future date as an in
strument to help get a peace which
may appear moderate enough on pa
per, but would leave Germany in a
commanding position ready to resume
under more favorable auspices her at
tempt to dominate the world There
is a radical section, represented by
some thirty members of parliament
and such organs as the London Nation
and the Manchester Guardian, which
agrees with American liberal opinion
that Germany will behave If she is
well treated, will oust her junker
rulers and unite in a peace league.
But, at present at least, these opti-