PROGRESS OF THE WAR

New Zealand Times, Volume XL, Issue 9043, 14 May 1915, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Is America going to war? It is the question in every mouth all over the British Empire, and everywhere it is hacked hv tlio most furious resentment against the hypocritical, murderous savagery of Germany. Colonel -.Roosevelt's comparison of .President, "Wilson to Pontius Pilate may he 'the right answer,: signifying that, -however dis honouring to,America and unprofitable - peace at any price may be, there will be peace. It may, on the other hand, be wrong; it was founded ■on the President’s spect'h at'Philadelphla, and the .President - Inis .explained ’that the remarks die made there on, the subject ‘ot peace were not intended Jor the Lusitania situation at all. Yesterday the' President, -was corroborated ia this by a report—allegedly the stalls nient ot a general understanding—that tlio President was going to ask Gerr many rather .sharply.; to give .up barbarism or take the consequences. To-diiv“ this is'tollbived by a. definite statement that “The Washington Note is emphatic in tone”: asks Germany to account for the loss of American lives on the Lusitania ■ and the violation ot .'American 1 rights in -the, war zone: demands guarantees against anv repetition, and intimates plainly that a refusal - will .-..mean, war.-- In, the face of this wo must suspend judgment about the correctness of the Colonel ex-President’s criticism of his successor.- •• • • • ~ ■ • * • ..'

At the same time wo canendorsc his •conclusion, that the .exaltation jof peace over riuhteousaess vis absurd;,- We can with eaual unreserve accept his description of the Gerfliatis ■as “worse than Barbary i>irat<jp, who ought to fad' suppressed as-pirates by the efforts of all'nations.” Wo. can -also agree with lilhi that .“the hideous wrong-do-ing in Belgium without American protest has exposed the United'States to the deepest-- scorn and contempt,” with- the reservation that, those tilings will fall if America docs- -npj; bring Germany to- her knees in this matter of the Lusitania and the other ships in 'the piratical 'treatment- of' Which human beings Tiavo been - mu rdered, and the rights of humanity disregarded. .. ■

■; > - i .*• . The immense reseptment of” the Britishanind is the. most natural-tiling in'the world. It is, moreover, righteous indignation. It is a palliative, .to some extent of the- lawless retaliatory measurestaken, and especially by thosewho hfiveiosr their nearest and dearest in. this massacre which , its,'perpetrators aro seeking to justify .by lying, statements and by -mendacious contor-. tions of international law. When, moreover. Gorman children get halfholidavs, German newspapers bring out triumphant editions,- German-sub-jects shower congratulations over--the head butcher of tiho,Germans’,piratical system, apd German merchants organise “celebrations” of wanton murders and piracy unjustifiable by.:any rule, and horrifying to the .human conscience—when thoso things,, are done by German “kuliur,” one need not bo bard on the poor people'at Liverpool who “celebrated” their bereavements by gutting the shops of German hucksters. ■■■ ■ -»■''■■ m -■ ■■ ; Of course the proper thing, is to let the Government deal with the enemies who swarm in - the midst of British , populations. Such swarming has been permitted - with the idea that Germany was going to play the game of honour and civilisation. But Germany having abandoned honour —for Kaiser, army, navy,, and people—and reduced her civilisation, peldw the level of' Attila the ijun,. whom the. Kaiser has. taken for hisrinodcj, it is, time to revise,the policv. • • • - Protect these enemy subjects from violence, of course. ' Bui intern them without hesitatipn—rtbat is'the demand all over Britain and the oyer seas. We here have tq . wait. the lead/as the Prime- Minister , said, of thp British Government/ which, Mr Asquith' Has promised to explain shortly. Sis decision may be quickened.by the,report that; German residents’ln one:part at least of the metropolitan area are organising for. self-defence. If they do this they levy war, and it will pe hjs duty to order troops and sharp n el to suppress the armed enemies of tie

realm making war within tbo realm, when the realm is in the throes of mortal combat with the powers of barbarism os concentrated in the Germanic Empire. It will bo better for him to have these organisers interned.

It has been objected here that there are too many to intern. If we had to send the last man and the last shilling to resist the enemy should we plead impossibility? On the ‘ contrary. We should declare it our pleasure to make the. impossible possible; as British troops often do on the field of battle. The race does its duty. It is our-duty to intern these members of a . nation which has become, ;by its own acts. Unspeakable. We must do that duty, cost what it may.

