WAR NEWS NOTES

New Zealand Times, Volume XL, Issue 9171, 11 October 1915, Page 7

WAR NEWS NOTES

OUR LONDON LETTER

ARMIES STILL BUSILY “LEATHERING AWAY.”

From Our Special Correspondent. LONDON, August 20.

Tho world is very full of rumours just now. All sorts of joyous and terrible things are going 'to happen. Whether joyous or terrible doiiends entirely on the temperament pf the particular prophet Or gossip—the two functions are now closely allied—who tells you all'about it. According tp the' pessimists, our goose is as good as cooked: it ■is ,» ease of hands up, ana shell out to th© Khisor. According to tho optimists, Germany is oil her last legs, and the Allies are winning all along the line. But tho vast majority of the British people are engaged on ranch more serious work than prophesying or gossiping, end the tranquil confidence and energetic strength with. which practically tho whole nation is devoting itself to the needs of the war could never bo guessed by anyone who got his views of England from the newspapers. No greater mistake could possibly ibo made by any Briton overseas than to form his opinions about tho condition of the Old Country from the popular press. Tho popular press of this country is quite an exotic growth, and it no more reflects the mind and heart of England than a drain-pipe reflects tho stars. The worst of it is that our hard-pressed and sorely-tried 'Allies over in Franc© , and Russia are more or less prone to believe that the new sensational press does represent the voice of England, and for the past six months that voice has been shouting across to them that wo are not in earnest, not doing our host, and, in short, ar© a nation of shirkers, slackers, and triflers. The mystery is why tho authoritiee complacently allow this sort of thing to go on. It hits straight at tho only really vulnerable point in our ,■ armour—-the mutual confidence and loyal endeavour of tho Allied nations ..of'the Quadruple Entente. The French Government hai not hesitated to suppress quite as important newspapers - for much lees heinous offences against patriotism and liberty. OUR LEADERS. .

■ But, after- all, -the mystery is not su ch a very great mystery to those who

know the facts and understand the men. For years the British people at homo have been hearing, but very sensibly not heeding, (dreary jeremiads from whipper-snapper little politicians about their decadence!. The politicians control the press even more than the press controls the politicians. So the stupid chorus has been going on in a vicious circle. The war has proved beyond dispute and. beyond challenge that our people are ail sound, as virile, as steady, as pugnacious, and as cool and determined as ever. We assumed instant command of the seas. We raised with alacrity an army of about four, million men, We financed half the' universe. Wo turned our workshops from Land’s End to John o’ Groats into one huge arsenal. And because we did it ail without shouting, without losing our heads, and without having, epileptic fits every two hours, those journalists who live on sensation —and obtain their large circulations by a triok that closely, resembles the familiar fraud of tho gentleman with the piece of soap who troths at the mouth and rolls his eyes to .cadge coppers at the street corners—lmagine we are asleep. Don’t you believe them. And, whenever you meet them, if yon still have any tenderness for the Old Country, in honest Shakespearfan language I —give them the lie “as deep as to their lungs.” The only decadents in. this island worth mentioning are the politicians. When the war came, tho politicians caused it, Had they firmly declared their intention, to fight, when appealed to by Franco and Russia, there would have boon, no war. Having been shamed into fighting by the public sentiment of the country, they fought half-heartedly, , Every. possible blunder that a professional politician on the make could . conceivably be guilty of, they .committed. The National Government ' was formed only just In time. : Its predecessors were financially and otherwise. in the hands of tho German Jews. THEIR BLUNDERS.

