The Washington herald., 1917-01-28
England, Eager to Win War,
Cheerful Despite Mass Levy
Lloyd George, Popular Idol, Seized Power by
Trick, Liberals Say, Knowing Peace Notes
Were Coming, and Taking Advantage
of Northcliffe's Attacks.

Liberal ana LaDOf members, ana circulate
through the press an impression that the
demand has been or will be accepted.
If it is refused by any section of the
house, he is expected to resign suddenly
and compel general election since
there is no other man who could form
government under such circumstances.
Under present conditions an election
would be something OF a farce, for It
must be held on the 1913 registration of
voters, and by the existing machinery
no soldiers could vote, and nearly one
third the electors at home are disfran-
chised because they have moved during
the war to undertake munition work.
Lloyd George and his supporters by put
ting up candidates everywhere and cry
ing ''pro-German" against any men who
stood against them, the Liberals say,
might sweep the country. Then the
little Welshman," as his admirers af-
fectionately call him, would return to
pOwer-a power more absolute than any
man has possessed in England since
Oliver Cromwell.
l have given the inside story of the
fall of the Asquith cabinet as it appears
to professional politicians, but such a
picture, considered alone, would be most
misleading. Whatever tricks the poll
ticians played each other, or will play,
Lloyd George owes his position primarily
to the fact that the people believe he is
the man to win the war The new gov
ernment is not afraid of the initiative;
the old waited until it was sure there
would be no serious opposition before it
took any important step. If Lloyd George
ousted his chief by a trick, he doubtless
believes, and certainly the country
agrees with him. that the new order of
things was necessity if England is to
KKyiro fha KHyoP rl,a,- l., ta1ly h1r1r
hidden hand" in the Lloyd George war
cabinet; his bitterest enemies admit that
he is in earnest and will stick at nothing
to overthrow Germany.
Attitude Very simple
The attitude among those responsible
for the conduct of the war toward the
peace proposals is really very simple,
although, diplomatic courtesy requires
some Circumlocution of language in an
sweriTg the enemy and neutral notes.
The present War Cab0et in England.
and apparently the governments of
France and Russia as well, believe they
can defeat Germany in the field, and
they want a dicatated peace and not a
negotiated peace. No treaty that Ger
many signs, they hold, is worth the paper
1t is written on unless the German war
machine is smashed.
- may plOHe llIpOSSlDle u DtdI TeT-
many, but the preparations for doing so
have reached such a point that only
complete surrender by the Kaiser and
his allies would induce the entente to
agree to an armistice before trying in
the spring to break through the Ger
man lines and bring Germany to her
knees. Lloyd George fervently and earn
estly believes this to be possible next
summer, if not next spring; and if not
next tha hot
military defeat of Germany, he declares
as warmly in private as in public ut
terances, is absolutely necessary for the
future of European civilization, and he
has staked his political career on carry
ing through to a successful end the pol
icy of the knockout"
What our, own pacifists and Presi-
dent Wilson and many Americans fail
to see is this" a prominent member of
the war-to-a-finish school told me
Even granted that p treaty could be
made with Germany unbeaten which
would assure peace for a time, which I
very much doubt the spirit which caus-
ed this war would remain unbroken, and
that would make another war certain.
II the German military caste can say
to its people, We withstood the whole
world in arms it will not have the
slightest difficulty in persuading the
iAN-NI 5SAAtA elLAOil VI ItTndnS 10 set out
to win the prizes which they so nearly
obtained in this war. 1t Is untrue to say
that their failure this time will restrain
Germans next time. If alliances were
stable, If We could count with certainty
on the same forces being brought against
Germany again, it might be worth while
10 talk about negotiated peace But
suppose Germany were to detach, within
the next thirty years, a member of the
IN hnr
the spirit Of militarism still unbroken.
can anyone doubt that her people would
resume their dream Of world empire?"
Government View of Peace.
That, I believe. represents the govern
ment view of peace AS for President
Wilson's request that terms be set down
IN black and white. that is impossible at
present without causing friction among
the members of the entente, and since
such friction would react upon the mill
tary situation, it is obvious that the
PRESIDENTS request cannot be acceded to
until the allies have agreed among them
selves as to how they are going to di-
vide the spoil, If any This in turn can
not be decided until the allies have found
out how much they are going to be able
to take from Germany by force So there
can be no detailed statement of terms
from the entente until the next campaign
has been fought out.
There seems to be much solid basis for
the spirit of optimism about the 1917 cam
paign in the West that now pervades Of
hcial London, where two months ago the
feeling was decidedly pessimistic The
present hopefulness has been caught from
the soldiers on leave, and they are en-
couraSed by the new French tactics of
field warfare. When four French divf-
sions last month soundly thrashed five
German divisions, captured nearly two
miles Of ground at Verdun as strongly
defended as any positions on the western
front, and took more men prisoners than
they lost in the attack, a new era of
warfare was opened. For two years the
defense had an overwhelming advantage
over the attack, as both sides found
many times. at the cost of hundreds of
thousands Of lives, but now the balance
seems to have swung the other way.
The new tactics of the French were
largely worked out by Gen. Nivelle,
whose reward is the supreme command
Of the west front, a rapid rise for a man
who was a colonel at the battle of the
Marne. They are economical of lives,
they gain ground, and they cause heavy
losses to the enemy When the great 1917
offensive flames out British and French
alike will be using the new methods, and
the greatest Of all victories is antici-