■The-duty will not ond with the war. It will merely change direction. The German natidii.having become Unspeakable, belongs to the category of Undesirable. . .Its proper place after the war ought to he the schedule of an Immigration- Act, last qn the list of Undesirables. ' For obvious reasons that would be wrong. But to exact , guarantees against a repetition of savagery—scientific, and inhuihan—that is but prudence. Commerce has built' up Die material strength of this scientifically savage people, ■ which has replaced conscience by refined cruelty, and honour by sophistical arrogance. What bettor guarantee than to tariff them out of all possibility, pf commerce with us?

| But the time has not come for dismissing this matter. • There is only oh'e Subject- of discussion for us now. It is the devotion of every energy of bur Empire and ' nation to the'decisive defeat' of this eneniy of mankind. Discussion of anything else would bo but beating "the air.- ' And a people beating the air in nngoyerned rage would be a sorry spectacle.- - , ■

' Details oT' the air raid at Southend ire; very full; The official Gorman report is that the raid attacked a fortified place. These details show that the raiders took; every care to avoid going near anything that could fight. They tfimply. ..destroyed . streets, covering as much country as they could with incendiary bombs.; There may have been forts and guns somewhere in the neighbourhood. It war the plain military duty of the raiders to seek out. these.. But. they preferred the pleasure-of killing defenceless- people, and destroying private property, tt is the sort ot tiling their. Government has announced its" intention to have done on a large scale. Count Zeppelin is,to head a big: fleet of airships over,Britain .leaving wide tracts of . devastation, behind. him. ■,; That is the main German hope for , the defeat 'of Britain. .Wo are told that the .ah raids hitherto have been mere recpn : naissances to .ensure success for, the big air fleet when it gets- a-start. 'IhO fleet is'a long time starting, and the reconnaissances- have not been brilliant successes. ‘ There is reason to believe that the Zeppelins are not equal to the work, and there is;also reason to behove that - should the; fleet after all make. a.start .the War. Office has means ot dealing. with it which : will astonish the venerable air general and his crows. -. So. far, two- things appear to bo -certain: the cucfny has impressed a world -originally -gullible, but nowgrown sceptical, and the War Office has not'only kept silence, but ■ retrained from showing Hs hand to the reconnoitring raiders,. To-day Berlin hints ■ that ,tho date will: bo soon. We shall -see. ■ ■ ■ ■ , ■

Viscount Bryce has made his report* of his inquiry into the ruffianism and savagery of the German armies. It is remarkable for two things;-, (l) the care, and.impartiality.- with, which it was conducted —wherein, it resembles the reports of the Belgian and French Commissions of similar . inquiry; . (H/ the-corroboration that it gives to th. -reports 'of - those ■' Commissions. ’’ The 'Vast body wf evidence collected ■by the Commissions make'a blot on -the-honour of the German arnjy which 'can never he effaced. -. The strongest faot-in -the ca-so-is outside -all the three reports. ..It. is the iron, discipline oi the German army. That is proof con elusive that all these orgies of blood were not only permitted but commanded. A foreword of the Bryce' repoi t declared that nothing: in the Turldsh record of Armenian horrors was worse Curiously, enough, the news had corpe a day or two before of --unspcakablj < hideous savagery- by Turkish troops in--Armenia,: And - tho Turks -are - under German officers.- If ,the German army is blamed for the Turkish, atrocities,’ the German army must blame its own. conduct in Belgium and France--

Under the circumstances .one cannot pass over the story told by the three deserters of the murder of British soldiers prisoners ot war. by order of German officers. As we have said, the authority Is tainted. jlut the British Government, judging by statement® made by Ministers-in Parliament, seem to credit the stories. They-implicate the Crown Prince of Bavaria, and the reputation of’that 'Prince will incline no one to reject as improbable the allegation that -he lias ordeied the killing of all British prisoners: ’Though a Southern German, this jinnee has made himself an adept in Prussian militarism. The .only course for the British Govern* ment is to demand an inquiry, 'and to insist on the punishment of- the guilty parties, after the -manner in which similar crimes were'punished- in’South Africa, Two British officers were shot by court-martial after conviction of-the ipurder of Boer prisoners, and a third was sent to hard labour for a long terra. If the German army cares for its honour it . should bo prepared to follow that example. If the story; of the deserters is true, there must 'be vast abundance of evidence to support it.

Wo have to-day some details of the great battles at Fpres and the Arras section. .Pfoifi: these there is Utile to add to our description constructed.from the somewhat confusing 'first accounts. These latej\ report®, .partipplar}y that of ‘‘ Eyewitness/’.- filiow- tho character of the fighting, the , vicissitudes of the battle, and thp- weight-of. the German attempt, the third, to break through towards Calais. This qne separates the doings of the first, t-wp days—Saturday and Sunday—showing that the retirement from the British; trenches of the first -lino took place, on Saturday, that reinforcements enabled the line to be reorganised on Sunday morning, that the enemy’s desperate attempts on Sunday afternoon to fireak it were repulsed;’. that the' ground lost was regained by- nightfall. Marshal French’s account of the,' repulse of the enemy’s further attacks on Monday, and the further British advance, is supplemented to-day by reports of desperate attacks made by the enemy to get back his lost ground, and of their renulse

on Tuesday. All accounts agree that the third of the great “Calais” attempts was decisively repulsed,, the road to Calais still standing barred.

