The Washington herald., 1918-04-21
"The Battle Of the Nations" /"

: The theatcr no war is no longer hippodromc
In magnitude %. d compact, concentrated little
stage placed upon a serried stretch of the farest
struggle is now being written in France and Flan-
ders.
Who cares what happens somewhere east OF
Suez" now-in Mesopotamia, Vladivostok or
Palestine, or the Cameroons? These campaigns in
the hinterand of the have been great wars i'll
themselves but they have practically lost signih-
cance in relation to the death grapple into which
the conflict now has been resolved, by decree OF
the German lords. In fact, there is no war now
save that which is being waged the main from
tier OF freedom" as Secretary Baker has called it.
Has ever such mighty and cosmopolitan army
been seen before in history as that fighting
under the banner of civilization the Western
front? Here are French, British, Americans, 1tal-
ians, Portuguese, Sinks. Algerians Canadians, Aus
tralians and South Africans-many OF them OF
Boer as we'll British blood The accession of the
Italians 10 the front makes the allied lineup COM
petc, and it shows more clearly than anything else
the response of the free peoples OF the world to
the mpudent challenge OF the autocracy that is
seeking to strangle them to death
Who are missing? First OF ALL the Russians,
the bulwark of the whole cause for the first two
years, without whose heroic sacrifices under the
despised Carbon the entente would have had no
more chance against the Prussian military machine
than child in den of lions. Russia has fallen
now. but for aught we know the detachment of her
soldiers which were sent to the Western front early
in 1915 may still be fighting there, Boshevik not
withstanding. The Rumanans, of course, have
been ground to dust, and the Serbians, the
nants of whose army is still fighting in the Mon
sstir plain. utterly broken. in the flaming
courage which nothing can extinguish. And the
Japanese although in the war, have never been able
to enter the major thcater OF the conflict, which
has become its sole theater. The Chinese,
however. ought not to be overlooked, because there
are hundreds OF thousands OF coolies in France
day whose services have proven invaluable.
There have been many coalitions in European
history in which nations fought together against
common peril-such as the wars against Louis NV
and the struggle against Napoleon--but
world lineup such is today in France and
Flanders. Slowly but surely all the democracies
being drawn into the vortex, which is concen-
trated on single spot. All the campaigns in the
outlying nations for the moment are forgotten
They longer count Perhaps in the few
months may organized efforts to withdraw
troops from Saloniki, Palestine and Mesopotamia
for service homs. There is only way
to beat Germany and that is to beat her in
knock-down and drag-out fight on the Western
good old stock spcculations about economic at
triton political ofcnsves. propaganda against the
morale OF the central empires, the Berlin to- Bag
dad corridor Limited liability war against
kaiSerism and not against the German people.
1t has taken many weary months, many heart
breaking days. to boil this all down into single
issue So singular thing is the mind of man
that he can, with conscious intellectual dishonesty
fai to the ccan-cut facade OF a fact-although
he can around it. through it. over it, beneath
it. and everything else But the eye OF neither
governments nor peoples wander now; it is
held by immediate menace which looms as
large the horizon Destiny itself.
Now there is not an American who does not
know that there is royal road, easy route
to victory-no way but to send millions of our
blood to France, there TO crush the Boche in a
regular fight" He who would rule by the sword
must perish by the sword. There is no escape
from that fate for him, and there is no escape
from the fact that it is who must WELD the
sword that will make safe the faith and the free
dom of men.