THE WiLMINGTbN DISPATCH! WEDNESDAY. .MAY 1 5; i 9 18 ..j... .
2
EFFORT FOR VICTORY
The CnticarPhas&of the Great
ENABLES VOU 7V i?P
YOtJ?SELF OF STOAM&l.
WONEY4NDUVE? 7Ot3LS.
111 x -fm it Fl if -f -
50LDMDfNDOPSED8Y
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1-
(By LOVAT FRASER)
(One of the Ablest Publicists, Mr.
, FTaser's work Is Always Dis
' r .-rtiaguished by Knowledge
and Vision,) , ,s,.
l5ndon. May. 2 (By Mail). It ' is, a
. very, unsafe- thing to wffte aboutv the
probable future course of an immense
battle while the issue still hangs
trembling in the balance, but I will
take the risk. y
Although blacker news may yet ar
. riye- which may seem , depressing. I
will express my personal belief that
in this first stage of the battle the
Germans have nearly shot their bolt,
that they , will not reach Amiens, And
that the living allied line wilL remain
unbreakable.
, But let there be no hosannas yet,
and no ringing of bells. We should
ring the. bells when we have beaten
Germany and have enforced a peace
.which will save" the world from en
slavement, and not before. We have
prematurely claimed far too many il
lusory "victories" in 1 this war in the
west. This mighty battle is not yet
over. Lloyd-George was perfectly
right when he -said in his message
to ' the United States that-lt 'is "only
Just beginning."
I think the Germans will not make
much,moreprogress in the first phase
because their losses have been very
heavy, because their advance 4ias
been slower than they expected, - be
cause they have had to use up their
reserves very rapidly, and becauuse
they are just at-the point when any
offensive, however great, loses mo
mentum and begins to ebb a little.
" "Their 'main immediate objective is
Amiens, as I ventured to point out
T?vsn the situation was" still "obscured
At the moment of writing they are
still, nearly 11 miles from Amiens,
and though they have been massing
for a fresh attack against our centre,
I doubt whether they will get through
. or ".will reach Arras on our left flank.
Thre are yery good defensive post
tlons between our present line and
Amiens. We ' command the ap
proachea to Arras. " '
-The French, loss of the important
, railway junction of Montdidier is un
: fortunate but not ' necessarily dis
tressing.. Our allies hold the west
ern; heights, close to the town, and
the s main", line to Paris passes nine
. miles further west. Make no mistake
about our gallant French comrades.
They have fought splendidly to re
trieve a very bad reverse, and they
are being admirably handled.
pt the valour and fortitude ot our
own troops too much cannot be said.
Already I have heard stories of the
glorious self-sacrifice of some of our
field battejriesXTwhich ;;fired ; ;into; the
advancing Germans'" until the very
last moment; of bands of sappers
- who gave their lives to blow up
bridges; of noble doctors who stuck,
to v the advanced stations and fell
into the hands of the foe. The ex
ploits of our airmen! have excelled
all previous marvels in air warfare.
Men. of the Dominions did wondrous
things, as we shall hear later on. As
for. the incomparable infantry of
these islands, they have magnificently
sustained the imperishable fame of
British arms. The enemy have com-
pletely failed, to destroy our armies,
and our line is inviolate.
Failure Means Ruin For Germany.
Should the Germans fail to accom
plish their full purpose, this should
bo the decisive battle of the war. It
should be decisive because they have
staked their whole position upon the
result. Failure or even a half suc-
, - cess means for them ruin. Their
civil population is very near starva
tion point Unless Germany can get
peace now she is dojne. -That is why
she has tossed all her available mili
tary resources into this terrific enter
prise, and why, as I believe, Hinden
burg, will also at the supreme moment
try his luck with the German fleet,
which he controls. Manifestly if the
present offensive fails to destroy the
allied armies, Germany can make in
the futnire no greater bid for victory.
But Vhy, if the Germans attain
their military purpose, will the battle
then prove- indecisive? Because
though they win Amiens,' they will
; not win peace, -the - one - thing they
want. France would fight on, even;
with her back to the Pyrenees. We
should fight on, the United states
. would fight on, Italy would fight on.
, We' can make no peace with a tri
nmphant Prussian ; autocracy, and
therein lies the greatest of the en
emy's miscalculations. We have to
save civilization from the most sin
ister menace which has ever threat
ened it. Better perish "than yield an
inch better die than live enslaved.
