Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1918-02-21
sY ARTHUR 5. DRAPER.
S,..c;ai Cable to The Tribune.

ictnly l. likely tu prove Il boomerang.
\ high authority an commercial and
,snnuuli" relations HAS supplied re
withfs".nc faces al'ro,'cs the situation
produced ~ de action OF The hnlsnca list
a~uNorntaen. in withdrawing fr"in ne
Not i,ofprv the end -; IN" moxt nar
vest can Russia give ,rate"ii! hc!l' 10
HE ~c"n,r'l powerS-anu not then. un-
less meanwhile the Germans succeed n
NcoraaniIins the co}nNN's t,TlnSlr"ria
tfnu facilities.
MY Informant states CHAT, although
the grain harvest Of The Ukraine was
considerable last ycalt ti,e breakdown
in the machinery ton collecting and
storing wheat means that the Germans
will have TO organize a collection sys-
lem. anu chat is a practically hopeless
job.
Wheat Acreage Small.
Because nj tho shortage of mpic labor,
the mach more distant wheat lands in
Russia are not under cultivation. AS 4
result the harvest has dropped far he
low normal. The Russian RULING stock
has suffered frightfully, and a we'll
noW and eminent engineer is author
ity for the statement that it Will take
at least n Near to put il on even u pre-
war basis.
The German frelsht cats and ,ue..n"-
lives are showing signs "f constant use
dl!I lIl.ttltuudlt ttittlIS. w itl ItNTlltLN
Germany sold coal ia Denmark, ono
provision OF the agreement WAS thai. the
Danes send labor Ia mine the coal and
the rolling stock to transport il.
The broader gauge of the Russian
railways means tina Germany would
ave to lay another rail before she
could utilize these road e
Russia can provide Germany with
lumber and minerals in unlimited Qnan-
titles but not un:il transportation 4,
r~eorganized.
Contrary to the general belief Ger
many has no great supply OF manu-
ractured articles on hand. with which
to supply Russia. The fact that the
Scandinavian countries have frequently
tried IN vain to get certain articles
formerly supplied by Germany shows
that the shortage OF lumber. lack of
raw materials and inadequate trans
portation are great handicaps TIA The
enemy manufacturers.
II Germany had been able to- supply
thes. articles she could have raised the
value of the mark i'm the Scandinavian
countries.
Within the central powers there are
about 1000. 600 Russian prisoners. while
Russia holds shout 100 00 Germans and
approximately 1,o00.0o .A,,st"-Hun-
garians.
Whether the central powers. espec-
tally Germany, would welcome back
these prisoners who have been living
in the holshevist atmosphere ma to
be seen. That these prisoners will in
huencc the military situation in the
west is considered extremely doubtful.
Germany hopes thai conditions in
Russia will continue SO chaotic that
eventually she will be asked to step in
and get the country tn right. German
commercial penetration in Russia. how
ever, is no, feared So long as the war
1ngt.. ,",,t, tl,s. n.,S, ,a,i1l M, DAMN
attempt To open trade relations inn
mndiately.
Not Sure About Payments.
Daring the war Russia's exports
dropped to about n quarter of the pre-
wan figures, and during the last two
a they have been practically nil.
Before the war the bulk OF her trade
was across the western frontier, but
since the war 1t has naturally passed
through Finland.
Until u representative and autilora-
tive government exists in Russia, Ger
many will have to gamble whenever
II makes q business deal. The same
thing holds for The allies. and even to
Il greater extent, for ii is beyond denial
that neither America nor i;ritain is
popular with the h~n!shcvists.
Those IN the best position To Judge
consider ti:at RUSSIA will DE of little
value a" Germany this year, and she
may prove ~ considerable burden for
the nlilitaristS.
Presideu, Wilson'S ddres tn con-
sreSs ON the eve of the opening of par
lament has made an exceptionally good
impression here. practically all shades
of newspaper opinion %indorsing the
terms us he outlined them. II is gen
orally considered the dearest of his war
speeches and as such only ono inter
probation is placed upon ii.
Wilson Yields Nations.
As the presidents address contains
no change Of policy, the unanimity OF
h British press opinion must he con-
sidered proof that some of the organs
here have changed their tone. His lat
est u%ttcgance has drawn Britain and
America closer together and their in
fluence in the rest of the world is
bound to he great.
That the allies will SOON make a joint
restatement OF their war aims can be
pyo1,hesied with considerable assurance.
The poorly Worded statement following
h Versailles conference gave an en-
tirely wrong impression as ! reported it
last week. These In authorit, here re-
greet exceedingly that 1t IS open To the
interpretations put & j, in many
quarters.
The presidents address is ;ndurscd
in the highest circles. Though son
statements fail To share his faith. they
have no alternative policy TO offer and
therefore are prepared to give his
scheme Il fair test. That marks a dis
tinctive gain Tor the diplomatic often
siye.