New-York tribune., 1918-03-27
Gave Germany Free Hand
for Drive, He
Asserts
''British Fight for Us"
Nation "Merely Onlooker"
Year After Enter
ing War
Special Correspondence |

KANSAS CITY, Mo-, March 26.-Un-
der the caption THE Fruits Of Our De-
lay" Colonel Theodore Roosevelt says
in "The Kansas City Star" to-day:
"The shameful betrayal of the Allies
cause by the Russian Bolshevists and
the delay and incompetence of the
American government have given the
Germans free hand for their drive
against the British army. England is
at this moment fighting our battles,
just as she is fighting her own; yet, al
though three years have passed since
the Lusitania was sunk and year
since Congress declared that we had
formally entered the war, America is
still merely an onlooker.
Eve owe this ignoble position to the
folly and the procrastination of our
government and its inveterate tendency
to substitute rhetoric for action. We
have gallant little army across the
ocean, but it is smaller than the Bel
gian army. We are not holding a
greater extent of the battlefront than
the army OF little Portugal. We have
at the front no airplanes and field ar
tillery, and very few machine guns, ex-
cept those we have gotten from the
French. Even the clothes Of our
troops are mainly obtained from the
English. Yet we are the richest ma
tion and one of the most populous ma
tions on the earth.
Government Is Responsible
Our government is responsible for
our dreadful shortcomings. but the re-
sponsibility is shared by all the foolish
creatures who have wilfully blinded
themselves to these shortcomings and
have clamored against the faithful pub
lie servants, like Senator Chamberlain,
who laid bare the shortcomings for the
purpose Of remedying them.
THE truly patriotic men in this
fearlessly told the truth in order TO
speed up the war. The other men, who
have decried the truth telling as cry
ing over split milk have been pro-
foundly unpatriotic. It was the failure
to point out how much milk had been
split which was primarily responsible
for the failure to stop further spilling
of milk
'ln the face of the terrible battle
which our English allies are now wag
ing and in view of the fact that for
three years and halt we nave owed
our safety to the British feet and to
the French spirit typiied by Premier
Clemenceau, let the American people
now demand that the government rec
ognize the need of instant and efficient
action.
Urges Immediate Action
"Let our government quit flirting
with the Bolshevists at home and
abroad. Let it declare war on Turkey
at once. Let it acknowledge its dread
full failures and delays and henceforth
act with all possible speed. Let it man
fully endeavor to make our weight felt
in the war this year Let is stop boast
ing about the future and begin to act
in the present.
LET the government use common
sense. 1t has talked magniticenty
about having $1,000 airplanes ready in
June. but it has not one American war
plane at the front to-day. Let it quit
boasting and act. Let it push the ship
building programme by night and day.
Let it give France and England the
men they so sorely need. Our govern
ment has delayed until the Allies have
been brought to the brink of destruc-
ton Let it act at once, lest the chance
for action pass completely by