Evening Republican, Volume 59, Number 66, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 April 1917 — GERMAN ATTACK ON U.S. EXPECTED SOON [ARTICLE]

GERMAN ATTACK ON U.S. EXPECTED SOON

By Way of Mexico—Officials In Capitol Do Not Conceal Danger of the Situation. Washington, D. C., April B.—With actual war operations likply to materialize before the end of the week, the administration and congress will enter upon 'the stupendous task of making effective the participation of the American republic in the worid conflict.

I betray no secret when I say that an attack by Germany is expected. The attack is expected from any one or all of several quarters. German 'Submarines and cruiser raiders are likely to appear off the Atlantic seabqard at any time to shell American -Hrfc—Arrmibmarine attack-Tbn—the Panama canal is another possibility. The likeliest quarter, however, is Mexico. It is known there are thousands of German reservists in Mexico, that many have gone there from the United States since the diplomatic break with Berlin apparently in accordance with a prearranged plan, and that there are German officers in the Mexican army and German agents in positions of high trust in the 'Carranza government. There is ground for the belief that the movements of the Germans in Mexico are not unrelated in the Zimmermann plot to draw Mexico and Japan into a war alliance against the United States. The government* has •considerable information on this situation Which was not made public When President Wilson revealed the Zimmerman pilot. The uneasiness of the government concerning German schemes in Mexico has been aggravated by the if not the absolute refusal, of Carranza to give any satisfactory assurance of friendliness to the United‘ States and of determination to relieve the American nation of anxiety regarding German operations on the border. It is known that there are plenty of machine guns, rifles, and ammunition in Mexico to equip a force fox a formidable attack on the border. The mobilization of Carranza troops at Jaurez is being watched with .some* suspicion, particularly as Cartanza says it is for the purpose of Cheeking prospective Villa raids organized by German agents. Carranza, therefore, does not deny the prevalence of German activities in Mexico, ibut transfers the blame to Villa.