Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-01-07
AMERICAN ARMY
DECIDED THE WAR
u. S. People Should Real.
ize This Fully, Declares
Correspondent
GERMANS ADMIT FACT
Europe Watching Public Opin.
ION Here as Guide to Con.
duct in Peace Conference
GERMANS ADMIT FACT
By EDWIN L. JAMES
Special Gable 10 Erening Public Ledger

COblenz, Jan. Talks with visi
tors hero who left the United state.
after the cessation of hostilitles. ant
the reading Of American newspaper:
show thai America seriously under
rates the part played by her army In
defeating Germany.
~ At this time. when American public
opinion may play such large role in
shaping the final determinations of the
peace conference, the people Of the
United States should have cull re-
alization OF the fact that Il Is due
to the American army that the
soldiers of France, England and AMER.
lea today line the Rhine and that
German soldiers don't patrol the
streets OF Paris.
They should have full realization
of the fact that had 1t not been for
America, Germany would today be
tho victor of the world war.
These statements are no exaggora.
tons. They are plain statements of
fact.
Events in Paris in the next three
months or less are going to be OF
nature that call for the assertion by
the American people of their fun
claim to consideration.
Germans Quit Before Defeat
1t seems that the chief error made
by Americans in summing up the sit.
uation is that they fail 10 realize fully
that the German army quit before 1t
was whipped. No one who knows any.
thing about the real situation Will
deny that the German army could
have fought on through many battles
before the Allied soldiers would ever
have reached the Rhine. But Ger.
many realized the defeat that was
impending and she quit while the !
quitting was good
That public opinion has n whole lot TO :
back 1t. and Americans have a perfect
right to wave the stars and stripes TO ]
their hearts content over the corpse OF /
Prussan mi!itarism.
No one wants to detract from the !
glorious accomplishments OF the arms
of valiant France and enduring Eng
land, but at the same time they did not
whip Germany until we took a hand,
and that fact will not down.
America Made Germans Quit
Sometimes one thinks that the true
story of Americas part will best be told
when German historians write their |
story of the war. But ask any German
officer now, ask any German soldier
about 1t and he will tell you that Amer
ics made him quit. He will tel you
that he would have gone TO Paris in
June had it not been for the Americans,
who added to the Allied forces just that
strength which made them too much for
the advancing German arms.
Using some hard common sense--when
did the American fighting men really
get into the war? 1t was in the last
days, way down around Chateau
Thierry. What had the Germans been
doing up to then? They had been hit l
ting the Allied line and in every case
making gains which took them nearer
and nearer to Paris and the coast What
happened after the first of June? The I
Germans made one more try on the
Of July. and ever since have r
been going backward. That IS the honest Z
truth about it. y
This time of International political /
negotiations is no time for Americans TO f
belttle what the Third Division did In ,
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