Evening journal., 1918-04-26

That Germany "lost the war when
her U-boals sank the Lusitania and that
peace will come next year when the
full military. might Of America, COM
Dined with that Of the Allies, Is hurled
against her, though the lighting may
still be In France and Flanders, Is the
belief Of the Allied military leaders
as expressed by W. Beach Thomas, who
Is in this country fresh from the Brit
ish headquarters IN France. In Cur
rent Opinion for May this spokesman
OF the Allied high command goes fur
ther and says that the present great
drive Is Germany's Acknowledgement
that she must win now or never. and
that German defeat will come In 1919
with the armies not far from the cliff
Of trenches that Join the floods by Nieu-
port 10 the neighborhoOd Of the Swiss
mountains where the French are cling
Ing to one small reach OF German ter
ritory" He writes:
Oscillations there will be, victories
and defeats there will be at this and
that spot In the eline; and one day there
will be a symptomatic defeat and VIC
tory from which any observer, whether
he Is seer or no. will be able to de-
duce with some certainty the progress
I've decline Of one side or the other It
Is inconceivable to the mind OF any
leaders among the Allies that this pro-
gressive decline-this spot on the fair
fruit OF the nlliance-can appear among
them while America, with her 100 mil
lion people and resources that deiy
arithmetic, Is heart and soul in the
cause. We may have defeats but not
piogt essive defeats. Those are reserved
FOR the central powers. When the hrst
OF this sort comes, peace VIII De III
sight Germany will not wait-nelther
her population nor her army autnoti-
ties will permit It'll she tumbies Dack
In successive failures upon her own
grontIers and the targets for the grow
ing bordes OF airmen come nearer and
nearer and the boom OF the Liberty
engine at last plays foreign music oNer
German oities."
Further: -,
"Amerlcan influence on the war Will
be Irresistible; her ships, her men, her
wealth her will when Tirpitz rose
victor from the interview with Beth
nann-Hollweg and the U-boats sank the
Tusifania with a pair OF torpedoes,
Germany lost the war. whatever may
be the date OF the proclamation OF
peace. The cardinal reason Of the new
German offensive, up 10 and over the
old battle ground OF the Somme, Is the
conviction In Germany that 1919 Is
Americas wear and that II Germany IS
70 force any sort OF victory she must
force It IN 1918. before America Is
ready And not late 10 1918.
'Tbe German public has just Degun
20 understand that the U-boats, when
drove America into the war, are fail-
ing. have failed, 10 compel a decision.
In the everlasting see-saw between the
arts Of offense and defense, the de-
tense. which was inferior has begun
70 rise 10 a level. The people OF the
central powers lost one ground OF con
Adence after another. but this was the
most solid Early In the war some Eng
iish residents IN London were seriously
warned by close friends IN Germany 70
leave ENGLAND Instantly as It would be
made untenable by Zeppellns. Nearly
ali the general population In Germany
believed this, as they will believe any
thing they are told from above. Bui
one fetish after another has proved q
false god: and now both the public
and the high command have been driN-
ep back 10 the old faith that the army
and only the army Is their shleid ana
their blckler. To act as a shield alone
was not enough. so they prepared win
little concealment-indeed with much
advertisement OF Kaisers and linden
bures-to amsss the biggest onslaught
ever conceived by the mind Of man OF
hatched in his factories, It was no
secret 10 US.
81 smoke with one OF the most
thouehiful and succe-sful Of our gen.
erals At the end OF January, as he re-
turned 10 France from Italy The Hun,
ne said Is going TO attack us good ana
proper. It will be the vastest thing IN
drives ever imagined. But the more