How Long Will War Last? Soldier Tells.
How long will the war last? No question is more frequently asked. Many prominent men, military experts, statesmen, and well-informed authorities have given their opinions. No one asked the soldiers, until the other day in a café in a little French town a correspondent happened to put the question to a French infantryman, who had spent many days in the trenches. And the soldier gave this answer:
“When everybody gets tired of slaughtering, there will be peace. It will come whether we are on the road to Berlin or not. It is one thing for to shout ‘On to Berlin!’ It is another thing to go there. When Germany is driven out of France and Belgium, I shouldn’t be surprised to see her ask for peace. I suspect that by that time we shall have suffered heavy enough losses not to be arrogant. The idea of promenading across[Pg 65] Germany is not what appeals to our soldiers. They know what that would cost. Our soldiers are fighting for their homes and their country.”
The soldier said he thought there would be peace by Easter. He was not averse to giving the Germans credit of being good fighters, and for having a splendid military organization. “But we shall beat them,” he said. “We are beating them.”
And so it goes. There are many interesting sidelights like this on the war which are not told in the routine dispatches.