The Washington times., 1935-07-15
BIC CITIES FACE
: DESTRUCTION
At ONCE
Devastation to Be Sudden,
Even Before Foes Clash
on the Battlefield
(Continued from Page y

Europe's leaders who have made
it their business to study not only
the weapons but the psychology
and the policy of the future con-
flict.
War is uppermost in the mind
of Europe. Three questions have
been asked about it. Europe has
answered to its own dismay two
Of them.
"Will war Gomez" has been an.
Swered: Eyes. unless the arma-
ments race is stopped, because
every ornaments race ends In
war"
"When will the war Gomez"
has been answered: "1t will
come at the latest when one or
the other of the future belliger-
ents has reached a peak in
ornaments which reasonably
promises conclusive victory"
Third question is How will
they fight the war?"
Every war ministry, every gov
eminent and most of the think
ing people on this continent are
absorbed in the question today.
What do the experts of Europe an
&wer? What lessons may Amer
lea draw from their answers?
First they declare the next war
will be different from any that
has gone before. It will be a war
on women and children. Reduced
to it's simplest terms, it will be
struggle to see which side can
break the will of the other by kill
ing. manning and panicking the
civilian population.
It will be a war in which any
thing goes. There will be no re-
atraint Of any kin d. Every
weapon will be employed, regard
less of conventions. It will be a
''total war;" and every man,
woman and child in the nations
involved will be treated as a COM
blatant. Front. rear and home
front will all be front.
MilitariSts and pacifists are
agreed that the air arm has revo-
lutionized the character of war,
and that no hope is to be enter
tanned that any conventions to
limit its use or the use OF any
other weapon will be observed.
Listen to the pacif1st, Nicolas
Politis, distinguished Greek jurlSt,
judge of the Hague Court of Arbi-
tration, who sums up his Future
Of Law in Warfare" by explain
ing:
"It Is the duty Of every wise
and far-seeing man to proclaim
aloud that nothing is to be ex-
pected of conventional laws of
war. For it is vain to hope
that, once let loose, force could
find limits
WILL BE NO LIMIT
And then to the militarist. Gen.
Eric Ludendorff, master Of the i'm
perial German army writing on
the next world war:
military operations will be
begun in Europe with an ele-
mental fury in the first mo-
ment. Everywhere and from
the first instant fighting of un-
precedented barbarity will be
begun on land, in the air and
on the sea. Less attention will.
be paid to international law
than in the World War, 1914
1918. when the enemy powers
exploited it to the utmost.
"The prohibition against drop
ping gas bombs from airplanes,
for instance, or restriction con-
corning the use of submarines,
will be ignored.
I'm accordance with the iden-
tiCal desire of the powers, war
will have to fulfil its function of
destroying countless human lives
and relentlessly breaking the will
Of the European nations so that
they may at last be completely
at the mercy Of the victors."
Seconding Ludendorff is the
Reichswehr General Won Metzsch:
'sNO legal consideration will
stand when the vital interests of
o nation are at stake. The un-
restricted use of every available
weapon of violence will be q
feature of a future war. This
will be so from the instant war
il declared, for failure of the
preliminary operations will en-
danger the outcome of the whole
war. and nothing will be gained
by moderation of any kind"
FEAR OF AIR RAIDS
What will these preliminary
operations" be? They will be di-
rect air attack upon the centers
Of population of the enemy. Many
humane persons recoil from such
a prospect. There still RACES a
controversy among military men
as to the value of the air arm.
Careful review of the current
European authorities leads to the
conclusion that opinion is over
whelmingly in favor of the view
expressed by the British general,
P. R. C. Groves:
"HithertO pressure has been
applied to the enemy people in
directly by defeating their
armed forces. But air power
has rendered 1t possible to APP
ply the pressure directly to the
enemy people themselves. The
sooner that grim fact is gen.
orally realized not merely in
this country but throughout
the world. the better for the