Germany's military might is beginning to crumble, and we now see the first effects of it not only on the western front but in Palestine and in Macedonia. The process of disintegration is not likely to be rapid for a long time, but there is conclusive evidence that it has begun. Some of the hardest fighting of the war is still to come, for when the actual invasion of German territory begins and the scene of war is transferred to German soil, the Impeial Government will be able to make a powerful appeal to the sentiment and interest of the German soldiers. Be that as it may, troops who have been battling offensively for four years cannot fight with the same spirit and the same courage when they know that victory has become impossible and that they must remain to the end of the conflict with their backs to the wall.

"German people, be hard!" exclaims Hindenberg. That is the ultimate appeal, but a people that has been fed on military victory does not cheerfully accustom itself to a diet of defeat. That was not the way Hindenberg himself talked six months ago when he boasted that he would be in Paris April 1 and that the war would be over in midsummer. Even he must perceive that it is no mere cloud that hangs over Germany, but the Twilight of the Gods. New York World.