Sidelights On The War

Auckland Star, Volume XLVIII, Issue 137, 9 June 1917, Page 15

Sidelights On The War

In certain strongly-built stores out or sight the British Government has In hand the greatest stock of rum ever accumulated in the history of the world. There are millions of tots cf '"the real stun"" for our men at the front. Tbe "finds" of the war are gradually begining to show themselves, _i\. an Englispaper. Brigadier-General Brain ker is one of the best of them. He guv* an illustration of his troality not so long since when. in reply to criticisms of a i-'eriaiu type of machine, he flew it to the front himself. Only 192 pigs came to Vienna's Easter market, of which SM were allotted to hospitals. In peace time the number was 10.000. The "Worker's Gazette" bitterly comments: "We have received 132 pigs by the grace of our Hungarian idly," and asks how the poor possibly exist. RESOURCE. Clarged at G_lldh__l with being an absentee, a commercial traveller, who had gone _bom wearing a badge issued to discharged ao'dier-. with a discharge certificate bel-iistng to another man in his pocket, and claiming to have been gassed and wounded sixteen tlme s in France, now declared that hex-was a coos<_.__tlo_s objector -with an exemption appeal pending. A CHARACTERISTIC TOUCH. The Paris "Matin" relates that at Vignennes. to the east of Nesle. on the Sunday prece«_tog the general retreat, a group of Catholic Bavarians attended _i_ss as nsu-i. and displayed their customary religion- piety and exemplary behaviour. Two hours after Vespers the same Bavarians coolly and calmly set tire tx> the edifice in which they had just worshipped. "WAR "GRAFT" IN BERLIN. One of the secretaries of the municipality of Charlottenburg, the famous and wealthy Berlin snbnrb. is under arrest In connection with food scandals. He has been trafficking with bakers and accepting rich bribes for selling them illegal allowances of flour. At his house the police found £5.000 ln cash, the proceeds of recent "deals." A STORY OF LAOK. Leon, -which ls the subject of German pity because of the destruction of its b_stortc -nltrltngs by Allied shells, was the scene of one of the most dramatic incidents of the Franco-German War. The town had surrendered to the Germans, and the enemy were entering the citadel. At that moment a French soldier. Henriot, set a light to the powder magazine. In the explosion 7T» Germans and 2_9 Frenchmen were killed, among the laitter being Henriot himself.

