NO FINAL MILITARY
DECISION EXPECTED
UNDER TWO YEARS.
It may Take Evm Loaftr I*
Adum This Rmu1( ia the
Opinion of Soaw A—rirw
Esparto—Victory ultimately
WU1 Come te the Aliiee—
German Drive Won't Mo*«
Much Further.. U-Boats Im
potent to Keep America Out.
Washington Dispatch to Graanabora
Nana.
Washington, March 31.—From the
American standpoint no final military
decision on the waatarn front in Eu
ro p* ia expected in laaa than two year*
It may take longer to achieve such a
result. The only alternative that ia
considered hare ia a possible collapse
of morale among tha German people,
which might force a result, irrespec
tive of tha German army itaelf.
This viaw of tha war situation, it!
will be notad, does not take into ac-i
count tha poaaibility of a German mil-'
itary victory. Neither officials of the,
administration nor military experts'
regiru a Gorman military decision as
in the least degree likely. Th«y hold
it to be inadmiasibte even granting
further German progress in the pres-1
ent drive. Ultimately, if the war{
lasts long enough, they are certain i
of an allied victory. But they can-.
not, estimating the situation in a most
conservating way. foresee the pos-]
sibility of a German victory.
By victory, is meant no local or
evanescent triumph, but a military ac-!
complishment that will bring the war!
to an end. Amiens and other French
cities may yet fall without yielding
to Germany a decisive victory, in the
opinion of American government offl
German drive will mdve much far
ther, but even if it does there will be
no feeling here that Germany, by any
possibility, can bring the allies to a
pans where they must sue for peace.:
German Internal Breakdown.
No early peace of any kiud is look
ed for in Washington. The govern
ment is girding itselt up for a long j
period of war—not so long a period t
as has already elapsed, perhaps, but
one that may extend for three years |
more.
An early peace, in the judgement of
high officials here, can only be brought j
about in one way—by a breakup in j
lietmany, behind the military linen.
This possible factor is receiving con
sideration in Washington, but it ii
not for an instant permitted to in
terfere with war work.
A German collapse involving the
civilian and industrial parts of the
war machine, is looked upon as a con
tingency concerning which it is legi
timate to speculate, but no more. The
government does not in any sense
rely upon it. Yet it will not be sur
prised if such a situation should de
velop in Germany, once the big drive
is stopped and once its awful cost has
become fully known to the German
people.
The American government well un
derstands the war weariness of the
German people, and it also frankly
Iwlteves that they have been told by
their military rulers that this wii be
the last great battle, which will bring
them a final victory. When that
promised victory does not materialise
it la expected here that there will be
a serious time for the German govern
ment. That situation ii burdened with
possibilities which might conceivably
, overthrow German's present rulers,
or render them impotent. It might
bring the war to an early end.
Must Threw off Military Yoke.
But this chance of a German col
lapse is only regarded as a possible
happy alternative to prolonged hos
tilities. President Wilson who is fol
lowing every movement these day*
with the eloiMt attention, has for a
long time kept the collapse of Ger
man morale la Blind a* one at the de
valopmaata wtuch My .horton tha
From Ua« to Um to toa aditraaaaj
himaalf to Um form of ipiichn to
ton CoDfrwi to Um Gma p*opU
thamaalvaa, alwaya with Um vtow to
trying to maka than laa that thay can
only attain paaca by throwing off Um
military yoka.
Although tha Praaidant has <iacid
ad that tha Uaa for furthar talk can
earning paaca ia not tha praaant, ha
has navar dumiaaad from hia muid tha
poaaibility that tha vary avant for
which ha ao long haa hoped may yat
take place—the separation of the Oar
man people from their military bosses.
But he is not calculating upon it, in
any sense of the word. It ia jut an
element in the situation which can
not be wholly diamisaad. It la in the
nature of an outside chance.
What the government has pre-emi
nently in mind today, as it watches
and studies the military developments
along the western front, ia a war that
will not come to an and before 1020 or
1921. In either of those years, it is
felt here, there is the best reason to
expect a decisive allied victory. Mean
time the war strength of the United
States must be brought to bear at its
maximum, for without that strength
the allied victory can never be won.
