Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1918-07-18
BY FRANK H. slMoNDs.
yright, 1913, New York Tribune.)

OF FnANk H.. SlMUNUS.
Copyright, 1918. New York Tribune.)
Certain phrases Of the recent speech
OF the German foreign secretary, Kuehl-
mann. have been widely accepted as
the first hint of a coming German
peace offensive. always to be foreseen
II Germany did not gain a decisive vic
tory in the military campaign of the
present year. To be sure, the words of
the German minister were not them
selves very explicit; they contained
nothing more than the suggestion that
however complete Il military triumph
were won by invincible German arms.
enormous an eXpanse hat military
alone cannot lead to victory'-there
Will have to be negotiations around IL
green table after the fighting has
ended.
Thereupon there burst forth from the
junker and Pan-German elements the
same clamor that followed the tempo
rary assertion by the reichstag last
year of the Russian doctrine of peace
without indemnities and without an
nexations." Looking backward "a year,
the similarity between the two Incl
dents ut the least arouses suspicion.
Looking to the future. it is not difficult
to see that in certain contingencies it
nay be valuable to kuehlmann to be
HC'S Wv kOAAAS " AAhAS ioSC MIlVIl LC
seeks to impress the enemy world with
his moderation-or, if he goes, the rec
ord nay be useful to his successor.
Must Win Now.
In any event there are certain facts
IS unnlistakable as anything a be. liz
Germany does not win the decision she
seeks in h campaign of 1918 h can
not win the war and she cannot longer
believe that victory is possible. The
hast c1,n nn 1,0y,o f0,N Is. t> 1.,1~ en- ~-c
ton of her conquests, and she can only
hope to do this ii she gets peace before
American troops begin their share in
the campaign of 1919, when we shall
have un army in france numerically as
strong in first line units as the French
army has ever been and stronger than
the British army in France has ever
been.
Germany began the present cam
paign not only with great advantages,
but with advantages which were un-
suspected by her foes. She brought
from Russia more troops than all but u
few of the military men nae suspected.
and, in addition, she brought generals
and methods which, applied to western
warfare, produced something approxi-
mating @ revolution in our ideas and
something uncomfortably close to a
disaster of the first magnitude to her
enemies armies.
But if Germany could surprise us all
by her numbers end methods in the
opening of the present campaign she
could not disguise from US or from her
own subjects h conditions of the last
great gamble. One of her big enemies
had collapsed; in place of millions of
Russian troops there were in March
only prospective millions and scant
thousands of Americans. Germany
could expect to come on to the decisive
field bringing superior man and gun
power. she might hope to increase the
not overwhelming advantage of num-
berspby exploiting the advantages of
position and capitalizing the mistakes
her opponents. But h coul not do
more than this.
Such differences in immediate re-
sources as there were between Ger
many fully modified, with her troops
drawn from Russia in line. and the
armies of her western opponents We're
certain to disappear once America be-
gan in earnest to send her troops over.
Even before that time Britain could do
much by repairing her w blunders.
Napoleon in the Waterloo campaign
might hope to defeat the British and
Prussians before the Russians and
Austrians could get armies to western
two enemies before w more arrived
ne was lone. AS it was. of course. the
first W suficed to dispose of him.
A Bad Guess.
The Germans underestimated our
ability to send men and therefore over
estimated the period Of time in which
they would be decisively superior in
numbers. This was like their mistake
in the Marine campaign in 1914. They
also overestimated the immediate sue
cess they could win by their first blow:
What has happened in the way OF
sending Americans to Europe has sur
prised our enemy even more than our
allies. we may be sure Of that. But
the German saw at all times that If we
meant business he would have to ac-
in 1918 on the battlefield, or thereafter.
n in q. smaller measure, around the
green table.
His military leaders declared that
they could take Paris n crush the
British army in the campaigning season
of 1913. They also told him that even
il they were unable to 10 either OF
these things they could win sufficient
successes. to enable German diplomats
in the pe&ce negotiations which would
come at the end Of the fighting season
to save for the kaiser a substantial
portion of his conquests. Now. the
first part Of the contract is obviously
getting beyond German to
perform. The chances of n decisive
victory in the field are daily lessening:
the next smash must bring victory. or
At tho least open the road to 1t. or the
game is uD, so far as Paris or the
channel is concerned.
On the other hand. the next time the
German attacks he will probably make
considerable gains. he may win impress