Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1918-08-10

la bold stroke. without previous announcement and
without public Discussion. General Foch was named head
OF the Allied armies. and before there was opportunity
for discussion the thing was done As an indication Of
what would have happened had the matter been made
the subject Of general discussion We have the fact that
IN England some little attention was given to the question
wheher the government could constitutionaly place
British armies under the command of a foreign general
who was neither controlled BY nor responsible to the
British parliament. A similar suggestion has been made
in this country. The act having been performed, the
discussion dled' but had there been opportunity for dis
cussion first the Allies would still have been lighting un-
der several heads against an enemy controlled by one. i
Whatever sentimental objections were offered have
disappeared, and the practical advantages of the plan
are now universally recognized. For military purposes
tthere are neither French, nor British, nor American SOL
dlcrs IN France. There is a great army of democracy
under a single command. organized into groups, each
under its appropriate officers, each waiting to perform
the work assigned to 1t, and each moving asspart of one
great whole. Americans and French north Of the Marine,
British and French on the somme, British and -Belgians
in Flanders, move as they are ordered to move, and each
group is used to supplement and complete. the work Of
all the others. In this way only can victory be reached.
A glance at the map will suggest more interesting
possibilities as a result Of this present offensive than can
ANJE NC SA1OA
Not far to the north of the Picardy field is the Arras
sector, which is held by the British in force. If, in order
to avert disaster in the great salient which now includes
everything from Rheims to Albert, the Germans should
detach divisions from their porthern forces, az they did
to relieve the crown prince, that act would be a direct
invitation to General Foch to launch "a new blow from,
Arras or it's vicinity against the weakened German lines,
and still another great German army would be obliged
to fight for it's life or abandon its ground in haste.
notwithstanding the favorable aspect of things as
they are developing, we must not, make the mistake OF
supposing the war to be ended or the end to be in sight.
The Germans have been numerically hammered, and
more hammering is il: prospect for the near future. But
the great Allied offensive is not yet on. What is not in
progress is preliminary and preparatory. If the Ger
mans are unable to hold their present positions they can
retire to new ones. unless they delay too long. And to
GUST them from those new positions will require long
preparation and heavy fighting. The Niles need in
France, men and material, men by the million and ma
terial by the thousand tons, for the German armies must
not merely be driven back, they must be smashed
ground into fragments. And it will take men and mater
ial to do it.
On this side Of the water special interest has been
aroused by the preparations for speeding up the passage
Of the ney man power act which. according to present
expectations. and according to the desire Of the war de-
partment and the President, is to include in the selective
CONSUMPTION limits all men between the ages of Is and
As. There is some opposition to the plan in congress, but
the general expectation appears to be that the bill will
be passed on the lines suggested. In anticipation of its
passage voluntary enlistment is to be discontinued until
further orders, the purpose of this suspension is to pre-
vent the Reorganization Of the industries Of the country
by the enlistment of large numbers Of men who might
prefer voluntary enlistment to the draft, but who are
now needed in their present occupations. More and more
does the actual working out of the. recruiting of our
armies approach the ideal Of democracy, in which the
citizen is held subject to the cal. of his country to serve
wherever he may be needed. It is hoped that the. new
bill can be passed in time for registration under it to
take place on September s. which is the date tentatively
fixed. NV
During the, congressional vacation by agreement,
committee work is in progress on the new revenue bill,
and it is expected that the bill will soon be ready for re-
port by the house committee. The prospect is that the
maximum tax to be collected on war profits will be fixed
as high as so per cent.