A HISTORIC WEEK

It would be hard to find seven consecutive days within a century (except perhaps the days immediately preceding, the outbreak of the World War) so big with events of momentous possibility as the seven days from March 15 to March 21. Within that short space has occurred the Revolution in Russia, unparalleled since the days of the French Revolution. That of itself is sufficient to make this week historic. In addition, there has occurred the beginning, if not the completion, of a vast retirement of German forces on the western front, in some respects the greatest military movement that has happened since the defeat of the Germans on the Marne. Within those seven days has also occurred the further rout of the Turkish forces before the pressure exerted by the British and Russian armies in Persia, Mesopotamia, and Syria. Within this week, from Thursday to Wednesday, has occurred the open confession of Dr. von Bethmann Hollweg, the German Chancellor, that Germany must become more democratic; and also utterances of German Liberals indicating that they have gained some moral courage from the example of their Russian foes. Last, but to Americans by no means least important, during these seven days have appeared almost unmistakable signs of the entrance of the United States into the war as an active belligerent-signs evoked largely by the sinking of three American vessels and the loss of American lives through the piratical acts of German submarines, and capped by the President's call to Congress to meet in special session on April 2 for the purpose of dealing with the war situation.

Elsewhere in this issue our readers will find a full treatment of the Russian Revolution, including staff correspondence by George Kennan. As we go to press it is reported that the Czar and Czarina are held as prisoners.

THE GERMAN RETIREMENT IN THE WEST

Following a series of daily reports of British and French successes on the west came news of the long-expected German retirement in the great salient that extends from Lille and Arras to Rheims. No movement on so great a scale has occurred in France since the Germans were driven from the Marne to the Aisne. In three days the Germans gave up some two hundred and fifty towns and many hundred square miles of French soil. Early in the operations Bapaume and Péronne, which have been objectives of the British attacks, and which are strategic points of great value, were evacuated, and fell into the hands of the British. The curve in the line has been gradually straightened by the change in the front. The distance which the Allied forces have advanced has varied from a few yards at the ends of the line to fifteen miles or more in the middle. How much further the advance will be only time can tell. During all this retirement of the Germans the British and French kept in pursuit. For the first time on this front in more than two years troops have been fighting in the open, and cavalry on a large scale has been used.

For many weeks it has been evident that on this part of the line the German trenches were becoming absolutely untenable. The artillery fire of the French and the British has been so terrific that deeply dug subterranean defenses were destroyed, and even those which proved able to withstand shell-fire were in many cases cut off from supplies by the curtain of high explosives. It was certain that the Germans would have to retire some time; the only question was when and on what scale.

As the Germans withdrew from their former lines to lines unquestionably already prepared weeks, if not months, in advance, they wreaked upon the villages, the isolated houses, and

even, as far as they could, upon the soil, what can seem only wanton destruction. An army yielding territory to an enemy must, of course, render that territory as useless to the enemy as possible for military purposes; but, according to all reports, the German work of destruction in this beautiful region of France has passed all bounds of military necessity. It can be explained only as a part of the deliberate German policy of frightfulness. Villages were mined so that not only public buildings but private houses would be ruined. The German soldiers took the pains to go into private houses and destroy dishes and pictures. Even artistic ruins were demolished. This sort of thing is not war; it is mere savagery. Vermin and wild beasts do not begin to do such wanton damage; yet civilized people regard them as fit subjects for extermination. The German Kaiser once commanded his soldiers to establish their reputation as Huns. The Kaiser's command has been obeyed.

What lines the Germans will ultimately occupy no one not in the confidence of the German General Staff or the information service of the Allies knows; but it is not to be supposed that they have retired without very good reason. What that reason is can only be surmised. It may be simply because they were too uncomfortable where they were. It may be that they have felt the need of men, and have undertaken to get them for use against Russia or in support of the routed Turks by shortening the line on their western front. It is significant that this withdrawal comes at a time when the Germans believe Russia is vulnerable because of the internal uprising, as well as at a time when Turkey needs support. It may be, however, that the German General Staff has come to the conclusion that this is a time to draw the British and French out of their trenches and beyond the reach of their heavy artillery, and then to attack them in the open.