THE PRUSSIAN WOOLWICIL Spandau. the Prussian Woohvieb, which forms part of Greater Berlin, is the first metropolitan borough to issue a municipal paper currency of low denomination. It has just put out £25,000 In 6d notes, and will increase the supply as required. The town has also appropriated £2000 to send 1860 children, most of whose parents are at work in the arsenal, to the country to be properly nourished between now and har-vest-time. Needy parents will also receive town aid for travelling on visits to their children. HOW TO CARRY WOUNDED. Explaining the incidents in an ambulance display given by the Ist London County V.A.D. at the College of Ambulance, to Princess Christian and other distinguished visitors. Colonel James Cantlle, the 0.C., condemned the practice of carrying wounded shoulder high. "It ls not good ambulance work," he said, "to carry a man shoulder high. It looks nice in the pictures or on the stage, but as practical work it is not to be thought of. "The famous 'Stonewall' Jackson was being carried shoulder high, when one of the bearers was shot, and he rolled off the stretcher and broke his neck." A VIOLENT CONTRAST. America's race in piling up vast supplies of nrdnjetons—from bullets to torpedoes— offers a violent cant_a_t to the modest _c_iv-ty that followed the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Flints for muskets then the essential need.. On the same day, hi the same session of cue Continental Congress, a resolution was passed empowering the Board of War to employ persons to manufacture flints, ana for this purpose " to apply to the respective Assemblies, _o_/ven_ion_, 3n_ Councils of Committees of Safety of the United American States for the names and places of abode of persons skilled ln the ma_ru__cture aforesaid- a™! of the places In their respective -tates where the best flint stones are to be obtained, with samples of the nme." The resolution was carried unanimously. SOP TO THE JESUITS. With the Russian handwriting on their wall. Germany's "dark forces" are making concessions to the two dominant political elements—the SodalLst working classes and the Roman Catholics. The latter number about one-third of the Empire's population. According to the Berlin "Daily Paper." the Government is about to grant a long-sought concession to the "Black Pope." the General of the Society of Jesus 'Jesuitst. For many years, as an inheritance from Bis-mark's celebrated Kulturkampf lanti-Catholic crusade), the Jesuits have been banned from Germany. Even though the Centre party (Roman Catholics) are the dominating Influence in the Imperial Parliament, they could never contrive to have the anti-Jesuit laws repealed. Now Isays the "London Dally Mall") it appears, the Jesuits are about to return to their own, because of Hohenzollernlsm's conciliatory mood —and necessities. PRISON FOR PROFITEERS. The Austrian people are threatened with a very long list of fresh punishments with regard to the supply of foodstuffs. Anyone who makes false declarations about his stock of provisions, or does not rightly answer questions on this point put by the authorities, is liable to a fine of .".000 crowns or three months' imprisonment. That is one of the least of the new punishments. If anyone by war profiteering makes a Profit of _.000 crowns, he has to go to gaol for a period of not less than two months, and not more than two years, with . hard labour, ln addition to paying a fine of 200,000 crowns, and ln a case where his misdemeanour is presumed to endanger the safety of the State, the term of hard labour may be anything up to three years, and the fine becomes half a million crowns. ; Only In a few instances is there a right of appeal. "If." says the "Arbelter Znitung" in | comment, "we give our opinion on these i hew punishment orders, we can only say 1 they win alter nothing. A few clumsy i People may fall into the net. but not a > "Ingle article wHI be made cheaper. Not I by such things can capitalistic society be 1 «sse_* to- effifler." . 11

THE SUPER-PESSIMIST. A woman in a London suburb held up a uewspaper triumphantly to her neighbour over the garden fence. "We've taken ten thousand lioro prisoners." she cried. "How's that for good news?"' "Well, yon may call it good news—but ! don't." said the other woman gloomUv "Why not?" "We shall have to feed them." —Daily Mail." LENS AND ST. QUENTIN. The recovery of and St (Juentln from the enemy would have an interesting result, says the ""Daily Chronicle." Both towns have (or had) extensive sugar factories—i_ fact the whole district towards which wo are now fighting our way ls one or the centres of the world's sugar refining industry. Wheth.r or not any of the factories will he )eft standing when the Germans evacuate the towns ls doubtful, rrobably, like the liquorice factory at Km, they have been put to other uses. FUTURE OF GI-RMAN-AMERICAN TRADE. In the "Frankfort t_tzette," the principal Hun commercial organ. .. hrave attempt is made to view hopefully the future of Ger:uan__merk_n trade. It ls remarked that "" bMh. countries very much need each other after the war—a fact which reassures us, because the Americans cannot without disadvantage to themselves do without our potash and dyes nor without the _er__a_. market for their manufactures. They wUI need ns all the more, as the purchasing power of their present large customers la dig at Britain and France- will be very much shrunken." 70-YEAR-OLD SOLDIER KILLED. Among the Hun victims at Arras was the most remarkable private soldier in the German Army—Professor Dr. Caspar Kene Gregory, who enlisted as an ordinary recruit in the spring of 1916 and has been in the trenches ever since. A native of Philadelphia. ISA-, he came to Germany in 1884 anil became celebrated as the dean of the Theological Faculty of Leipzig University. A few months ago he wrote a letter to a Lutheran paper in Saxony explaining that he was proud to do a common soldier's duty, and had successfully resisted all efforts to give blm favoured treatment By dint of meritorious work ln the field Professor Gregory rose to the rank of sergeant. THE GERMAN "WAY. A well authenticated incident which occurred recently during a German courtmartial in Belgium has just become known in France. M. Paul Terllnden. burgomastermaster of Rlxensart. appeared before the court, charged with shielding a wounded Frenchman, for which ho was condemned to twelve months' Imprisonment.

