Germany's Handicap

1916

Mr. Boyce's Talks

A piece of "war news" that has been featured in the dispatches from abroad is the report from Rome that "Berlin newspapers are discussing the possibility of shortening the German front, and it is believed that this is intended to prepare the German people for the evacuation of France and Belgium."

This sort of a report will have to be taken with a large grain of salt, in view of the fact that there have been many war rumors from the same source which failed to "stand up," as the correspondents say. At this time, with Roumania added to the ring of foes about the Teutonic powers and with Greece nearly the same as in, there would naturally be strong temptation for guesswork along the lines of the dispatch from Rome. Whether Germany has reached the point where she is ready to consider withdrawing from northern France and Belgium is another question. The news of the withdrawal of large forces of German troops from the Verdun front to assist the Austrians and Bulgarians in the new Roumanian campaign is of greater significance than the Rome rumor.

Readers will remember the interview which I had at Berlin with the German Minister of Agriculture, in which he said that Germany was like a fortress surrounded by enemies. He said she was perfectly able to produce everything within herself absolutely necessary to eat and wear and for defensive purposes — and there he stopped. I gave it as my opinion that Austria-Hungary and Turkey were Germany's great weakness, and that the more Germany permitted her military machine to be scattered and the farther she got from Berlin, the more likely she would be forced back within the original German fortress. So far, Germany has been saving her own country, except for men, war materials and supplies. However, on account of the necessity of aiding Austria-Hungary and Turkey, and particularly the former, she has had to go far beyond what might be called the walls of her fortress. The more the fighting fronts are extended the more serious the situation becomes for her.

—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Sept. 16, 1916, p. 6.