It is to be remembered that, while the Germans have new defenses to which they can retire, the Allies are finding and can find ahead of them nothing but a shell-torn, muddy terrain which can afford them no shelter, and which is and must for some weeks be without facilities (such as roads and military buildings) for the use of their guns and the transport of their equipment and supplies. If this is the German plan, the German General Staff is evidently under some pressure to take risk. The German army will not find in the British and French forces another Rumanian army that can be pulled out of position and then overwhelmed. At the same time it will be folly none the less egregious because it has been exhibited before to underestimate the strategical ability or the resources that Hindenburg has at his command.

UNREST IN GERMANY AND AUSTRIA

However much the German military commentators may explain as a strategic move the retirement of the German forces in the west, the German people cannot be expected to find such explanation a good substitute for victory. And however much the German political leaders may interpret the Russian Revolution as a sign of weakness in their enemy, the German people cannot be prevented from catching, if only in a slight degree, the contagious spirit of revolt against autocracy. The wisest of the German leaders know this and have shown that they know it. This is true not only of the spokesman of autocracy, but also of the spokesman of what there is of liberalism in Germany.

Before the news of the Russian Revolution had reached the rest of the world it was known in Germany. Indeed, it was through Germany that the first news came to other peoples. Bethmann Hollweg, the German Chancellor, knew what was

happening before the newspapers were allowed or had a chance to tell of it; and he saw what possibilities there were in it of danger, not to the enemies of Prussia, but to Prussianism itself. To use an Americanism, he got on the band-wagon before he let anybody know that a band-wagon was coming along. In an address to the Reichstag he indicated that reforms in the direction of democracy must come in Germany, and specifically in Prussia, after the war. "Woe to the statesman," he said, "who does not recognize the signs of the time and who, after this catastrophe, believes that he can take up his work at the same point at which it was interrupted." He declared that "a strong policy, internal and external, will be possible only if the political rights of the community are such as to make possible for the whole nation, in all its ranks, including the great masses, equal and cheerful co-operation in public affairs;" and he specifically mentioned as one of the "lessons taught by the vast experiences in this war" the "regulation of the electoral franchise in Prussia," which is the very citadel of autocracy and privilege.

And with the revolution in Russia there has been injected in even the more timid of the Social Democratic leaders of Germany some new courage. Herr Scheidemann, who has cautiously avoided inviting the restraint put upon the more radical and outspoken Liebknecht, pricked up enough courage to say:

It does not require many words to explain why almost the whole world is arrayed against us. The answer is given quickly. The whole world sees among our enemies more or less developed forms of democracy, and in us it sees only Prussians. We have always answered by referring to the absolutism of Russia, but now Czarism has gone. Always the hesitator, the procrastinator, Bethmann Hollweg wants to cure Prussia after the war. Russia also promised all reforms after the war, but the war lasted too long for the Russians. Now is the time for deciThe Chancellor should not delay one day.

sive action.

There are signs, too, that Austria-Hungary is--or perhaps we ought to say are getting restive also. There it is not so much. the spirit of revolt on the part of the people against their masters as impatience on the part of groups and races at the restraints imposed by an artificial and unprofitable Imperialism. The new Emperor, Charles, has been engaging in conferences with his august neighbor, the German Kaiser, and with others; and he is undoubtedly taking counsel as to what should be done with this ungovernable spirit of democracy that has withstood the Central Empires for two and a half years, has thrown out the servants of despotism from their places of power in Russia, and has even gone so far as to make some Germans think about political and civil rights.

RUTHLESS WARFARE AND AMERICAN ACTION

In comparison with the great events that have occurred in Russia and on the western front and in the Near East along the Tigris and the Euphrates, the killing of more Americans by a nation that has been killing Americans for two years or more without suffering any serious consequences may not seem particularly momentous. For some reason which it is not easy to state, however, the fact that within twenty-four hours there was reported the sinking of three American ships by German submarines seems to have aroused the Administration, and, through the Administration, the people of the country, to a sense of the need of action.

