The Press. Monday, June 5, 1916.

Press, Volume LII, Issue 15608, 5 June 1916, Page 6

The Press. Monday, June 5, 1916.

The Naval Battle. First impressions count for much in war time, and no doubt the first messages on .Saturday, giving a heavy li<st of British losses and what to-day's messages show, was' a completely inadequate account of the enemy's injuries, filled a good many honest folk with dismay. The fuller particulars now available will reassure most of theso timorous people, and will, we trust, niako them a little ashamed of having for a moment doubted the fact that the British Navy's position on the seas is beyond the i;each of any tiling the enemy can do. In our news columns the great fight is discussed in detail, and we need not concern ourselves here with more than the principal facts upon which the public ought to reflect. In its simplest terms, what happened was that a strong British squadron engaged the German High Seas Fleet, which, v; course, could wipe out a far stronger forec than met it. The. squadron was reinforced, and the Germans retired, but not before the British shins had inflicted as much damage ts they received. The losses, so far a s can be seen, were about equal, but it must bo remembered tliat tho contending forces were very unequal, tho German strength apparently being such, in tho conditions of the fight, that the British squadron ought to have been destroyed beforo it inflicted much damage upon tho enemy. This is not the most important point, from tho viewpoint of naval strength, but wo mention it first for its fresh proof of the "devil" that our incomparable sailors put into their work, of their skill and energy in "action. What is more important is that any given loss sustained by the Germans is a far greater loss of total strength than is tho same loss in the case of Britain. This action, that is to say, if repeated a dozen times, would leave Britain's naval strength several times greater than Germany's. But, after all, these are only aspects of the main position, which is that Britain absolutely controls the seas, and, even under the circumstances most favourable to the enemy, can punish him very severely if ho ventures to lcavo his ports in any strength. The ccutral fact of the battle, of course, was the flight of tho enemy, which, perhaps, will not cause any emotion but relief amongst tho boasting Germans, but which must be a source of vexation to our sailors, who are aching for a thorough fight to a finish.

The net result of the action is to establish in tho eyes of the world tho fact that the German Navy cannot get out, and stay out to play any part in the war. This fact will be nowhere better realised than in Germany itself, and tho Germans need not be grudged their cheering over their one consolation—namely, the infliction of some damage on our Xavy. It is doubtless a little, irritating that they are pretending that their Xavy has beaten the greatest Navy in the world, but if their Nary rushes home, leaving to our Fleet the mastery of tho seas, it matters very little how the Germans deceive themselves. Nor does it greatly matter whether they aro able for a little timo to deccivo the neutral countries. There may be a disturbance on the Now York Stock Exchange, but facts will quickly come to the rescue of panic and emotion. The smoke of the battle, clearing away, shows the German Navy impotcntly safe behind its minefields nnd tlio British Navy still on guard over tho ocean highways. Not a German steamer will put to sea, but the sailings of tho merchant ships of Britain will go on as usual. Yet all this leaves behind good cause for sorrow over the loss of so many of our brave seamen, lo tho men of tho Navy action is the m<£t desirable thing in the world; they hold that it is thoir business to hammer the enemy, and that if their ship is blown up, it will be deplorable only if they have not. first hit the enemy hard. The rest of us understand and do humble homage to that gallant spirit, but the wholesale loss of these heroic fighters is an agonising thing, nnd we could all feel sorrow over the loss of the enemy's men also, were it not that a deep and indelible stain rests upon the honour of tho German Navy. Next to its direction to the King's subjects to trust more firmly and proudly than ever in tho Fleet, the lesson of the fight is that this Avar cannot be won without heavy losses. The fighting in France and Flanders does, indeed, daily contain that lesson, but it is a lesson best taught by events sudden,, dramatic, and unusual. Before tho war ends, there will be more naval battles, and heavier and bloodier fighting on land than has been seen even round Verdun. The Prime Minister, in a speech which aroused extraordinary enthusiasm in Wellington yesterday, has well expressed tho thoughts that ought to fill us to-day. The war must go on to the end, and every loss and sacrifice necessary to tho destruction of the enemy's power must be endured as gamely as our men in the North Sea endured their fearful fight to the death.

