Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1918-08-02

devoting sixtys or eighty years to mu-
sic. succeed in creating a very good
orchestra, should you think 1t remark
able that that orchestra could ou;play
any group OF musicians hastily got
together in a country which was not
only non-musical but had been dc> OF :
ing its energy in altogether different
fields? Should you expecf even the
Germans. II they were suddenly trans
planted to our great west and forced
to compete in the agriculture on a
grand scale, which the Americans
have developed there and the Germans
have never practiced at home, should
you expect them to be able TO compete
on equal terms with our agricultur-
lists? Hardly. And you would GER
tainly never claim that our farmers
were Supermen.
The parallel between these sup
posed cases and that OF the German
army and its competitors is very
close. The Germans have made FOR 80
years their army their chief concern.
Everything German-sciencc, politics,
religion, education. invention-has
been devoted to that end. What won
der, therefore, that the German war
lord can put millions of troops into
the field in month. Whereas. the
English or the Americans, who have
devoted their energies to quite differ
cnt objects, were able at an rmcr-
gency to mobilize only small forces.
All experience shows that II the
English or the Americans competed
for fifty years at time with the Ger
mans in any field Except in the
cloud land of metaphysics). the Ger
mans would not surpass them. The
list of names which l have just given
proves this.
Not lnvincible.
Therefore, do not fear the German
soldiers as invincible. Their excel
lcncc Is the result. not of anything
miraculous, not of any Supermannish
quality in them. but OF long training
and OF rigid discipline. They accom-
pish results in the same slow, patient
way in which the coral insects build
up their reef.
Two most important lessons must
Ike drawn from our brief survey of
the Germans. First. their so-callcd
efficiency has been arrived at by care
ful planning. long practice and strict
discipline; and it can be cqualed, or
surpassed. by any other people who
initiate 1t with equal zeal. So YOU
must not sit down and assume that
the Germans are Supermen by some
gilt OF Providence which has been de-
nicd to you.
Next, do not assume that the Ger
man armies arc invincible and that
the German soldiers are individually
horn to he better soldiers than those
OF any other nation. So far rs they
are superior now Is due to their life
long military training. This state
mcnt is confirmed by the fact that
i'm all her modern wars Prussia land
later Germany, has never won a
battle. even n-handcd. against her enc
mics. These are the figures: "1n 1866,
in the war between Prussia and AUS
tria, the Prussians had 221, 900 troops
at the decisive battle of Sadowa, the
Austrians had only 100000. In the
Franco Prussian war in 1870. the inc
qualities were still greater. At W0crth,
the Germans numbered $4,000, the
French $4,000. At Reichshofen. the
Germans 100000. the French $4,000.
At st. Privat. the Germans, s0.Q)O. the
French $4,000. At Sedan. -tha Ger
9e9 aoa- ~seseacS eSD9
These figures pay a high tribute to
the German strategy which always
contrived to bring a larger force than
the cncmy's into battle: they do not.
however. cxalt the German soldier in
n man-to-man contest with foreign
foes"
Will to Win.
Tho same numerical disparity in
favor of the Germans has been seen
throughout the present war; AT the
battles Of Charlcroi and Mons. at La
Ferc Champcnoise, where tho great