The fact that, three or four days before, another American vessel, the Algonquin, had been sunk by a German submarine was lightly passed over; but when the news came that the City of Memphis, the Illinois, and the Vigilancia, three American steamships, were subjected to the same kind of inhuman attack that hundreds of other merchantmen have been subjected to by the pirates of the German navy, there were rumors that the President was going to act. Of course this offense was not in any principle different from things that Germany had done repeatedly; and probably these incidents would have been passed by and been lost in the oblivion that has surrounded the Lyman M. Law and the Leelanaw and the Gulflight and other American vessels attacked, if it had not been that it occurred at a time when people were waiting and expecting action.

It so happened that just before that Ambassador Gerard

arrived in New York-his home town-and, after paying a tribute to the President's patience in exhausting every honorable means in keeping us out of war, declared: "When I came back to this country, it was a positive shock to find that in the two years that had elapsed since the outbreak of the world conflagra tion our country had done nothing to prepare even for a rea sonable National defense." Such a statement reflecting on the inaction of the Administration from one of that Administra tion's trusted Ambassadors may have served to arouse some who were still torpid. Perhaps, too, the efforts in various communities to arouse the President to action had some effect.

Thousands upon thousands of pledges that have been drawn up by a committee appointed by the Mayor of New York-pledges of loyalty not only to America, but also to the idea that Ameri can rights ought to be defended-have been sent to Washing ton, and are still going. Other measures, in the form of mass meetings, as in New York City, resolutions, and the like, have helped to crystallize public opinion. There has come to our hand, for example, the message of Mayor Calkins, of Plainfield, New Jersey, which was sent to his Common Council, calling attention to the National peril and to the necessity for local as well as National action in the matter. Another example that has come to our hand is a set of resolutions adopted by the unanimous action of the Faculty of Ohio University.

A part of the price that free peoples have to pay for free government is that sometimes they bring upon themselves a government whose leaders do not lead, but who have to be driven. That seems to be the case in the United States now. That is why the President at this date has changed his mind and is calling a special session of Congress for a date two weeks earlier than that which he had originally set.

And if we suffer from war, if New York or Boston or Phila delphia or some other coast town is bombarded by a Zeppelin (which is conceivable) or by seaplanes assembled from submarines off our coast (which is highly possible), it will be because we have not been making the preparations against war which hundreds and thousands of citizens out of office have urged upon those who happen to have been in office.

Even China has acted. She has not only followed us in breaking off diplomatic relations with Germany, but she has gone ahead of us in seizing the German ships in her harbors.

Nervous haste at present cannot make up for the neglect of the last thirty months. What is past, however, is past. What we need now is not hurry, but prompt, decisive, and intelligent action.

IMMEDIATE MEASURES OF NAVAL DEFENSE

Although he has not mobilized the navy, the President, together with the Secretary of the Navy, has decided on certain measures of great importance. They are:

(1) The immediate construction of sixty submarine chasers at the New York Navy-Yard, their delivery to begin in from sixty to eighty days, and at the rate of one every three days.

(2) The construction of two hundred and as many more submarine chasers as private ship-building companies are able to build within the next few months, these to be 110-foot motor patrol boats, on contracts ranging from three to five months. (3) Arrangements to draw upon privately owned motor craft available for navy use along the entire Atlantic coast, contracts having been already drawn up for their purchase.

(4) The enrollment of voluntary crews for these boats among yachtsmen, the commanders of naval districts being ready to call them out and begin patrol work without delay.

(5) A submarine patrol off the American coast, insuring the safe passage to and from American ports for all ships, and a working agreement with British and French patrol squadrons which are now endeavoring to protect ships passing through the German submarine zone.

fund

(6) The utilization of the $115,000,000 naval emergency for the purchase and construction of submarine chasers, for small craft for use in anti-submarine work, aircraft, guns, ammunition, and the more expeditious construction of the ships which are now being built or which are under contract or authorized by Congress.

(7) The suspension of the provisions of the Eight-Hour Law

(9) The immediate raising of the number of men in the navy, which has now been recruited to about 60,600, to the full emergency limit of 87,000.

These nine steps are admirable, and will doubtless be approved by the entire Nation, but for use in war at this time some of these provisions will not be immediately effective, for their results will not be available for several months.

As we face war, most of what we need to-day and lack would have been at hand if action had been taken two years and more ago. At that time the President called those who were urging this sort of preparation "nervous and excited." The fact is that preparation at that time would have prevented a great deal of the nervousness and excitement now apparently prevalent in some quarters.

