Evening star., 1918-08-18
Duh Fatality Has Fallen on
People of Empire, Neutral
Il sio Observer Says.
TOO SPIRITLEss, PEOPLE
/, CANNOT START REVOLT
Two Schools Of Thought-Pen Pic
tures of Men and Conditions
in Central Powers.
BY CYRIL BROWN.

BIZ CYRIL BROWN.
Cerrespondence of The Sunday Star
and New York World.
AMSTERDAM. August 6.-Ths Star
eorrespondent has obtained the fol-
lowing important inside information
regarding conditions in Germany
from a trained, professional neutral
observer who has long been within
the central powers. and. on coming
on to Holland. was in a position to
speak with uncensored authority.
TT is hardly worth while to speak
of the feelings of the non-military
masses of Germany" my informant
declares To-day they have ceased
to count The masses never counted
for much in the councils of Germany.
and today they stand for less than
ever. The great struggle for Ger
many,a future is being waged in much
higher circles
1T should be stated. however. that
at no period of the war were the Ger
man masses so utterly Indifferent
to the actual facts of the war as they
are today. Their one hourly, unslaep-
ing. desire is to get rid of the war.
yearn to see finished
.A dull fatalisn has fallen upon the
masses They feel that everything
has gone wrong. And their one ex-
phrase. which one hears constantly
repeated, Everything seems to go
against u.s. =.
Papers Deceive Public.
Judged by the German press alone.
the nation might be supposedly at the
height of its confidence, hope and
strength. But the masses. In contrast
to the well disciplined press, bitterly
realize that the submarine war, for
instance. is failure; and they show
it Their hope in the promised ulti-
mate victory, regularly deferred
every few months, has made their
hearts sick. And now the great new
offensive has also left them cold and
indifferent, except for the families
who are so sorrowing under the heavy
losses. The masses know that the
yearned-for peace one step nearer,
while mere existence grows more diff
ficult and irritating every day. And
not only food is scant- Clothes are
almost impossible to renew. And all
the governments ordinances and
measures merely serve to increase
the discontent of the masses.
fThe masses are beyond revolt.
THAR ssaDirits are sunk deep in de-
spondency The German people were
never captains of their souls; today
they are an easier prey than ever to
official oppression and dragooning,
fors they have lost physical, mental
lieves in an early peace, let alone a
speedy victory. The masses merely
pfod along the officially prescribed
paths in sullen detection, without
hope. almost without fear, more like
dumb, driven cattle
Pressed by Brooding Fear.
'-Their one source of partial conso-
latton is their belief that the cendii-
tfon of Germany's enemies is also
much the same as their own. The
interests and investments to lose find
their taxes almost unbearable. Moth
ing promised to US ever comes true,
10 their bitter cry. Even the ray of
Psee sna hani os Of last
March soon faded. Today the future
appears to them as. a dark cloud
without single streak of silver lin
broods a fear that their last hope
will be shattered by the economic
war over which all commercial Ger
many is now anxiously Wondering.
count for the moment in the great
struggle which is rending the poll
ticfanS and upper classes. This strug-
gle is, in a word. the clash of two
ideals. One, with Ludendorff as its
champion, is the prosecution of the
war in spite of all past experiences,
with Britain,s destruction and world
domination for Germany as its high
late Won Kuehlmann as one of its
chief exponents, Is the desire to OBJ
tain as cheap and speedy a peace as
possible, and then to turn all Ger.
1f1l
ingenuity to work to seek an alliance
with England
How Government Uses Press.
The champions of reconciliation
believe that Great Britain. having
now made trial Of the theory of the
balance of power and having found
1t wanting, will almost inevitably
turn in future toward the idea of
the preponderanee Of power. In seek
Won Kuehlmann school regard 1t as
likely that Great Britain, once peace
1s made, would not at some later
reasonably close understanding with
Germany with this object in view.
This internal warfare between the
two so-called schools of ideas in Ger
many renders intelligible many events
which have always appeared curious
to the world at large. The mistake
made by practically all countries in
the world about Germany is that they
suppose Germany to be one and In
dixisfDie in her will to war and to
conquG-. From one extreme of the
German press to the other extreme
the press Is used and controlled for the
purposes OF one or other Of the two
rival factions, to forward their re-
spective plans, while at the same time
continually throwing dust n~the eyes
Of the outer world.
rome Of the strangest revelations
which peace may bring to light will
man government has made of the
press
Saxon ears, but1it is true nevertheless,
that in all this internal strife Hinden-
burg seldom takes q hand. The field
marshal cares little for politics He is
soldier before all. the man of broad
outline and schemes; with details he
refuses to deal That task he leaves to
MS stan, and especially his collabora-
And Hindenburg Ia by no means an
easy eosa- All those under his COM
mand. Ludendorf included, often have
to hear hard words when things do
not go as he wishes Hindenburg is
anything but the demigod he is repre-
scented to be; he is, indeed, very hu-
man, and his most marked vice is an
iIicurabie laziness. In this respect he
diners from Ludendorff, who is energy
a.Iydendorr II a man Of boundless
'ambttton and tries hard to have as
much influence on the direction of
foseign policy and home politics as
he has upon the military operations.
empire was with frontiers Of such a
character rs to place a1k surrounding
states in Q position Of constant ex-
pcsure to Germany's tender mercies.
Ah&&