Norwich bulletin., 1918-10-30
FACTS AND COMMENT


 have gone to and fro within three | weeks. This haste to reply has been l in sharp contrast to Germany's de- I lay in the Lusitania and Sussex cor | respondence and shows, perhaps bet ter than any other factor saving only | General Foch, how desperately Ger many is in need Of an immediate ces- sation of hostilities. To the German | statement of Oct. q that the new government had been formed in &C., cordance with the wishes of the peo pie and that the war making power I wds being taken from the kaiser, the president replied that there were no guarantees that these changes were to be permanent, that the military was still superior to the civil. that the power of the king of Prussia was unimpaired and that the nations, of the world did not and could not trust the word of those who had hitherto directed Germany. This being so, an ar1nistice must put the allies in po- sition to enforce any terms and to make impossible a renewal of hostili ties by Germany.
 These are strange words to find place in diplomatic correspondence, which has always been characterized by extreme politeness and the deter imitation not to give offence, to such a degree that the very word "dipb- matic" has become synonymous with "tactful' and much of the vigor of international correspondence has been lost under it's camouftage of suave manner and gracious words. The mo- torious Austrian ultimaturn to Serbia in July, 1914. was scarcely more harsh in tone than this latest reply of dcmocracy's president to erstwhile imperious and. it is to be suspected. still Imperial Germany. Eagerly and curoiusly America waited the reply; the tone of which quite as much as the tenor might tell whether Ger i many already knew that she was whipped. Four days only were re- quired and then came the briefest re- ply of all this series. containing not | a trace of resentment, not word of self justification, merely the humble statements that the president was aware that a peoples government was in power and that this government awaited the allies proposals for an armistice.
 After the episode of the "scrap of raper," to mention only the first of the instances of Teuton faith, it would
 be a sad mistake to trust the word of any German government and for 1 tunately there seems to be no indica-
 ton that anybody in the world does. 1 Nevertheless the most notorious of 1 liars sometimes tells the truth and it | is perfectly conceivable that on this
 occasion Germany is doing so, Since, however, her unsupported word is not to be taken. greater attention is be-
 ing paid to happenings in Germany
 that have a bearing thereon. Among these is the resignation of Ludendorf. I1-, 11rr been at the head on the German staff, Gen. Ludendorff from his position as
 Cuartermaster- general of the army is generally recognized as the brains of the military establishment and the guiding force Of all Germany. His were the plans for deporting the
 French and Belgian populations to
 work in the mines and factories of
 Germany, his the corruption of the
 Italian army resulting in the defeat
 at Caporetto, his the ruin Of Russia
 and the treaty of Brest-Litovsk. He
 it was who promised the fali of Paris
 and the equalization of France, to be
 followed by the separate subjugatior : of the other allies. Though his fail :, ure would naturally have brought about his ruin. the fall of so grea: c 7 military figure cannot but have ar
 effect on the status of the entire mill.
 tary establishment.
 Another fact that may indicate z , real. change of purpose on the par Of the German government is the out spoken and unrebuked demand for tht , resignation of the kaiser Now it i the mild exhortation that he sacrific, himself for the good of the Father |. land now the angry cry for the elim ination of the whole royal family ant t he foundation of an out-and out re . public. Conservative papers reluc tantly admit that they must yield . while the liberal press reiolces tha their cause is about to be won. Tn sksptical outer world is inclined |
 believe that this greater license fo
 the press is part Of the imperial gov
 ernment's plan to make it appear tha o it is about to yield Whether this = true or not. the very appearance 0
 such statements and demands in tll c public press cannot fail to have it . effect on the German people If tn
 imperial government is really tryin 1t to fool the outer world. they are ex Il perimenting with a very dangerou
 method.
 - The factor in the whole situatio y that tends most to make the wor?
 believe that Germany must have peac L. immediately and at any price is th o continued success of General Foci 0 There may be peace talk in the req - but there is rone in front. Each da
 sees new French villages restored i n their former inhabitants and new Ger u man prisoners by the thousands with d in the allies lines. Tn the past ha
 year the Germans have lost a ha
 million men and a fifth of their arti Tl1o;a Fo K point south reached by the German ts in the great June drive, is S5 mile
 deep in France. AlSeady the Bocht III are fifty miles on their way hom a From Cantigny. the point of greate - penetration toward the west, the Iint 0i are now drawn more than fifty mil'
 nearer Berlin. The strip of Franc to now held by the enemy is nowhe DO more than 30 miles wide and at son as points it is less than ten, while dow
 towards the Swiss border the Amer h. cans have long held positions wt c. within German Alsace.
 iy The goinq has been harder for u al Americans the past week and
 places the Germans have made u o, successful counter attacks. It is ce ,1a tainly a tough proposition that t 'le Americans are up against as they t 'S to push thelr way nortnWdrd 1ro or the hard-won Argonne forest, yet t
 prize is worth the struggle. The T e. zion is priceless from a militia h. standpoint. Not only are the ir a- fields of Luxemburg and the Bass i. de Briey within a few miles of t III fighting zone. but the great railw
 lines essential to the maintenance dy retreat of the whole southern half e. the German armies in France paral re the American front at a distance da cn gerously small. A fifteen mile a
 vance would carry the America
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