Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1917-11-27
GERMAN PEOPLE
BELIEVE THEIR
FOES STARVING
News of Outer World Kept
From Them-Think U-Boats
Are BeSting England and
That France Is CoIIapSing
CThis is the second Of Mr.. Corey's
articles on conditions In Germany.
BY HERBERT COREY

BIZ HERBERT COREY
Copyright, 1917. by Herbert CoreyD
BERN, Switzerland Oct 1S.-(B5
MalL)-There is a common impression
In America and the other allied coun-
/ tries that the German nation is ready
10 quit The average man outside of
Germany is a logician. He tots up the
chances in favor of Germany and bal
| ances the chances against Germany, and
sees clearly that Germany must lose.
Believing that the individual reasoner in
Germany must see this as clearly. he
I figures that a heartless despotism is
keeping Hans in the war harness
There will be a revolution" he
says. wisely. 'Fritzie won't stand 1t
much longer"
There is no present indication-nor
has there been any indication In the
past-that there will be a revolution in
Germany. The German individual is
/ horribly tired OF the war II 1t were
possible TO put a meter on the current
Of hope it would probably be found that
the German individual hopes for peace
/ more ardently than the individual in
any OF the other majoi belligerent ma
/ tions. But that is because he suffers
more because of the war. He is not at
all convinced that Germany is going to
lose. On the other hand. the greater
part Of Germany believes Germany will
/ win
"A few men," said an eminent German
publicist to me. realize that Germany
will lose. A greater number fear that
Germany cannot win. There is distinc-
ton there-fine, but discernible. But
most men and women In Germany still
believe that Germany will win in the
end. They think they have but to hold
out"
This is obvious enough, of course. IL
one stops to think for a moment. II
the majority Of the people thought Ger
many would be defeated they would be-
gin 10 clamor for an early peace. Terms
would not matter TO them. No terms
could be imposed by the victors. which
would be as disastrous as six months
more war 20 a nation which has already
neen heavily drained. The thing OF an
terest at the moment is to ascertain why
the Germans still believe they can win
or why a considerable section Of them
think so. The conclusion one reaches
from Switzerland is a simple one:
The Germans are told only a part OF
the truth"
1t is difficult to accurately work out
/ an equation from which several factors
are missing. The factors which have
been subtracted by the German. gov
eminent from the German problem are
know precisely how John and Jacques
are faring. 1t is not possible to fool
| Hans on the things which come under
| his immediate observation.
He knows. of course, that he goes to
/ bed hungry and gets up hungry and
stays hungry all day. and that his wife
has reefed his overalls, until they look
like a catboat's mainsail on a squally
day. But he thinks the man on the
. other side is hungrier than he is.
I'VE can win" the Germans keep on
assuring each other, IF we maintain
our will-to-endure."
The German has been told, and for
the most part he believes, that the sit
| uation with the allies is as follows:
That the U-boats are starving Great
Britain.
That France is not so badly off for
food as England, but is on quite as
short rations as Germany.
That the Russian collapse means that
a truce. IL not a separate peace, will
soon be signed in the east.
That Italy is threatened with po-
litical crisis which at best must result
in a slacI5ening of her war-lilSe efforts.
That the United States is "blufring,"
and that in any case the war will be
won by Hindenburg before the Yam
KEGS can become factor.
That on the western front, the only
active battle front, Hindenburg is
trading roods of worthless land for
valuable enemy lives at dispropor-
tionate rate of exchange; that the al
lied attrition is so great that the end
must come by exhaustion of their man
power.
If these things seem absurd TO the
observer outside of Germany IL must De
remembered that Germany has been get
ting practically no news except that pre-
digested for her by the Wilhelmstrasse.
II is true there is an exchange or the
routine news of the DAY between the
warning sides Germany knows OF
crisis in the French cabinet just as
Great Britain knows when a Micnaells
replaces a, Bethmann-Hollweg. But the
newspapers of the allied countries do
not get into Germany for the general
reader. and the printed excerpts from
these papeSs are carefully selected 1or
a sternly censored press.
Much has been made, for example, or
the German dissatisfaction with the u
boat campaign. Some of the wiser
observation-disclosures and Erzberger, 10
name pair-have criticized U-ooat
ruthlessness on the ground that II
brought in the United States, and they
have not hidden their fear that the
United States may prove to be the de-
cisive factor in the war. But the aver
age German is not thinking of that. He
/ is not dissatisfied with the performance
Of the U-boats, as 1t has been reported
10 him He Is only reevish because the
U-boat has not ended the war.
The official statements Of the German
government are that the U-boat has av-
eraged a monthly toll Of 100000 tons of
shipping.
This. according 10 the average Ger
/ man. is all that was promised when the
campaign Of "ruthlessness" began. But
I he was told that 100000 tons a month
would starve England and destroy the
British merchant marine, whereas he
7 now learns somewhat late that 1t is the
merchant marine of the world that must
J be DESTROYED before the British belt is
/ pulled tight.
The complete ignorance Of Germany as
/ 10 what is being done outside OF Ger
man borders is best illustrated by a
recent incident in Zurich. An officer Of
i the German navy came to Zurich on
brief leave of absence. While here he
visited the office of an American friend
of before the war, and there picked up
/ an American paper of recent date He
read the crowded column telling of our
preparation for fighting in the air and
on land and sea-of the millions OF dol
lars heinR spent and loaned and of the