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Show PROGRESS OF THE AVAR. Somewhat more than twenty-eiht months of slaughter wns required to elicit the first definite offer of peace. For twenty-eight months the world had wondered which side would be first to make the offer. So evenly balanced had been the scales iu tho world 's greatest war that it w:is impossible to predict at any time during those twenty-eight months which side would be compelled to sue for peace. And now we find the side which proposes peace loudly claiming the victory. It is a situation which pu::les the whole world. The entente powers were, quick to denounce the offer as a political trick. It was described as an effort to placate lebelHons spirits at borne and at the j same time put the allies in the wrong if they refused to negotiate. One salient fact, however, looms or.t I of the obscurity Germnnv wants peace. ! Whatever may have been tl;e motives j dictating a formal proposal at this I time, the central empires are ea-or to j end the war. And if they can end j the war within the next few months! they are the victors. They cannot, 0f j course, hope to impose tl.e:r will upon I the peace conference as completed as j they expected at the outset. Thev have won en the continent of Europe, but they have lost on the sea, a::d Germany's Ger-many's last colony is about to slip into ! the gra.-p of tho Brit-m. If a conference confer-ence is hcil. it will be a trade amoug ! equa's. : "XL uga was quid;, through j;s duma, j to ri'j-r-'t t.it; orf'T ami the French have -.ho'.vn a !i'i.-:v dNpir-itiun to continue t - war wither thought of immediate p'-.-f-', hut ' ; r -:j t. h:tain will luakc the binding iIcc:Mon, It is. Gnat iiritain that h 1'i uu ruling the war ; if G n-at 1'ritain ha.i Lad raough Hussia, France j and Italy must quit. Trie English arc in a better position now than ewr before to conduct a sue-cfs.iful sue-cfs.iful war. Thev have just completed the. gigantic indu-trial organization v, hb-h will enable not only them, but tho czar 's million:-!, to arm and munition muni-tion adequately for a final triumph, i '' reat Britain will not be exerting her maximum of power until next summer and shn probably could do better in the fourth than in the third year of the war. Great Britain, on the other hand, is in a splendid position to trade with the enemy. Holding most of the German Ger-man colonies, she can offer them back fur concessions in Europe and in Asiatic Tu rhey. But peace now would mean that Great Britain had failed to achieve the object for which she has been building build-ing up her army and navy Bince she entered the war tho dostruction of Germany as a military, and especially as a naal, power. While the peace notes were being transmitted General Xivelle, at Verdun, struck another of his brilliant blows. Throwing lU0,OnO men against the German Ger-man works and intrenchments north of Verdun, he speedily retook captured ground on a front of six miles to a depth of two miles, captured about 10,000 prisoners, eighty cannon and a tremendous amount of war material. His offensive traversed most of the ground which the Germans took in the fi rst few days of their advance last February. Ho now has in his possession posses-sion about one-fourth of all the ground captured by the enemy in the drives on Verdun, and the strategic advantage gained may force the Germans to re- ; construct their linos, so that he will be 1 ablo to occupy more ground without , much effort. . The poor showing of the Germans may be ascribed to several causes. The al-j al-j Hod offensive on the Sommo necessitat-j necessitat-j ed such a concentration of German ar-tillery ar-tillery that all other fronts , in the west were thinned of cannon. While I the Germans were removing their ' cannon General Xivelle was pa-i pa-i tiently amassing guns and ammunition. ammu-nition. If this theory be correct, it is ; clear that the allies have more guns i and ammunition on tho western front than have the Germans. Moreover, the I Germans have been centering their mightiest efforts on the eastern front, J somewhat to the neglect of their fronts in France and Flanders. The German counter-strokes delivered deliv-ered in response to the French attack at Verdun appear to have brought small advantage. Tho first was launched at the point whero the German battle line approaches nearest to Paris. It was ' broken up by the French artillery fire. The second was against the English in the Ypres region. An attack on the English trenches at Zillebeke carried the Germans into the second line. Continuing their campaign in Rumania, Ru-mania, the Teutons, aided by Bulgarians and Turks, have driven the enemy out of most of Wallaehia and compelled him to fall back in the Dobrudja. The Russians continue .to hold the Carpathian Carpa-thian Hud and to attack with vigor. They have not advanced, but they seem to have erected an iron wall against a German invasion of the Moldavian province prov-ince cf Rumania. Pivoting at the point where their line joins the Russian line in the Carpathians, Carpa-thians, the Rumanians have withdrawn their center and left wings, sweeping around to the northeast from Bucharest. Their purpose evidently is to align themselves along the southern border of Moldavia and to connect the line with the Russians operating beyond the Danube Dan-ube in the Dobrudja. The Teutons attempted at-tempted to cut off the retreating army by a drive toward Buzeu, in the right center of the Rumanian line. They have succeeded in taking Buzeu, after a fierce struggle, and may yet be able to isolate large contingents of the retreating re-treating army. As it is, they have captured cap-tured iu the neighborhood of 100,000 prisoners since they began the drive against the Rumanians in Wallaehia. Iu Greece the position of the allies has taken a turn for the better, as the result of an ultimatum to King Con-stantine Con-stantine demanding that all movements of troops in Thessaly which is in -the rear of the allies operating in Macedonia Mace-donia be stopped. The king has bowed to the ultimatum and has agreed to take such moaMtres as the enteute powers demanded. The Greek government also has apologised for the attacks made by regular Greek soldiers upon the French ! and English forces in Athens and elsewhere. else-where. One of the compelling reasons for the acquiescence of Greece was the ! blockado instituted by the naval forces of the allies. It was apparent to King Constautine that his people would be tarveu iu a few weeks if the blockade was kept up. In Macedonia the allies hare won some slight success against the Bui- : garians. On the Vardar river five ! points of military value were taken. j The English have resumed the off en- sive iu Mesopotamia and have seized ' treucnes, some of which are within two i and a half miles of Kut-e!-An;ara. - ! The German submarine campaign goes ! steadily on. Each day brings renorts ! of five or six vessels sunk. While the ! losses are severe. Great Britain is still i able to supply herself with food and at! the same time continue her gigantic transport service. limy lung she can do this is a mystery. The striking pow-' pow-' er of the submarines is slowly increas-J increas-J ing, de-pite ail the efforts of the English. |