NOTES ON THE WAR.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15730, 3 October 1914, Page 6

NOTES ON THE WAR.

GERM ANY,, IN t AFRICA

It is fairly certain, says tho Standard of Empire, that Germany, in the event of a successful issue to her military operations on tho. Continent, and in the antici-

pation of ' Britain refusing to take part in tho conflict., had at least half an eyo open to tho possibility -of annexing tho Belgian Congo, g which would, with i Ger-. man East Africa, have formed a compact German block stretching from the Atlantic to' the Indian Ocean. Now, 'unless all tiio portents provo hopelessly 'wrong this Teutonic dream , must vanish. Instead, an; "All Red "Capo" to Cairo railway, the possibility. of which was' apparently destroyed when Lord : Salisbury allowed .Germany;, to /annex her East African colony, will once again bo rendered. practicable. The British Empire! would never havo gone to war to secure i tho necessary territory. ,Bnt, having been -forced into the conflict against its will, it would be foolish ■ not to take an opportunity that presents itself to secure, compensation for tho terrible losses in" men and material which the present struggle: must inevitably entail. • • ' '

:-. AX ARMED PEACE. ' $ Writing in the Clarion recently Mr. Robert Blatchford said:—l. mob a man who has long been, one of tho most uncompromising and active of the pacifist leaders. Ho stopped to talk with me, and lie told mo, much to my surprise, that he was now on our side. • "leeo now," 'he

said, " that we could not havo kept out of the war." And ho added-, "But I am afraid of Russia." For my part lam not afraid of Russia. Not that I trust Emperors or Kaisers. Indeed, T have learnt sorrowfully that this is a wicked world. But assuming that wo can put the Kaiser in his place, I do not see any cause to fear Russia. By tho time wo have settled accounts with Germany J think we shall all of us have snipped full of horrors. I do not believe that Europe will want another war for a very long .while. On the contrary, I am hoping for a federation of tho European States from Norway 'to Italy as a guarantee of peace. Let France, Britain, Italy, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Holland, Portugal, and Spain form an allianco for tho preservation of the status quo, and there.will he no need to fear Russia or any other Power. Let us have an armed, enlightened, democratic Europe handed in an open allianco for the preservation of peace; and let any autocrat or bandit break tho peace at his peril.

MISERY IN GERMANY. All the Gorman newspapers indicate that economic disturbances in the Fatherland are already having disastrous ' effect. The pinch -i of food scarcity is being felt in Berlin and other largo towns. The Cologne Gazette- gives a terrible picture of industrial workers' conditions in Berlin. A conference has been held-at the Ministry of the Interior to 'discuss the great unemployment problem' in Berlin among women. Tho stores have dismissed most of their employees, and were expected to dismiss more. Most women clerks,' typists, and assistants havo been discharged becauso their employers are at war or aro ruined. The costume trade is at a standstill, and home workers aro starving. The textile industry is suffering fearfully, and dismissing its mill workers, mostly women, ,by hundreds. Other factories must shut up because the mobilisation has taken away their malo workmen. Women who run boardinghouses or let rooms are ruined. At the conference it was complained that ruthlessness ;of the rich was reducing the cm-

ployment of women unnecessarily. One town has bought £32,000 worth of •foodstuffs to bo sold at shops. It is estimated that there are 17,000 families, each with three children, who need help which will cost the .town about £10,000 a month.

Each family receives 27s a month from tho imperial treasury, and the same amount from the municipal treasury. In Berlin the labour bureaus are unable to find employment for the -crowds of women who besiege them. Crowds of girls \ are now offering their services for board and lodging. - ■ . ";•