The steps thus tardily taken will, we hope, be followed by a complete naval mobilization. In this event, three things would be immediately done:

Retired officers would be summoned to duty at yards and for shore stations, relieving active officers for sea duty.

The fleet reserve, now numbering about twelve hundred highly trained men, would be called to the colors.

The naval militia, numbering about ten thousand men, would be called out.

With these things accomplished, every ship of naval value, whether publicly or privately owned, including all reserves, ought to be made ready at once for action.

JAPAN AND AMERICA

The friendly relations between the Japanese and American Governments have been emphasized by the signal courtesy of the former Government consequent upon the death of George Wilkins Guthrie, American Ambassador at Tokyo.

Mr. Guthrie was appointed Ambassador to Japan a little less than four years ago. He was also accredited as special Ambassador to represent the President at the funeral of the Dowager Empress and at the coronation of the present Emperor in 1915. Mr. Guthrie was sixty-nine years old. He was born in Pittsburgh, and lived most of his life in that city. He was a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, and, entering actively into legal practice, took a great interest in politics. In 1876 he was counsel for the Tilden electors before the Florida Returning Board. In 1880 he became assistant secretary of the Democratic National Committee. He was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1896, and from 1906 to 1909 he was Mayor of Pittsburgh, accomplishing many reforms.

Mr. Guthrie's service in Tokyo has been an acceptable one, and he had the privilege of representing his country at what to us is an increasingly important foreign post. The appreciation of these services was evident in Japan, and the Japanese regarded it as most appropriate that their Emperor should offer a war-ship to convoy the Ambassador's remains to this country, following the course of England some years ago with regard to Ambassador Reid. The Emperor's dignified letter to the President and the President's acceptance were all that could be wished. This exchange of courtesies will long be remembered by the Japanese people and the American people, and cannot fail to strengthen proper relations between them.

THE NEW FRENCH CABINET

For the fourth time since the war began France has a new Cabinet. The first war Cabinet, formed in August, 1914, under M. Viviani, had as its reason of being a broader power for the war Executive-the so-called "Strong Man Cabinet." The second Cabinet, formed in October, 1915, with M. Briand as Prime Minister, had as its reason the necessity for a coalition Ministry, with certain departments added to aid the war Executive. The third Cabinet, formed last December, still with

M. Briand as Prime Minister, had as its reason the concentration and centralization of Ministerial forces with a view to placing the conduct of the war under a small group of executives. It is this Cabinet that has now undergone a change. Why? Because of democracy. In its conduct of the war the Briand Cabinet found that it had more and more to centralize control with a proportionate lessening of Parliament's direct influence. Now, the French Parliament, still made up of members chosen just before the outbreak of the war on the issue of reaction against national defense legislation, has felt increasingly that it was being put to one side. Its irritation has not been lessened by certain Cabinet actions-the handling of the Greek and Rumanian situations, for instance. For them the Cabinet has had to stand many bitter reproaches. The opposition was led by that unsparing critic Georges Clemenceau, whose daily cry, "The Germans are still at Noyon," has now been perpetually silenced by the French and British advance beyond that town, sixty-seven miles from Paris.

Had this advance occurred a month ago, the Briand Cabinet might still be in the saddle. The first sign of its dissolution was when, because of opposition to his bill requiring that men rejected as soldiers on account of physical defects be re-examined, General Lyautey, Minister of War, badgered in Parliament beyond endurance, suddenly resigned. This was followed a few days later by the resignation of the whole Cabinet. It preferred to go out of power rather than to endure more pin-pricks. It demanded that it should have real support or clear opposition. It had become impossible for it to maintain the supremacy of Parliament over the army and at the same time to defend the army against the intolerable interference of parochial politicians. The politicians who have brought about this result do not, we believe, represent the French nation, any more than some of our men in Congress represent our nation. Indeed, it had become a byword in Paris that "We have two enemies: the Germans at Noyon and the politicians at the Palais Bourbon "-where the Chamber of Deputies meets.

So the Briand Cabinet, which has carried on the war, on the whole, with enormous success for France, goes out of office. It is a victim of its course in not giving, as the politicians claim, sufficient explanation to Parliament. In this country, where we have been having too much talk and insufficient action, we may not be able to appreciate the condition of a country where the contrary is the case.