Begin Big Operations Next Year.
.Stoppage of the German drive is
expected, then perhaps a partial re
bound, with gains on the part the
allies. And then, in the judgement of
military men in Washington, will
come another period of digging in.
The allies will not be ready this year
to drive the German army out of
France or out of Belgium, and pro
bably not next year, although next
year is expected to witnes.; the begin
of • military mo'tment whirl)
on German fortunes.
Meantime American strength will
be thrown into the scale, with increas
ing volume. It is significant, with re
-spect to American war plans, that the
.submarine ia not now counted upon as
the ominous factor which is repre
sented last year. The United States
is going forward with its troop ship
ments and its cargoes of military and
food supplies on the basis that the
submarine will not be able to inter
pose any serioiW? obstacle.
This much is certain, in the judge
ment of American officials—the sub
marine can never hope to keep Ameri
ca out of the war. Even at the height
of submarine dcstructivcness last year
it failed to keep America out, and this
year the failure will be even more pro
nounced, it ii predicted in Wa>hing-'
ton. A much larger factor of Ameri
can military strength, however, must
he present in Europe before the allies
can begin the process of defi:ritely
whipping Germany. Meantime Ger
many will be held within bounds with
time working steadily against her.
as the military and civilian officials
here estimate the situation.
Elevation of Foch Pleasing.
*
Allied affairs on the western front
are developing in a manner greatly to
the satisfaction of the admistration.
The elevation of General Foch to su
preme command, giving him direct
control of the armies of France, is in
direct with the desires of President
Wilson, which were urged before the
inter-allied war council last Novem
ber. The President was willing then
to go further than any of the entente
powers in this respect, but it required,
apparently, a military menace of ex
traordinary proportions to bring into
execution the plan that was then pro
posed by his representative at the
council.
It is a matter of comment in Wash
ington today that Secretary of the
Treasury MrAdoo should be given a
large measure of credit for the insti
tution of a supreme command for the
allied armies. Mr. MrAdoo, it la well
known, has been an extremely strong
advocate of one-man military direc
tion. It ia declared by some well in
formed parson* that Mr. McAdaa waa
Um Ant nuui la Waahiagtoa to grp
tha IdM, and that ha lninml away
at It until it racaivad tha backing of
tha praaidant.
Whoavar may ha»a originated It,
Mwavar, it la a fact that tha United
Statea praaaad for It lone bafora tha
afttaa wara willing to toha tha atop.
Now that it haa roma, it ia mora than
waicoaa to Washington authorities
Tha Praaidant ia only too glad to haaa
tha Amarican foreaa undar Canaral
Parmhing o pa rata undar tha auprama
command, for ha baliaaaa it to ha tha
propar solution of tha alliad military
problam.
Elltin'a Soldier Boy*
—Where They Are.
Elkin Tribune.
Albert Bivans, who *u an instruc
tor in 0«k kidge Institute, entered
the first oAceri' training camp at
Fort Oglethorpe, and waa commission
e<l 1st Lieutenant in the aviation
corps. He is now stationed at Lake
Charlea, La.
i'aul P. Gwyn, who waa connceted
with the E. A A. Railway Co., enter
ed the second officers' training camp
at. Fortress Monroe, hat been fommii
sioned 2nd Lieutenant in the ordnance
department and ia now itationed at
Washington. D. C.
Reginald Greenwood ia a member
of the Fiftieth U. S. Band, stationed
at Camp Greene, Charlotte.
Andrew Greenwood, who was in the
automobile business sold out and en
listed in the aviation branch of ser
vice and is now in training at Waco,
Texas.
Grover Graham gave up a splendid
position with the Chatham Mfg. Co.,
and entered the Y. M. C. A. army ser
vice and is now in the training camp
Claude V. Long who was Teller in
the Elkin National Bank, is now a
Sergeant at Camp Jackson.
Rom H. Lewellyn gave up a good
position in Durham and enlisted in the
(juartermaiter corps. He is now a
first Lieutenant and is stationed at
Camp Sherman, Chillicothe, Ohio.
Richard Smith, of the Elkin Shoe
Co.. U in the ordnance department in
Philadelphia.