Further south the battle was just as severe. From to-day s details we can see that the British have somewhat improved their position in front, of Neuvo Chapclle, and.the French further south have maintained a great advance with indomitable spirit: It was their tremendous attack that prevented the British from being overweighted at Ypres. To'save their line from being pierced by the French' the Germans had to divert some of the troops destined for pushing their, attack at Ypres. The French describe their successes as the most notable in .the war, and the details of their, work: aro corroborative.

The reckless determination' and immense Joss of 'the Germans in these battles shows that they are anxious'to make good before the groat new armies of the Allies bring their weight to bear on the situation. What forces have they to keep up this attempt? It is reported that to oppose the further advance from Neuvc Ohapello and Arras on Lille they have constructed, many lines of . -strong" fortifications. The strength of these, if the report is true, will .be vigorously tested before many days. So wo judge from the evident determination of the Allies to press their advantage.

In all these reports of The fighting the famous Hill No. 60 has not been mentioned; From the positions of the British as disclosed in' the reports, of the last German counter-attacks—well put on the iVfoniu road—it may bo presumed that the hill is now, well inside the British line. V • • • ■ : Further south in thd Nh'uvc' Chapelle sector wo note that the slight British advance reported does not include any improvement at Festubert, which is at the bottom of the. depression in the line nearly opposite to La Basscc. The progress made, as far as we can judge from the latest accounts, is on the horns of what we may call the bay of which Festubert is-m the bottom of the bend, the horns bemg .the-wood of Biez on the north and a point opposite Givenchy on tbo south.

In Western Galicia the. Russians report that they • have made' good their line oh the "Wisloka, which -means that fho great- German thrust - under General Mackensen has been stopped. The gain for- all that tremendous ", fighting arid , enprinous. losses has been the :entqpced retirement for tweijty. to thirty, miles of the' unbroken Russian line. Tl-uly a pynhic victory. • Nd further, changes are reported in the Caipatldan position;

, ;■ A.daring .act. by, tjiq skipper of the tugboat Homer is reported, to-day qfl the Isle of Wight. He was towing a Frenchman, and, being challenged by a i German, submarine, cut hiss-tow,.ropo and charged the Onemy, missing him by three feet, escaped a torpedo aimed at him,:;-and -finally shook “off-the I’enemy. 1 ’enemy. ;His tow got aw«v under -sail.- That is the blockade story to-dav.-' - • * •

A smart action is reported, without mention of locality, between two German torpedo boats and. four of our armed merchanfSnen, which, with the lossf.pflone.,of their number, beat off the -enemy, -who - were- subsequently; - in conscauence of wireless warning, duly overtaken and sunk by our destroyers cruising within reach. It is, we presume, a glimpse of the tactics adopted for dealing with the submarine - ■ -'

A further glimpse is afforded by,the determination of Gift. .Admiralty to arm traders with - guns as,fast, us .they can bo supplied. This in answer .to numerous demands of- skippers who are' insisting on being able to detenu themselves. , Had the Homer possessed ’ a gun, her submarine , assailant would not have been shalmh off; a she would ha.ve been .sunk. The Gerqian plan to terrorise has aroused the , fighting -spirit"of the Mercantile Marine. It has been laid down that ships carrying guns for defence- are not. auxilw Ary cruisers, which are classedl as warships, but armed merchantmen, .which, remaining in the trader class, are not subject to the rules of neutral ports which apply to warships. They can come and go without being told to intern or leave within. twenty T four hours.

There is a circumstantial report from Rome that during the retreat on Pans, Germany was prepared to invade Italy, capture ■ Milan; and then- mvado Francb. ■. But tho German defeat at the Alamo- e'pqiled, the plan;* The stor,v is 'published, ‘ of course,' for Mat (nay ho worth, -But-there is nothing improbable in it. Tho, Germans, -at that time had strength enough tor such a project, and the Italian -.army was^nbt mobilised., , -v ,

/• f m > Tlie little news there is trora and about the Dardanelles is very suggestive. Athens reports a battle between Maidos and. Gallipoli, 30 miles nearer the Sea of Marmora, and a subsequent message, from Mitylepe says the Turks are fighting hard to prevent themselves being: driven; ipto the sea. This implies an advance up the Peninsula. Other messages, how ever ; .report that the Australasian, British, and French forces are converging in the southern part of the Peninsula. It hardly seems probable that both reports can he correct. .- But;they>wliow that important work is forward. From the Turkish side comes word of great depression, caqsed by the. fact that th© Turkish Tosses in the 'Dardanelles exceed anything .in the Balkan ,war. And there are rumours of wild plans in the capital. All these may he signs that the forcing of the Dardanelles is not far off. -

' ♦ ■ \ ,A, message ~-to-day , reports Anthony "Wilding was not killed in -the' Ypres battle.-’ r - Ho met his death IB an observation dug-out at Laventies, commander Samson, to whose corps he was attached.''" **