The new Cabinet, about to take office, is headed by that veteran statesman Alexandre Ribot, who has been Minister of Finance in all the French Cabinets since the war started. No one, we believe, commands the confidence of all parties to a greater degree than does M. Ribot. It is a satisfaction to note that former Premier Viviani is to be Minister of Justice, and that former Premier Bourgeois becomes Minister of Labor. The next most striking appointment is assuredly that of Professor Painlevé, who had been Minister of Public Instruction, and now assumes control of perhaps the most important position in the Cabinet, namely, the Ministry of War. M. Thomas, the efficient Minister of Munitions, serves again in that office, and Admiral Lecaze and Louis Malvy, who has presided over the Navy and Interior Departments for two Ministries, continue in those offices. For the most part the other members are new men to Cabinet office, one of the most conspicuous being M. Jules Steeg, the editor of "La Lanterne " and "La Revue Bleue."

The new Cabinet apparently returns to the old order, in that it has dissolved the departments (Justice and Public Works, Commerce and Agriculture, Labor and National Subsistence) centralized under the late Ministry into the separate portfolios which that Ministry had combined. The present portfolios are fifteen in number, including the Under-Secretaryship of Aviation, a Cabinet office which might also be recommended to other ministries at the present time.

THE SIXTY-FIFTH CONGRESS

The President has, as we have said, called a special session of Congress. Originally he set the date at April 16; but now he has advanced the date of its assembling to April 2.

The Senate has already met in special session. As we ex

plained last week, such special sessions of the Senate alone are not unusual. Of all that the Senate has done at this time, most conspicuous is its action in confirming the appointment of the President's physician, Dr. Cary T. Grayson, naval surgeon with a subordinate grade as an officer in the Navy, to the office of Medical Director of the Navy, with the grade of Rear-Admiral. In doing this the President has advanced him over scores of others who outranked him. If Dr. Grayson's services and experience had been such as to make him conspicuously fit for this high position, this disregard of seniority would have been entirely justifiable. But there is no evidence that we have seen of conspicuous fitness. It is perhaps natural that the result of this appointment is to make men in the Navy feel that the way to get a promotion is not through faithful and efficient service, but through personal acquaintance with the appointing powers. Another event of this session- -one which we welcome-was the withdrawal of the unworthy Colombian treaty.

The Senate will reassemble at the same time as the House, on April 2. The crisis which the country faces makes this forthcoming special session of the Sixty-fifth Congress imperative. How will it differ from the Sixty-fourth Congress? When that Congress expired by constitutional limitation on March 4, 1917, 102 members retired. Of this number fifteen were Senators. A third of the Senate's membership is elected every two years, and on November 7, 1916, thirty-four Senators were elected, two being for short terms to fill vacancies caused by deaths in office. The fact that but fifteen Senators retire shows that the remainder were elected to succeed themselves. As a net result the Republicans gain two Senators in the Sixtyfifth Congress, the Senate consisting of fifty-four Democrats and forty-two Republicans, a majority of twelve for the Democrats. The House of Representatives consists of 435 members. They are elected every two years. For the first time in a generation neither Democrats nor Republicans have elected the majority necessary (218) to control organization of the House. In the preceding Congress the Democrats had a safe majority, but in the Sixty-fifth Congress the House will contain 215 Democrats, 215 Republicans, and five independent members. These five are Mr. London, Socialist, of New York; Mr. Randall, Prohibitionist, of California; Mr. Fuller, Independent, of Massachusetts; Mr. Martin, Progressive, of Louisiana; and Mr. Schall, Progressive, of Minnesota. If 218 votes are necessary to organize the House, then either Democrats or Republicans must gain support from this independent group. Each side claims that at least two members from among the independents will vote with them in organizing the House. The situation has been further complicated, as we have already noted, by the deaths of Representatives Sulloway, Republican, of New Hampshire, and Conry, Democrat, of New York. It now develops that it will be possible to fill Mr. Conry's place before Mr. Sulloway's. Let us suppose that the Democrats have the advantage of one vote. Under the circumstances, there might well be coalition control. An organization of both House and Senate on a National rather than a party basis would meet the demands of prompt organization as well as of public opinion in this crisis. Certainly obstructions of party management should not be permitted at a juncture when all legislators should meet with minds intent on the supreme interests of the Nation.

