Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-09-28
THE UPHEAVAL
uEADLoNG history %outpaces its int

uEADLONG history outpaces its inter
IL prefers. September % was the di2
ziest day in this wars annals. The up
heaval. comprehensive as il was terrific,
renders the role Of forecastcr almost ubso.
lctc. Bulgaria cries quits and Briton, Gaul
and Yauk plow through the German lines
for square miles and "sduareheads,' all in
the course of tweuty-four hours.
The success OF Foch's western strategy
ls-ur tremendous import. None the less
the eebncle of the Car F~erdinand's
forces and the prompt ana panicky snivcL
ing for an arm.stice has the soul-satisfyinS
element of decisiyencss. General p'lispc-
roy. commanding the Allied armies in
Macedonia. while refusing the plea, has
consented to receive accredited Bulgarian
delegates.
In the meantime. of course, hosttlitios
will 20 on. Any other course would mean
throwing away such a golden opportunity
for sweeping victory as ha. not occurred
to civilization ON any front since the war
began.
The machine operated by French, Ser.
bans and British in Macedonia is expand
Ing and ]distcndinS itself like a giant suuid.
Ouc tcntacle reaches toward the vital base
of Gskub, another has seized the BulGar
stronghold of Strumitza, another takes a
sinister inclination in the direction OF
Sofia. Bulgaria beholds her 4 ON unless
she stops fighting. ON their own terms,
which may Ice accepted under the militia y
pressure. the Niles may authorize li'r
Withdrawal from the contest.
Aside from the moral effect On Germany
Of such Il lapse. it's military consequen, =
would be enormous. The elimination of
the Macedonian war theatre would neces-
sarily permit the assemblaSe of Il much
greater company upon the western stage,
where "A drama is already hitting a furt.
ous pace.
1t begins to look as though Marshal
Focus plans were well past the prelimi-
naries. The near objectives Of the Franco
American drive in tho Champagne seem
10 be twofold-the thanking Of the Chemin
dcs Danes ON the west and Il powerful
threat against the liriey-Longwy iron
fields on the east. Taken in conjunction
with the wedge which IIaig is driving be-
tween st. Quentin and the little Sensee
River, the whole vast operation brings
back the metaphor Of the pincers en-
ployed by the Hun in his brief summer
hour of triumph. The Teuton bulge in
France is placed in jeopardy by thrusts
in the northwest and in the east.
1t is perfectly evident that classic
strategy is once more being iuvoSed--a
strategy which seeks to separate the two
main sections of the German army. There
is "A chance that even the detection Of
Bulgaria may he put"in the shade should
the Franco american and British move
ments continue without intermission.
SO far as immediate purposes are con-
cerned, Haig's success in crossing the
IIindenburg line on a front of seven miles
and the speedy cleanup of Pershing and
petain in the Champagne, which has al
| ready Melted more than 10000 prisoners.
are among the most brilliant achievement
of the year.
one thing is certain: the war prophets
| are having no time in which to catch their
breath. They ought to be as glad as the
rest of Us that facts are so cyclonically
| usurping the place of speculation.