Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1918-02-07
By FRANK H. slMONDS.
Copyright. 191s-The Tribune Assn.
(The New York Tribune).

'AN, 4i tAiS view Oh JANUARY men
the world over. Then there was very
general skeptIcism Is TO the report that
germany vas preparing a new often
siVe IN the west. Now. with very few
exceptions, Ill military observers. al
ied enemy, agree that Germany is
presently to renew her effort to OBJ
tain a decision in the west. that to the
three great offensives-that wrecked al
the Marine, that blocked at Ypres and
the User, and that smashed before Yer
4in- there is to be added a fourth. in
tended, like the preceding assaults. to
opt:lin a decision, to win the war.
Today the discussion is no longer
whether Germany viii attack or not,
put about the when and The where of
Ner attack. We may trace the mill
tary DEVELOPMENT by the political. Ger
inany's second great peace offensive. so
iaf as the western nations are con-
cerned, has failed. So also mas the
attempt TO put Italy OUT OF the war. For
the time being Italy stands firm: the
Austro- German advance in Venetia has
been matted after great. but by no
means decisive successes. Only in Rus
sla mas Germany been wholly success
iui: he !av state. despite all it's pro-
tests, despite all the threats of the
o~olslieVlSts. cannot and will not be-
come a military factor again for the
current year and will probably sign a
separate peace within n few weeks.
AT the outset of the Brest-Litovsk
negotiations the Germans sought to
use the holshevist as their agents i'm
bringing ali the allies to a negotiated
peace. They failed because the boil
shevlsts stood firm Just long enough
10 dlsc'ose that under the guise of mo
a~nne&atlons and no ~indemnities." Ger
many was planning to seize 100. 900
square miles of Russian territory and
zo,0Ue coo of people. When these facts
ware ii Cllncn1 r Ia,,1 .-1 T,...
ldent Wilson took prompt advantage
OF the diplomatic opportunity and set
Iortii 7" their own publics the terms
OF the allies. which the British. French
and American publics were able at once
10 contrast with the German terms. The
result vas an Immediate change in
n sentiment of the three allied ma
lions and their determination 10 CON
tinue the Wa,. Liberal elements in all
three nations. which had been deluded
by the language used by the Germans.
and had begun to believe Germany had
at last changed her war aims. and was
ready To make an honest peace. saw
that they had been tricked' and with
the perception the peace sentiment in
allied countries disappeared.
oeace Talk i'm Germany.
Meantime in Germany "a similar
chahSe hio taken place. In the sum
met. Wnen German prospects Were far
from brilliant, there had been an am
mistakabl agitation for a peace which
shouid be BASED upon the surrender of
the more extreme of German aims I,ut
with the collapse of Russia and the de-
Feat of Italy the extremists ~restined
TN" supremacy: the war party, which
Seek great a~nneNations and huge in
IDENTITIES, resained it's control. Hun
CRY rs she Is, disillusioned as the mil
lions OF German people are. they are
SyItf .;tIftipIpntIL -1o0ni1,lynl Ia. tI,
chhnsa III the appearance of things Ia
De wl,lns 10 risk another campaign.
with the hope that ii will give them
the victory which would save Germany
~ imposing huge ~lndemnities upon
Inc etlefnN and acquiring for GERMANY
q new area OF Industrial expansion.
lt'e Consequences of these TWO reVo-
buttons in public sentiment are mani
rest. On 'he allied side there has been n
fstefiitltion of the nations through
Their peorle to Il war for victory. The
libeF'as and democratic elements. so
ready 10 talk peace terms q few weeks
when they believed that "a similar
~ widespread and sincere sentiment
was d~iscoverahle in Germany. nave
abandoned such Il view in the face ot
herman nlaneuVerS ut Brest-LitoVsk.
IN Germany victory in Italy and the
ru'h OF Russia have similarly pur The
situation In the hands of those who be-
W III Il tiSnt 10 :: 11nlSfl.
Thus. after three and a half wears of
War the great antagonists face each
other IN something the same mood AS
In August 1914. Nothing is decided.
because the German has not been beat
en- absolutely or worn down by the
struggle sufficiently to be willing 10
Abandon MS gfaldiose plan for wori!
supremacy. With an due allowances for
incident to the great p%rolonea-
non of the contest. the conditions OF
the campaign of 1918 are the conditions
OF the camnaign Of 1914: the C;ernan
Is coming vest again. as he anne be-
tofe' TO win the war, to dispose Of /,
France and to establish himself in the ,
place his super patriots ave demand
f"r half a century.
On Eve Of Great Battle.
we are. then. SO far as one a &c
~foretelt the future. on TN. ,
Threshold Of one of the greatest CON
tests. perhaps the greatest. of human ,
history. II the German wins outright he |
VIII win the war. he will impose his |
Terms upon ~Nanquished France and
i'iitiih, ana he will be able to do Ibis
W1tnout regard To The United States. /
because there is not the least hope that |
We shall have the men OF the material |
10 play any greatly useful role i'm this |
campaign. We shall be quite |
az helpless as the British in the FIRST
iive months of the battle of Verd,,n
anu unable to max any contribution |
10 tho allied cause comparable with THAI
mad. by Britain in those memorable.
with the exception of the verdun op-
efation. we have had no great winter
campaign IN h west. The battia of
= pres ended in the middle of Novcm-
per al! operations until the lasr days
ou April. 1915. were minor and local 4
IN c%atnphisn of 1915 ended in October /;
WIN the close of the battles OF Loos