PROGRESS OF THE WAR

New Zealand Times, Volume XL, Issue 9173, 13 October 1915, Page 6

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

TJia most noteworthy message to-day is ' the < message summarising the “Times” article on the' situation. ' A more mischievous article, it would be difficult to imagine. At the monient when a united front is most required we have a condemnation of the conduct of affairs based, on highly debatable matters. An attempt to govern by press intervention strikes athwart the course of the, Government) which is responsible for maintaining relations with the Allied nations and keeping up the confidence of all the Dominions and dependencies of the British Empire. Such conduct is, as we have frequently remarked, treasonable. It is conduct which began with the war, and has been maintained to the present moment, and is going on in spite of the manifest danger to the internal stability of the combination which is facing the might of Germany. Wo can only wonder at the endurance of such, tactics by the Imperial Government. There is no. doubt about what any other of the Allied nations would have done under similar circumstances. France, Italy, and Russia would never have permitted such mischievous and disloyal conduct. As for Germany, we need not pursue inquiry. A courtmartial, a dead wall, and a firing party would be the environment of any newspaper daring to act in the manner adopted with such blatant impudence by the “Times” and its disloyal satellites in this most important crisis of the war. • • . • It is, of course, useless to protest in this manner at this end of the world against the blind, weak endurance of the Governments of Britain, both Liberal and National. The responsibility for the awful consequences that may ensue is with them. If the National Government continues to offer its cheek to the unpatriotic smiter, it will have to justify itself to its people. But we at this end have our remedy. What is the newspaper association of New Zealand going to do about this matter? It is deliberately selecting these unpatriotic, mischievous articles for distribution over the whole extent of the Australasian Dominions. “The Times” and Sydney “Sun” Agency, which it employs, ignores the opinions of the whole press of Britain, and informs its public only of the utterances of the evil-minded section whose action is fraught with such enormous danger. The newspaper men responsible to the people of New Zealand are responsible for the selection of press opinions calculated to destroy the confidence of the people of this country in the Imperial conduct of the war, to ruin recruiting, and paralyse national effort. Were they to giro ns the other side, with quotations from articles in reply, the enormity of their offence might be

diminished. In that case, bad as their conduct might he in disseminating the mischievous opinions of a biased, degraded, and mischievous section of the London press, there might be a semblance of fairness. As it is, their conduct is absolutely unpardonable. The controllers of the Press Association are participating in the crime of disloyalty, which is the scandal of the British Empire. The only course now open to them, if they value the good opinion of their public, is to suppress at once the “Times” and Sydney “Sun” messages with which they are daily disgracing the columns of every newspaper in this country- The Empire has enough to do in exploding the lies, calumnies, casuistries, and misrepresentations of Germany. It ought not to be saddled with the further handicap of the biased opinions of an unscrupulous section of the British press, which is false to all the best traditionsof journalism, deaf to all the rules of common decency, and blind to every consideration of patriotism.

The German newspapers have abandoned reporting for dialectics, in the matter of the great Oriental' expedition, and we have reports of their substitution of Constantinople for Calais. They have discovered that as a cry to compel public enthusiasm “Calais” is worn out, and “Constantinople” must take its place. How many hundred thousand lives “Calais” has cost the German nation, that nation knows to its sorrow. How many “Constantinople” is going to, cost, it is for the German people to calculate. The only thing certain is that on tjie “Calais” basis the numbers must run into something horrifying.

•■ • . “The public have been overlong accustomed,” writes one of these literary slaves, “to the wrong idea that the war will be decided at Calais. We now find that Britain’ is more vulnerable in the Balkans.” There is a lot more in the message, too childish to quote, but this is enough to show the tenacity of the official appeal to German -credulity. The appeal admits that the official gospel-which has deluded Germany for a year is wrong, and expects Germans to be further deluded into the belief that the Balkan country, about which the average German knows nothing except that it is thousands of miles further away from Britain, is to Britain a far more vulnerable spot. Such am appeal cannot but fall dead.

When it is sustained by the statement that Britain is only ‘‘temporarily mistress of the seas,” there must bo opening of German eyes. “Temporarily!” For fourteen months the German commercial flag has been o'ff the seas, and the German navy flag has been kept within sight of Heligoland—flying from a fleet which has cost very many millions and has not even attempted to accomplish anything more serious than submarine piracy and raids —easily and promptly stopped by severe punishment—on defenceless coasts. This is the “temporary” acquiescence of the German fleet in, the British mastery of the seas. The acquiescence is emphasised by the destruction of between fifty and seventy of the vessels sent forth unscrupulously to do piracy and murder of women and children. One wonders what more the Gorman conscience will endure—what further humiliations the German Navy will swallow. Surely a sense of desperation will suggest a battle, td avoid the tame surrender by an article 5£ a dictated peace treaty. An opportunity may bo given soon. All Germany knows that the landing of a great Bditish army on the Belgian coast is one of the probabilities of the near future; knows that, a bombardment has just proved that every battery the Germans have placed on the shore can be silenced in a few hours, sufficiently to ; open the way for such landing. All Germany knows, too, that after such landing the; German line in Belgium and France must crumble to pieces, with vast slaughter of German soldiery.

