The Ward County independent. [volume] (Minot, Ward County, N.D.) 1902-1965, 1918-04-18

up to the time Russia entered the war
she was for years raising, on the av-
erage, as much wheat as North DakO-
TIA, and was exporting from 40 mil
lion to 65 million bushels yearly, ex-
ports of grain amounting to two
thirds of her entire export trade. The
editor compares Rumania's $4,000
square miles and 100000 inhabi-
tants with North Dakota's 10000
square miles and ONE HUNDRED
THOUSAND inhabitants Verify the
editor had best look up the state and
federal census reports. In 1910 North
Dakota had a population Of over STU
600, and in 1915 of over 636,OCO. We
cannot have so wiley fallen off" of
late.
II, as the News would have us be-
lleve, Germany and her allies are in
the last throes Of dissolution, let us
ask for the evidences of it, They
first conquered Belgium, Serbia and
Montenegro ana overran them and
put all those people and their indus
tries to work or them They took
and still hold tne great iron and coal
regions in France, and their en-
croachments on the territory of the
latter country are increasing at a
rate that is disquieting at least. They
have conquered and made peace with
Rumania, and the latter can and must
now sell to them all her surplus food
stutfs and of her great supplies of
coal and petroleum. They need not
confiscate what they can buy and Ru
mania is only too glad to sell now.
The central powers by their peace
convention with Russia have taken
from the latter $4,000 square miles
of her territory flour times the area
Of North Dakota) which carries with
it the richest wheat growing area of
that great empire--the Ukraine; fifty
six millions Of her inhabitants
equalling 81 per cent of her entire
population. She has given up "73 per
cent of her total iron, and 80 per cent
of her total coal production" to say
nothing Of petroleum. (This on the
strength of the News Petrograd cor
respondence-see first page of April
18th issue.) In the years just pre-
ceding the war Russia was producing
annually from $40 million to 975 mil
lion bushels of wheat, and was eX-
porting from 24O million to 400 mil
lion bushels every year. If Germany
has not robbed Russia of enough ter
ritory to supply the needed grain and
other food stutfs, Russia will now be
more than willing to sell whatever
Germany needs.
By the peace forced upon Russia
and Rumania, and her advance into
Italy Germany's battle front has been
reduced in extent fully 1900 square
miles; the men and guns and ammu-
milton necessary to cover that wonder
full line of battle are now almost en-
tirely free for concentration on the
western and Italian fronts, where the
entente allies, including our own
proud republic, are still unable to re-
sist her onslaughts to an extent that
makes the world of today feel en-
tirely "safe for democracy" on the
contrary, in the last three weeks she
has pushed her opponents back some
thing like 80 miles on 50 mile front,
and is still pushing them back. No
battle of the war has yet been fought
on German territory after we and
our allies have spent nearly four
years of preparation, mobilization, re-
cruiting and conscription of men and
money; suffered an appalling loss of
life and property, under skillful gen.
eralship, and almost incessarlt fight
ing Add to all this the fact that,
while Germany's battle fleet has been
bottled up for nearly four years, her
air fleets have carried terror all over
England, France and Italy; she is
now Smelling Paris at a distance Of 76
miles from the guns which have as
founded the army and navy experts of
the world, and she now hints at guns
that will enable her to hurl her in
fernal explosives from Flanders into
Fleet Street, and furthermore, for
more than a year her submarines have
been destroying shipping faster than
the combined industry of the entente
allies can build it up.
Do thoughtful men and women see
in these things evidence Of waning in
the fighting power, or of the exhaus-
ton Of the military resources Of the
central powers? They certainly do
not, but on the contrary, the indubita-
BILE facts show that Mr.. Cashman's
statement was statement Of the SOL
emn truth. But Mr.. eastman did not
say that we should 1all. lie SAID we
could not, must not fail, and that we
need not fail if the American people
would but arouse themselves, and that
the truth is the spur to be applied. He
was, as we all ares confident that if
the American people will act as they
can act in great emergency; if they
will put to flight the obstructionists;
if they will silence the mealy-mouthed
pacifists; they will oppose the govern
ment in it's war work, and if they will
unite in one overwhelming onward
march toward France, there need be
no doubt Of success. It is not power