Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931, 1918-10-18

formation he referred to. In nearl
every case, II appeared, the kaiser's IN
formants were misleading him.
Both before and after we entere
the war the kaiser was thoroughly con
yinced that we could play only nom
inal part In it so far as man powe
was concerned and his assurance OF
that point undoubtedly accounted 70
his decision to carry through his sub
marine program even though it re
suited in bringing us into the war.
do you realize how many tons Of
shipping 1t takes to ship single sol
dler?" he asked me on one occasion
/ confessed my ignorance on thai
point.
"Well, 1t takes six tons to the man
To send over an army Of 100000 men,
| therefore, your country would require
100000 tons Of shipping in addition
to the tonnage required for regular
traffic. Where is 1t coming from, with
my submarines sinking the allied yes
sells faster than they can ever be re-
placed? My U-boats are doing won
derful work and we are prepared to
take care Of all the troops America
may try to land in France"
"IIow foolish for America to have
come into the war;" he went on. "If
she could succeed in landing a real
army In France, what good would it
do? America can see how easy it was
for me to break through and to cap
ture 100000 of the Italians, and they
must realize that can break through
on the western front and do the same
thing there. If America had kept out
of the war she would have gone on
making untold profits and when peace
was finally declared she would have
been In a most enviable position
is. Wilson will never have seat at
the peace table If 1 can help it. and
now America shall have to pay all the
costs of the warl" Evidently he mag
ined that his triumph would be so
complete that there would be no peace
would be compelled to accept the
terms he offered them, In which event,
knowing the magnanlmity of the Ger
man makeup, l should say the world
at large would have to be content with
very little.
How the kaiser feels now that the
failure of the U-boats to intercept
American troop ships must be pain
fully apparent to him, and America
has so overwhelmingly overcome the
shortage of shipping. l don't know, but
1t Is more than probable that for some
time to come the real situation will, at
any rate, be successfully concealed
from the German people. l know that
the failure of the U-boat campaign was
unknown to the Germans up to the
time l left Berlin--in January, 1918.
While the kaiser and the Germans
generally felt confident that we would |
never be able to send many men
across, they professed to feel little |
concern even If we did.
According to some of the German Of
icers with whom 1 spoke, even If we
landed 100000 men in France it
would not be enough to break the |
deadlock, as the Germans were taking
/ similar number of trained troops
rom the Russian front. The only
menace of American participation in
he war lay in the possibility that we
night add considerably to the allied
llr strength. Man power alone. they
would neve., be sufficient TO
lelp the allies much, but overwhelming
In the air might occasion
he Germans some annoyance.
The kaiser himself had but a poor
opinion of the fighting qualities of the
american soldier so fur as modern war
are concerned.
1.-THE American soldier would pos
IDLY give a good account of himself
d open fighting" he declared, but he
) not built for the kind Of warfare he
ril encounter in France. He lacks
he stoIidity a. endure life in the
renches. He is too hlgh-strung and
ouldn't stand the inacuve life which
) such an important part Of modern
farfare. Besides, he lacks discipline
nd trained officers"