The Greeneville daily sun. (Greeneville, Tenn.) 1918-1920, 1918-03-29
LIBERTY'S FLAGS FLYING

For a solid week the most perfectly organized and
heavily reinforced army in the history of the world has
been striking the breastplae of civilization frantcaly
endeavoring to make breach through which to drive
mortal blow The onslaught has been so terrible that the
defending force has yielded ground. But the defense
has also been so firm that the enemy has not made
breach. He is lying outstretched breathing hard
unable to gather force for another leap and vsiby vu
nerable to retaliatory stroke.
The immediate objective of the enemy Is now Amens,
if it not his objective from the first. The battle has
developed unexpected tough spots battles always do
and the enemys main forces have been swerved aside
when they expected to break through Taken as whole
however, the German drive has been direct It has con-
formed to the nvarable rule of drives in this war; wher
the defending forces strong and stubborn the
rule being that unless the impact of the first days onrus
fails to demoraize the defenders the drive as whole is
failure. The ground gained is cruelty small return
for the number of lives lost in gaining it In the present
instance the battle ground is desert worthless to
either side except bridge to something beyond
"Put back at Cambria and give back by egions
may be the secret cry of the German emperor
when he feels the recoil Of his armies dashng in vain
against the rampars of the world His forces stand in
land Of ashes and dead mems bones victors Of few
rods of burial grounds and the ground strewn
many Germans dying and dead of wounds and thirst as
there are buried in the twce-fought field
! Between the German dragon and its wrath stand the
painting but nvncble heroes whose breasts are the walls
of liberty Behind them is Paris, and behind Paris is
London and behind London is Washington Americans
are among the defenders and somewhere in the midst
of fire. smoke and rain of steel the Stars and Stripes
flying with fierce joy in the tempest Small in numbers,
but dauntess against any Odds these Americans are the
courers Of the millions that must and will 20 across seas
to carry the flag forward.
The world is stupefed by the events Of the last four
years America distant from the battle even yet un-
able to understand the scope of the task that imposed
her She has been drowsy msed by false estimates
credulous stupidity overcondent at one moment and alb
surdly pessimisc at the next engrossed in ries and
persisteny cngng to the notion that the war is an ac-
cidenal storm that viii soon blow over without reaching
her. Truth has been suppressed and lies have been told
by persons in authority The people have been lued
into ignorant confidence shocked by grotesque exag
geraons But the spirit that makes men free lives in
America and the power to maintain freedom resides in
America Tremendous todavs battle NAV be, and
however terrible the danger is single truth that the
battle between America and Germany IS san TO come It
win end only with the prostation of Germany or the col
lapse Of the United States because it is the econcable
conflict between freedom and savery-Washiagton Post