The Washington herald., 1918-03-10
BY JoEa.S Z. BALDERsToN.
(Copyright, l9ls by the Mcclure Newspape

Syndicate.)
London, Feb. 7.-Upon the frontiers OF
the central powers autocratic censor
ships have put down q barrage to pre-
vent the world from learning the
truth regarding the extraordinary con-
flicts Of parties and policies now in
progress In Germany and Austria
Meanwhile, the German great gen.
eral staff Is marshalling its lesions
and those OF its allies for a desperate
final attempt to obtainsa military de-
cision over its enemies, or, failing
that, to win a success that will dis
courage the forces of democracy and
lead them to conclude a peace OF ex-
haustion with the unbeatenswar lords.
THE war will be won by the side
with the strongest nerves." old Hin
denburg said in 1915, and It is upon
this now well-worn tag that German
autocracy Is stalking its life. The great
and perhaps the final campaign in the
field will be under way within a few
weeks, perhaps the battle lines in the
West will be swaying under the shock
Of battle when this dispatch Is print
ed.
But, falling that military decision
or strategic break-through which no
military authority here believes Hin
denburg can possibly attain. the inter-
nal struggle In the central empires will
remain throughout the spring, as to-
day, the issue in the world war of
most importance.
From official sources have OBJ
tained material which makes possible
an accurate description of that politi-
cal situation in Germany and Austria,
which the dominant and reactionary
parties in those countries are trying
to hide from the world. How that
information was gathered and reach
ed England would make a romance
OF absorbing interest IL 1t could be
told.
The Kaiser and the Austrian EN-
peror-King. the military chieftains
and the Hertlings, Kuhlmanns and
Czernins, are faced by a terrible dilem-
ma. They believe themselves, and
with the best of reasons, in extreme
personal danger. The tide of revolt
Is rising about them. Their thrones
and Offices, in their own opinions, are
in little less peril than were those
OF their counterparts in Russia, a
year ago, just before the cataclysm
swept the Cars autocracy into limbo
overnight.
Why, then. do they not make peace?
Why do they not give their peoples
the settlement for which they cry,
meeting the just demands of the al
lies, and saving their own skins at
the cost Of abandoning their attempt
10 dominate the world?
The answer is that they cannot. In
the German military view, privately
expressed by Gen. Ludendorff at the
time the strikes in Germany began,
no peace involving the cession of a
yard of the territory Of Germany or
any of her allies, even Turkey, can
be concluded without provoking an i'm
mediate revolution. The whole issue,
Ludendorff said, Is summed up in one
word, prestige. The prestige of the
German army must be maintained, or
the fabric of the mllItarist state falls
to pieces Any concessions made by
Germany to the allies, unless met by
similar gifts OF territory on our side,
will be regarded in Germany as SYM
bols of defeat.
The Germanic autocrats must give
peace and bread to their peoples, or
their peoples will rise against them
They must maintain the prestige of
victory, or they will be swept out Of
power for having fought an unsuecess-
ful war. They cannot obtain terms
from their enemies which do not in
volve the admission on their own parts
that they have failed to win the war
There in a paragraph is the essence
OF the whole situation, as the pre-
cious crew put it to themselves, among
themselves. For more than two years
Of war, there was no crown council
in Germany. Now there are crown
councils every week. Hindenburg and
Ludendorf tear in special trains from
Berlin to Brest-Litovsk and to great
headquarters on the Meuse, Hertling
and Czernin rush wildly about Cen
trail Europe using up more mileage
than an American Presidential candi-
date consumes. To parody a phrase
used by Wilson's predecessor, the
Central European autocracy has be-
come a government on wheels"
But they cannot find the way out
OF the dilemma. For there Is no way
out. They are heading for the abyss,
and they know it. Only one thing
can save them, a weakening or break
up among the allies. As their hour
Of fate approaches-and those best
able to Judge here believe IL to he