ZEPPELIN RAIDS

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2554, 31 August 1915, Page 5

ZEPPELIN RAIDS

STATEMENT BY MR. BALFOUR SHOTS IN THE DARK - , B WHY THE PULL FACTS AKE t NEVER TOLD " . . . . I By Tclegrapli-r-Ercsa Association—Copyright London, August 29; Mr. A. J. Balfour (First Lord of the Admiralty) has replied to a correspondent who asked why the English reports ( of German air raids wero meagre, while < the German narratives of the same < events were rich in lurid detail, and f who asserted that the German narratives wero widely believed by .neutrals, i while the reticence of the censored British Press suggested the suspicion that an unpleasant truth was being doliber- j ately hidden from .a nervous public. Two versions of the same Raid. < Mr, Balfour quoted the Admiralty's' announcement of tho, last air raid as ' follows_ I "German airships killed thirteen and 1 wounded thirteen people on tho East ' Coast last' night. One Zeppelin was do- ] stroyfed.' Flight Sub-Lieutenant Lord, 1 one of the pilots engaging the enemy, was killed w J hen landing in the dark. - ! ■'.'The squadron visited tho East Coast ; between 8.30 and midnight, and drop- , ped incendiary bombs, killing one man, , nine women, and four children, and' • wounding five men, seven women, and two children, The damage-done was immaterial. "Ono Zeppelin was seriously damaged by tho land defence forces' gunfire, and was reported as being towed in the morning to Ostend. She has sinco been subjected to continual attacks by the Dunkirk airc-rfift, under heavy .fire. It is now reported that after her back was broken and the rear compartments damaged, she was completely destroyed by.an explosion. J 'The niglit was extremejy dark, with thick fog in places, rendering night flying'very "difficult."- ' Tho First Lord compares this story with that published by the "Deutsche Tages Zeitimg": "Our' naval, airsliips carried out attacks on fortified coast' towns and harbours on the East Coast of England. Despite strenuous opposi- ' tion,. we bombed • British warships in the Thaiues, tho docks at London, the torpedo craft base at Harwich, and important position on the Humber. Good results were observed. Our airships returned safely from their successful undertaking." Reasons for Secrecy. Mr. Balfour comments: "If one story was true, the other was false. Why do-we not explain the discrepancy and tell the world wherein German- distorts the facts? The reason is simpleV The Zeppelins attack at night time,: preferably when tliero is no moori, when landmarks are elusive, navigation difficult; and errors inevitable, sometimes of surprising' magnitude. The Germans constantly assert, and may sometimes believe,, they dropped bombs on places thriy never approached. Why make their future voyages easier by explaining their blunders? Since, their • errors are our gain, why dissipate tliom ? Let us learn what .we can. from . tlio enemy, and .teach him only what we must. This rotiosnce'is judicious. "It may still bo asked whether-reti-cence is not merely-used to embarrass the. Germans and also to unduly reassiire the British. What have tlio Zeppelins done? How ought we-to rate .them.as weapons of attack? What can bhey do?'" I cannot prophesy. The fu-' ture method of warfare is still'in its infancy, but I can say something of the past results. It is unhappily certain that .they cause much suffering to many innocent people. Even; this result with, all its tragedy has been magnified out of all proportion' by informed rumour. The Home Office states that during the past year seventy-one civilian adults and eighteen children have been killed, and 189 civilian adults and thirty-one children-injured. , - "Judged by numbers, the cumulative result of many successive crimes does not equal the single effort of the Lusitania- submarine, whioh, to the un--1 concealed prido of Germany and the horror of th6j rest-of the world,; sent 1198 unoffending civilians to the bottom of tho sea. Yet the result is bad enough, and we may well ask: What ' military advantage; is gained at tho cost of so much innocent blood? ; No soldier or sailor was-killed, but seven wore wounded. Only once was damage inflicted which by any stretch of language could be described as of the smallest military importance. The Zeppelin raids have been brutal, and so far have not been effective. They i havo served no hostile; purpose, moral or material."