NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Press, Volume LIII, Issue 15860, 27 March 1917, Page 8

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Mr,RE GERMAN FABRICATION,

There is invariably a notable discrepancy between the enemy estimate of their own air losses and those of the Allies, and the figures contained in British and French official reports. An instance of this occurs in this morning s cables. The German communique claims the destruction of seventeen Allied aeroplanes, making no mention of their own losses. Sir Douglas Haig, on the other hand, states that eight enemy machines were brought down, while four British machines arc missing. Some light is thrown upon the enemy's estimate of aerial losses by a writer in the "Daily Mail,' who deals with the German estimate of losses during last December. Tho German claim, which is contained in a Rcuter telegram via Amstqj'dam, sets out that ' During December we lost 10 aeroplanes, whereas our enemies lost 66, of which 48 were brought down in air flights, 16 were shot down from the ground, and two tvere forced to land'. ot these machines are in out possession, while 41 wcro observed to fall on the other side of the line." Regarding this report the "Mail" writer says: "It is only possible to explain the German figures of their own losses on the assumption that the compilers of tho records have a blind eye for all machines which do not fall in their own lines. British airmen alone accounted for German aeroplanes, and of these nine were reported by General Headquarters as having been destroyed, one captured, iind four driven down ont of control with tho almost certain result that they wcro wrccked. These together make 11. The French brought down 2a enemy machines, mainly in aerial fighting, and, as was stated in the review of the month's losses which appeared in "The Times" of January 2nd, it is. a safe assumption from - the particulars given in the official communiques—or aeroplanes falling in flames, crashing to earth, and so on—that a largo proportion of this number were destroyed, jij their dailv reports the Germans claimcd to have brought down 31 enemy v aeroplanes on tho "Western front. Our General Headquarters admitted that 10 of our machines 'failed' to return' during the month. In their November summary, tho Germans included tho Russian, ' Roumanian, and Balkan fronts. There is no indication in the present report of whether this course has been followed for December." It is fairly clear on these figures that wo need pay very little attention to the. misleading reports issued by the enemy regarding losses in this branch of the service. THE ALLIES IN MACEDONIA. There are probably. a good many people who look upon the operations in Macedonia as of very minor importance indeed, and who pay very little attention to the brief cable references to successes of the Allies in this front. There appears to be a very general belief that the only aim of the expedition is the purely sentimental one of fulfilling pledges to Servia. _ Mr Ward Price, writing from Salonika to the "Daily Telegraph," explodes this theory. and gives a very clcar idea of what*it is that the Allies are fighting for in Macedonia. "The first and most urgent object of our endeavdtor here," ho writes, "must dearly be to cut tho vital trans-Bal-kan railway. That line is the oesophagus of tho Central Empires. Along it Germany brings foodstuffs and men from the great reservoir of both tba't she possesses in Asia Minor. Only by cutting that long railway line can this process bo stopped, and this, indeed, is the only justification for maintaining our expensive, but, hitherto inadequate, force in Macedonia. . There is another and much greater end, however, hefore tbp Allies in the Balkans," continues Mr Price. ".That is to refashion tho Balkans in such a way .that the German schemes . which centre here shall bo for ever thwarted. Tho war began in the Balkans because the German peoples have,for years been pushing down towards Salonica, ,as a stepping stone towards new dominions in India and the East. If they had reached Salonica they would have built there a Mediterranean Kiel, and Egypt would have boon threatened with a fleet as strong as that in the North Sea." THE BLASPHEMOUS GERMAN. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, the German people are surely first rate courtiers. It is amusing to how the Kaiser's desire to share with God the responsibility for his orgy of yuthless murder has communicated itself to people in less exalted spheres. The latest example of this is furnished by a speech made by, a Reichstag Deputy named Roeseki,. as President. of the Schleswig-Holstein Union of Agriculturists. This is what he says"God has so ordered the world-harvest that it Should be bad in order that England may be unable to feed herself. Wo must grasp tho hand of the Almighty, stretched out to help us, for, if we allow England to find salvation in the unliinof wheat ships, it is doubtful whether such an opportunity will ever bo offered again." This blasphemous outburst was too much even for the Zeitung," which protested as follows:—"This opinion of God win make a very painful impression in good church circles as well as in circles at the other extreme, for it is not to be excused on the ground of political excitement that a sharpened submarine war should be raised in such a manner to a confession of faith." THE POPE AJ&) THE AIjLIES. In tho face of such blasphemy as that quoted above, and the unspeakable outrages which the Germans have perpetrated in the name of war, it .is not surprising to. learn that a slpw change nas been on in Vatican circles regarding its. attitude to the war. That this is 60 is shown "by the report appearing in the London "Daily Telegraph," of January 17th, of a sermon delivered in Rome by 'the Franciscan friar Padre Michel Angelo Draghetti, which ended with a prayer for a victorious peace for Italy and the Allied amies. The peculiarity of this event, says' the "Telegraph," is that .for tho first time such a sermon has been openly preached in the Pope's own diocese, and,. as the Franciscan friar gave his congregation to understand, <rith mdre or less direct approval by the Pope. The sermon was delivered in the church of Sent Andrea della Valle, before'a crowded congregation, and the preacher, after thrilling his hearers by his words of patriotism, faith, ana enthusiasm, was applauded spontaneously by the entire • congregation, who rose to their feet as he concluded with an impassioned appear thatall the. blood shea, on the battlefields for the cause of humanity and Christian civilisation by the Allies should not be shed in vain.' Such a demonstration is extremely unusual inside Roman Catholic churches, continues tho -writer, and is all the. more striking because it occurred in Rome. Many officers and' :oldiers were in tho congregation, and they were the first to rise and applaud. The preacher's concluding words, as he turned towards tho image of Christ, were: "I pray for our soldiers and sailors on land and on sea, who, for their fathers and their mothers, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, for their country, and for true Christian civilisation, face the enemy like walls of steel, and I pray that they may havo victory which will bring peaco to our country, a: victorious peace for all the Allies." The sensation was heightened when the friar declared that before preaching he had had the lonour oT kneeling a t the feet of Pope Benedict XV., who encouraged him to tell the faithful oT Rome and of all Italy ."to pray to God for a victorious peace in the name tion, the peace of Christ should

