The Nashville globe. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1906-193?, 1918-02-08
The Literary Digest writes:

"A teTTlDle DlOW Is lHlIllHeHJ. .lell
your Americans to come quickly"
These arresting word were Premier
Clemenceau's farewell to an Ameri-
can war-cOrrespondent about to return
to this country. And while the sound
of them is still in our ears a London
dispatch tells us that the Allies are
disappointed in our war-efforts, and !
Senator Chamberlain, Democratic !
chairman of our own Senate Military |
Affairs Committee, announces in a |
public speech that "the military es-
tablishment of America has fallen |
down" and has almost stopt func- |
tioning" The Presidents immediate
der unciation of Senator Chamber
lain's statement as IAN astonishing
and absolutely unjustifiable distor-
tion of the truth" accentuated the
fact that the popular question and
criticism of the Administrations con-
duct of the war was approaching a
crisis Were Germany's military
leaders right" asks the st. Louis Star
(Ind.) when they said that the
United States would be a negligible
quantity in the war because we could
not exert our strength" ANY friend
of the Administration who fails at the
present time to speak frankly about
the effort produced by the breakdown
in the management of the war is do
ing to President Wilson a most in
different service" declares the NeW
Republic (Neao York); and the New
York Times, an influential Democratic
organ, devOtes series of leading edi-
torials to the argument that the Presi-
dent, despite his great genius for
moral and intellectual leadership has
handicapped his Administration by
appointing unfit men to places of
very great trust and responsibility"
and by retaining them "after their
unftness has been demonstrated. In
similar view the New York Tribune,
a strong Republican paper, express
es unqualified pride in Mr.. Wilson as
one whose words, when he defined
our war-aims, interpreted the heart
of the nation in this great hour; but
it adds when we turn from this
splendid personal achievement to the
results attained since our entry into
the war in the grim business of or
ganizing vast fighting machine, this
pride fails" "Mr Wilson's strength, "
another editor remarks, sis rather in
his handling of ideas than as a picker
and user of men,"
Altho Senator Chamberlin, one Of
the strongest critics Of our war
machine, is himself Democrat, many
Washington correspondents discover 6
partizan motive behind much of the
criticism that is being launched
against Secretary Bakers department
A new Congress, we are reminded, will
! be elected next November, and ever
the Presidential election of 1920 is no
> very far away. The charge that Re
publicans were trying to make poll
tics out of the war" was voiced OF
, the floor of the Senate by Senate
Stone, chairman of the Foreign Rela
. tions Committee, who also took occa
: sion to denounce Colonel Roosevelt a
"the most potent agent the Kaise
z has in America"-a form of denuncia
p ton that must have familiar SCUM
to the Senator's own ears. At tn
: same time the Colonel himself VIII
o says that the national motto nov
o should be tell the truth and spec
o up the war" hurried to Washingto
"to help every man who sincerely d.
sires to speed up and make effectiv
= our war preparation" If there is a
e element of partizan politics in thi
Is controversy it is noteworthy that bot
e sides agree in interpreting the popula
demand to be for more vigorous pr
IS secutiOn of the war. Neither sid
= takes a pacifist, or, as it is called |
Italy, "defeatist" attitude.
h Returning to the reported disal
l. pointment of our European allies wit
,e the results of our ten months of wa
sr efforts, we are told bq Arthur
Draper, London correspondent of tn
l. New York Tribune, that confidenti'
r. statements from "some of the highes
placed European statesmen an
n soldiers" left him with "the followir
Up general impressions"
rs "First-America has failed thus fl
to get the European viewpoint Of Il
war. Our plans are based on the i'd
that England, France and Italy al
a. prepared to carry on until America
US troops are ready to deal the final al
~ y crushing blow.
u Secondly-America has failed
live I'D even to her own modest pr
is gram, this being due largely to Il
o oe shortage in tonnage; but, whatev
es the cause, the fact remains that ke'
~ disappointment has resulted.
90 "Thirdly-Not only have the pa
ut months proved the marked unpreps
al