Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1918-10-11
HUN POWER CRUMBLlNC

While the Hun is making overtures for peace his
strength in the field is crumbling, and he is making fran
|tic efforts through political readjustments at home TO
stem the rising tide of domestic discomfort. and to create
the impression both at home and abroad that autocracy
is making a free gift of democracy to the world.
The military developments OF the past three days are
without question the most important of the war. By a
series of mastery movement Marshal Foch has driven
and harried the enemy. first at one place and then at an
other, until. in the uncertainty as to where the Allies
would strike next the Germans must either have used up
the major part of their reserves. or have them So dis
tributed that it is impossible to concentrate them. Then.
right at the center of the line a blow was struck whi0h
crashed through the German positions and put an army
of a quarter of a million to precipitate flight. What dis
lance may be covered by the pursuing forces before the
Germans reform their lines remains to be seen, but it is
clear that a gigantic wedge has been driven into the Ger
man positions which. now or in the very near future. will
involve a great retreat along the whole great line. 1t lis
quite within the bounds Of possibility that before this
present movement slackens the Germans will be obliged
to abandon every foot of French territory which they
occupy.
In the east similar progress is being made. Turkey
is beaten and cut off. and must surrender. Bulgaria is
out OF the fighting, and Allied troops are advancing rap
idly toward the Austrian border. There is no quarter in
which the situation contains an element of hope for the
Hun. ... -
The effect of the military situation is reflected in the
political developments. The Teutons have gone through
the form of proposing peace. What the result of\this will
be depends on their own sincerity. But the proposal is
being used as a means of convincing the people at home
that the autocratic governments are not leading their peo-
pie to needless slaughter in order to promote their own
ambitions. but are engaged in a real war of defense. I'm
der the /flimsy pretext of acting of their own free will
those governments are now making constitutional changes
which have the appearance of a measure of democracy,
a word utterly hateful to the ears of the military caste.
With all these things in progress it remains for the
people Of the Allied nations to stand firm in their resolu-
ton to finish what they have undertaken. We must not
be misled either by the ambiguous expressions of the Hun
Of by the sentimentalism which crops out from time to
time at home into a willingness to conclude a peace.t that
is unreal and elusive. No matter in what form of words
the case is stated, there must be no peace save on the
basis that Germany is beaten, and that she accepts the
terms which are dictated to her by the conquerers of her
may be over in months. But it is for us-al Of us-to
conduct ourselves exactly as we would if we knew that
it would last for years. The Suspension of effort for a
single moment means to that extent a loss in the achieve
ment' of all for which the blood of our men has been
spent. .. az