OCR Text |
Show ALLIES FOILED. Military critics in Germany are felicitating fe-licitating the country upon the strength tvhk-h the Teutonic armies display in the closing days of the fall campaign. On the edge of winter the Germans and their allies are holding their own everywhere every-where and at some points, as in Rumania, Ruma-nia, are demonstrating superiority. The turn of the tide is undeniable, whether it be due to increased power imong the Germans or decreased power among their foes, or both. When the Germans failed at Verdun, when the Russians drove in the Gorman lines in Volhynia and Galicia and when the Austrians were compelled to suspend ) their offensive against Italy, many saw signs of Teutonic collapse. But there is no indication of collapse now. The victory of Mackensen in Dobrud-ja Dobrud-ja is a menace to all the Russian advance ad-vance line in Austrian territory. If Von Falkenhayn can break through the Rumanian territory intervening between him and Mackensen the Russian line in Bukowina will be outflanked and even taken iu the rear by way of Bessarabia. Under such circumstances the Russians will be forced to fall back to a line which will cut more deeply into their own country than the one on which they stood last spring before General Brus-siloff Brus-siloff began his offensive. The entente powers were confident that if they extended the German line it would break somewhere. Here and there it has almost snapped, but has been immediately strengthened and has held. This has been the case on the Somme and also on the Italian fronts, notably at Gorizia and on tho Carso plateau. Manifestly the Teutonic lines will hold everywhere unless the allies can exert greater pressure at a number of points. They are not doing enough on the Somme, on the Italian front or in Macedonia to relieve the critical situation situa-tion in Rumania. There must be a hammer ham-mer blow of vast power somewhere if Rumania is to be saved. The Italian offensive in the Isonzo , region and the French successes at A'er-dun A'er-dun have helped the allies, no doubt. But they have lacked the necessary element ele-ment of decisiveness. The Germans are somewhat inclined to minimize the French drive at Verdun Ver-dun which resulted in the recapture of works the Germans had taken only at terrific cost after several months of fighting. It is true that the French do not break the Teuton lines around Verdun Ver-dun and have not retaken much of the territory abandoned by them east and west of the Mouse since last February, but it would .be idle to contend that there has been no important military gain for the French. From a defensive point of view the gain is considerable, but there is another .sain for the French and a corresponding handicap for the Germans that must not be overlooked. The German line has been lengthened and more men will he required at Verdun Ver-dun to hold the longer line. Moreover, the now positions are by no means as strong as those which the Germans had when they possessed Forts Douaumont and Vaux, One elector says that his difficulty is not so much in deciding for Wilson as in choosing among him, there being so many different Wilsons. Better solve the problem by voting for the only one Hughes. San Francisco Chronicle. "Woodrow Wilson's work is not finished," fin-ished," declares his local organ. Too bad, indeed. Stow it iu the grip and check to Princeton Portland Orego-nian. |