Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-07-05

craftsmanship of a
President Wilson. sxs> Al
The burde IN of SaN~~ s
every British tax. w
payer is lighter as sNpS sSSN
a consequence of xsMX '&S&%N
Il Americas finan- &8fXW, NS@
cial support, and ET&8 se$#
since she entered &s$ESSssssS& l, -
the field Bonar #Mx$NlSht
Law wears a less %NS&S~
worried look. 65S&s3s sIN,S
81 Every British 80 -.
housewife owes a
debt of gratitude to Mr.. Hoover, and
American sailors are hardly a less
familiar sight in the streets of Lon
don than American soldiers. betoken.
ing a form of assistance of which
We hear little, but can imagine much.
Yet it is to Americas military aid
that we are chiefly looking. for we
AL realize that therein lies not only
the hope, but the certainty of victory.
Even the German people are begin.
ming to have a glimmering of the
truth.
~. German Staff's Conceit
The psychology of the Germany of
today has been formed by fifty years
OF the domination of Prussian mill
tarism, and the teaching of the Ger
man General Staff has pervaded every
sphere of German life. Having built
up a military machine that is very
near perfection, the German General
STAFF has more than a good concet
pof itself, and it has never been able
to conceive that any other nation than
Its own can be successful in war. II
Sneered at the "mercenaries" of our
oid regular army and declared it to
be impossible that we create and place
IN the field new armies in time to take
3 part in the war.
That was very natural attitude
efor the professional soldier to adopt.
particularly as regards the more tech
snical services on which the efficiency
of armies so greatly depends. I we'll
remember at the time of the South
african war, when it was proposed 10
raise new batteries of artillery. an
arm IN which we were then woefully
dehcient, that many professional sol
sdfers in England shook their heads
!, and said that it was impossible. that
these batteries could not be efficient
before the war ended and that they
would be danger to their own in.
fantry.
The batteries went out and in a
snort time were hardly distinguish-
able from the most famous of their
cider brothers of the royal regiment
OF artillery.
Kitchener a True Prophet
Lord Kitchener was. in fact, almost the
only professional soldier in Europe who
foresaw both the length of war and the
possibility of raising new armies to take
BART in it.
Like Bourbons, the German staff
learned nothing and forgot nothing. and
on Apericas entry into the war it greet
ed her military effort with the same
sneers as had served for time to calm
the anxiety in Germany aroused by the
news of the formation of Kitchener's
armies.
But the actual appearance of Amer
tcan divisions in battle on the western
,front has caused a change of tone and
the recent expedition of German sub
marines to the Atlantic coast of the
United States is one among many indica-
tions of that change
Hindenburg must now realize that in
his next effort on the western front lies
his last chance of gaining a victory in
the heid. and this is one of the mair
reasons for the present pause. He has
TO be certain that in his next vita
venture he will be as strong as possible
and he knows that the creation anC
framing of new divisions to take part ir
lneIelOTe.
long as he thinks that he can reft ant
train his battered divisions quicker thar
America can place new divisions in tn,
field he is justified in waiting
Americas regular army when she en-
tered the war was very small Sh.
could not, therefore, do as we did anc
At once put contingent into the from
line, but she has virtually had &C
create her armies from the very begin
ping.
America a Potent Factor
We know from the American com
muniques that she has troops on tn
front to the south of Amiens near Mont
didier and others just north of the Marn
near Chateau-Therry, all of which hay
taken part in battle with distinction
Yet other American forces are, we hav
been told, in trenches further TO tn
ecuth. and America has lent US ten
porarily infantry battalions which ar
& brigaded with our divisions
Therefore, Americas help will be
potent factor in the coming battle by
The time is not yet for General Pershin
20 take over and man with America
troops any considerable section of tt
western front. That will come, but "
must have patience.
Bonar Law has told us that an II
fantryman can be trained 10 take h
place in the trenches in four month
and that is a bare minimum. But ma
80 trained goes to fill a vacancy in
formstion which has had long experien
OF war. II takes far longer than TO
months to train an entirely new ha
TALON, and as the size of military 70
nation increases, the time required
e. II for the field increases also.
1T takes much longer to train
81vision, the smallest formation i'm whi
Infantry, artillery and engineers, have
i. work together In combination. than
does to train a body composed only
infantry or only of artillery. And abo
e the division the training of the stai
Of the higher formations takes the lon
eet of all,
Therefore. Americas military cont
hutton. while It's effect is sure and ce
fain. cannot be expected to produce al
0odden transformation in the balance
mnitAry power in the west.
~ whipping the Important Factor
s There N another and more imports
6cfor which limits the extent of Anne
icas military aid and the rate at viii,