, Never was an Easter Sunday so big
with fate as this.. If the. battle still
sways to and f nv think over the alter--natives
which depend upon its out
come. There is neither optimism ziot
. pessimism, but only common pense,
in 'i weighing ,up the. problem with
clear eyes. Yesterday less than 11
miles separated" us from the greatest
military disaster ol the war.- If the
Germans get to Amiois they will 1m
; rtrU the whole ot our northern io
sitiors. They may cut us off ' fro i
s v the main .French forces. They . ni'.l
be '-able to threaten th chscnel lortg
and will have. J entiro'y transformed
the . military position. But will thoy
have decisively beaten us? Will they
be able to dictate peace? No, a thou
sand times no. . , ,
There are other measures possible
., which , will enable us jtp continue, theN
..war in, France,-perhaps even mo'V
effectively, than before. No need
discuss ' them here, , but .rest assured
that . the . ! chances which will bs
1 wrought If the Germans capture
- Amiens have been fully foreseen and
provided for.
Oa the other hand, supposing the
5
mGOODDPUGSTDQES
Dnamv foil c rbfl.nh AmiftTIS. ftR I fee
)leve. they will fait Supposing- the
wiole line holds, as Ji-beiieve win
hold. We must then: expect a brief
lull, . followed by a swift renewal of
the conflict, possibly by attacks upon
other parts of the alli.d line in
France or Flanders. If the first phase
of the battle stops far short of a
German triumph, we shall, still be a
varv lonar way from' safety. But I
have small fear about the later phases
of the battle. If we toil tne uer
mans now we shall foil them always.
- What I rather ffear' is the extraor
dinary capacity of this country for
self-deception which the war has so
strikingly revealed. ' I fear that if
the first phase ends with the gal
lant allied armies in unbroken and
continuous array there will be so
much jubilation that the lessons of
this stern and terrible ordeal will be
overlooked.
Meanwhile the nation will support
the government in all measures they
may take In this solemn emergency.
Yet there should he no resort to
panic legislation. There is much talk
of raising the military age, which
is already 43. I do not nersonally
consider the raising of the military;
age to be either wise or scientific. I
went into the Question some months
ago with the experts of the ministry
of national service, and they then con
vinced me that it was almost useless
to raise the age. Such a step will
swell the pension lists enormously,
will produce few useful recruits, and
will do little good. This is a young
man's war. I see it constantly stated
that there are lots of "young strong
men" in the home forces who oagnt
to be replaced. The . "young strong
men" were mostly replaced long ago.
If I honestly thought it would help
to win the war I would be in favor
of raising the military age to 70, but
I believe any further increasei will
impair the already weakened fabric
of the state and encumber the pay
rolls with useless men.
There are four courses open. The
first is ; to accelerate-and v intensify
the "comb-out" so far ar war Indus
trial requirements permit. The sec
ond is to apply compulsion to Ireland
If this government summons English
men of 50 . to the . colors while it is
afraid to deal with the young naen of
Ireland, then it is too cowardly to
fight Germany effectively.
The third course is to speed-up
American reinforcements. There are
20,000,000 men of military age in the
United States, which entered the war
a year ago, and has always been re
garded as "the land of hustle."
The fourth course is to begin a di
version through Siberia with the Jap
anese army. Japan possesses nearly
60 divisions, which have been im
mobilized, largely owing to W ashing
ton. .
Until Washington has "delivered
the goods," it has no right to adopt
a policy which tends to keep a ppw
erful army out of the war while the
Western Allies are bleeding from
gaping wounds.
We get a great many admonitory
messages from the United States, and
I hope the above message may go
across tire ocean in return. I have
many American friends, and I never
knew any of them resent plain speak
ing. (By the International News Bureau,
Inc., Boston, Mass.)
MKlKialllJUL
The man who is still experi
menting with different makes
of shoes is invited to find out
here why all the other
fellows are quietly sticking to
Beacons!
GEO. W. PENNY
20 South Front Street, Wilmington, N. C
F. M. HOYT SHOE COMPANY. Mslun, MaaeWcr. New HwiUr
AT LAST!
A RGAtdrlnk
different from
thoitook.
