The Greeneville daily sun. (Greeneville, Tenn.) 1918-1920, 1918-10-01
OPTIMISM AS AN ASSET.

courage enthusiasm on the part of
others, to sound a warning note
optimism and overconfdence,
avering that the war may last a long
while yet and that the resources Of
the central powers are by no means
exhausted, and there is a possibility
that Russia may in the end come to
their aid.
The patriotic purpose of these pes
simists cannot be called in question,
but it may be questioned if their
gloomy forebodings do not do more
harm than good, and in the sale Of
war savings stamps and Liberty bonds
insofar as they have any effect at
all, do not hinder rather than help
The optimism of people may be
shown either in the shadow of adver-
sity in the full tide of victory, and
in both these respects America has
shown the steadfastness Of her pur-
pose. In the dark days following
the great German offensive of March
81, when the stoutest held their
their breath and the danger Of an
advance to Amiens, Paris, or the
channel ports was most imminent,
there was nowhere any whimpering,
no despair, no thought of giving up;
only the strengthening of an unal-
terable purpose to win the war at all
costs in blood and treasure. When
things were at their worst men
thought and said that if the Germans
overran $all Europe, the allies still
held the seas, and that for the Teu-
tons final victory was impossible.
Then there came a day when the
American forces were forced to yield
ground south Of the Marine, and upon
the heels of this news the whole ma
ton was electrified by the message
of Gen. Liggett to the French com
mander, that it was humiIiating to
Americans to have to give ground
and that contrary to orders the Am
orleans were beginning counter at
tack, and when few hours later it
was learned that they had hurled the
Germans back across the Marine, the
whole world realized that the Ameri-
cans had come. Then followed in
rapid succession the victories of Cha
teau Thierry, Fere en- Tordenois.
scissors and the wiping out Of the
Marine salient. Scarcely had the
bells ceased ringing in New York and
Philadelphia, when the news came of
the fall of Montdidier, Bapaune,
Noyon and the wiping out Of the
Picardy salient Again the bells
rang and again the news came that
the Hindenburg line had been pierced.
The bells had not ceased ringing
when news came that the Lys salient
had been obliterated; that the IA
nous st. Mihiel salient, which had
resisted the attacks of the French
for four years, had been wiped out
by the Americans in twenty-seven
hours; that Metz was under lombard
ment; that the iron mines of Brye
were endangered. 1t was then that
the bells began remorselessly tolling
the death knell of the German en-
pire. Seventeen hundred American
troops had reached France; west of
Verdun the Americans had advanced
seven miles on a 20-mile front in a
single day. simultaneously the
French advanced on an equal front
into the Argonne forest; the Turkish
armies in Palestine had been de-
stroyed by Gen. Allenby, with a cap
ture of $4,000 prisoners; the Ser
bians were in the Vardar valley; the
English and Greeks were in Bulgaria
that Istib had fallen.
News Came that the English had
captured 10000 prisoners at Cam
brai; that Gen. Mangin's troops were
on the highest SUBMITS of the Che.
min-des-Dames; that the Belgians had
captured 1000 Germans; that Dix.
nude had fallen; that the Bulgarian
armies had been routed and that the
Bulgarians were suing for peace.
And still these self-appointed guar.
dians warned us against overconfi.
dence; that we were long ways from
Berlin; that we must press the Lib.
erty loan campaign, for fear-of
what? Of the bolsheviki, among
other things. And while they were
warning us there came the news that
quite number of towns had sub