ALASKA

On March 30, 1867, through the genius of William Henry Seward, Secretary of State, Alaska became a possession of the United States. Friday of the present week marks, therefore, the fiftieth anniversary of this the United States' largest outlying territory. The word Alaska is a corruption of the Aleut word "Alakshak," meaning "a great country."

The price paid to Russia for this territory was $7,200,000. During the half-century Alaska has multiplied that value many times. Alaska contains nearly six hundred thousand square miles. Although situated partly within the Arctic Circle, its climate is surprisingly mild, particularly along the coast, where there is much rainfall. Mining is the principal industry-gold, silver, copper, and coal; indeed, the coal and copper, at present not entirely developed, may exceed the gold output in value. Next come fisheries. It has been now demon

strated that certain grasses, grains, live stock, and vegetables are adapted to the climate. More directly to reach the coalfields, and also the navigable waters of the interior, Congress three years ago authorized the construction of a railway and appropriated $35,000,000. This railway will make available not only mines and waterways, but also many thousands of acres of agricultural lands. It is said that Alaska may have as much arable land as has Finland, a country which not only supports a population of 2,500,000, but exports grain, live stock, butter, and cheese. The value of Alaska, therefore, is likely to be even greater than at present.

The Alaskan natives belong to four groups: the Eskimo. inhabiting the northern part of the territory; the Aleut, found only on the Aleutian Islands and the adjacent mainland; the Thlinkeets, who are confined to what is known as the Panhandle in the south; and, finally, the Athabascans, of the same stock as the North American Indians, who dwell in the interior.

During the first seventeen years of its existence Alaska had little attention from Congress. A collector of customs and some troops were our Government's only representatives. That, however, has been changed. The present Alaskan Government consists of a Governor, a Secretary of Territory, a Treasurer, and a Legislature of two houses, the Senate and the House of Repre sentatives, eight members in the first and sixteen in the second. The Legislature sits at Juneau, the capital. The term of office for Senators is four years and for Representatives two years. The powers of the Legislature are limited; for instance, it cannot grant private charters or special privileges, nor is it permitted to levy taxes in excess of one per cent of the assessed valuation of property. All laws must be submitted to Congress for approval before they become valid.

Alaska has been an interesting region for the spread of edu cation and religion. Although there is a relatively small number of children of school age in the Territory, the people have shown much interest in public schools. The native schools are in charge of the United States Bureau of Education. In addition to these schools, educational facilities are furnished by the Greek Catholics, who introduced Christianity to Alaska, the Roman Catholic, Moravian, Episcopal, Presbyterian, and Methodist churches, and other bodies. As the material resources of Alaska and the call of the wild invite adventurous pioneers. so the opportunities for educational and religious work call for those no less adventurous spirits that find zest in laying the foundations of civilization. Alaska is one of the most profitable investments yet made by a nation.

PREPARING WOMEN FOR SERVICE IN WAR TIME

In war time a country will need the best possible service from women.

That service will not be with rifle or machine gun or high explosives, but will be, in part, service that cannot be rendered by men who are in the trenches, and, in part, service that can be rendered by women better than by men under any circumstances.

There is need, therefore, for a special kind of military training for women. To supply such training the National Service School, Incorporated, has under way arrangements for a training-camp for women at Chevy Chase, Maryland. To be eligible for this camp an American woman must be eighteen years of age or over, her application to the committee in charge must be accepted, and she must be or become a member of the Woman's Section of the Navy League of the United States. The committee in charge of the National Service School consists of people of responsibility. Two of the honorary commandants are Mrs. George Dewey, whose late husband, the Admiral of the Navy, took special interest in this school and personally chose the site of the encampment for this year, and Mrs. Hugh L. Scott, wife of the Chief of Staff of the United States Army. On the Advisory Board, besides Major-General Scott, are several other officers both of the Navy and of the Army.

There are to be three courses of instruction. All three include such subjects as the making of surgical dressings and military calisthenics and drill. Those who attend the encampment can choose among such subjects as first aid to the injured, knitting and plain sewing, bicycling, telegraphy, elementary hygiene, dietetics.

Fuller information can be had by writing to the National