Such an exhaustion hardly can be expected within measurable time on the
part of either one or the other of the combatants in the existing
European conflict, and this means the probable continuation for a long
period of the merciless slaughter which has marked the last few months.
We hold up our hands in horror at the stories of human sacrifices in the
early ages when, after all, these were, perhaps, less brutal and less
appalling than the wholesale slaughter of the flower of these warring
peoples of which we now read almost daily.
As I see the situation there really are only three contestants in the
war--England, Russia, and Germany. France, Belgium, and Austria are
important auxiliaries, but they are playing to a certain extent
secondary roles.
England's real object is the utter defeat of Germany--nothing more nor
less than that--and if this is accomplished England will have control of
Europe. It must be remembered that the English Government and English
people frequently have asserted that they would not be satisfied with
mere defeat of Germany's armed forces, but that her power must be
permanently paralyzed.
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