Ix>nnie Walker, of the Five and Ten
Cent Store, ia now a Corporal at
Camp Jackson.
Charlie White, of the Elkin Drug
Co., enlisted in the Marine Corp*, and
when last heard from was in Philadel
phia. He is uppoM-d to be somewhere
in » ranee now.
Samuel Sprinkle baa been in the
service for several years, and ia now
a Recruiting Sergeant, stationed in
San Francisco, Cal.
Edward Bivcns, who was engaged
in the plumbing business, ia now in
the Signal Corps, Aviation Depart
ment, and is located at Fort Leavens
worth, Kan.
Messrs. Howard Blackwood and
Paul Giiliam are among the number
who will go to Camp Jackson next
Monday.
Messrs. Harold Click and Marion
Allen have enlisted in the Aviation
Corps and are expecting to be called
into service at any time.
Ourtownsman, Mr. T. E. Church,
has three sons who are giving their
service* to our country, and while they
did not enlist from Elkin, yet they
are "Elkin's adopted sons." They arc
Edward Church, of Co. C., Sth U. S.
('oast Artilery, stationed in Honolulu,
Hawaiian Islands. Walter G. Church,
Co. B., 4«Uh U. S. Infantry, stationed
at Fort Ben Herrison, Undiana. W.
J. Church, Battery E., 113th Field
Artillery, at Camp Sevier, Greenville.
S. C.
Ernest Hudson, private, stationed
at Camp Jackson, Columbia, S. C.
So far but one colored man has been
called from Elkin. Julius Hampton,
who has been working for Dr. J. M.
Reece for the put twelve years, will
leave Saturday for the colored train
ing camp at Rockford, IU.
THE WEAKENING OF
THE "BIG BATTALIONS."
It U a dupreui tiling M>«
the statement of Mr. Lloyd Gaarge
that tha tnaia^of tha war haa bee.
reached seema not improbably to W
trtia. What ha* baan persistently in
sisted on, in thaaa coitmni, and what
moat people who have carafulljr fol
lowed tha war have always fait to bo
inevitable, la being davalopad la tha
present Garman offensive. Putting it
a littla dilTarantly, Germany haa real
ized that until aha can claar har wes
tarn front, any othar auerjaa may ba
writtan off aa a marc succas d'aatima.
Aa tuna haa (una on, and »hc haa fail
ad in bar various aima, it haa become
mora and mora patent to har that
only by a tramendoua victory ovar
tha Anglo-French araiiaa can tha war
ha brought to a tolerable conclusion
for har. Having made up har mind to
thia, aha haa aat to work to effect har
purpose, in her usual thorough-going
and iharasteriatic way. She has »p«nt
month*, that ia to my, in piling up an
enormous man* of men and material,
which, when let Ioom, would descend
like an avalanche upon the British
and French line*, and simply bury
them beneath it. In plain English,
Germany has worked out the theory
of the "Big Battalions" to the nth,
and has staked her fate upon it.
Now it has not been the habit of |
the German high command to calcu
late the cost in military operations.
It has always held what it considers
the sound theory,, that loss, up to a
breaking point, is immaterial provid
ed the objective i» gained. The theory
of Kullur, which ia very much the
theory of the hive, leaves no room for
remorse or for humanity. Soldiers
mast be used with the same cold
blooded indifference as cannon balls.
The sole question ever to be consider
ed ia the pricc in casualties that can
safely be paid. If, then, a victory can
be obtained at the price, the bloodshed
becomes a mere negligible quantity
It has been said that the Germai
high command has calculated the prici
of passing the steam roller over the
Anglo-French line at 1,000,000 casu- >
alties. The estimate ia a hideous one,
but it is becoming more and more
evident that it is going to be a suffi
cent one. The battle is a long way
yet from being won, and already it
is rairuiaim tnat me uerman losses
amounted to 600,000. Appalling as
this total is, when the way in which
the battle has been fought is taken in
to consideration, there is nothing ex
cessive in the calculation. One French
battery commander has explained that
in a single day's fighting, he poured
30,000 rounds into German battalions
in close formation. The same story
could probably be told by all the bat
tery commanders, with the result that
after a week's fighting of such a des
cription a casualty list of 600,000
seems tolerably moderate.
