The Washington herald., 1917-03-30
America and the World-War
AS Judged by the Editors

/ to impressNthe average man in Germany
than the laborious attempts to demon
i strate the Illustration OF the allied
plans on the Somme.
Boston Transcript.
/ German war diplomacy is now attempt
/ Ing to take advantage of the revolution
In Russia to separate the Russian enI-
pire, or what was yesterday the Russian
/ empire. from the entente. favorable
| separate peace is to be offered. Poland
utonomous-presumably under German
i and Austrian suzerainty, but the liberal
4 Russians are supposed to be favorable
to Polish freedom anyway, and they are
evidently counted upon I'm Wilhemstrasse
i to see no difference between Polish free
dom and a Poland Germanized-Russian
| soil evacuated; Armenia under Rus
sia's projections; Constantinople interna-
| tionalized. the Turks practically aban-
doned-these are the reported bait to
| the new Russian government. In the at
.tempt to slough off the eastern enemy OF
! the central powers. II the Duma gov
ernment takes the bait, and gives up the
war. naturally all the German ana
Austrian soldiers on the eastern front
will be released for a great blow against
the British, the French and ItalianC.
1 with a resulting prospect lin the Ger
man mind OF complete victory in the
war A brilliant opportunity! The
central empires could afford to give up
something to Russia. But as usual. their
| calculation in this matter leaves ou:
/ the moral element. The men of the
Duma government have an ideal, ana
that ideal is right and Justice as well
| as freedom. They will not begin their
| free national existence with an act of
| treachery so base that 1t would condemn
then1 forever to the contempt Of the
civilized world. They are also intelligent
! men. and they know that to enter the
| family of nations under the tutelege
and control of the Prussian and Austrian
despotisms would nullify their revolution.
They will stick to the game and to the
allies.
/ The BudGinE Line.
| The independently
| The snaky line of trenches that
sprawled across the map from Switzer
land to the sea has lain so still for
more than two years that 1t seemed as
! fixed feature Of the landscape as q
1 river or a mountain chain. The sacrifice
OF millions OF men and billions of money
has not availed to bulge it preceptibly.
But now we behold 1t in motion. receding
so rapidly that map a week old Is out
Of date Where the British and French
have been accustomed to count their
gains by the yard. as though it were
on football field. they now have to use
cavalry to keep in touch with the re-
treating foe Redoubts that have re-
sisted the strongest attacks for months
are discovered to be empty shells. Or
the eight thousand square miles Of
French territory which the Germans held
at the beginning OF February, they had
spontaneously relinquished one thousand
before the end of the month
| Spontaneously, but not voluntarily.
|
treat" and they are right. But no army
makes a strategic retreat when
strategic advance or a strategic stano-
still is possible. The ground gained by
the Anglo-French forces on the somme
last fall was pitifully small in comparI-
son with its terrible cost but this proved
that the Germans could be blasted out
of their subterranean fortresses at any
time. And the Germans knew from the
preparations they saw before them that
the allies were determined to fight it out
on this line II it took all summer. The
nibbling process had been carried so far
that large segments of the front trenches
were bound TO be captured as soon az
the spring campaign opened.
A Democratic Army.
CBrston HeraldD
One OF the first things that Congress
ought to do is to provide for military
training on a ba asis' of univers salty. This
makes a democratic army. 1t docs not
throw the burden on the shoulders of
those who are moved by an impulse Of
patriotism. excusing everybody else. W"
have the admirable method OF reaching
the universal service sy stem by prov id
ing for universal training.
What should BE Done.
tPhisdelphia Irqulrer.)
Bring the regular army up TO its max
inum strength and put il at the task II
watching Mexico and whatever plans tn"
Germans may have for causing trouble
for us in that country. Recruit the Ma
itional Guard to its limits and keep II AT
home for the defense OF the nation.
Adopt a universal training bill. which will
in time provide an adequate reserve force
for defense.
Spirit, Not the Letter.
Chcago Hsrald.)
Secretary Baker has been told that his
purchases of clothing. ammunition and
iother supplies for the army are illegal.
According to strict regard for the
legalstic red tape of the department he
should do nothing-until Congress as
sembles-which would result in tho en-
penditure of money not now appropriated.
The warning would be excellent when
no danger confronted the nation. But
today the country has TO consider periIs
not less great than those with which
Abraham Lincoln and his Cabinet had TO
deal in the spring OF 1861. Then. as now.
troops had to be assembled: they had to
be clothed. fed and armed. Then. as
now. the retiring Congress had failed to
iprovide for this emergency. 80