Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1918-04-30
IN THE BALANCE.

1
days without feeling of the deepest
| apprehension. The ferocity and power
of the German attack seem undimin-
ished after nearly four years of terri
| BILE warfare The tenacious courage
of the Allied troops and our own
sprinkling of American soldiers is be-
| yond all praise. We can only hope and
pray that their endurance will with
stand the present and future OH
sIaughts until the time comes when
they can turn and strike back.
Golfers has expressed the belief
that the ring around Germany will not
part even if the Allies are divided, the
French driven beyond Paris, and the
British forced bacy on the Channel
ports. But it would be folly to pre-
tend that such an event would not be
disaster of appalling magnitude. We
do not believe it is probable that the
Germans can accomplish even this
much. now or later But il they
should, the people of this country
must face the future possibilities with
out blinking. They must ask them
selves what would happen, not merely
il the armies of the Allies should be
beaten, but if they should be destroy
ed or captured, if France should be
subiugated and the British forced to
retire to their island and depend upon
their navy for its safety.
What would be the position of the
United States? The calamity is al
most unthinkable. The moral and ma
terial forces behind the Allies are too
great, in all human probability, to be
destroyed. But in such crisis as the
present one we must be ready to face
an emergency. The Allies are bound
together by an agreement not to con-
sent to a separate peace, and we are
under moral obligation to stand by
them to the end. But the written or
implied obligations of a subjugaged
nation are of no worth. Russia was
also a party to this agreement, and
Russia is now in part at least, in al
lance with the Central European
Powers. We should make no mis-
take about it. If France were con-
querer and England crippled, Ger
many could turn to us, the richest OF
all powers. The last to be expected
would be a demand for an indemnity
that would cause the world to reflect
on the moderation Of Bismarck when
he exacted 81 ,OOO,OOO,OO0 from France.
We would not give in without a fight,
but we would need all our strength
to stand off German navy that, we
may be sure, has greatly increased
in numbers and power since the war
commenced. And the final battle for
human freedom might be fought with
in hearing of the people of our Allan
tic coast
We repeat that the calamity is al
most beyond belief. We discuss the
possibility to bring home to our
readers the fact that the line of in
trepid men in France and the sailors
who patrol the Atlantic lanes or
stand on guard in the North Sea night
and day are protecting the actual ply
steal safety OF this county. They are
guarding our liberty, our lives and
our property, and the well-being of flu
ture generations of Americans. The
people of the United States have been
generous and eager in thir support of
the war. But they have tendency to
regard it as something remote from
their own national welfare. No good
can come from the knowledge that the
war is not merely for the abstract
principle of making the world safe
for democracy, but for the pressing
and practical necessity of making
democracy secure in their own land
For it as certain as anything can be
that if Germany overwhelms the AL
lied armies, this country will never
again see the days of peace and plenty
that it has enjoyed in the past 1t
must stand armed to the teeth for gen
erations to come, never knowing when
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