First of all they allowed tho Germans to got about three days’ start on our Stock . Exchange. That was the heaviest blow Germany has yet dealt us' in this war. Then, they tied up .‘the Fleet, confining it to a purely defensive _ role, and depriving it pf its offensive , strength .as an instrument for cutting off all German supplies. Never forget the monumental historical fact .that for the first six months of- tho war- Germany was allowed, to get all the .cotton she wanted;and she has admitted through von Moltke that -she needed immensely more: than , she expected, delivered alongside’of her own quays in her own ports; Sir Edward Grey’s state-’ ment of last, October, that cotton was “of _ comparatively little, military utility,” might:.stand for. all time as the very type of a political misstatement for.which the'Engliah. language has no euphemistic synonym. . He knew, what every sclioolboy knows, that cotton is the two-thirds basis of all propulsive, explosives. - What ; ho meant was that, as the war was going to be “all over In a: few- months,” and Germany had huge cotton reserves piled up during the sis: months when we allowed her to import it, it would not be worth while stopping cotton at th© risk of offending America. It seems that at last cotton is to be declared contraband, but the-same , profound policy that hesitated for a year to, make, it contraband may hesitate for ever Ho enforce the contraband, order. Unless we put neutral .nations on; an allowance generous enough for , all their own needs, and prohibit the i importation by “ them cf one" single stitch ; more, we shall be - dished, again. Americans and -Germans, who have been in the‘ Netherlands recently, express frank surprise and ment at our past policy. One neutral Authority asserts that but for .this blunder. Germany . could ’ now not. fire. a single gun, the Russians would at - least he still on the Vistula, and the' Germans probably on tho Rhine. The profound on which the , late Government .acted waa ill all things a policy of - profound. funk. The same thing occurred on tho espionage question, GERMANS AT WORK. Tho new’censorship “in, this country is supposed to be for the protection of our, military and naval strategy. It is actually... for tho protection of our politicians; - The most damaging statements’are allowed to appear.in print so long aS they do not incriminate these little gentlemen. " And here let it bo said that the country is certainly to blame for .its politicians to some; extent. We have .allowed the party system' and the secret party funds to run riot, simply .because most of us,, in sheer ’ disgust, and perhaps believing that it did not seriously matter, have taken little personal interest ‘ in politics. It is going to be very different hereafter, and . one of the things that is very likely to follow the war in. this country is a more or less peaceful, but quite effectual, political revolution. In every single case where air ; craft or warships have raided' our. coasts ( there have been signals exchanged. - . In the case Of the raid on-Gravesend, a German was using the Morse code from a hotel window. Ho was observed by a sailor who understood the code, and whoso evidence was taken by the police, after ho had been sworn to secrecy. Not ono word has been heard in this country yet, except by gossip which nobody believes,. of a big disaster that has occurred in Scotland. A huge high expkisivo factory,, capable of turning out five hundred tons a week, -hoe been absolutely wiped out. I am told on unimpeachable authority that the explosions wore deliberate and planned. Our seaports are full of German emissaries, who hoodwink tho authorities a.s easily as a necromancer could deceive a baby. Tot in spite of all these things we are doing; pretty well. A great improve* ment, a vast improvement, has taken place since the National . Government was-formed’a month or two ago. If the true history of the Homo politics of this war ever coraos to be revealed, there will bo a public sensation of the first dimensions. Fatuity., ineptitude, carelessness, stupidity, - and ail other political vices have been rampant. But this war is going to be a tonic for our politicians so drastic that many of them will not survive it. ■ ABOUT THE WAR. At tho present moment- the struggle on the plains of Europe is lie ing watched with eager attention by everyone who intelligently appreciates the facts. Furious efforts aro boing made-to force the pace in Gallipoli, and those efforts are being skilfully conducted. There is a confident feeling that wo shall succeed- in wresting the peninsula from the Turks, force the Straits, and have Constantinople at the end of. our sixte on-inch guns -before many moons have waned. The Turks have suffered heavily. .are short of munitions, and exceedingly restive under their .Gorman taskmasters at the. growing prospect of being out flanked apd out off. Whafe tho

