Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1918-12-03
Germany's Idol Now
Lies In The Dust
BY Julian Grande.
Especial Correspondent of the

especial correspondent or h New
York Times from Berne, Switz.)
1t never has been, and it is to be
hoped never will be, in the nature of
the English-speaking race to Kick a
man who is down. Ludendorfr,
however, was scarcely a man, scarcely
a human being. He will probably
rank as one of the immense failures
of history. Every one who sees the
illustrated papers now knows his fea-
lures, their, intense brutality, AFRO
gance, cunning and cynicism. But
every n does not realize what man.
ner of man is really behind those fea-
lures, nor what an evil influence he
has had upon that German people
who at first adored him Inc now
realize to what a pass his overween-
ing ambition has brought them.
An Austrian writer we'll acquainted
says truly that, despite the great
events now happening and preparing
to happen, it is impossible not to lit
our thoughts dwell upon Ludendorff
and his fall. For many decades to
come, he thinks, posterity will be in
terested in and speculate upon this
fallen idol, whose resignation can in
no be compared with the ordi-
nary designations of vanquished mill
tary commanders. With Ludendorn's
fall, the whole Ludendorff system fell
the system which for a long while
brought Germany outwardly the most
brilliant successes, while inwardly she
was all the time becoming more and
more rotten, with a r%ottenness based
upon brutality, craft, subtlety, and in
trigue-qualities which have made
her hated and despised throughout the
world.
Ludendorff has been called the
German Napoleon, and he has one
great quality in m with Ma
poleon-lust for power and DONNA
ton. He must rule wherever he is: it
is in his nature to 10 so. He used men
and then threw them AWAY; he used
nations and then threw them away
likewise. But n thing Ludendorff
lacked-the power to perceive the in
visible forces working in mems hearts,
minds and souls-those forces which
can make and unnlake a world, and to
which he has now had to give way.
Not that Ludendorff despised small
things, for he could pay attention to
what many would sweep aside as the
pettiest %trif1es, did he think it worth
his while to do so. 1t was the spiritual
and mental currents. the immaterial,
which he could not grasp Or fathom.
For an explanation why a mar so ex-
Z Il AOA ulIIdAS, CdpdUlG VI 81 HluCu,
should have been utterly incapable Of
this. it is enough to look at his por-
trait.
To show with what petty details he
could condescend to deal 1 may quote
the Austrian writer to whom 1 have
already referred and who tells us that
there was a certain Berlin fellow
journalist of his. q writer of much in
%1uence, and by no means to be ignor-
ed, but whose writings did not al
ways please Ludendorff. This Journal
list had a vain and foolish wife, of keen
social ambition. Ludendorff so arrang-
ed matters that she received invita-
lions into h hest and most aristocrat-
ic society in Berlin. In this way the
offending journalist was induced to
offend no longer. A refractory news
paper proprietor was entranced into
submission by L~udendorff telling him
that he read his paper regularly.
Again, in Berlin at one time there was
not enough fruit. Ludendorff ordered
that fruit should be sent to the Prus-
sian capital from occupied territory
not because he cared a whit about the
Berlin people having fruit enough or
not, but because he wanted to impress
a certain idea upon them. The fruit
was accordingly sent packed in bas-
kets all closed with a particular and
very daintily designed label, about the
details of which the general held long
consultations with the artist, for the