The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-09-16

mans assumed.
 HAD DONE THEIR WORK
 Two officers sitting at a table in ar out-of-door cafe shortly after the wal began overheard one of several ladies who were passing remark: Look al those officers sitting there drinking Why are they not at the front fight ing?" One of the officers got up and approaching the ladies, said: Our work was completed months ago. We work ed from early morning till late at night or, plans which our armies are now car. rying out. It is our time to rest"
 The resistance that France would be able to put up was always very lightly estimated, and if the intervention oi England was at all taken into consid. eration. the comparatively small army she could place in the field was re- gard1d as but drop in the bucket com pared with the well-trained German horde that was ready to sweep across the border. How could Englands SO,0W men cope with Von Kluck' s 5O0,OO0 oi the hastily mobilized French armies re- sst the thoroughly prepared. equipped and well-discliplined German warriors?
 KEPT IN IGNORANCE
 It is really not to be wondered al that the Germans firmly believed that they would bring the allies to their knees within comparatively few weeks and that the conqueripg German armies would celebrate Sedan Day, September 2nd, in Paris. What actually happened is of course, too well known here to require recital. but I know that the Ger mans were kept in absolute ignorance ot the marvellous resistance the allies were able to put up in those critical days of August and September, 1914, and to this day the majority of Germans have not heard of the battle of the Marne.
 The only newspapers I was able
 to get at that time were German
 publications, and there we read
 daily of how the French were rum
 ming like rabbits, how their morale
 was broken and how the advance
 on Paris was progressing much
 more rapidly than had been antic-
 ipated. The papers came out with
 such fIaring headlines as: "Sieg
 auf Sseg"-"Victory Upon Victory"
 "Noods of COmpeigne Burning
 "Fail of Paris Expected Hourly"
 The streets were thronged with
 enthusiastic crowds waiting for
 bulletins. and automobiles disfrib-
 uted extras free of charge.
 It was several weeks after the battle of the Marne when l happened to no- tice in an obscure corner of one of the German newspapers. a German transla- tion of a short item from a French newspaper stating that number oi Parisians had made Sunday excursions to the battlefields to collect German souvenirs in the form of helmets swords and guns. The thought nat urally arose: How could people from Paris collect souvenirs from an ad- vancing German army? The Germans must be retreating?" but it was many days before secured an English news paper which confirmed by hope As the months went by and the wal still continued it must have been quite problem to keep news of the actual happenings from getting to the pub lie, but such complete control did the government have over the press that they succeeded in sustaining the confi- dence of the Germans that the war would soon be over and the German cause triumphant.
 OPINION OF ENGLISH a Just after the English passed their conscription law. l was called to see quarters. which at that time were at Pless- Although the war had then last cd two or three times as long as the Germans had expected, the Kaiser masked the depression he must have felt by putting on a bold front. How foolish for England to stari conscription now,y he declared "She thinks she can accomplish in a few morths what 1t has taken Germany . century to attain. Armies and officer; cannot be developed overnight w, have never stopped preparing since tn, days of Frederick the Greatp Yes. your majesty, but the north ern states in our civil war put in con scription two years after the begin ming of the war" I suggested But just look how long your wal lasted" the Kaiser replied, quickly This war won't last that long. Tn, allies will feel what the power of Ger many is long before English conscrip tion can avail them anythingw And while England is slowl, building up her insignificant army. the Kaiser went on, ''she will SC. Americas navy and merchant marin. constantly growing and the dollar re placing the pound as the unit of tn. worlds finance. No, Davis. England will soon be sicl5 of the war and vii look with fear Upon Americas grow. tng power.'
 RIDICULED ENGLAND The inspired German press ridicuiet the possibility that England could build up an arniy by conscription. Pic. lures of loafers from Hyde park, Lon.