GROWING GERMAN SCEPTISM.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXIX, Issue LXIX, 17 June 1915, Page 3

GROWING GERMAN SCEPTISM.

OFFICIAL NEWS AT A DISCOUNT.

In the following article, published in the Daily Mail, the writer, who is a neutral man of- business with extensive connections in Germany, dealt with the growing scepiticism eieated among all classes by "official, machine-made news. The public are in a frame of mind in whicn they are willing to catch at straws, and the machine itself is showing signs of wear.

It is believed in England, and at times mentioned in the newspapers, that some people in Germany take a .winy view of the future. lam able to confirm t,his, but must also add that these people are very few indeed, altljoagh important, because their number Is increasing. They belong to a claes whian has a wider view of things than the population a>i large/ and are to be found among business men bankers, professors,' and, what is more important still, among officers of high reputation and rank. The fact is that courage and faith are sinking daily—whether admitted °V no^» not because the present position of their armies is unfavorable —no, they are almost everywhere fighting on i the enemy's soil, and much is. made *of 1 that by the Press and the Govern-ment-—nor because there is a scarcity of anything exactly just now; they have food, ammunition, money, and litenty of: soldiers, but because they make comparisons with (their enemies and find that they also have fo,od> ammunition, money, and soldiers, and in any case in .larger quantities,than themselves. -

!! The pressure of the British: Fleet, is besoming initolera ble "', aild gradually crushing them. Their trade with neutrals is tremendous, but insufficient to keep 'things going for any length of time—l know for certain that well- : known officers have expressed intense disappointment with the" results achiev|ed un till now. During the early part of the war officers did hot dream or dare to use such a phrase as "If we should be defeated,-" but now it is quite common, being even recently used Ib v the Chief of the Grand General Staff. •PUBLIC AND PRESS. On the whole, it is not possible to find much accurate information in the i I Press about any iiiuronean country now engaged.m thfewar, "and this has led to a great deal of mistrust of the statements of the German Press. There is an immense 'change in this since the first three months of the war. Wlien the public heard from travellers and neutrals that there was no revolution in Ireland, that the Colonies were loyal to the Empire, arid that France and England were not quarrelling, they began to wonder where and how they! could read tho truth. I have often advised them myself to read neivtral papers.

One thing is a great comfort to' ihem; they are convinced that the enemy Press, and especially the English, is ten times worse than theirs. '^Englisohe Lugennachrichten''—English Jies —is a most common heading m the papers, and the authorities find it wise to deny most of the news appearing in the English Press. In Dusseldorf, where faith in the Press was so badly shaken when, after the vish of the English airman, the papers reported slight damage, whilst all inhabitants knew of death and destruction, a business man said to me: "How is it that England in many respects knows more about us than the majority of the Germans themselves?" The same gentleman told me that the earlier Germany could come to terms with her enemies the better, and- as the chief reason of his pessimism he mentioned the present reserved and half-hearted expressions of high officials and officers in command compared with those of the first period of tiie war. In the homes of several of ioy acquaintances I found neutral papers where four months ago only German papers were to be had. The explanation given to me was that they fully believed their own, but wanted to have a wider view of affairs and to be able J.o compare. People wonder why almost every official message of the Great General Staff indicates gains and advances while the fighting line is still practically where it was five months ago.

CATCHING AT STRAWS. *The masses find great comfort in the belief that in England racing and boxing matches are still foremost in the Englishman's mind, and they think that there will be no difficulty in bringing down a people who fail to understand the seriousness of the present time. When the announcement of the boxing match between Wells and Moran became known in Germany I was extremely surprised to see the 'tremendous effect it had on the lower middle class. "Why doesn't lie go and fight for his country without gloves on instead of amusing people, whilst his | brothers are dying in the field," 1 heard once expressed.

What will happen when ithe plight of Germany can be hidden no more from the population is very difficult to foresee, but when the Government, in spite of its marvellously organised grip on the Press, is no longer able to bide the unfavorable news, the worst side of German character will appear. Then all 'the hatred against the enemies will be turned against their own leaders, their own Press for having deceived them, and a collapse will almost certainly follow.

This is also a pronounced opinion in neutral countries, where it is felt that this war will be the- doom of German militarism. Many Germans in the South believe that after the war the German x)e°P^e will take the upper hand in the government of the country. There has been lately a certain amount of disagreement among some of the well-known Socialist leaders. On the whole, the quarrel has nothing to do with the question whether they are for or against the war, but misgivings have been heard about its being drawn out +00 long, and there have been protests against the exaggerated and unnatural hatred of Great Britain. However, the two or three protesters are only likely to bring 'the rest of .the Sor-ialists into still closer relationship with one another, at least for the present.