Daily Kennebec journal., 1918-04-27
Paying the Price.


The breathless haste. the drive on
drive regardless Of cost in men, the
panicky progress in the campaign of
"World dominion or DOWNFALL" all
proclaim the western front struggle
as the decisive If not the final battle
of the war.
1t is becoming more and more evil
dent that the calm refusal of Gen.
Foch to plunge in with his reserves
and waste hundred Of thousands of
men in a mad slaughter, as Germany
is throwing her gun fodder away, is
maddening to the Prussian war mas
ters.
Over and over they are throwing
lines of British and French and
Americans who man rapid-fire guns,
and retire" when their guns get too
hot or they are tired of moving down
Teutons. From another letter from
the same source as the one published
in Friday mornings Kennebec Jour-
nal. we quote the following material
optimism:
THE Germans advance across de-
vastated country strewn with their
dead or writhing brothers. into shat
tered trenches vacated by the allies
in which the protection (wire en-
tanglements. parapets, shelters. COM
munication system and machine gun
emplacements) is ALL ON THE
WRONG SIDE. And these trenches
for German use must be reorganized
under fire.
advancing, the Germans are sub
jected to veritable hell Of heavy and
light artillery fire-guns which could
be sighted by merely opening the
breech, looking through, slamming in
a shell and letting it ,go!-machine
guns which run until they are too hot
to use-and they've fired 10000 shots
from the new Browning without its
becoming too hot-trench mortars
that throw deadly bombs with unbe-
lievable accuracy, rifle fire and the
final stand with the bayonet. Can
you picture the fearful slaughter?
THE inadequate protection of cap
tured trenches explains why oustins
thessHuns from their newly ac-
quired territory, when the Allies
counter-attacked has been so easy.
rs it plain why Foch and Haig are
willing to bo gack-and back?
Il suggested N my last letter that
Foch's counter blow might be delv-
cred at sGivenchy. I've just bought
Mondays '"Times" and found the en-
closed map. Givenchy is near La
Bassee, southwest of Lille. OF
course the German troops are massed
from here north. How much greater
blow it would be if the Allies have
sufficient reserves to make q success
full break south of st. Michel, say at
Pont Mousson?
Let the Germans go on. paving
their toll. to Dunkirk, to Calais.
THE superiority Of the Allied
forces on this front is estimated at
from 100000 to 100000 men, and
it's growing daily. with Americans
and Italians and the giving of two or
three or moro Germans for every
member of the Allied forces. The
German Front in the French sector is
reported as getting dangerously thin
to supply necessary forces for the
northern assaults. The Allied front
here is rested and fresh. A smash at
l-aon would obviate the difficulty in
the Ardennes which might meet an
attack near st. Michel.
KENNEL Hill is the next probable
objective Of tho German drive. !
hope they take it and the remainder
Of the range. tell cost 'em from
100000 to 10000 men-perhaps more.
And then they must begin again.
What does it avail them if they hold
the KENNEL hills and the Allies crash
through at Laon or any other point
south Of Lille?
Let Foch wait. The Germans can
never crack his lines. Let him use
his reserves to stem the Hun attacks,
II necessary. Let the Teutons' in
sane thrusts continue until winter
stops 'em. if we need to do that.
There'll be a million or more Ameri-
cans in France next spring at this
time, and more coming by every boat.
Our airplane program presumably
will be effective by that time, our
munition factories at top speed.
And then!
We'll, We'll be telling 'em how
America won another war.
But don't anticipate waiting all
this summer. I think the German
weak point will receive the fatal blow
before many more weeks have
passed,