In an article headed "Ought the War to Last Long--and Can It Last
Long?" V. Kuzmin-Karavaeff says in the Russian European Messenger for
June:
It is, of course, impossible to say how long the war will
last. But the case is altered if the question be put in
another form: _Ought_ the war to last long, and _can_ it
last long? The ten months which have elapsed make it
entirely possible to answer it, for, in answering it, there
is no need to guess at the thoughts, wishes, and hopes of
the Germans which are bound up with the war.
In the eyes of Russia and her Allies the present war has as
its object the crushing and dispersing of "the nest of
militarism," constructed in the centre of Europe by the hand
of Bismarck and the vainglory of Wilhelm II. That was
clearly defined last autumn by our diplomatic department.
That is precisely the way in which it was and is defined by
all classes of the Russian people, not excluding those who
are represented by Kropotkin and Plekhanoff. The present war
became far more for Germany than a war for the integrity of
her territory, for her colonial interests, or for her
commercial supremacy, from the moment when three--now
four--great powers rose at her arrogant challenge. Germany
is everywhere attacking, but, in reality, she is conducting
a desperate war of defence for the organization of her
existence, which, for the space of forty years, has rested
on a nervous anticipation of war with her neighbors.
Germany's offensive is a strategical manoeuvre. As a
matter of fact, she is fighting like a wild animal
surrounded on all sides. And, of course, she will carry on
the war until the last degree of exhaustion is reached. She
has accumulated within her many forces--technical forces.
Mere technical forces cannot stand their ground in the end.
But no little time must still elapse. And the war _must_
continue for a long time still, if the "nest of militarism"
is to be annihilated.
But, on the other hand, _can_ it continue a long time? We
Russians have a complete right to say, with conviction: Yes.
Ten months of war have plainly demonstrated that we still
possess a land which is still intact, and personal and
economic forces.
To the east of the Dnieper and Moscow the war is hardly felt
at all. This is particularly true of the principal
foundations of our life--the peasant country parts numbering
their hundred millions. The villages have sent to the war
millions of young men, and even fathers of families, heads
of households. Many tears have already been shed in the
country, and there are many orphans, many cripples. But the
peasant countryside has not suffered economically. On the
contrary, after ten months of war and closed liquor-shops,
it has reconstructed itself and smartened itself up to a
noteworthy degree. The fields have been sown. From among the
huge mass only those laboring hands have been withdrawn for
the war which would not have remained at home in any case,
but would have been lured away to earn money elsewhere.
The same thing is observable also in the towns. The masses
in the towns have increased their deposits in the savings
banks tenfold, while consuming more meat than before the
war, and resorting less frequently to the loan banks.
Information made its way out of Germany long ago to the
effect that all the males there, with the exception of
decrepit old men and small children, have been called to the
army. The peculiar "crisis in men" in Berlin has frequently
served as a subject of jest in the humorous press.
In Russia, every railway station swarms with young, healthy,
powerful porters who offer their services; every large
restaurant has a host of waiters; the wharves on the Volga
and, in conclusion, the mere throngs on the streets bear
witness to the fact that nothing resembling the "crisis in
men" exists with us. Numerous as have been the soldiers who
have gone to the war, the supply of men who are capable of
bearing arms is still colossally great with us.
Consequently, we have the material to fill up losses in the
army. And that being the case, we can go on with the war for
a long time to come--for as long a time as may be necessary
to bring it to a proper ending.
[Illustration: TAKE JONESCO