Balkan States will do is still a matter of doubt, hut they arc almost bound to come in. and can come in only on one aide, and that the right one. Ih°y know well enough what, an Austro-Ger-man hegemony in Europe means for them. Russia will never abandon the struggle, even though Petrograd and Moscow are given to the flames, once the Allies hold Constantinople. One hears interesting rumours of German influence in Russian court circles, and of a threatened pre-war _ revolution. These may he only tendencies,' but they show how the wind blows in Russia today. It is a fight for existence for Russia, and her people know it well. On tho other hand, the position of the Russian armies in North Poland is. very far from satisfactory. Our highest military experts gravely fear that the Russians axe yet doomed to a serious disaster in that quarter. Von Hindenburg is pressing ahead without stopping to pick np his wounded, realising that it is essential to do something more than capture em pty cities. Von Hmdenburg has ceased to be the idol ana become tho terror of the Gorman people. His military successes are gamed at a cost which makes Germany shudder. Ho is a wonderful typo-—as his portraits show. His-head rises up from his shoulders, broader at the base than at th© top, and his whole .frame and, physiognomy are those of the apotheosis of . the gorilla-man who was the far-off ancestor of the human race. Napoleon might have recoiled from some of the ruthlessness_ he exhibits. In the West there is still a partial calm, but a calm which sees tho death of thousands of heroes every week. One hears talk of a coming stroke, when all is ready,, in which the world may bo surprised to find huge masses of cavalry once more in ection. THE LOST TRANSPORT.

Tho loss of the Royal Edward, torpedoed, by a German submarine, in «th® /Egoan Sea with sixteen hundred troops on board, is a shrewd* blow'. Over a thousand gallant men havo boon lost, shut to theif doom ft« "warriors without the hope, of striking one blow at tho unseen foe. •, When- the Titanic went down, with no’ greater loss, the , "World was thrilled for months.. , The fate of the Lusitania, shocked us for a. week or two. The tragedy- of tho Royal Edward is the incident of, a day. Thus are the world’s standards being warped, and humanity’s sense of horror sapped, by a universe of war. It, will ibo many generations before recover their normal* healthy, - Qhristian y outlook. This sinking of the crowded transport, heavy tragedy and sore blow though it is to us, is practically the first legitimate success achieved by German submarines since those craft turned pirates. The British Navy boasted the proud record, until this happened, oi never'having lost one single troopship. It is a pity the record has been broken, hut the success is not likely'to, bo repeated by the Germans. ... The ASgoan it. a difficult sea in which- to cope, with, these crafty craft, but wo may ho quite •sure the Nary .will be equal to the occasion, and our own successes against the Turkish ■ troopships hate been - notable. Wo cannot expect to have it all pur own way, even on the sea. A Ger-man-submarine has raided the NorthWest coast of .England, and, shelled, Whitehaven in Cumberland. This -part erf the coast has suffered much in our rough island story .from, pirates. The. anolenit /Vikings harried .that , coast. Paul Jones, the gallant and picturesque American -miscreant,i once attacked it, and now-the estimable von Tirpite has had a go." An engineering -friend who was in tho town at the time informs me' 1 that it was ‘toppmg.’’- He thoroughly enjoyed it. The attack began just- before 5 o’clock' in the morning, and my friend, jumping out of bed, made for the docks, where he stood and • watched the bombardment at point-blank range, -perched on top of a big stack of timber; with a group ofother lusty mechanics. The Gormans fired forty-seven .’shots altogether, and they wore directed at a petrol store. The Germans’ ; put the plant in the works a few-years ago themselves, so they knew all- about it. Luckily they did not hit anybody, and did but little damage. Their shells wrecked the roof and damaged the building, but the. plant was untouched.* One badly-aimed shellwent clean through a small house: in at the front and out at tho back. There were eleven, people in that small house, and not one of "them was scratched. Everything went on in the town exactly -as if nothing had happened, ■ and the only angry people in the town are those who missed tho. fun. The landlord, of tho house -that was hit, when, my friend left the town, was standing at the door. Anybody who wanted to go inside and have a look at things had to pay him something for tho privilege. It was a peep-show, but the proceeds ought- surely to bo deducted from the landlord’s compensation claim. My friend saw a piece of shell with Eaiser Wilhelm marked on it, and the date, which is particularly interesting, 1903. FROM LANDS OF EXILE.

