The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1917-07-16
Against the Wall

What good the German people i'm
agine it will do to have the Govern
ment reaffirm its war program" of
Aug. 4. 1914. is hard for IN outsider
to understand; yet that seems to be
what the battle is about. That decla-
ration was to the effect that Ger
many was taking up arms not for
conquest, but to defend its liberties.
Immediately after making it, Ger
many overran Belgium. The world
did not believe the declaration. The
world regarded it as a remarkable
and offensive instance of impudence
Why should the world be any more
inclined to believe it now? To reaf-
firm that glaring falsehood would
have not the slightest effect upon the
war movements of the Allies or upon
the sentiment of the few remaining
neutral countries. If Germany gives
up the idea of conqueSt,~ it Will be
because the Allies will not let her
make any conquestS, and for no 9th
Ell reason, and that reason will be
wholly unaffected by anything Ger
many may say about the purity of
her intentions.
1t Is probable that this empty re-
affirmation of an untruth is sought
for as the basis for peace negotia-
lions. 1t is significant that the Cen
trist organs opposition to Bethmann
Hollweg was based on the alleged ne
cessity of having some one else in a
position to make advances to the AL
lies. He has been forced out of his
high office in favor of comparative
~ untried man for that reason, per
haps, or one akin to it. Perhaps the
fact that DR.. Michaelis is the first
commoner to be made Chancellor
may be significant. Germany is
weary of war, not as the other bel
hgerents are weary of it-weary of
the bloodshed and the cost-but
with WEAKNESS that has in it an
element of terror The hopelessness
of any outcome but German defeat
or the ruin of the world is becoming
evident all Germany. 1t is plain
enough that the blatancies of the in
spired press did not represent Ger
man sentiment. The German people
may be kept in ignorance of much.
but some facts have got to them in
spite of the press and the censorship.
They know that American soldiers
t
desperate attempts to minimize and
ridicule that fact are sufficient evil
dence that alarming reports about it
have been spread in Germany. They
do not know how many have landed,
but the constant and frantic efforts
to reassure them can have only one
meaning. They know that America
has f1oated a large war loan. They
do not know what a great success it
has been, and probably believe what
they are told, that it was not as sue
cessful as was expected, but after all
they know that the Government has
borrowed money from its citizens for
the purpose of making real war on
Germany. and that is the main thing.
They know that America has regis
tered 100000 men for conscrip-
ton purposes. They may believe, as
they are told, that the country is
toward its Government,
that nobody here wants to fight Ger
many except the bloodthirsty mono
maniac Wilson. but after all that
grim fact of the CONSUMPTION re-
mains. They have been told that |
America could never be figure in |
the war, but they have come to know |
better
They have been told that the sub |
marine would end the war before |
America could enter; that France !
was dying, and would be dead before |
help could come; that Russia would |
make separate peace; that the sub
marine would finish England, and
that they were safe from that dread |
full spectre, another Winter of war.
But they know now that the subma- |
rine cannot make an end of England
before America enters the war They
know that France will not die before
America enters the war. Brusiloff's
guns have ended the hope eof Rus
sian peace. even if they believe the
stories continually told them about
he ineffectiveness of his assaults
In this light the Reichstag's pro-
posed peace resolution published this |
morning, which will probably be 4
'idetracked, seems sadly futile. The
'eassertion of Germany's persistent
claim that it took up arms lin de-
ense of its liberty" is hollow mock
Try. The whole resolution IS merely
Y. Times.