the beneficent work which the Governnient has sot on foot for nursing back to health those of our soldiers who return to tho Dominion sick or wounded after fighting for tho Empire. The Minister for Puttie Health deserves the utmost credit for having the courage, as '.veil as the enlightenment. to adopt the open-air system of treatment in connexion with tho Hospitals both at Rotorua and Hanmer. "The, Press."' early in the war, drew attention to the marvellous results which had been achieved at the Cambridge Military Hospital by the adoption of this principle. It has the, merit of economy as welt as of the most extraordinary efficiency, but it undoubtedly runs counter to some deep'y-rooted prejudices. and it says much not only for the Minister, bat ako for th* -1 openness of mind to modern ideas on the part of his medical adviser. Colonel Valintine, that New Zealand in this respset is right in the forefront of progress. There is no d'jubt that in consequence of the experience gained during the war, all new hospitals in England will be constructed on this principle, and we hope that the Hospital Boards of New Zealand will not Lig behind in thi» respect Jt : .i currently reported that some of the medical men of Dunedin, who, " more Scottico," are perhaps apt to err a little on the cautious side, have expressed doubts whether the system is suitable for the climate of Dunedin. This seems to us an undue reflection on the climate of the southern city, seeing that the system has proved so successful m Cambridge, a notoriously damp and low-lying town, where tho winter is more rigoious than in any part of New Zealand. It may perhaps reassure the cautious Esculapians of Otago to learn that the open-air experiment is about to be made even in Scotland. At the innuai meeting of the directors of the Royal Aberdeen Hospital for Sick Children, the Chairman, Sir Thomas Burnett, stated that an open-air ward was about to be built at Kepplestono. There were, ho said, two objects in view. The first was to increase accommodation and thus to reduce the waiting-list; .and the second was to gain experience of open-air ward construction before erecting the new hospital at Ashley. After referring to the success of the treatment in England, he said that " only oxperi- " once could show whether such treat"ment was equally practicable in the " more rigorous climate of the Northern "Kingdom." Wo would suggest that tho Otago Hospital Board might similarly make the experiment on a small scale before, committing itself to anv large expenditure on the old type of buildings which landing hospital experts in England now regard as obsolete. In another respcct the Government of New Zealand, and especially the Health Department, have shown themselves progressive—namely, in adopting balneological troatment, to assist the convalescence of our soldiers. That is also being dono in England, particularly at Bath. Now Zealand, however, lias a great advantage in this respect over the Mother Country, where there are few healing spas, whereas our thermal springs arc famous, throughout the world for their variety and therapeutic efficacy. To complete the good work which the Health Department has so well bogun. there is, we would suggest, one other English precedent-which should bo followed. Special skilled treatment should bo provided for cases of deformity, stiff joints, etc., as the result of woundi, j many of which are remediable. Tho English War Office has appointed Mr Robert Jones, a Liverpool orthopiedic surgeon of world-wide reputation, as Inspector of Military Orthopaedics. Suitable cases will be collected in a special hospital, where there will bo departments for massage, mcchano-ther-apy, electrical treatment, radial heat, and "whirlpool baths," as well as for the operative surgical treatment which has efletccd such marvellous results in

eases which in previous wars wouiri have been regarded as hopeless. Thciv are to bo workshops attached to tho hospital, nnd nil splints, surgical boots, plaster of paris casts, and appliances generally will be made tipon tho premises. There can be 110 miestion that many cripples will be restored to completo health and activity, and, surely, if similar results can be achieved in New Zealand, it is our duty to sec that everything possible in this respect is done. We would earnestly commend the suggestion to the attention of the Government, who certainly have shown themselves more than ready in the past to leave nothing undono that can bo done for tho benefit of the men who hove discharged their duty nobly and well and have suffered in so doing.