New-York tribune., 1918-11-10
Germans War Spirit, Reused
By Victories, Soon Cooled
Unchecked March of kaiser's Hordes Through Belgium
and Russia Brought Desire to Conquer, but Failure
to Gain Peace Stirred Dissatisfaction

sOno CoHCiuSloH. 1T tHt COURSE VI
| 1915 German hopes went up percept-
IDLY. There was no longer the light
and Joyous mood, the champagne tingle,
OF August, 1914; but confidence was
strongly stimulated by a big drive
against Russia begun on May Day.
People had seen enormous transports
Of troops passing eastward through
Berlin for a week or two before Hin
denburg opened fire with his big guns
in Galicia; and everybody knew that
something big was about to happen.
The subsequent march of victorious
Germans and Austrians through Poland
and the Baltic provinces to the Duna
was watched with something of the old
enthusiasm. And the first big frontal
attack of the French 70 the cast of
Rheims at the end Of September CON
frmed che belief that the German posi-
tons on the Western front were i'm
pregnable.
Military confidence seemed complete.
indeed, but one could begin by the
carly winter of 1915 to hear misgiv-
the food supply. They stopped you or
the street and asked how long you
thought it would last, with the plain
tive addition:
Beginning of the End.
1--WE can't hold out through another
winter The rationing Of the scanty
supplies of food had already begun TO
be felt as grevous hardship AS
time wore on anxiety for ones daily
bread grew more acute. Haggard faces,
marking ill-nourishcd bodies, grow fire.
quent. Ones acquaintance reported,
with sickly smile of resignation, how
many pounds Of flesh they have lost.
In the later course Of the war since
the United States entered, the scarcity
OF food has borne much more heavily
upon the physical well-being of the
people and has depressed their spirits
correspondingly. The German papers
of the past few months have been full
of poignant evidences of distress.
Some of the old military jubiation
returned when the Germans and Aus
trians crushed Rumana. Behind it
was the promise of more bread The
breakdown of Russia last year bulked
large to the hungry Germans, apart
from its military Importance, by reason
OF the prospect it also opened for bet
ter bread rations. But those hopes
soon Disappeared
Ihus, peace longings of the German
people, which had already grown strong
by the end of 1915, when von Bethmann-
Holiweg tried to get n military peace
p'>SNu uPoH NeiIidIly victories over
kumanla and Russia, have grown apace
since. When the writer left Germany.
in February, 1917, there were many
Germans, mostly of the silent kind who
already saw financial and even moral
ruin staring Germany in the face,
FRIENDS would speak "under four eyes"
in that sense.
Ludendorff's Long Chance
When Ludendorff began his big often
slVe IN March 1T was a desperate vent
ure, undertaken in the hope of realizing
something at last of Germany's mill
tary ambitions and to soothe growing
dlscontent. Failure of it brought that
dlscontent to head. 1t began to find
expression more openly in newspapers.
1T took on political form finally, and
became so urgent that the Kaiser had
10 consent to the present experiment
IN parliamentary government. Ger
manys military ambitions had become
What one Of the newspapers called a
Junk heap of Illusions" Hone had
dled, victory had become a long van
lshed rainbow. There was only one crv
still heard above the desperate masses
ol German men and women: GIVE us
peace!" N'
The same course of naughty self
satisfaction ending in an abiect chance
mas been observed in the attitude of
the Germans toward President Wilson.
Early in the war, as soon as they
learned that American manufacturers
were selling arms and munitions of
war 70 the Allies, they began to abuse
the President for not putting stop to
the practice. His efforts to Interfere
with their submarine ruthlessness onlv
went to increase his unpopularity in
Gsrmany: Hence, when there was much
talk in 1915 about him as a mediator
between Germany and the Allies prac-
tically unanimous protest was raised.
Constantly Scored President
Since America entered tho w.,. oro
OF the tavorite diversions of manv Cor
man newspapers has been to abuse him.