Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1918-02-22

ASScs
E. IA
According to an American correspon-
dent In France, the peace program Of
Hindenburg, Ludendorff and the crown
prince, forced on Won Kuehlmann and
1.-THE emperor, includes the extending Of
the East Prussian frontier, making an
autonomous protectorate of the Baltic
provinces, Remembering Belgium and
.annexing or otherwise controlling the
Briey-Longwy industrial region of
northern France. The question of
Poland apparently is left to Austria.
Meanwhile Trotzky and his bolshe-
vik comrades have handed Germany a
hard nut to crack. Flatly refusing to
sign a peace treaty, they declared the
wal with the central powers, so far as
Russia is concerned, has ended. They
decline to fight longer against the
workers and peasants of Germany and
Austria. simultaneously, the complete
was ordered. although 1t was reported
that this order vas Immediately u
fernandez and that the reorganization
of the Red guard was begun AT first
the people of Germany and Austria
hailed this great victory with extrav-
agant joy, but in a few hours they and
their governments began to wonder
what it would avail them. They cannot
iobtain treaty recognition for their in
tended annexations on the east front,
and they are far from u II that 1t will
be safe TO move to the west all or near
ly all their troops. As the bolshevikI
leaders long ago admitted, the Teutons'
can easily push a long way into R"s-.
sia, but what ultimate good will that
do them?
The bolsheviki always have main
tanned that they are operating, not for
the benefit of Russia or any other ma
ton, but for the workers and peasants
lof all nations, and they are persistently
continuing the spreading of their prop
uganda all over the world. Whatever
may be the real motives of Lenine,
Trotzky ct al, they appear to have the
Prussian autoerats up in the air just
now.
Ukraine, one of the Independent gov
ernments into which Russia has split,
has presented a complication that may
be more serious for the allied cause
than the quitting of the bolsheviki. 1t
has signed a separate peace treaty with
the central powers which opens to them
the possibility of obtaining immense
stores of food from that rich grain
country. However, as pointed out In
these columns some time ago, the rams
portation system of that part of Rus
STA Is SO utterly inadequate that sup
plies can be got out only extremely
slowly, and besides, the crops nave
been sadly neglected ever since the war
began. The treaty gave Ukraine quite
a slice of Poland, which aroused the
Poles to bitter opposition.
Ia
Germany during the week attempted
to put the screws on Roumania, de-
manding that it accept peace terms
within "a hours or suffer the conse-
quences. But the Roumanfans defied
the kaiser, declaring they still had I'M
shaken confidence in their allies I'M
would continue to fight to the finish.
Their armies 10Y occupy all of Bessa-
rabia, where they have repeatedly de-
feated the bolsheviki troops. 1t is be-
lieved they were neryed to take this
determined stand by prospects of an
allied offensive in the Balkans which
they might aid by attacking the Bull
garians and Austrians from the north.
There are increasing evidences that
such a drive, to cut off Turkey and re-
duce Bulgaria, is contemplated. A new
Roumanian cabinet is headed by Cen
eral Avareseu.
Ia
In southern Finland, where the Red
guards are still holding out against the
government, horrible conditions pre-
vail. Murders and all other crimes are
committed openly and the bolsheviki
are running amuck. Sweden still fears
to violate neutrality and send help to
the government. Recent reports from
Stockholm said certain Red guard lead
ers had asked General Mannerheim to
consider peace negotiations.
There Is little to say of the Italian
front except that the fighting there was
mainly by the artillery and aviators,
and that neither side had any marked
advantage.
Seemingly the stage is set for Ger.
many's supreme military effort on the
west front, and Field Marshal Won
Woyrsch, the invader of Poland in