The Washington herald., 1917-03-19
What Leading Newspapers
Say on the War Situation
Bnupaume and After,

New York Tribune)
80 many times during the present war
a!led expectation has outrun not merely
realization but any reasonable nossibilitv
that 1t Is the part of wisdom at the pres
ent moment to keep In mind the imme
ulate possibilities of the German retire.
ment about Bapaume occupied SATURDAY
by the British forces.
There are. it is clear. three possibilities.
we may be witnessing the first sten in
general German retirement from
france, which Will not stop short OF the
frontier; We may be observing a partial
out exceedingly important retirement
"hlch VIII not end until the Germans
nave abandoned the famous Noyon "el-
ooW ana are standing on line running
from La Bassee through Douai, Cambraj
st. Quentin and La Fere; we NAV he ace.
ing the largest local retirement on the
herman side since the battle OF the Marine
Dut local retirement which has no fur
tner meaning than the abandonment of
'he so-callcd Arras or Bapaume salient.
Now, of the three possibilities II is
necessary to recognize that only the last
is now Immediately forecast Nothing in
'he German operations up to the present
moment supplies any real reason wby oh
servers from distance, whatever the
case may be for the soldiers at tho front
shouid believe that the Germans are doing
anything but retiring from a yery I'M
GomioitaoIe corner, Strengthening their
lines in such fashion as to make n nor
nanent stand easier and less costly. and
that at no distant time We shall not Soc
the retreat ended.
Russia's Future.
Nov York Tfmeal
me immediate future of Russia, its
iemoter future. too. is in the hands
vi the leaders In the Duma II they
prove TO he men Of courage and COM
petence and stesdiness the work hn-
gun with SO little disorder. so sUiftIv
o"iIieu forward. will be brought to
",plet'on' the Russian people Will be
Sel-eoVernlng. 1t will be a great and
marvellous transformation, whether a
republic or constitutional monarchy
snail succeed to the autocracy. The
eAcesses and savagry which marked
the RUE of the people in the French
revolution upon the one hand and
the organized forces of reaction such
as threatened the present French re-
Puoic In Its Infancy upon the other.
must De successfully resisted. II the
ne" ministers are competent for these
! TASKS as well as for the business ~
government, II they win the confidence
OF the people and of the army. and
II they win one they will have tho
other, there Is every reason to believe
that the new government will soon he
eStaolshed upon a firm foundation.
A LessOn-for Missuided p,.,r
New York Heraldl
"hat a warning to mlitarists eyery-
"hero! mat shock this must bring
10 men in every land who place their
Lalth In bayonets and believe in uni-
Iorm ana drill as the only means to
make men patriots and ever loyaI To
the powers that be!-Thc Evening Post
IL Is or the refusal of Russion SOL
oiers TO hre upon other Russians that
the Eevening Post is speaking.
What militarists may think of -
doesn't much concern Americans. since
we nave none of them-or preciou.
rev. The lesson most Americans viii
see' Tor 1t Is the one lesson taught hv
the episode described. is that to eouin
men with the training and with tbe
arms essential to defence OF their cow
Try makes neither friends nor "militar-
ISIS or them, and that, in consequence
there Is absolutely no warrant for the
contention or the Evening Post, or
ANYBODY else, that there Is menace
TO the free institutions of this repub-
hc In the proposals that its youth who
are expected to defend the nation
should have the training and eouin-
meht necessary to make them capabIs
soldiers
Not even the Evening Post will CON-
tend that the American citizen has less
Intelligence and less patriotism thau
the Russian mujik.