TaÌˆgliche Omaha tribuÌˆne. [volume] (Omaha, Nebr.) 1912-1926, 1917-02-19
Let Us Look Facts In TheFace
Weigh Probabilities With Care and Pre-
pare For The PeriIS.
From the N. Z. American.

INC Lngllsh wholly underestim.
ated Germany's strength and
endurance and resources. They
also overrated their own capa.
city.
@The big Spring drive will
end it," they said in the Fall Of
1915. "We will middle through
till Kitchener's new army is
ready. Then il will soon be
over"
You know what happened.
And all the world knows that
il France had not sacrificed her
self so magnihcently and Rus
STA had not squandered millions
OF lives, England would have
been whipped to a flush by
Germany before the war was
six months old.
Now, we ought, above all
things, to avoid these two err
rors that England made.
We must not overrate our
capacity and we must not un-
derrate the German wal machine.
The sensible, patriotic thing
to do is to look at facts as they
are, to weigh all the probabiIi-
ties and to prepare for the
future situation as it may be
and not as we think it ought
to be.
The man who goes about
Boosting that we can whip the
universe off-hand and crying
that Germany is exhausted and
ready to fall on her knees is not
only a fool, but he is a nuisance
and a menace to his own coun-
try's interests.
1t ought to be thoroughly I'M
derstood at once that if we go
to war with Germany we play
right into the hands of the Ger
man military caste and make
the allies defeat as nearly cer-
tain as anything can be that is
yet in the future.
Mark you, we do not say our
defeat, but the allies defeat.
Let us look at this matter
sensibly and dispassionately, for
i is a matter OF vital Importance
to Us to thoroughly understand
what problems war has in store
Tor us, il VIC go to war.
In the first place, Germany
will either whip the allies this
year or not at all. If she is
strong enc dgh to whip the al
lies, the only way we could
save them would be to bring
an oyerbalancing financial, mi
litary and moral pressure to
bear on Germany within the
next eight months.
Can we do that?
Undoubtedly we can finance
the allies with billions, if We
are fools enough to waste our
wealth on those bankrupts. But
the time has gone when finances
would have any decisive weight
in this conflict, but the finances
HAVE ALREADY been found
and used in the preparation Of
all the means that will be used
in this final decisive campaign.
If we gave our whole accu-
mutation of cash to England
and France and Russia to-mor-
row, that gigantic wealth would
not alter the naval and military
preparation Of the combatants
for the coming struggle by so
much as a gun battery.
For the whole available man
power and factory power of all
these nations has been and now
is engaged in the work of pre-.
paration; and money, whose
power is to outstay an adver-
sary in long warfare, is no
longer a factor that can alter
the result Of the frightful strug-
gle that is approaching.
Mr.. Georges assertion that
the last S500,000,000 would win
the war had truth in it two
years ago. Now it is a mere
catch phrase.
Remember that we are speak
ing solely of the European situa-
ton, because, so far as WE are
concerned, if we are unfortunate
enough TO get entangled in this
war, our sole and our strong
hope IS indeed in our vast
wealth, by which we can out
last nations already greatly cx-
hausted and financially bank
rupt.
But that we can at this time az
feet Germauy's powerfully pre-
pared onslaught on the allies on
land and on sea by bolstering !