The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1917-04-02
MONDAY, APRIL ., 1917.
GERMANY's GREATEST BLUNDER.

A high German authority WAS quot
cd yesterday as having admitted that
the effort to starvc England has BEEN
proved to bc a failure. I. would seem
TO be Sclf-cvidcnt proposition in view
Of tho immense disProportion between
the SHIPS sailing and entering British
/ ports during February and March and
, thr humber which have been sunh-= It
I is true that there have been many YES
sells sunk in all, with a large aggregate
1 tonnage. But when it comes TO the
proportion which have escaped, the per-
centagc sunk is very small.
In order to be fair, it must be adj
United that the fear of sinking has pre-
vented the sailing of many vessels from
the United States. But thc total re-
suit must be taken together and the
sum of it pil is that Germany cannot
starve England by the use If subma-
rines Hence all this friehtful policy
of wholesale murder and wilful destruc
tion of property fails to accomplish
its purpose.
But, in the meantime, Germany has
forced the United States into the posi-
tiou of an open enemy, for it must be
assumed now that Germany intends 70
persist in its policy and that nothing
will keep us from a declaration that a
state of war exists. Germany has
made another conspicuous bIundcr The
Manchester. England Guardian regards
this move of Germany the greatest
bluudcr that misguided country ha,
made since the beginning of the war
It says:
at has not infrcqucntlv been ar
\ -ued that Germany was on the Who'll,
indifferent to the action of the United
states. Some ingenious writers hay,
\ even suggested from time to time tha
l Germany positively wanted war-som,
z aid from the fantastic motive that he
4 government would then have an cx
I eu>c for yielding gracefully TO a unite,
world. while others more plausible
I urged that bv concentrating on he
own military preparations the cncI
l gies of the United States might be di
vertcd from the supply of the allie,
\ These tortuous interpretations of nc
tive are rarely sound. 1t is safer t
l take an enemy policy as it stands an
read it in its plain meaning. The il
triguc with Mexico knocks on the hea
any supposition that Germany was il
\ different to the hostility of the Unite
4 States. She has risked it for a grea
l stake. She hoped to starve rs out b,
\ fore the summer offensive, and abov
= all, before any hostile action by tn
H United States, which she knew that sh
II riskcd could be made effective. Thu
She made big throw. On the one sid
II was the possibility of early victor,
II on the other that of adding a new en-,
my to the circle around her. That I'll
III German government realized the s.
II robustness of this possibility is prove
II by the desperate precautions whic
II they took to counter it. There
II something protesque in the suppesitio
II that they could pivot Japan upon Ne:
II leo. That they might detach an all
U from his loyalty and bring him I
:. attack his own friends was to Germa
l. political ethics nothing strange or il
We probable. We may gather from II
n incident something of the way
=. !, which they may be prepared to tire;
"a their allies when the time comes. B,