The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-01-12

/ Once again as on so many occasions
since that fatefuI July of 1914. the
eyes. of the world are on Russia.
! The man who can prophesy what
J Russia will be doing during the spring
: and summer just ahead, can also come
very near to foretelling when and how
/ the war will end. And so while the
lsnowbound armies lie quiet and in
active, the chanceIories of the world
! are listening with profound attention
/ for a voice out of the north, the voice
! of the Russian Sphinx.
I PerhaDs to the readers mind there
| is nothing particularly sphinx-like
about Russia, for there are plenty or
/ voices, such as they are, coming out OF
the ancient empire of the cars. But
| these are not the. voice of Russia.
! They are merely the discordant clam
orings of conflicting groups, none OF
which constitutes even a representa-
/ tive minority.
No One to Speak.
Russia. as a nation, has not-spoken
since the revolution. Out or all the
] conflicting voices not one Is an au-
/ thorized representative of her hundred
and eighty million cropping souls. WIN
! the great Russian people flhd ltselI
and take a stand as a nation in the
world csisis of today? And If 1t does
what will that stand be? The turbu-
! lent voices or PeCTOSIdo DSSii
! heard in a confusion of tongues IKE
that of ancient Babel. But the silent
| masses; what are they thinking
When will they speak? And what will
/ be their message?
JJpon the voice that shall come. not
out of mere Petrograd, but out of
great, silent Russia, depends the fu-
! tire of the war Not that the allies
/ can not win without her. No man
who knows the nature of the Anglo
Saxon race doubts the eventual out
come. The people of Great Britain
and America will fight until the world
! is free if it takes a generation. But
that is lust the point If Russia
speaks soon and in speaking casts her
lot with her friends, the war may be
! over by next fall or even sooner. If
Russia remains silent or makes a
separate peace with Germany, there
can be little hope of the conflict end
ing before the close of 1919, and how
much longer than that it may con-
tinue, no man can tell.
Kaiser's Little Game.
The kaiser's peace terms of two
weeks ago were not intended primar-
lily for home consumption, nor did
the kaiser seriously hope that they
would furnish basis for negotiation
with the western allies. Those peace
terms were addressed in fact, as in
!
The speech by David Lloyd George
a week ago was intended very largely
for Russian as well as domestic con-
sumption, and the presidents address
Tuesday was a direct and special ap-
peal to The former subjects of the
car.
Proposals Strengthen Allies.
Germany's peace drive has had lit
tie effect in allied countries. In fact
the proposals of the German govern
ment at Brest-Litovsk, because o.
their insincerity, have actually
strengthened rather than weakened
the hand of the allies. The declara-
tions of President Wilson and the
British premier doubtless will have ar
appreciable effect in weakening the
morale of the German army and PEG.
pie by, to some extent at least, ever
in the minds of the Germans them.
selves, throwing the responsibility fol
the continuance of the war upon the
imperial government. But all of thi:
is merely incidental. Those who i'm
agine that the recent declarations are
stepping stones to an early peace are
likely to suffer a harsh disiIIusion.
ment.
Role of Russia,
The real stake for which this great
diplomatic game is being played is tn,
friendship of Russia
ana why does SO much depend upor
the SlavS?
In the first place. Germany is suf
fering severely for lack of food anc
raw materials and of laborers in fac
tories and fields and behind the lines
Feace with Russia would open up al
most inexhaustible supplies of foot
and raw materials now held in the in
terror of Russia, and equally mex
l haustible supplies of laborers to Worl
} in the fields and factories of Germany
/ Today the central powers are IA
! worse off economically than the allies
t Peace with Russia would give her ;
D decided economic superiority over he
e enemies.
The German military situation al
= ready has been improved materialI
= by the armistice with Russia A sep
arate peace would release perhaps
. million more reserves for use on othe
= fronts in addition to those alread
= transferred.
e During the summer of 1917 the al
= lies had the advantage in men, mum
= tons and guns. The Russian armistic
has ended that condition and a sepa
rate peace might even give the Ger
= mans a marked superiority over tn
, allies until such time as the America
armies were able to restore the bal
o ance, which probably would not h
before 1919.
Hindenburg's Chance.
n The largely increased reserves pos
f sessed by the Germans thru the re
t lease of troops from the Russian from
t now place the initiative in linden
burg's hands He has plenty of me