Sometimes I wonder whether the British public really understands. Do onr people quite'realise the character of the men in khaki who ; are now fighting their battles in Franco, in Flanders, in Gallipoli, and wherever else there are any Germans Still ripe for a row P Those who have been privileged .to see great’ numbers of soldiers’ letters are " perhaps '. alone among civilians able to bear witness to the fact that England has given of her best dn this great fight for freedom. From counties bivouacsunder many, skies .come letters scribbled in blacklead in all sorts of boyish and manly fists, and they contain a simple record of modest heroism. Joyous adventure, and often unconscious romance, perhaps never equalled ■ in literature, since the days when .the far-off ancestors of the human race inscribed their epistles on bricks and baked: them ready for, the post. What strikes one most about these'soldier letters is the curious way in which men, writing, homte from the arena of grimly imminent death, seem’ singly desirous; of-cheering up faint or . feeble hearts in England. Hero is one typical letter from a young corporal in Malta to his mother: —“I have just this minute got your letter saying yon hear I have been ill again. I am quite well again now, thank goodness, and .concerned lest you should bo imagining I was really unwell, which is not so. Would have written you earlier, hut have been a bit bunged up with examination work. It is cooler hero just now, owing to a very .strenuous wind that’s blowing. Our -camps are per-; petual dust storms. I reckon wo swallow otto pound per day. Some kind friend in-the shape of a quarter-master-sergeant sent in my name, with a batch of others, as that of a ‘lonely soldier,’ and by this post I have.received a . letter from • the matron oft some Irish school, who is 27, dark, and an orfing alone in the - world, Jbedad. ■Well,.?it’s up to. me, when I can summon up energy.- Yes, wo have been

let down a little. W© shall win all hands up, and are doing so, hut things have been crassly delayed. Still, it is our usual style, isn’t it? The' world wags its "accustomed war-timo -way out here.- I hay© heard that our monoton-: Ous days may ho disturbed by an outbreak of peace shortly, but I hope our diplomats will do all they can to avert such ?a . disaster. I sleep outside in the open ©very .night ? now, between blankets 'and on a waterproof sheet. I was .lying. looking ..up at the stars, the .other night—magnificent starry nights here —and it suddenly • struck mo what a' delightful; opportunity this would he for Mars to declare war on us. 1 hope, anyway, that when communication..is.. finally established we shall succeed in being the first to rope.. Mars in .by a treaty. When w© have inter-stellar communication'; and, following;logically from that, an interstellar - war;' won’t 1 the long-range ’artillery enthusiasts ■ have ■ ■ a ' gorgeous time I Specimen fire order: Range 40 billion' miles, - Polo' star left;" nine o’clock, four - fingers; blue star with pink twinkle—-firej ‘ There’ll be'a. jolly row when they mistake the range and biff the wrong , star by mistake. A bit of inter-stellar national fat in the fire, eh I And if some careless idiot dots the moon one. that’ll put the tin hat on it.” ' ’ .

A CANADIAN. - The 'following ' additional information about ' Lance-Corporal George William Allen, of tho 10th Brigade of, the Ist Canadian -Division, .from the pen of an officer wounded in the same engagement-in. - which Allen : was killed, is worth giving“Ho (Allen) was • awarded a D.C.M.- about ; two months-ago. •. • You can easily find his record,’ as. I 'noticed ' at the .time that quite a few papers mentioned him. However;,the record docs not do Allen. Justice. 1 ' L'have been with, the- divisioiTim all its actions, ’and have seen some wonderful .sights, and I almost believe that Alien was tho bravest man 1-have ever seen. Ho’was killed,- of course—your best men are always the first to be put out of action. I will give you some idea of. what Allen did. : Our machine-guns wore all in one particular strip of trench. In one hour or so all the machine-guns were out of action except the one Allen ' was hanging on to. You can imagine what it was like- when I tell you that he was the only man loft in that part of the trench, and it had previously held about 40 men. Ho fought at least 30 minutes entirely on his. own; He had to set his gun up two or three times, and then it was finally ; smashed by a shell. Ho then went along.the trench to tho next.gun and did the same with that. When the last gun was smashed, Allen banged .away with... his rifle, until he was killed. He undoubtedly-deserved a y. 0.” ■ ■