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Show SAYS TEUTONS M. IN DESPERATE NEED Welsh Newspaper Man Thinks U. S. Will Be Driven to Reprisal. RECKLESS ON OCEAN Declares Submarine Piracy Will Be Carried to Excess by Germans. John Smurthwaite, city editor of the South Wales Daily News, puhlished at Cardiff, Wales, and a brother of C. A. Smurthwaite of this city, believes that ihe United States will finally be com pelled to take part in an effort to stop what he calls piracy by German submarines. subma-rines. He does not think that this will necessarily mean a declaration of war by this country, but that retaliatory measures will be taken as a matter of self -protect ion on account of reckless raiding of neutral shipping by the undersea under-sea boats. This idea is expressed in tbe following- letter, just received by C. A. Smurthwaite here: Ha! the war. "And what about It now?" you ask. AVell, 1 do not see how Germany can possibly keep going go-ing much longer. I reckon Lord Kitchener's prediction of a three-year three-year war will turn out pretty near the mark. I thought this year would see the end of the awful business. But there will be catastrophic doings do-ings meanwhile, unless Germany brings off the expected internal revolution revo-lution due to the blockade squeeze. The kaiserltes will assuredly Indulge In stupendously desperate acts to escape es-cape the iron net that is inevitably encircling their country. Their greatest great-est error of policy, in my opinion, was to "spread themselves out" over the Balkans. It may look well on the map, but how can it materially affect the French front, where the vital military position must of necessity ne-cessity lie? While Germany is snapping snap-ping up this small country and that, instead of concentrating the whole of her vast military resources for a break through on the French front, England Is being given time to train and' equip the greatest army of young, vigorous men to be found anywhere in the whole world today five millions of the flower of British Brit-ish manhood. New Army Effective. Already In the battle of the Som-me Som-me the biggest battle in history up to date these fresh stalwarts have repeatedly proven their military superiority su-periority over the Germans. When the time comes, when the morale of the enemy In, the whole area of decisive de-cisive operations is at its lowest ebb, you will see an astounding roundup and debacle. In August, 1914, England's Eng-land's standing army consisted of what was known as an expeditionary expedition-ary force of 160,000 men the kaiser's kai-ser's "contemptible British army." Now, in a little over two years, that army is reckoned in millions, all trained fighting men. " . And all the time the British navy stops everything afloat getting Into Germany's harbors. And all the time, too, the imports for contiguous neutral neu-tral nations are kept strictly to prewar pre-war limits, so that there shall be no leakage into tbe enemy's country. As I have said, when Germany finds herself on her last economic legs and her army In France being outflapked, she will stagger the world by her attacks on neutrals especially those on her borders and there will be frightful doings. Having Hav-ing seized Holland, she will seek a mighty naval engagement rather than yield her great navy as part of the terms of peace. Predicts Reckless Raiding. Meanwhile she will have submarined subma-rined any ship in sight, passenger or cargo, and the United SHates will have set going a big flotilla of destroyers de-stroyers to root out the mad pirates. The United States will do this without with-out declaring war, by a diplomatic emphasis she will deem the Hun submarine a common pirate of the seas and help to exterminate him as such. Not that Britain will need her aid so far as our home waters are concerned. We shall always hold the upper hand of the submarine around our coasts, except for sporadic dashes; but farther afield the problem prob-lem is a different one. T do not agree that the recent offer of Germany Ger-many to "negotiate peace terms was a mere kite." I believe she Is in real earnest in getting a round-table conclave, because she knows her economic straits. It is those only that could make Germany be the first to show the world she had had enough because this is what it means. "Interest of humanity" Is, of course, an empty phrase. And now, what dost think of the picture? "What I have said T have said." i |