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Show Captured Germans Fail To Understand Why U. S. Entered Struggle By Frank 7. Taylor United Praee Staff Correependent. WITH THK AMKR1CAN PIRBT ARMY, Bett. 1 By Mail) Auetrla'l proposal to talk over peece term la the ft rat offUHul ala:n that tha govern- ment la "fed up on war" and area little hope In the future, according to Hungarian priaonere officer aa welt aa men who were captured near HI. Mthlel. Tha people have wanted to quit for many months, priaonere Bay, but the government waa hopeful of a military victory. The Hungarian priaonere were not ao hopeful of Immediate reeulta of Auatrta'a. peace pro petal, which they thought waa probably Independent of Germany, "Owing to an estrangement between the central powera. They thought Austria-Hungary would 'he able to break away from Germany to make peace Independently If ahe desired de-sired to do ao. They alao thought Germany would eoon topple then. The Germans, on tha other hand, thought Austria had been allowed by the (termini to propose peace negotiations. nego-tiations. "Austria haa to propose peace every ao often, anyway," waa the way one German expressed It, and the other gave the same Idea In other words. AUSTRIA CURBED. "Austria-Hungary could not make a separate peace If she wanted to," boasted the ( firman offlcera. "We could prevent it by force. "We would be better off If ahe did, because the Austriana won't fight and we have to feed them, and get nothing In return for It." The Auatrlana. were heartily In favor of anything that would bring peace. They . cared nothing whether the allies won or whether It waa the central powera. To them It meant one thing they could go back home and be thank fut they were alive. What political and aoclal changes came about aa the reeult of the war meant much leaa to them than returning return-ing to Vienna. The Hungarians look for a apeedy finish to the war. They thought neither the allies nor the central powera would hold out much longer and that a peace agreement would soon be reached. JUST WANT PEACE. Home German officer aaw clearly they would be defeated, aa they aaid, by "overwhelming odde." However, they thought they muat resist aa long aa possible. In the hope of an allied break. The men aluo looked forward to defeat, but thought It would be peedler They had no -regret fr do- feat, for the moat part. If It would bring peace and still let them have their country. Germana never can understand why America entered the war and probably never will understand. It Is one of the first qtieatlona they ask when they find an American who will apeak to them. No amount of explaining enlightens the German offlcera, to whom fighting for a principle see ma absolutely lm-poaalhle. lm-poaalhle. Borne of the more socialistic among the Mien accept American reasons, rea-sons, t'sualty the stumbling block of the German Is the laisitanla. "Immer der Lualtanla!' they exclaim. ex-claim. (Always the I,usltanta. The German mind cannot conceive going to war without aome material gain In view and they still think the Americana Ameri-cana want to claim something among Germany 'a posaeaaiona. TOO MUCH FOR GERMEN. Germans, high and low, counted on German emigrants to America coming Into the war on the German aide. CntH a German-speaking doughboy atlckg them, with a bayonet in a fight, German Ger-man sold I ra cannot think f these German -Americana aa anything but German. In their conversation 1ney speak of them aa "Germana In America" and when you deny there are any Germane Ger-mane In America, except those Interned, In-terned, they shrug their shoulders In amassment. To them a German and hla descendants are alwaya German and only the point of view they get In a battle with Americans changes their minds. They merely shrug their shoulders and ay they cannot understand. |