Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1917-04-22
WILL THIS CARNAGE
EVER COME TO END?
Reviewing Fighting Spirit, Ger
man Major Sees Little
Hope for Peace.
OFFICERS FROM THE RANKS
Writer in Teutonic Paper Com
ments on Democracy
of Armies.

| BERLIN, April 21.-Under the caption
"Retwecn tho Battles" the Dcutsche
! TaEeszcitung publishes an article on
! the psychology of the present world
Moraht The famous military critic
! says In part:
The cannon. hand grenade dctach-
ments and bomb throwcrs never stop
| their activities entirely on the long
/ fronts OF our armies i'm the field. but
| from time TO time "a luli In the fight
I ing comes. The millions OF men in
arms then take "a dcep breath and on
1 the lips OF every soldier is the mute
, question: When will the slaughter start
again and is IT ever going TO end?
The same question is asked by the
| people at home. The nation is proud
( OF tho courage and the successes Of
our invinciblc troops on near aud dis
I, tant fronts. but sim It asks anXiously:
/ VIII the end of this carnage ever come?
/ We desire peace. but our fcrveu,
! hope must not be misconstrucd. our
/ enemies firmly believed they would be
able to break our resistance by their
, onsiaushts. ana especially by the Brit
ish Starvation blockade. They waited
two years for the critical moment and
expected confidently that the third win
ter OF the war would bring our cot
lapse. With the aid Of their extensive
espionage system they tried TO get AN
insight into tho interior condition in
the German empire and the dual mon
archy. Listening at every door. so TO
speak. they uttered Il shout of JOY
whoncvcr they believed they heard IA
sound Of discomfort from within our
borders
I'm tho meantime. our on-hcartcd
men III the field. although their souls
were filled with the hope Of peace
fought on with grim determination and
foilcd all attempts OF our enemies to
break down our walls Of steel. our
officers. who come from all walks of
life and represent all classes OF the ma
ton. are performing their duty as ably
and bravcly AS the professional sol
dicrs who commanded our lccions i'm
the frs, year OF the gigantic struggle
I Young officers and also war cor
/ respondents. who never have been SOL
/ diers thcms selves. sometimes state that
F! our armies are fighting without rage
| or hate. Such statements are always
! promptly distorted by our enemies
who assure their own troops and pco-
/ pics and tn" ncutraIs that The German
soldiers are sick and tired of the war
and No longer possess the viii to win
GERMANS AHE FIGHTING
! WITH HtTEIt RAGE
Z The reports Of inexperienced OBJ
I servers Pm regard to the alleged alb
Soncc of hate and rage on the Ger
man fronts are incorrect and Crcatc :.
/ false impression, not only in foreign
countries, bu, also At home II would
! be psychological riddle ii our soil
/ dicrs. in view Of our losses and suf-
/ ferincs and the aims of our enemies
could keep their hearts free from hate
and rage. ON the western front in the
east and in Eoumanit. always saw
! clenclied fists and eyes afro. with rage
! whenever battle was mentioned And
in the same frame Of mind found the
Austro- Hungarian. Bulgarian and
! Turkish soldiers whose fronts | have
/ visited.
The war is becoming more and
more brutal. because our enemies are
/ employing methods that had been dis
! cardcd since the darkest days Of the
| Middle AGES. Under such conditions
/ the absence OF wrath and rage in the
| German Lies is psycholoSically i'm
/ possible. II is true that troops daily
| exposed TO all kinds Of dangers and
death lose the feeling of hate to
certain extent. but the fury of battle
/ is always there when il is needed
! This rage * important and as
necessary as the iron discipline which
| distinguishes the German army be-
| cause no officer or soldier who has
/ any other thought but TO destroy the
enemy can do his full duty. iiand-to-
/ hand tights are always won by the
side that works itself into the great
est rage.
I'm time Of peace we have taken orr
workers in the education and train.
ing Of the army from the ranks. and
we are now reapins the benefits of this
| wise policy. Oar leEions arc con
tinuaily rejuvenating themselves. With
out losing their martial spirit and their
efficiency Many old officers have told
me that they never dared to hope TO
sec such preservation OF the energy
and war spirit of our armies
There the main secret OF our
| strength lies. Our officers. who have
Y come from the people and are bound
to the men under their command by
I the closest ties Of sympathy have The
confidence of the soldiers.
| The victories OF our armies and
their icnacity and sacrifices prove that
the officers taken from the ranks and
all classes are worthy of the honor
to lead our millions OF fighters. When
/ peace comes we must continue our
| former system Of military training of
our schoolboys and youth because only
| in this manner Will we be able to have
| unlimited material for our officer corps.
| Our nation asks when peace may
| come. Nobody can answer. We cannot
make new offers to AN enemy whose
sole aim II is to give us the Knockout
blow" How could we know what is
| going on in tho hearts OF tho English
! working classes, how the French ma
ton really feels, how conditions in
| Russia may cevelop and which role
the United States will play i'm the final
| stages of the struggle?
| Sometimes our enemies talk of the
| ioil Of INF hoy nlu