The daily times. [volume] (Wilson, N.C.) 1902-1936, 1918-09-07
THEF0E IS 4
WEARING DOWN
But is Not Whipped. They
Are Scraping Together
Every Available Man
GERMANY STILL STRONG

C. H. Perris in New York Tlmss1
With the French Armies, Sept, H.
To-day is the fourth anniversaES'
| of the battle of the Marine and Jcsa'
fre's memorable summons: "AS LIS
moment when a battle is joined 81
which depends the salvation Of 1ssaS
country, every one must be refEiiI1a-'
ed that the time has gone for Ioss4sr~
| ing backward Troops who car hAh
longer advance must at any Scsg1
hold the ground won and De sfa sS
rather than give way. In the pEFsrz--
ent circumstances no failure. car- isys
| tolerated.
| The recollection of this talS0ut
victory at the moment when the Al
lies are again driving back the saIns&
enemy thoughts, some of an enconr~--
aging and some of a sobering kindA n
The Central Powers, long prepaieGa
and greatly profiting by the Bolshs''
visit pestilence, have been wos-sE
down while the Grand Alliance IN
far from reaching it's full strengtE'
but the end is not yet.
Germany is still strong despite be
defeats. OF her total OF 246 dlVi@
ions she has about 200 in the wesN
They are all much weakened. ISs
reserve has fallen some fifty dlvis'-
ions since the beginning Of t1AS
March offensive, that is to say, 1asS
equivalent of all the forces brougthI
back from Russia has now been dsa
voured.
A conservative estimate shows
that the German losses since Mares
21 must total about 1.20O,OOO mel
of whom, however, 60 per cetfI.-
would be capable of recuperating ar@
interval of from three to- sIz"-
months, leaving the permanent ls'fss.7
at about 500 900 men. The tolt of&
the allied side has been nothing Hs1$e.
so great.
The crisis of the enemy for eftssa'-~
tive is certainly acute. The 11Ls-@
class is wholly engaged and tsaE
proved to be of inferior quahfAS
doubtless because of the deprivatasso
amid which it has grown up.
The 1920 class can hardly be tSt1,'
ter The German Government IKE
postponed its engagement as long hss
possible, drafting instead every mae
it can find capable of Carrying rihs-'-
1t has also cut down the battal1sSA
and company strength and is knesval
to have dissolved at least forty resz-s'
iments. ~
The Americans are now sendi1s.
reinforcements every month equa
to half of years German recruits
These are grounds of confideasS
Iprovided that the allied effort is s7E
tanned to the end. Trey provide Ikks
excuse for the view that the war 4ES
won or will run itself to victoris1mg
conclusion. The German divisinNS
still in reserve with the 1920 ciskass
in the field depots constitute fotccss
not to be despised. The GernAstsa
staff has scraped and saved in ordssT
to keep a moss of manoeuvre fnt.sa9l-
The enemy retreat in the last Eazs=~
EN- weeks has been for the most Jsassr
compelled, but there has been i d II.
also an element of choice II gsrn~~~
cured material shortening Of xIIE-
front on which it holds off the AZ
lies. AS long as the Allies can caiu~
/ tain unrelenting pressure they c;zu.
keep the initiative, but if they let sstD
Ludendorff will have chance
The allied effort of seven weeks sss.
without a precedent. How long cah
it be continued? Distinguished sof-
diers ask this question not at all Sn
anxiety or doubt of the army, but IS
fear lest exaggeration of the vailte
of the present victories should le&G
to slackening of the spirit that hsssS
sustained the alliance through foasE
terrible years.
| Germany Is depressed and it's -zs--
my shaken but its governing ei2sakS
still governs to its own will, anG 7sElAS
has powerful means In hand. Es&z2
now, when the Allies begin G6GEEac
clearly 1t would be dangeroustds1l 1lep~
derestimate such an enemy or -
anything for granted in which hagu