. His daughter. Bareness de Contact, a . young married woman, whose husband is at the front, was present at the hearing. A , German officer Fat down beside her, saying: , "I believe, madame, I have met you be- , fore." Baroness de Conlnck replied: "Ton are mistaken. I don't know you. sir." The German persisted, saying: "Perhaps I am mistaken. but you greatly resemble an ■English woman whom i tnew well." "Evidently yon mean Miss CaveD," retorted the baroness. For this answer she was sentenced to one mouth in prison. A Gl__]____Eß OF THE TRUTH. The Press of the German Left Party (the National Liberals and Swiallstsi shows itself extremely anxious. The uneasiness of public opinion is frankly revealed in various quarters, for example, in these words of tho "Forward": "in the eyes of the majority of the white and yellow inhabitants cf the globe Germany Is regarded as the tyrannical and despotic conqueror, nnd her enemies are considered to be liberators. As the result of the Itussian revolution and the American declaration of war this tempest of world opinion has assumed the proportions of a hurricane. "But no purpose Is served by lamenting the hypocrisy of others. Can we deny that In our country people have played In criminal fashion with plans of conquest? All expositions of onr war aims are so many verdicts against us. Can we deny that political liberty with us leaves much to he desired Can we deny that we have a system of government snch as dues not exist in other countries, even In those where there is a monarchial regime?" "RED ROSA.'^ The " Vorwarts " publishes amusing details of the latest appearance In court or Frau Rosa Luxemburg—" Red _to__," or the Tigress of German .Socialism, as she has been called. Frau Luxemburg ls now undergoing " preventive arrest " at Wironke after having served a year's prison, sentence for anti-militaristic propaganda at Frankfort-on-the-Main. She has been appalling against a sentence of ten, days' i nprisonment for " morally and physically insulting a Prussian detective." The detective was detailed to overhear a conversation between " Red Rosa" and a friend In the former's cell. When he tried prematurely to terminate the visit Frau Luxemburg called him " a common pig-dog and a cheap spy." emphasising her point iso the detective claime<l| uy throwing an inkstand at him. It was proved that what " Red Rosa " hurled at the Sch_tzmann's head was a bar of chocolate. ' She admitted calling him by his rig_.t name of pig-dog and told how he had palmed hiruse'f off on her friends as a Socialist comrade in order to spy on ber private affairs. The court rejected " Ked Rosa's" appeal for quashing of The ten-day sentence, but acquitted her of physical assault on the minion of the law. "U BOATS NEED TIME." Grand Admiral yon Koster. president of tbe German Navy League, has circularised the country with a long-winded essay on T-boat warfare. It Is too verbose even for the semi-official "'Cologne Gazette." which says it has room for only an extract containing the following explanation why the exaggerated expectations aroused by the pirate admiralty are not being realised: — "We must remember this—that unrestricted submarine warfare demands time as well as the utmost energy. It ls not possible to sink every ship which enters | thH blockaded zone. I can best describe the situation by comparing it to a "bear" | of game, in which not "very creature that turns up is brought down, even though the i marksmanship of the huntsman be the most expert possible. I cannot say whether England will continue to bold out for a long time, but It seems very doubtful to mc if she can. Every day when I go to my work I meet a large number of U-boat men who since February 1 see the world with a prouder glance. I am filled with a desire to shake every one of them by the hand, because I am convinced that, despite the unspeakable exertions of the cruelly hard winter, It is they who are going to deliver to England, our most hated and bitterest foe. that blow in the heart from which efce ir__ n_te_ to. death." |>