Nor is there any reason to believe
that the losses of the Allies have be
gun to approach these figures. The
Allies have been fighting, behind de
fenses, in loose formation, and retir
ing steadily when their positions be
came untenable. In spite of this, the
Geramns profess to have taken only
40,000 prisoners, and the German me
thod, which is to estimate numbers in
stead of counting heads, has been
proved, from the firit day of the war
to the last, to result in claims of the
most riduculous description. Now
these 40,000 prison* rs include all the
wounded that the British have been
forced to leave behind thetn. As a
consequence the German claim aa
•times an entirely different aspect the
more cloeely it is analysed.
It need not be said that the battle
is not over. Indeed it ia probable, j
that the crisis of the crisis has not
yet been reached. General Ludeo-1
dorff's plan of campaign, which, with
the assistance of Marshall Hindea
burg, he is suppoeed to have forced
upon the biwr, m Generml Malllii m
lUcltrad to have forced the war upon
the IlUw, ku " —iitt»-| lh« threnr
and the Headquarter* Staff to* deeply.
t« it po4#ibta to batiuu In *
light to a ftuuh. The people
are (ami to immmmd aa accounting ot
the hideoua butchery of the campaign.
And the only (radii which tboy will
ronaider agaiaat tho debit of tho
bloodshed, ia a dociaivo victory. Now
•« it quite fleer from Ca.ioral Luden
dorff'i reported word* that a decisive
victory ia (till vary far off, but
tharo ia Mouthing even clearer
than that, and it ia this, that bofora
the dorieive victory take* place there
will have to be another Gorman holo
caust ai fierce a* that of the paat
week.
For tho moment the German* are
hald, and that holding amount* to
practical defeat. But. n.i iian leen
> La ted. there can he no hesitation now
on the part of the General Staff, no
matter what the coat. Reserve* must
be found and flung into the crucible
in a numoer Huvricieni to wtuit tnroujft
carnage to victory by the sheer of
brutal Uat of bodias. Now there is
no rem Hon to see why, if Mmr«haJ Hin
denburg could not succeed in the flmt
week, he ahould succeed in the iwimj.
It is the opening day* of an oTen*ive
that are all in favor of the attack.
In those day* the attack ha* all the
advantage of a surprint, and ail the
force of it fir*t momentum. The mo
mentum, however, necessarily dies
down, whilst the *urpri*e is wiped out.
Then the defen*e is able to call in its
reserves and to fall hack on its sup
ports. It may lose heavily in doing
this, though more in the way of what
it ha* to currender than in actual cas
ualties. Batteries must be fought un
til there are no horses left, and no
means of bringing them out of action
rentstn. machine guns and treiwh
mortars must be deserted red hot
where they stand, after they have
done the utmost execution up to the
last moment. But it does not follow
that the loss in personnel ever begin*
even to approach that of the attack.
Nor would it ever do *o less than in an
attack delivered by va*t massed liivis-'
ion* against loose formations behind
defenses.
For this reason the Allies, though
not in the least concealing the serious
ness of the situation, and not in the
least underestimating the future
chances of the enemy, have right to
feel assured of eventual success. As
the ila>» go by the enemy is drawn
farther from his detraining stations,
and so not only it his mobility im
paired, but the problem of supplies
is increased. Besides, though it is
against all the laws of humanity,
there U a material advantage in mak
ing the country on your front a desert.
But the desert, if the bull may be per
mitted, is converted into a boomerang,
when the conditions change, and the
attempt is made to advance across it
yourself instead of using it as a moat
against an enemy advancing acroaa it.
So, at the end of the first week, of
what will probably prove to be the
greatest battle ever fought, the mat
ter stands. Tho German calculations ,
have utterly brcVren down in so far as
they were based upon an intention of i
breaking the allied line, and then out- j
flanking and rolling up each wing
with an overpowering force. The
price, in short, has been paid to thej
full, but the end has not been achiev-,
ed. It will have to be paid over again,
and paid over again with las* hope of
achievement.—Exchange.
