Payette enterprise. (Payette, Canyon Co., Idaho) 1909-1935, 1918-10-24

IL was pointed out, that the officers
had to go to the field in patent-leather
boots, and on the Russian front, only
the first-line men had guns, the Others
| being armed with clubsl
Eventually, officers and soldiers re-
| turning from the western front on fur.
| Tough or passing through the country
en- route from one front to the other
! brought the report of the defeat before
/ Paris. Soldiers who participated in
that disastrous retreat wrote from the
new trenches to their friends and rel
atiyes telling Of the terrible expert
ences they had undergone, when they
went for days with nothing to eat but
| raw potatoes and turnips which they
! picked from the fields.
When these reports finally spread
through Germany the people began to
realize that their generals IN the west
were not meeting with the same success
that Won Hindenburg had had in the
east and Won Hindenburg became the
idol of the people Immediately, a fact
that was very distasteful to the high
command.
The kaiser's dislike Of Won linden
burg was Of long standing. He had
never forgiven that general for the mis-
take he made during military maneuv-
ers in peace time when by a brilliant
stroke Of strategy he had succeeded in
capturing the kaiser's forces, including
the kaiser and his whole staff
have referred in a previous chapter
to the kaiser's unbounded confidence
after the Italian collapse in 1917.
"Now, we've got the alIiesI" he ex-
claimed, with an air of conclusiveness
which emphasized the optimism he
displayed.
After the capture Of Roumania, he
exhibited a similar degree of exulta-
ton. He believed that in that achieve
ment he had successfully solved the
food problem-the one cloud which
constantly darkened the kaiser's hOri-
ION.
Now the allies will never succeed in
starving u.s." he said to me in my Of
fee shortly after the Roumanian drive.
with Roumania in our pockets and
Seryia already ours, their wonderful
agricultural possibilities will supply
our food needs and foil our enemies
efforts to starve US. Indeed, they had
better look out for themselves. Don't
forget we have a monopoly on the
potash mines of the world. Without
proper fertilization, American crops
will go on decreasing and decreasing
and they won't get any potash until we
get ready to let them have i'll"
The failure of the Zeppelins from
military standpoint was undoubtedly
great disappointment to the German
people at large, who had counted so
much upon them to bring disaster to
England, but it cannot be said that the
kaiser shared their chagrin. On the
contrary, have reason to believe that /
he never expected very much from that /
arm of his military force except as it .
might be useful TO terrorize the civil
population.
A day or two after Zeppelin's death,
in 1917, a patient of mine, lady, hap
pened to remark that il was too bad
that the count had not lived to see the
triumph of his invention, and when I
saw the kaiser shortly afterwards l
repeated her remark to see what he
would say. |.
81 am convinced that the count lived
long enough to see all that the Yep
pelins were capable of accomplishing"
was his only comment. 1t recalled the
answer he had given me some years
before when both Zeppelins and air.
planes were in their infancy and had I
asked him which held the greater &
promise. ave do not know. Time
alone will TELL" was his reply.
The last time l conversed with the
kaiser was on November 26, 1917. Up +
o that time we had sent over 1900
roops, according to the figures which
lave since been revealed by Secretary
Baker. According to the kaiser's in [
ormation, however, we had only 3d.
100 men in France at that time and
lie was of the opinion that we would
lever have many more =
America is having a fine time try
ng TO raise an army" he declared
atirically. II hear that 1000 mutinied +
he other day in New York and re- n
used to get on a transport, and E
own in the Northwest composed prin- q
ipally of citizens of Swedish blood fc
efused to register at all! We are get >,
Ing excellent information about all I,
onditions in America"
Shortly before this had come the rev. r
Iations from Washington of the in
.igue of Count Won Luxburg, the Ger y
ian minister to Argentina, and knew n
here the kaiser was getting the in U
,rmation he referred to. In nearly d;
,ery case, it appeared, the kaiser's in
,rmants were misleading him.
Both before and after we entered
Ie war the kaiser was thoroughly con-
need that we could play only NOM
al part in it so far as man power
as concerned and his assurance on 9,
at point undoubtedly accounted for
S decision to carry through his sub
arine program even though it re-
lted. in bringing us into the war. 10
"Do you realize how many tons of Sc