Emmons County record. [volume] (Williamsport, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1884-current, 1918-10-17


horde that was ready to sweep across
the border. How could England's $4,000
men cope with Won klack's 100000 or
the hastily modified French armies re-
sist the thoroughly prepared. equipped
and well-disclplined German warriOrsi
1t Is really not to he wondered ut
that the Germans firmly believed that
they would bring the allies to their
knees within comparatively few
weeks and that the c0nquering Ger
man armies would celebrate Sedan
day. September 2. In Paris. What ac-
tually happened Is, of course, too well
known here to require recital, but I
know that the Germans were kept In
absolute ignorance Of the marvellous
resistance the allies were ablr to put
up in those critical days of August and
September, 1914. and to this day the
majority of Germans have not heard
of the battle of the Marne!
Just after the English passed their
CONSUMPTION law was called to see
the kaiser ut the great army headqunr-
tiers. which Mt that time were Mt Pless.
Although the war had then lasted two
or three times us long as the Germans
Ind expected, the kaiser masked the
depression he must have felt by put.
ting on bold front.
"HOw foolish for England to start
CONSUMPTION now" he declared. "She
thinks she can accomplish In few
months what it has taken Germany a
hundred years to attain. Armies and
officers cannot be developed over night.
We have never stopped preparing since
the days of Frederick the Great!"
'Yes, your majesty, but the North
ern states in our Civil war put In con-
scription two years after the begin
ming Of the war" suggested.
But just look how long your war
lasted" the kaiser replied quickly.
"This war won't last that long. The
allies will feel what the power Of Ger
many is long before English conscrip-
ton can avail them anything"
"And while England Is slowly build
ing up her insignificant army" the
kaiser went on, "she will see Americas
navy and merchant marine constantly
growing and the dollar replacing the
pound as the unit of the worlds
finance. No, Davis, England will soon
be sick of the war and will look with
:ear upon Americas growing power!"
The French army, too, was generally
belittled. and the Russians were be-
lieved to be absolutely negligible. The
French army was so poorly equipped,
it was pointed out. that the officers
had to go to the field in pntent-leather
boots, and on the Russian front. only
the first-line men had guns, the others
being armed with clubs!
Eventually. officers and soldiers re-
turning from the western front or fur
Tough or passing through the country
en- route from one front to the otl,er
brought the report of the defeat before
Paris. Soldiers who participated In
that disastrous retreat wrote from the
new trenches to their friends and rel
atives telling Of the terrible expert
ences they had undergone. when they
went for days with nothing to eat but
raw potatoes and turnips which they
| picked from the fields.
When these reports finally spread
through Germany the people began to
realize that their generals In the west
were not meeting with the same success
that Won Hindenburg had had in the
east and Won Hiudenburg became the
! idol of the people Immediately. fact
that was very dstasteful to the high
command.
The kaiscr's dislike of For linden
burg WAS of long standing. He had
never forgiven that general for THE mis-
take he made during military maneuv-
ers in peace time when by brilliant
stroke of strategy ne had succeeded iG
capturing the kaiser's forces, including
the kaiser and his whole staff
have referred in previous chapter
to the kaiSer's unboundcd confidence
after the Italian collapse in 1917.
"Now, we've got the allies!" he ex-
cluimed, with an air OF conclusivcness
which emphasized the optimism he
displayed.
After the capture of Roumania, he
exhibited q similar degree of exulta.
ton. He believed that in that achieve.
rnent he had successfully solved the
food problem-the one cloud which
constantly darkened the kaiser's hori
ZOn.
Now the allies will never succeed In
starving u.s." he said to me in my Of
flee shortly after the Roumanian drive
"With Koumania in our pockets and
Servia already ours. their wonderful
agricultural possibilities will supply
our food needs and foil our enemies
efforts to starve us. Indeed, they hat
better look out for themselves. DOM
forget we have monopoly on the
potash mines Of the world. Without
proper fertilization. American crop!
will go on decreasing and decreasing
and they won't get any potash until W.
get ready to let them have it,"
The failure of the Zeppelins from {
military standpoint was undoubtedly ,
great disappointment to the German
people at large, who had counted s,