Every German, therefore, must expect that the-Gorman High Sea Fleet will do its utmost to prevent such landing. For this reason, every Ger man eye must how ho fixed on the North Sea, and especially that pari of it contiguous to the English Chan , nel, by which an expedition of this kind must travel. The ships of that expedition would offer an enormous target, most profitable to enterprising seamen. We know what British seamen would. give to strike such a target—we Have their history to vouch for it. But for the German Navy: we only know it as the navy of a nation distinguished for. slavish obedience to its'rulers, from the Kaiser down to the lowest policeman in uniform, with -a sword by bis side and a harsh word in his mouth. ; As for the tnJltions of the German Navy, its only tradition which it has is tho great bottling-up tradition, which .began in August, 1914, and, is, on this thirteenth day of October, 1915, still going on, so tight that not 'a vessel that rides on the surface of the water can get out. Still, at the word of command this ipighty costing fleet may try to step the invasion of Belgium. It has kept'on pretending that it is going to help the German invasion of Britain. It may now have to try and; stop the British invasion of the Ger-man-held coast of Belgium. For this reason we must refuse to believe'’ that naval forces of any kind are being, as reported yesterday, taken away from the neighbourhood of Kiel. Besides, what do the Germans want with naval forces on dry land anywhere, when they want all they can get together to make good in tho North Sea F These considerations will supply nightmares in abundance to the men directing the great Oriental expedition against the Balkans, where Britain is more vulnerable than at Calais. The nightmare is likely to take the form of wondering whether tho German Navy will still further acquiesce in the “temporary” British mastery of the seas.

A further nightmare is supplied'for this overburthencd commander by the news from the West front to-day. The various official Tephrts of the Allies show the steady progress begun some weeks ago, the consolidation of all conquests, and the prodigious slaughter inflicted oh the enemy attempts at recovery. Particularly good is the outlook in ; the Champagne section, where the French army is pressing what has for some time appeared to be the main attack of the Allies. But all the official iWestern accounts .pale into insignificance by the s'de of the account forwarded by Kellerman to his paper, the “Berliner Tageblatt.” This is a summary of the position, which cannot but be awful to German eyes. He says plainly that the French are pressing their offensive in _ the Champagne section with such vigour

and courage, and such tremendous expenditure of munitions—three million shells in a given time, not by any means large—that the destruction of the German army in the Champagne appears to be imminent. It is a cry for help to avoid impending destruction.

A further cause of nightmare to the traders of the great “Oriental expedition” which is replacing “Calais” in the German strategy, is proceeding on the East front. The reports to-day are of hard, desperate fighting on most of the Eastern front, on the offensive of the Russians. These intrepid troops, so far from having been beaten down to a negligible condition, easily to ho contained by the troops left after the withdrawals for the great “Oriental expedition.” are attacking vigorously at all points, and we read of great artillery bombardments delivered from their side. It is a new state, of affairs which seems to require the, pen of a Kellermann to do it justice, and call despairingly for help.

The “Oriental expedition” itself is touched by the story of a little dramatic exchange between King Ferdinand and the departing French representative. who was taking his passport with him. j “Tell yohr Government to be 'prudent.” said the theatrical Czar of Bulgaria, to which the incisive Frenchman answered that he would give that well-meant advice after the decision of battle. One gathers the impression that the Czar of Bulgaria has handed to another the quality of prudence which he has discarded from his own equipment. /

The aforesaid battle decision does not appear from the accounts to have got much nearer. The crossing of the frontier is referred to in the German messages, certainly, hut not with any approach to enthusiasm; not even with anything like a certainty of victory. They make no mention of any progress whatever, contenting themselves with harping on the frontier inpidents. speaks of the Serbian retreat as definite, and mentions that the forces of the defence are getting hack, apparently, without molestation, to the ground chosen for the great battle ,which is to decide the issue. There is a Gorman account of some captures, , including “naval guns,” whiph certainly is a little disquieting.. But we have to hear the other side about an incident which in the hands of the enemy, is sure to receive the treatment- of exaggeration. We must confess we should like to hear more of those “naval guns” and their alleged capture. They were, it seems clear, defending the retreat from Belgrade and its neighbourhood, and their safety, of course, depended on the rear-guards. We can only hope the rear-guards brought them off in safety.

On the other hand it is reassuring to read that the landing at Salonika is still progressing. If the landing is maintained at the original rate, there must be over 200,000 troops on the way to Serbia. The prospect is brightened by the announcement that Italian troops are participating, and by the statements which abound of the general recognition of the Allies of the necessity for placing adequate forces, in this region. This seems to explain the quiescence of tho Bulgarian army, and the continuance of the paralysis of Turkish troops. Also very reassuring is ,tho account of the confidence of the Serbian' army, of .which the officers are declaring that so long as the Allies take care of the Balkan position they can cheerfully answer for the result of tho great battle which they are ready to offer to the advance of tho great “Oriental expedition.”

On the whole, then, the : position looks decidedly very much better than it did yesterday. The * Germans are being pressed: hotly on both their Eastern and .Western fronts ; the Oriental expedition is moving very slowly into Serbia; the Serbian army receiving reinforcements of Allied troops daily, is ready for battle; every day takes the invaders further from their base and from their communications, and brings more reinforcement* to the defence; the Italians are taking a hand; and the Balkan position behind tho Serbian theatre is looking fairly easy, tho enemy doing nothing to interfere with the landing of - the Allied reinforcements, or . with their march on the scene of action.

The last message reports an attack by the Bulgarians bn Serbian, troops, and rather astonishes us by adding that the Greek Premier took the occasion to declare Greece’s policy to be one of neutrality, Venizelos acquiescing, but requiring to know when Greece will interfere, as if she does not Hellenism is doomed. Hie news arrives too late for investigation. We must have further information before we can understand its significance.