$199 Reward, $109
The loaders cf this |«|wr will fee
pleased to leant that there la at least
ene dread-d illmH that aetenee hae
beea able to cure In all Ita atagea, and
that la eatarrk. Catarrh being greatly
lafluenred br constitutional condltiona
reaairea conaiitutlonal treatment
Hall e Catarrh Cure la taken Internally
and a eta thru the Blood a > the Mueoue
■urfaree at tha thereby de
atrorlag tha feuadatioa ot tha dlaaaaa.
fitlax laa patient strength br bollding
up tha eaaetitatlaa a ad a> stating aa
tara la datag ita work. T te proprte
tara have aa meek filth ta . »< earatlva
•aware ot Hall a Catarrh Car* that
they ei«r Oaa Hand red Dalian far aay
aaaankeMt |faUa te car*, had fae lias
a Hi mi: f f egmr * ca. MiK
Ms MW an II I—111k Na.
tl. S. ARMY FIGHT MDC
BY KM WITH All 111
Ow 100,000 Trwwpa Frrnm
Th* American artny in France is t»
fight shoulder to ahoulcWr with ttw
British and French troops who nam
*r« engaged in the titanic stroggl*
with the German* in Pirardy, General
Pershing's entire fore* has lotn gt9
•n into tha htni: Genera! Koch, tha
naw generalissimo, who ia to uaa th*
man whara ha de-irea.
Mora than 100,0<N) Americana, in
tanaivaly trained and fully uroutra4,
ara availabla for immediata una 1b
aiding to xtam tha tida of tha Germaa
hordes. and large numbers of them,
on raidrnad train* and in motor trudm
and even afoot, already ara on their
way to tha battlefront, eager to dm
ihair part in defeating tha invader*.
The miserable weather which ha*
broken over tha country ia providing
no deterrent to the Americana aa 'he*
push forward from all directions to
ward the battle zone.
From the regu.n of the Homme
southward to wh»rf tho
turn* eastward, furious fighting baa
continued on various sectors, but eve
rywhere the enemy has been held,
and even pushed back at some points.
Nowhere has he been able, although
he continued to throw great mass—
of men into the fray, to gain ground,
except an infinitesimal tract from the
French north of Mireuil. British and
French machine guns and riflemen,
as in days past, again tore great holes
in the ranks of the field gray as they
endeavored to press on.
So great have been the losses of the
Germans in front of the British north
of the Somme that Sunday saw them
unwilling again to take up the gage qf
battle. Along the Scerpe, the British
themselves went on the offensive and
to the east of Arras captured the vil
lage of Feuchy. On the souther*
end of the line, where von Hindenburg
is endeavoring to pierce through to
the old German positions as they stood
before his retreat in 1916, the British
and French troops, fighing together,
have met the enemy :n furious com
bats, but everywhere defeated him
with sanguinary losses.
Hooey by the too Going to
Waste.
Releigh, N. C. March 30.—On* mat
em North Curolina county produced
35 tons of honey in 1917, reports Mr.
Franklin Sherman. The beekeepers
in this country assert that with pro
per distribution of bee-yards three
times as many bees could be kept in
the county with equally food results.
Even allowing that 1917 waa an un
usually good honey year, the county
could produce 100 tons of honey in
average years if it were fully stocked
with bees which were managed by
good beekeepers. Yet this county dboa
not include ten per cent of the honey
producing plants of the eastern sec
tion—in other words, over a thousand
tons of honey are produced by the
native plants of eastern North Caro
lina in average years, of which acarce
ly one-tenth ir gathered for the uses
of man. Think of what this means
when honey is selling for around IS
cents per pound.
Bothered By Cutworm* hi
Garden?
Of course; every gardner is. The
earlier in spring the plants are set
out, the more loss from cut-worms,
and the later they are set out, the leas
loss. Plowing the ground early and
k» ping down new vegetation until
ready to set oat plant* will Ml*
many of them away, or star**
The stems of cabbag* er toeaei*
plants may b* protected by a Imm
paper "collar" which wfcea first sat,
removing this a* soon aa they get w*>
rooted. The collar shoeM extend an
inch above and Mew t* —fas* *f
the ground.
.» jj
I