Evening star., 1918-08-18
ONE HOPE OF GERMAN MASSES is
..s TO BE RID OF. MILITARLSTS' WAR

I design to seize and hold all territories
containing iron ores. in order. to have
ample supplies for both peace and
war uses in future. Ludendorff lives
for war. ~ .ys.Js..z.a
TN Won Kuehlmann .Ludendorff had
is a politician who is not deiuded by
the idea that physical force Is the one
and only thing needful; and he is also
astute enough to have confidence In
Germany's power to make good bar
gain with any other nation at any
time. He sees the terrible prospects
which the success of Ludendorf's pol
Icy would have upon Germany's -fu-
ture. He was chiefly anxious to set
tie affairs with Germany's continents,
neighbors in such way that they
would be friends and not enemies.
The Reconciliation school know
well enough that If Germany's neigh
bors continue as enemies-the result
Of her military policy in the east
Germany will always be threat
ened with another entente This
entente it is clearly understood in
Germany. would most likely include
all Scandinavia and Holland. To pre-
vent this Kuehlmann and the recon-
ciliation party eeaonly one way out
a good understanding with England.
This he believed was possible for the
reason already stated. namely. that
power idea and viii tend to rely more
and more on the preponderance Of
power to keep the peace of the world.
Opposed Kuehlmann.
1.-The imperial foreign ONCE under
Kuehlmann liked this idea and did
everything it could to gain its ac-
further from Ludendorff's idea With
him 1t is Germany the world die
tator.' He regards Russia as neg
ligible politically for a very long time
to come, IL not practically forever. .
France he regards as in extremfties
realizes, will recover quickly. but
that she will no sooner stand on her
feet again than she will come face
to face with a revived and enormously
strengthened Germany. and then Eng.
lands dream of world dominion will
such Is Ludendorn's dream. He Is
determined that. even with an uncer-
tain Austria-Hungary as ally. Ger
many must ever be ready to face the
whole world in arms.
Austria is, Of course, the
weak spot In Germany's armor. but
Germany has plan ready to put an
end to this. What Germany demands
from her. ally and what she princf-
pally demanded at the two-katser con-
ference at great headquarters Is that
the Austro-Hungarian army shall be
radically reorganized in future on the
German plan, and that it shall be
commanded throughout by German
officers. By way of reward for such
concession. Austrin would have Po-
land added to her.
Germany knows full well the wide
spread anti-German feeling existing
in Austria. and 1t is felt that once the
union of Polish Galicia and Bohemia
were concluded, the Slav element would
preponderate to such an extent that
the German element would lose power.
Therefore, the army must be made
the binding chain between Germany
and Austria, and this can only be
guaranteed IL Germans are the con-
trollers of the Austrian army. 1t is a
joyful prospect for the millions who
would thus be militarized for the
benefit of Berlin.
Austria Resents Scheme.
Austria. very largely, resents this
scheme, while her big Slav element
has long since had more than enough
of German domineering. AS for Hun
gary, there was at the outbreak of the
war strong pro-German element and
tendency. This was remarkable, since
Germany was also the most hated
country in many Hungarian circles.
"a
gary has almost entirely disappeared
The vast majority of the people are
violently against Germany and Ger
man designs. 1t is also expected that
many of the heaviest consequences OF
the war for the central powers will
be unloaded on Austria Hungary by
Germany.
A strong champion of reconciliation
is Herr Matthias Erzberger, the well
known center leader, and Luden-
dorff's arch enemy.
1t is already well known that Herr
Erzberger has frequently been used
by the imperial foreign Office and by
Bethmann-Ho1lweg. when chancellor,
as a kind of semi-oficial ambassador
intrusted with various important
missions, in which he was usually
been successful. Herr Erzberger is a
ciliation with England. which has
earned for him the violent hatred OF
every junker and military leader.
Won Tirpitz Not Strong Man.
One of the figures in internal Ger
man politics about whom extraordi-
nary misconceptions exist is Grand
Admiral Won Tfrpitz. He Is by no
means the strong man knowing his
achieve his object by means of an un-
deviating purpose. Even the unre-
stricted submarine war would not
have been put into practice IL Won
Tirpitz alone had had the decision.
In inside political circles it IL
known that It was Count Burian who
finally forced ruthless submarine wal
on the world. At the time It was be-
gun Austria was almost at her last
gasp. There was an atmosphere al
most OF desperation and surrender
throughout Austria, and grave signs
of internal disruption. It was only
the prospect of quick. victory
through Unrestricted submarine war.
fare that made Count Burian willing
to try to hold his peoples together.
Since then Germany has taken steps
to see that Austria should not openly
break down. 1t was also. Count
Burian, sspurred to make drastic rep.
resentations in Berlin owing to Aus
tria's plight. who forced from the
kaiser his so-called peace OFFER In
December. 1916.
Separate Peace Was Near.
That this .'offer. was vitiated and
uualified by the kaiser's words about
Of victory" was his way
of showing theIGerman nation and al
others who were in the secret that his
offer was only a concession to the
weaker sister, Austria. immediately
this offer was made its very terms and
character doomed it to failure, and this
failure was on the point of being the
cause Of Austria making a. separate
earnest interposftion of, the Berlin
government was Count Burian per
suaded to; undertake the task Of ap'
peasing his people for another spell.
Trpitz himself is what one might
call an easily swayed and undecidet
opportunist. He scarcely knows his
own mind from ,one day. to another
He is a ;vacfllating person who viii
time his speeches and change his view,
like any third-rate politician. His
speeches, when on tour for the fathsr
land party, show this clearly enough
Each apeech Is founded on one ,1nifnrrr