The Washington herald., 1917-11-04
ITALYS PLIGHT
AROUSES SPIRIT
OF U. S. TROOPS
Teuton Drive Creates Feel.
ing Among Army Officers
in This City.

Considerable feeling prevails in
local army circles to the drive" b,
the German and Austrian forces in
connection with the Italian campaign
Instead OF being looked upon with
dread OF the consequences Of the first
flush of victory for the Teutonic
forces. it has had the effect of arous-
ing a spirit of determination in every
direction among our soldiers, all Of
whom seem eager to be sent to the
front.
One of them yesterday sounded the
keynote of the situation when he
expressed the opinion that the Ger
mans already have Tad a taste OF
what they may expect from the
American soldiers n their experience
with the Canadi rs on the western
front.
"A lot Of ou, boys are In the Ca
madam ranks right now," he said
and what the Canadians. have done
10 the Germans whenever they hav,
met Is history now. and speaks fol
itself as to what the Kaiser bunch
has in store for them when we gel
busy.
Uncle Sam rarely makes any mis-
takes in fighting a foe, and you may
rest assured he is not going to MAKE
any at this stage of the war game
with Germany. On the other hand
we are undergoing system OF pre-
paredness never before undertaken By
any nation on earth. because the
whole country is aroused as it never
was before. but Just the same. those
In command know what they arc
about, and are putting our vast army
in shape for all emergencies, having
I'm constant mind the idea Of avoiding
all unnecessary sacrifice of the lives
of our soldiers.
Lsuds French Soldiers.
I'm some quarteres the delays in.
cident to this phase OF the situa-
ton are viewed in the light OF blum
ders, and l know OF instances where
the government has come in for con-
siderable criticism on this score
alone: but IL you analyze the source
of this censure. you will find that
it emanates either from some dis
gruntled members of some soap-box
war college or through German SYM
pathlzers. No true-blue American is
ever going to question the acts OF
our government on this score, but
on the other hand will adopt the
old-time slogan. BE loyal every
where you so, from Canada to Mex
ico.'
our streets are thronged every
day by officers wearing the French
uniform. and the question naturally
arises. What are they here for? The
answer is embodied in the fact that
all have seen service on the war
fronts. many having been wounded
so badly that they were rendered
incapacitatcd for immediate war
duty, and while they are resting,
SO to speak. they have come over
here to give our boys a few tips on
the war game. and. believe me, Il
is all going to come in mighty
handy before we get through with
this great struggle. and operate to
save innumerable lives among our
soldiers.
There did not seem TO be much
comment concerning the attitude oi
Russia, several army officers taking
the stand that the country in ques-
tion has been a negligible quantity
ever since her domestic troubles
arose. A few thought 1t looked sus.
picious that Germany should be able
to withdraw such an immense force
from the Russian front to conccn
trate it against Italy. and on the
western front. but felt positive 4
would have no other effect than tC
solidify the entente powers. ant
make them more determined than evel
TO win the war"