be tlic triumph of charity, of fraternity, of justice, and of right. ' PRECAUTIONS AGAINST : SUBMARINES. The London "Times," in a leading artitle published .on February Bth on the German submarine campaign, stated that many British merchant ships have been lbat through the carelessness and indifference oi their commanders. .Emphasising this point the shipping correspondent of the same journal writes: — This is n difficult subject to broach, because tlio poorest intellect among landsmen C3n imagine the strain to which the officers, and men of tho mercantile marine are now subject in keeping the seas. Nevertheless, the evidence of practical seamen whose authority is believed by the writer to . be unimpeachable is that all the precautions which could bo taken by British captains have not always been taken. There are certain measures well known to seamen involving additional trouble and constant attention. Yet it. is asserted that captains have not always adopted them, arguing that they were not likely to be suitable to their particular vessels. There has never been any suggestion of hesitation on the part of the mercantile marine officers to face the hidden danger; the trouble seems to arise from a feeling of over-confidence, impervionsness to danger, and that lack of thoroughness wbich, at any rate until lately, was sometimes a trait of British character." Tho writer next goes on to point out that officers of the mercantile marine are not merely entrusted with ships and cargoes which arc fully insured, but that they are entrusted with interests of vital importance to the country. "Merc pluck is not sufficient. To meet the cunning: devilry of the enemy skill and thought arc evidently needed, and, as published reports have shown, these have been exercised in in an j- fine instances. Whatever may be the position created by the development of gunfire from submarines, it is declared that a fairly fast steamer armed in the stern should, if handled with extrome care, run a very small chance of being torpedoed. In spite of any possible criticism there may bo on the subject of precautions, tho public's faith in the heroism of the British seamen who fearlessly carry on their work day by day will riglitly remain absolutely unaffected."