The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-02-09

to speak---that it reminds me OF a big
jellyfish. You can stick knife in one
part and the rest Of it does not even
know It.
MY plans ere not based upon the
possibilities OF revolution in Russia.
1t forms no part Of them. / have been
fed up on that for two years. II revo-
luton comes. so much the better for
US: IL 1t doesn't, ! will not be disap-
pointed"
Fatal error number two by Ger
many's Wotan. The Russian revolu-
ton came in March. three months
later. In April after Congress declared
war Lieut.-Col. Won Haften. Luden-
dorff's right hand man, bewailed to me
the fatal error that we did not know
a revolution was coming in Russia"
He said. Had We known that We
would not have renewed the ruthless
submarine war on February l, and
thus would have averted war with
America. A fatal error! A fatal error"
And so it proved.
Notwithstanding the very general
belief that the Russian revolution was
made in Germany" I do not think
said on the evening Of December 5,
1916, that he did not believe in the
talk OF a revolution in Russia. Only
a month before. on November 6. to be
exact, King Ferdinand in Sofia COM
planned bitterly and with signs Of
much nervousness and impotence
that the Central Governments were
getting no reliable information from
| Russia.
I whats going on in Russia" he
asked. Berlin knows nothing, Vienna
can give us no information that can
at all be relied upon, and we learn
nothing that We ought to know about
what Is taking place there. 1t makes
| me nervous"
1t was the last time that linden
burg and Ludendorff talked with an
American until the defeated and
crushed old Field Marshal received a
delegation OF correspondents. including
some Americans, In his headquarters
at Cassel a few weeks ago, and
pleaded for an amelioration Of armi-
stice conditions. Ludendorff. who
wanted to become the new Iron Chan
cellor of Germany. was not there. He
was gone. lie got from under-some
say he fed. His whereabouts is I'M
| known.
Hindenburg remained to take his
medicine along with his people. That
alone should prove which of the two
leading German military figures was
truly the greater. 1t recalls what an
officer Of his staff remarked to mo in
December, 1914, after the severe Aus
trian defeat by the Russians at Ivan
gorod, forcing Hindenburg to fall back
for more than fifty miles.
"Hindenburg was never greater in
victory than in defeat" said he.
The Idol of Germany.
Much has been written about those
two figures In Germany's stand against
the greater part OF the world. and not
a little by writer's who never saw oil
talked with them. Much more will be
written about those two personalities
and their actions by historians OF the
future. I have given some Of the con-
versation of that evening as affordinl
a psychological glimpse into the make
J up OF the two men who were conceiv.
ing the plans and directing the mill
tary operations not only Of Germany
but In general way of her allies
Austria Hungary, Bulgaria ant
Turkey as we'll. They did not know o.
the spirit that can be aroused in tn,
American people nor did they believ,
in what was to them "the impossible,
the speed with which the American
people could convert raw resources in
to the finished product, into colossa
J fighting machine. They did not know
that a revolution was coming in Rus
sia, first to help them, later to engul
them.
When asked IIindenburg VIVA
, would happen If the bond of a unite,
, people" and the Twill TO victory of al
3 entire nation" which he had declare,
essential to success, should no longe
, exist, he answered with an expressly,