WsDbNonsTaVCood J)
EXCELSO will help keep you "in7
Sk ' Xrad Ifwk Beg. U. S. Pat Off. Y
1AT Knocks out thirst in 30 C ,
V seconds. Your "cold ) ' v
f bottla" w waitiag f or yon Anr Wtv I
1 fj attke nearest dealer . 1 (li " illl I
F :A"iV HAMM of ST.PAmX .-. W A
ff its CMdnesa ''It
rT I It- comes from know mj 'lUflNU
U & .Afi it how to make a V jKv ,lAGr
Ji it 1
"Mark Its Subtle Flavor"
You are always glad to1 know of a
delightful beverage to serye your
guests. A bottle of Ambrpsia is
greatly enjoyed with or between
meals.
, " (
Order A Case Sent Home
Ambrosia is sold at Restaurants, Hotels, Clubs,
Fountains, Drug and Grocery Stores.
WAGNER DISTRIBUTING COMPANY f
- Wholesale Distributors
Water and Orange Streets P; O. Box 604
Phone 1194 ;
CENTRAL CONSUMERS CO., Inc., Louisville, Ky.
3
mm
I EMPIRE ; B
II ; Broadway at 65rd Street M
"fSSk ' ' NEW.YORK CITY : " ' M
1. Roorsf aa Room 91CA mmw
m PIor, bedroom and bath, "
AreBuwc. pa,, the dbori. Smil
Subway sad ML" atationr two
- aftiaatas.
Boaatifal Caatnl Farfe 1 block,
OUR RESTAURANT
U noted for its excellent food and
. awdorata arioM
P. V. LAND Manager
White Flowers
White Hats
Milan Trimmed and Untrimmed, Leghorns, Ribbons,
Baby Ribbon 1 Oc Spool Wide Ribbon all widths.
MISS ALMA BROWN
lasts. Leaves no yel- whhJl ili
Retainshe m&
al gram of leather miMA
fabric. ISWiSJiSJP
X " P IMIf II
Easy to
it
low tingee
natur
and tesattiirebf
SkxiA IS MADE !M BLACK-TAM-WHITEtrD
ASK ANY STORE
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Serving the Public in War-Time
"Serve the PubKc" b the mftxim of the , Southern
.Express Company. To really servo the public is our
desiro.
Expreaa Mesaengers Delirerympn and other Southern Espreaa
employee are atriTing to prercome delaja in Ezprets aerriee.
To basdle abipmenU 'with the aame dispatch as before the war U
difficult. The public is requested to co-operate by
Packing Carefully
Wrapping Securely
Marking Plainly
Shipping Early
Southern Express Company
"Serve the Public"
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rVrtTrTf-'rr'r r
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IWBwiHmttmmMiwimftiiwtwMiimiiiKiniwtiMiiiwMii?.
MAKE YqUR SELfeCTION AND PHONE US.
Nadine Face Powder
Velvetina Face Powder
DJer-Kiss Face Powder
Fruma Faca Pfiwder r r -Swan:
Pown Face , Powderr?
. LaBIache Face Powdjer
-SapatoIvFace Po-wd ; , ,,'
Mayis Face Powder
A?urea Face Powder,
Carmen - Face Powder
Dagett ft Ramdale Face Powder
R. & O. Face -Powder
Melba Face Powder
j ?' Our oda "ouft-Memr la
Complete.
DRUG CO.
5th and Red Cross Streets.
PJione 520.
TAX LISTING!
We will be at the . Court House during die month of
May daily, except Sundays, from 9 a. m. to 5 p. m. for
the purpose of taking Tax Lists of Wilmington Resi
dents and Property Holders.
Attend to This Duty in Time to Avoid the Penalty for
Neglect. , , ; ; j B. F. King
H. K. Nash,
TaxListers for Wilmington Township.
Build Houses, More Houses and More Houses
THE FOWLER C
VAT0R
FOR THE PROGRESSIVE FAMffiR
It Will Run Astride the Row for Barring QfFand Weeding Both Sides
Leaving a Fine Loose Mulch.
Does Not Leave Any Furrows for Washing or Tearing
Up Rows or Middles Between the Rows for Grass
To Grow
SPECIAL FEATURE
Equipped with Short Blade to Throw Fine Mulch in Roots of Plant after Plant
is too Large to Run Astride. j
CALL AND SEE IT TODAY AT ;
N. JAC0BI
WILMINGTON, N. C.
THE ALL
YEAR
ROUND
CULTIVATOR
co. WW
.tg- top
HARDWARE
-TOlt