The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1917-12-07

must Hght and night desperately TO
hold out
Or. Kaenpf. president of the reich
stag declared that President Wilson
would bite marble" before the war
was over. And the success Of sub
marine warfare during April and the
first part OF May was such as TO
arouse the whole world 10 the almost
/ Indefinite possibilities OF this means
of fighting.
The real crisis OF the war has
not been reached. We are ap-
preaching IL, The allics have at
tempted for two years without
much success TO curb the U-boat
+ danger. They have attempted to
build steel ships, also without sue
csss, so that the real burden of
( winning tho war In Europe falls
/ upon American shoulders.
THE UNITED STATES
/ AND THE WAR
Fortunately for the United States
we are not making the biunder al the
beginning of our Intervention which
some OF the European nations have
/ been making since August 1914.
America IL awakened to the needs of
modern war as no other nation was,
thanks to the splendid work which
the American newspapers and maya
SAbSF ffldSS ipAkS 0bi btB b1E " al "
present clearly, fairly and accurately
not ONLY the great Issues. but the
pfahlems Of organization and military
tactics, The people OF the United
States are better informed about the
war as a whole than are the people
in any European country. American
newspapers have not made tho mis-
! takes which English and French jour
nails made~-of hating the enemy so
/ furiousiy aa to think that nothing
more than criticism and hate were
necessary to defeat him. Not until
this year could one Of Great Britain g
statesmen declare: You can Damn
! the Germans until you are blue in
the face, but that will not beat them. "
The United States enters the Rreat-
est war In history at the psychological
moment with capable and deter
mined president, Ia united nation and
almost unlimited resources In men.
money and munitions.
/ There 10 a TREMENDOUS difference
between the situation IN the United
states and that in any European eoun-
| try. During the two years / was in
| Europa l Waited every nation at war
except Serbia. Bulgaria and Turkey.
4 l saw conditions in the neutral coun-
tries OF Holland. Denmark. Switzer
/ land and Spain. The one big. thing
which impressed me- upon my arrival
/ in New York was that the United
States, in contrast TO Gil these coun-
| tries, has as yet not been touches ny
/ the war Americans are not living
under the strain or worry which hang
| like dreadful duff clouds over every
European power. I'm Switzerland the
i economic worries and the sufYerings
| of the neigfIboring belhgerents have
made the seiss~ people fael shat thty
/ are in the center OF the war itself.
In France. although Paris IN gay, al
though people smile tthey have al
| rnoast forgotten how 20 smile in Ger
many, although streets are crowded
and stores busy. the atmosphere is
earnest and serious. Spain liz torn by
Internal troubles. There is a great
ARMY of unem pioyed. The sub7na-
rine war has DESTROYED many Spanish
ships and interrupted Spanish trade
with belligerents. Business houses
are unable to obtain credit. German
propaganda is sowing seditton and the
king himself is uncertain about the
future. But in the United States there
is "a gigantic display OF energy and