The Greeneville daily sun. (Greeneville, Tenn.) 1918-1920, 1918-08-20
THE WAR is EVERYWHERE.

cessVe heat with which certain gentlemen maintain that
Germany must be beaten on the western front "Tbe
western front" has become fetch to themto such an
extent that they might greve and take it as personal
affrong if Germany should be beaten elsewhere The
most conspicuous "westerner" is Col Repington. the
welknown and admittedly we-informed military critic
who did his best work the London Times Col Rep
ngton and is strongly committed to the theory
that the war nbe only the western front that he
has little hesitation in brushing aside the other aspects
Of the war as though they were of no Importance.
Yet there stands forever great fact which demo
shes Col Repngtons theory of concentrating exclusively
on the western front That fact the collapse of Russia
and the advantage which Germany seized from that col
lapse, enabling the enemy such strength upon
Col Repngtons western front as would have annhated
the British armies if the United States army had not
OPPORTUNITY arrived. That the salvation of the British
army rested with the Americans not the opinion of this
paper but the statement .of such Engishmen as Mr.
Balfour, Mr. Winston Churchill and many Others.
If the entente allies had not been so preoccupied with
the western front as to be blind to what was going on
Russia they might have done much to counterfeit Ger
manys propaganda They might have prevented the
downfall of Kerensky at the hands of the boshevk pro-
Germans The advocates of the western front theory
may argue as they please but they cannot bring any
reasons to show that the allies were alive to the danger
that threatened them by Russia's downfall.
There danger still in the Russian stuation-grave
danger to all the allies including the United States Until
and unless Russia is resuscitated there will be danger
of Germany obtaining such control to make the man.
power and raw materials of Russia available for use
against the allies If that should occur the allied armies
on the western front could not prevent Germany from
consolidating empire greater than the world has even
seen, and fully capable of placing every nation in sub
servience Therefore the Russian front is as important
the western 'front.' for neither can be lost without
losing the other
The fact that the Russian front is as important as the
western front does not mean that equally large armies
should be raised to fight there The Russian situation
calls for something besides guns, One weakness with
the western front argument has always been that it con-
templates the solely from military standpoint Ger
many has huge armies in the west which will defeat the
allies unless they oppose larger armies Therefore there
nOCB else W uO raise HuBe ATHlleS
it out in the west That is far the argument goes
But Germany gained immense advantages in Russia not
by armies but by propaganda and guile and those adj
vantage must be neutraized and destroyed before
the allies in the west, matter how huge their armies
can conquer Germany. For Germany;if unmoested in
Russia will raise still bigger armies with which to beat
down the allies later.
The is everywhere 1t is foolish try to confne it
The enemy should be struck wherever he is vulnerable
without regard to geography precOnceved notions of
where the allies would prefer to fight The struggle
should not be merely military, either since the enemy
by no means confines his energies to armed conflict.
While the allies assembling the largest armies pos
sibe in redeemng Russia, guarding the seas, building
ships stimulating Italy and he Balkan states breaking
down Austria and employing every economic well
every military and naval weapon to the destruction of
the Hohenzollern- Hapsburg systemW Washington Post