The issues involved in this war have been appealed to the sword, and he who lives by the sword must die by the sword. The time for doubt, debate, discussion or diplomacy is past. The only thing left to do is to fight,--fight for all that is in us,--fight as long as we can and as hard as we can, and until there is no fight left in our enemies. Then and not until then is it worth while to consider other aims,--so-called war aims. The only real war aim now is victory. We must not let anything distract us from that essential aim. LINDLEY M. GARRISON. [Illustration] _A Bit of the Hindenburg Line_ THESE FELLOWS ARE HOT ON THE TRAIL. LET US FOLLOW SUIT. WHEREVER YOU FIND A HUN YOU FIND AN ENEMY. GET HIM! DAVID BISPHAM. [Illustration] _The Rats in Our Home Trenches_ Really, the great question of the war is: What kind of people are the Germans? Can they be reformed, or are they incurable? All Germans are not alike. There are those who distinguish between North and South Germans, and tell us that the Saxons, in particular, have in them the making of excellent people. Doubtless all Prussians are not alike; doubtless all Bavarians are not of the type of the “Black Bavarians” whose exploits in the war have had unfavorable mention. But what has come to be the image that “German” calls up in the mind? It is an image of ruthlessness, of frightfulness, of poison gas and traceless sinkings; of murder, pillage, spies and lies; of a black and formidable ambition for mastery on any terms and at any cost; of treachery; of a tireless industry that gets up early to fetch away by work or wile whatever in the world is worth taking from any one who has it! The current image of the German is an image of an enemy--a savage enemy. Since 1914 German descent has been terribly prejudiced. As to every man of German blood the observer asks himself: What manner of man is this? The Hohenzollerns did not invent the Germans. They found, acquired, trained and used them. For centuries--a thousand years at least--the Germans have had a known and demonstrated rating for brutality and brutishness. They have been cruel in war and destructive and greedy in pillage beyond most other nations that were their neighbors. When one hears it said that the trouble with Germany is Germans, there comes to mind abundant basis for that suggestion. Yet the Germans are far too many and too useful to exterminate, and even if that were possible, no nation but Germany could seriously entertain the idea of exterminating a whole people. So what do we come to?