Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1918-04-25

r the repeated waves of assault which
e dash against the British lire in Fland-
e efs. to be broken or to gain ground
which is of diminutive military value
by comparison with its cost of life,
me : admiration is apt to be divided be-
tween the British aud German armies.
= and one is inclined to declare both to be
bands of heroes. But this impression
undersocs change when one considers
The means by which the Germans are in
duced to march to the slaughter and
compares them with the methods by
which the Britons are led t. stand firm
e against enormous odds.
The German troops have no choice
But to advance They advance in waves
at intervals of 100 yards, and no matter
how anxious the broken first wave may
be to retreat, it is pushed forward by
tie one behind. The first aad often the
second wave has been smashed, but. the
dispatchers say, the emmy depends up.
on subsequent waves for success. - Not
only that it has often been stated that
the Germans drop a barrage of artillery
fire behind their advancing infantry
and it follows them up. To retreat would
be as fatal as to continue the advance
into the British barrage.
The action of men who press forward
under these circumstances is not that
of heroes, for they are not free agents
in the slightest degree. They are driv-
en- to the slaughter by men who hold |
them absolutely in control and who !
would shoot them down if they should |
slip through the storm of shell in their
rear. There is a chance to survive if |
they go on; death is practically certain
if they retreat
Why do they not rebel, Stay their
masters and not only save their lives,
but win their freedoml The answer is
Prussianism For two centuries Prus-
STA has drilled into the minds of her
soldiers absolute submission to their
officers. This has been done not only
by teaching but by practice of the most
ruthless brutality, which cows the pri-
vate soldier and breaks his spirit, sub
jecting his will to that of his Officers
These latter regard them as inferior
cl;.y and beat the same belief into their
minds Cruelty is a part of Prussian
discipline, and the punishment of off
GERS who, in the opinion of their masters
AIRY it to excess is absurdlv mild.
All these facts are made plain by
Charles Altschul in phamphlet on
- German Militarism and Its German {
Cities, which has been issued by the
committee of public information. For
example, tuberculan Uhlan was struck }
across the helmet by a non-commission- |
ed officer with his carbine, which broke f
il to pieces and caused a hemorrhage
The soldier was made to run and had ,
to lie down in a pool of rain water. He
died before the officer s trial and the |
latter escaped with two months i'm
prisonment, though his crime would have
been at least manslaughter under Ameri c
can law. 4
The German soldiers do not 90 into :
battle as do those of free people. They )
are driven by men who are their pre- 5
tended superiors and who regard their
slaughter with the same indn ference as y
o. egon farmers show at rabbit drive +
In the opinion of the 'upper classes L
they are inferior clay, properly sacrific-
ed to the cause of Prussianism and =
easily replaced by new lower class 7
of conquered people of alien {
race who are to be Germanized by the '
same means as have reduced the native
Germans to docility. \
Militarism cannot be destroyed until
prussianism is uttely beaten, and the l.
litv of it is that this cannot be accom-
,lshcd without killing hecatombs of v
hesc driven slaves The utterly inhu -
nan nature of the system can best be v
onccived by badly stating the horrible 4
,ut logical conclusion to VIII; h its pre- y
niscs lead.
SHOULD BUILD SPUR n