THE The New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. TUESDAY, JUNK 1, 1915. ATTITUDE OF NEUTRALS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 15932, 1 June 1915, Page 6

THE The New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. TUESDAY, JUNK 1, 1915. ATTITUDE OF NEUTRALS.

There are so many military complications in this vast continental war that we may easily attach too much importance to the relative position of the hostile forces at any given date. Germany is undoubtedly not as strong to-day as she was when Von Kluck was driven back to the Aisne, although she is in occupation of a much greater area of Belgium and little less of France. Austria has not increased her strength, though she has temporarily prevented the invasion of Hungary and has once more carried the war eastward into Galicia. On the other hand, Russia has not been seriously affected by the tremendous AustroGerman onslaught which has driven back her armies to the San noi the United Kingdom by the piratical methods of which the sinking of the Lusitania is a notorious example Behind the more obvious deploying of armies and shifting of battle-lines is the less visible, but far more important, factor which depends upon the ability of the antagonistic coalitions to continue the struggle and to maintain their respective exertions. There is, for instance, no question whatever of the power of Russia to place a practically inexhaustible number of men in the field or of the power of the United Kingdom—if uninvaded and unblookaded —to finance the war to a practically unlimited extent. It mutt similarly be recognised that Germany excels any of the Allies in the power of concentrating all her energies upon the task before her for she has long been organised upon a military basis and dominated by the heathen-1 ish belief that war. aggression and! spoliation are the chief purposes of the state. The war may crudely, but not incorrectly, be summed up as a struggle between the greater military resources of the Allies and the stronger military organisation of Germany and her vassal, Austria. The complications are generally created by the tremendous difficulty of bring : ng into play the resources of the Allies and by the desperate unscrupulousness of the Prussian organisation. The outcome of the war, now that Germany is losing her original capacity for overwhelming attack, is plainly dependent upon the energy and determination shown by the Allies, and particularly by the British Empire. We have naturally been confident from the beginning that our British energies would be strenuously devoted to the task before us. That this confidence is permeating the world is certainly suggested by the changing attitude of neutrals.

In considering the attitude of neutrals wo must first realiso that Germany is the only European state which has made war its national aim and taught its people that the national " kultur" is to be planted ! over a harrowed Europe and a subjugated world. In no other nation has the joy of war and tho glory of conquest been systematically taught or the fate of the weak been philosophically inculcated. To other European peoples peace and liberty have become the ideals, armies have been maintained for defence and war has only been justified for selfprotection or for the redemption of kinsmen and co-religionists suffering under a foreign yoke. Austria, the catspaw of Germany, found a very plausible reason for a planned and designed attack on Servia, the aim of which was to destroy the independence of that country, dominate the Balkans, reach the jEgean and stretch the Austro-German power across Turkey and Asia Minor to a commanding position astride the three great continents and the canalroad to the East and the Pacific, Russia, the great Slav state interposed on behalf of the Slavonic Servians. She could no more fail them than Britain could fail Belgium, for there arc other international obligations than those set out on the scraps of paper" which Germany holds in scorn. France, which for forty years has lived under tho Daraoclean sword of German aggression, had no option but to aid the treaty-ally in whose support sho possessed a measure of safety. With the monstrous attack upon Belgium, made simply to open the easiest road to Paris for German invaders, Britain was compelled to interfere, Japan loyally carrying out her treaty-obligations in the Pacific. Every other European state then abstained from intervention, although it was clear as crystal that if Germany triumphed every small state in Europe was doomed. The dragging of Turkey into the fray gave German intrigue a base in the Eastern Mediterranean with the prospect of a dominating position in those waters. This further checked the Mediterranean neutrals, whose sympathies with the Allies were, unconcealed. They had every reason to join the Allies, but disinclination to war and fear of the consequences temporarily relieved Germany from their active antagonism.

In the Mediterranean, the attitude of neutrals was distinctly changed by the Allied attack upon the Dardanelles, which proclaimed to the world the Allied acceptance of the German challenge in Turkey. Italy rallied ■83 to a trumpet-ceil and Italian armies are already preaching the

gospel of nationality to Italian provinces of Austria and may toon be fighting beside our men at the Dardanelles. Our New Zealanders have helped to bring a million Italian soldiers to the cause of the Alliance, but they could not have done so had the Italian statesmen not; been convinced that Germany's power for evil is on the wane. This practical expression of Italian opinion is what has aroused the bitterness of the Germans and the anger of the Austro-Hungarians. Koumania and Greece would doubtless join the Alliance were they assured against Bulgarian attack and German intrigue in Bulgaria will be checkmated when once the Allied fleet is before Constantinople, for Adrianople is the Bulgarian Mecca and would be lost for ever to the Bulgarians if they joined the losing side. The ultimate victory of the Allies is thus seen to be confidently expected throughout the south of Europe, and if we turn to the north we find a marked suggestion of similar confidence in the very last country from which such an expression of opinion might be expected. Holland has more to fear than any other neutral country. The whole of her land frontier is watched by German patrols. She has seen the smoke of burning Belgian cities, and has received in her pitying homes countless multitudes of Belgian refugees. The Dutch are traditionally a slow and cautious people, seeking always n good bargain and sound investments, though they have proved themselves surpassing lovers of liberty and heroic fighters against seemingly hopeless odds. Since ' August the Dutch Army has been mobilised, but The Hague Government has endured much rather than depart from neutrality and during the earlier months of the war Dutch caution avoided anything which might irritate Germany. Latterly, the Dutch press has been displaying a more independent spirit until now we have a leading Amsterdam journal asserting that any annexation of Belgium by Germany should be treated as a cause for war. This means, at least, that the terror of Germany, which has silenced free speech in the little neutral states of Europe, is lifting at last. They are beginning to have confidence in the protective power of the Allies.