Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1917-10-03
The Milestone in Sight


granted" as grandma used TO say.
Cne of these, in the present stress of
world suffering. is that peace MUST
come. sometime.
IT. ali orr preparations the aim is
peace. Every hope Of civilization is
toward peace, every eye focused on
peace All the world is ticking lin
spite Of military caution on all sides
10 keep up tho bluff and talk nothing
but war; peace.
Germany is hoasting her ability to
hold out. We are Aoasting oar rapid
y acquired strength to bring her to
her knees.
Germany knors that the world
knows she is everywhere on the defen
s!ve but she goes on bluffing. and vast
ing enough Of her own assets every
month 70 pay all that she would be
wanton destruction in invaded terri
tory Every week the German forces
demonstrate that they would drive the
French and English back if they could:
and every week the invincible ranks OF
Ha;g and Petain force the Germans
back toward the boundary.
That without the aid Of Americas
hghting forces. And while the Allies
are slowly but surely proving their
superiority over the enemy, a power
greater than any of them. when trained
and equipped, is rapidly gathering its
strength to hurl itself into the contest
ON the side that is winning.
That is the situation that is con-
fronting Germany and Austria and
Turkey today. Can we doubt that they
are as anxious for peace as we?
Then, the world wants peace and into
every heart is springing the hope of
an early dawn Can we talk as we
hope and prepare as effectively? We
think so. for we all know that the
greatest factor in forcing Germany to
think OF an early peace is American
preparation for war.
We doubt If the hatreds reported in
Germany and in the cities of some or
all Of the Allies can be found in Amer
lea We are making a business of
cleaning autocracy out of the world.
We are going about a job that has to
be done, not because We hate" any
body but because we can't trust the
kind of people who hate" and who
indulge in such warfare as Germany
INDUCES, with getting control of our
future We must force them to peace
terms that will mean safety to the
world for all time.
Ernest Poole of the Nigilantes has
written on The Fighters and the
Eaters." commenting on those who talk
hate" and those who fight and have
no time for hate And the milestone
he mentions is already in sight.
Mr. Poole wrote:
To hear such folks inveigh against
Germany, you might think they were
the fighters here. But in Europe it has
not Deen SO. IeIueIlpel ii W oliidH All
London who was like many now in
New York She told me In voice
ouiyering with bitterness that even
when the war was over she wanted
nothing but evil to come to every man
and woman and child in the German
empire Meanwhile, as far as / could
fnd. she was doing nothing for the
war She took II out in talking. In
London there were not many like her,
for the English are not good Haters.
But in Berlin there were thousands.
rem en1ber. one evening in Beethoven
Saal. looking down from the low gallery
upon a thpong of we'll dressed people
listening to an actor who was recfting
the Hymn Of Hate" The little man
was hystercal he tore his rage TO tat
ters: his hatred Of the people Of Eng
land was to endure to the end Of time.
And those people rose and cheered him
until the great hall seemed to rock
with the noise. was told by one of
them that night
we Germans now all feel like that.
You will hear the Hymn of Hate sung
by the boys in the trenches all along
the Western front"
But went to the boys in the trench
es and found them big stolid German
youths, standing out there in the
drenching rain and quietly fighting for
Germany. They had no time for hat
ing. And from all the correspondents
know have heard it is the same in
the French and English trenches. They
are too busy killing Germans to hate
them. And so 1t is. all over Europe.
As you leave Berlin or Vienna. Lon
don. Paris. Petfograd, Rome. and travel
toward the battle lines, the shrill, hys-