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 From among the huge mass only those laboring hands have been withdrawn for the war which would not have remained at home in any case, but would have been lured away to earn money elsewhere.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 A Former Cabinet Minister, and Leader of Pro-Ally Party in Rumania (_Photo from Central News._)] [Illustration: DEMETRIOS GOUNARIS Leader of the Neutralist Party, who Succeeded Venizelos as Premier of Greece] Austria and the Balkans Germanic influences in the Balkan Peninsula are discussed by A. Pogodin in the magazine Russian Thought. Mr. Pogodin says: