IN RHINELAND.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 16190, 28 September 1914, Page 3

IN RHINELAND.

THE DELIEIUM OF WAR. (FeOM Ouß OW.V CORBBSFONDBNT.) LONDON, August 6. " The Rhineland is in a delirium of war," writes a returned traveller to the -Daily Telegraph. "Troops everywhere fill the roads and crowd the trains. As they march ' Die Wacht am Ehein' sounds from column to column, and from every train that passes along the line its splendid strains are heard. The sight filled me with admiration, but it also filled me with pity when I reflected on the delusions on which these brave fellows are fed. Every newspaper I saw contained the wildest stories, which were readily believed—Paris was in flames in four places; the Louvre was burned down; the Japanese fleet had declared war against Russia and had destroyed the entire Russian fleet in the East, etc. " This is the kind of story which was read with avidity by the Kaiser's soldiers, but there is a grimmer side to the picture. In his frenzy the German is seeing red, and at Crefeldt the other day 27 unfortunate men were shot offhand on the mere suspicion that they were spies. "An unfortunate American lady was attacked in Cologne and brutally disfigured in the belief that she was a Frenchman disguised as a woman. One cannot go anywhere or do anything without being followed by men, either in plain clothes or uniform, who watch every movement. "The financial position of the country is most serious. Last week 30 iron firms in Duisburg became bankrupt. "This whole war has been steadily prepared for by Germany and Austria. During the past winter the German Government has beon calling up in small numbers men from the various factories from all over Germany. In the first instance, they were told that they were wanted for temporary military duties, but they never went back again, and the active forces have been largely augmented by the addition of these men. "The refusal of Italy to stand by its undertakings to the two other Powers in the Triple Alliance is a serious blow to Germany. It was not intended to use the forces of Italy actively to invade France on the south-east. The Germans had been advised that it was undesirable to set one Latin race against another, and that they could not be relied upon to fight one against the other. It was intended to keep a force of Italians only sufficient to necessitate a large retaining force on the southeastern frontier of France, and also to utilise Italians to line the Dutch border, and thus set free the German troops. '' One more point I wish to make clear. It was everywhere recognised that Britain's attitude was the key to the whole situation. The Germans have staked their success on the assumption t.liai. Britain would never dare to intervene. Their mistake should cost them dear."