The Dominion. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1916. A GERMAN FRAUD EXPOSED

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2691, 10 February 1916, Page 4

The Dominion. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1916. A GERMAN FRAUD EXPOSED

The unscrupulous devices of the people responsible for tho pro-Ger-man propaganda in the United States have been frequently exposed. A fresh illustration of their methods is provided by an attempt which they recently made to create illfceling between Britain and America by a grossly improper use of certain cartoons which appeared in l'unch, the famous English journal, during the period between 1642 and 1870. The pictorial comments which have been published in l'unch during the progress of the war have attracted world-wide attention. Taken as a whole they have maintained a very high order of merit, and many of them have been brilliantly successful both in idea and workmanship. The war has been handled by l'unch in a remarkably able and patriotic manner. A good picture will often leave a more lasting impression on the mind than chapters of argument or description. A striking example of the power of a picture is provided by the fine cartoon depicting an imaginary interview between the Kaiser and the King of the Belgians. Pointing to the terrible destruction and suffering caused by the invasion of Belgium by the German hordes, the Kaiser says to the King: "You see, you have lost everything." Tho King, standing ereet and resolute, replies: "Not my soul." This picture lias a touch of real inspiration. It holds up heroic Belgium to the world as the country that would not sell its soul. In a flash it brings to mind the tremendous question: "What shall it profit a man if he gain the' whole world and lose his own soul V' Punch's war cartoons have been extremely effective in their delineation of the crime and craftiness of Germany. The paper has a wide circulation in the United States, and the pro-German schemers feit that something should be done to counteract its influence on American opinion. The fact that they should try to hit back is a compliment to Punch, even though the blow was a foul one.

A few months ago a volume of Punch cartoons was published in .New York with the object of showing tho arrogance of Germany's attitude to other European Powers from 1860' to 1915. The volume served its purpose so well that the German propagandists became nervous. A counter-stroke .was planned with the double purpose of discrediting Punch and stirring up feeling against Britain. The plotters did not como out into the open—that is not tho German way. A periodical appeared on the bookstalls which resembled Punch 'very closely in shape, size, and design. It was plainly in-, tended to deceive. Its contents consisted of fifteen cartoons, mainly of the American Civil War period, when British opinion was largely out of sympathy with the United States. _ The idea of the publication was quite obviously to make Britain unpopular in America. The German hand had, of coursQ, to be concealed. Deception was an essential' part of the scheme. To be effective the rival Punch must be given an American flavour. It must assume the appearance of a genuine American production. Under the cartoons were such comments as "John Bull felt_ like thrashing us during our Civil War." The illustrations were selected in the most unfair and misleading way.. The whole thing was an utter fraud, a typical example of the "half truth" which is "the blackest of lies," and its falsity was not lessened by two fact that it was published by tne American Truth '-Society. Fortunately the deception was promptly exposed. Its life was as brief as its death was ignominious. The Secretary of the real Punch happened to be in New York. He instituted inquiries, and ascertained that the "Truth Society" was a German organisation run by Germans. It was conncctcd with the infamous campaign of falsehood and outrage which the agents of Germany have been carrying on in the United States since the beginning of the war. The machinery of the law was set in motion. "The Society," realising that the game war up, undertook to withdraw all copies from circulation, and not to rcpfthe offence. The incident is but another evidence that the Germans will resort to any trick, scheme, or intrigue, however contemptible or dishonest, if they think it will help them and injure us. They are hampered by no scruples whatever. Fortunately in this particular case their plans met with disaster. The.v only succeeded in bringing discredit on themselves and in affording the people of America another insight into the methods of the pro-German propagandists and theii. cause, which requires to be bolstered up by such rotten supports.