The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1919-07-31
(copyrisht fsiS BY the Mcclure Newspaper syndcate

formation he referred to. In nearly
every case. It appeared. the kaiser's in
formants were misleading him.
Both before and after we entered
the war the kaiser was thoroughly con-
vinced that we could play only nom-
inal part In 1t so far as man power
was concerned and his assurance on
that point undoubtedly accounted for
his decision to carry through his sub
marine program even though II re-
suited In bringing us into the war.
"Do you realize how many tons OF
shipping II takes to ship single sol
dier2" he asked me on one occasion.
l confessed my ignorance on that
point.
swell, II takes six tons ~ the man |!
To send over an army of 100000 men,
therefore, your country would require
1000 900 tons Of shipping In addition
to the tonnage required for regular
traffic. Where is II coming from, with
my submarines sinking the allied ves-
sells faster than they can ever be re-
placed2 My U-bonts nre doing won
derful work and we are prepared to
take care Of all the troops America
mny try to land In France"
SLOW foolish for America to have
come into the war;" he went on. "If
she could succeed In landing o real
army in France. what good would II
dot America can see how easy 1t was
for me to break through and to cnp-
ture 100000 Of the Italians. and they
must realize that l can break through
on the western front and do the same
thing there. II America hac kept out
Of the war she would have gone on
making untold profits and when peace
was finally declared she would have
been In most envlable position
among the nations of the world. As II
Is, Wilson will never have q seat ai
the peace table II can help It, and
now America shall have to pay all the
costs Of the warl" Evidently he imag
ined that his triumph would be st
complete that there would be no peace
table, but that the warning nation:
would be compelled to accept thu
terms he offered them, In which event
knowing the magnanimity Of the Ger
man makeup. should say the worl'
: ut large would have to be content witt
very little.
How the kaiser feels now that tn
failure of the U-boats to intercep
American troop ships must be pain
: fully apparent to him. and Americ
has so overwhelmingly overcome tn
shortage Of shipping, don't know, bu
II IL more than probable that for som
: time to come the real situation will, a
any rate, be successfully conceale
from the German people. know tina
! the failure of the U-boat campaign wa
unknown to the Germans up to tn
|, time left Berlin--in January, 1918.
While the kaiser and the German
!. generally felt confident that we woul
!, never be able to send many me
!, across, they professed to feel littl
: concern even IL we did.
a According to some of the German o.
4 ficers with whom spoke, even II "
3 landed 2O00,000 men In France
q would not be enough to break tn
q deadlock, as the Germans were takin
similar number Of trained trooT
a from the Russian front. The onl
q menace of American participation
n the war lay In the possibility that "
- might add considerably to the allie
3 air strength. Man power alone, the
% contended, would never be sufficient
!. help the allies much, but overwhelmir
II superiority In the air might occas:s
II the Germans some annoyance.
It The kaiser himself had but a POI
IL opinion of the fighting qualities Of Il
American soldier SO far as modern WI
h. requirements are concerned.
D. "The American soldier would pc
d sibly give good account Of himse
,e in open fighting" he declared. 'but
l is not built for the kind Of warfare
/ will encounter In France. He lac
,e the stolidity to endure life In q
trenches. He Is too high-strung Al
"a couldn't stand the inactive life whi
D. Is such an important part of mode
!" warfare. Besides. he lacks disciplii
ne and trained officers"