WAR-WHELPS!

NZ Truth, Issue 170, 19 September 1908, Page 1

WAR-WHELPS!

England's Hour of Danger.

While the people of : the principal cities of Australasia have been effusively welcoming the ! fleet of warships from the Unitedv States of America that has visitted this country, events have been shaping themselves m Europe more and more m such a way •as to cause apprehension among "the governing classes of the world (who see something of what is taking places behind the scenes of political' life), is Vdl as/ to some extent, the, masses of the people m European- countries, who only see -what their rulers : permit them to see. Dark danger stalks abroad m Europe. There is a smell m the air as if of the shambles. Men who know things hidden from the multitude are beginnLig fio shudder with nervous apprehension.r What do they dread, then ? They dread the outbreak of a European w^ar.'vand' that war \a conflict between the two great Xfo'wersi Britain and Germany, f Jpurnaiists who recognise, the impcrtance ol their words, and are nob the tech to kindle^ the flames of a European soiiflagratiQiiyv are writing of the der velopnucnts , of events regarding oritain. 6nd Germany with; a subdued sobriety Bolcmnrfcy. .There are, other men, M«n aot co >wll informed, who .;/ write -.?.s if tUey were lying bound- in a dark room for, , an .RfTftcd: enemy, >n3wn to be creeping, Nvi h' iiiiister lr.tVut, towards the open entrance^ to that room.

The- German Government has made the most elcccrale preparations of a naval rtiaractcr-for vbat? Apparently Jor no other pujjiose than the invasion of England, if sueh 1 a thing should seem to ■be vpratlicabls. That, at any rate is the ' only reason that naval experts can Bee for the peculiar preparations made hy Germany ? And Britain-^wbat is ferttain \. doing .? Great Britain recently amaf-sed an immense fleet r >consisting of no fewer than 31 7. war ships, m the Worth feea, and there carried out a number of manoeuvres that it was hoped would be secret, certainly secret from the prying «yes of Germany. It. was discovered, however x that the -torpedo craft, and especially "the submarines, were being watfehed by two Germans \ from the bridge of a. steam trawler. .The name of the trawler and nts r port of registty were taken, and it was ordered to take its deparvur«(. The trawler was, however, not -the! only vessel containing German spies N upon the British Fleet and its nanceu-vres 4'hat 'was discovered, for it was subsequently found out ■ that the Jnanoeuvres ? were !oeing watched by "experts" on a gunboat! Tnis is .not the only instance of German intrusion ; a cablegrara ; received one day . during the yreek -".that lias just passed states ' that a Gcrnian torpeda-boat has "caused much comment" by entering the Tyne during the carry ihg out of 'certain British naval manoeuyies. • : ' '

The con^tk.n. 'of affairs is; that the rultrs of' i?n|i,3iitl,;''S,nd many of tiie pressmen of England, isrie aware that the German Governxbent'-h^s i O ng been making preparations' ';f or the invasion of England ; u 'thafr' 'naval manoeuvres have been carried '.'bvii i by Britain ; f or the purpose, of .disKpyeriag hoY :b'est : to protect England : from invasion. There is reason to believe, that the ruling classes of Germany would,.: ere :tliis, have declared war against Britain; but, for theT^determined opposition: : 6f if ihe German- Sfrtial Demccrats. This greatl' party, over' 3,000,000 strong, has declared ; tVat * the /people ,of Germany 'h^ye no quarrel wit^i/the people tf England.; It is -feared by^the ..,-. rulers : of Germahyjiihat if they 1 were'- to launch their forcVai dgainst England or any otber European.'Power, the Social , Democrats, might break out m. insurrection, and that 6uch of them as are m bhe German army might- p,r6ve a most serious obstacle to' the ambitious schemes of the Kaiser and capitalists cf Geriu-ny. It is, m fact, the Socialist Party of Europe (hat has maintained peace so long im that Contiaent. Eu'jopcan rujors fear Sociatists much, i^ery much, roprc than they do the churches. The churches . have been preaching peace for. .200.0 yeark. The result is, that the peoples*' of : the.;. world seem to be more bJoddtbirsiy thaß they ever were before, 'and?'. the- means of destruction that they maintain, for the purpose of slaughtering their brother "Christians" of other countries, are certainly more deadly than at any other period, even t.tee liiost savage, m the history of the human race. . '<■■•, • : • ; August Bebel is the leader of the Social Democrats m tfte German. Reichstag, *r Parliament ; aad he has, it is cabled, fecenUy informed the British' "Labor te&det," which may be regarded a* the itjptn of Keic Hardw, that the British

and German workers' are of one mind as regards the maintenance cf peace. v He adds that , the vast : majority of Germans

are not thinking of a "war 'wila .Great Britain. What he says may be perfectly true., although it is h&rd to see how he. can speak as to {the thoughts concerning wat of the V Vast , majority" of the German people, when jnbst of the Germans do not appear to belong to the party that Bebel leads. Even if; however, what he says . is absolutely true, and it probably is, wars., are. not made by the peoples:, m. the "vast_majorfty'' ol cases they are made by.ruiert:, AvKb, having brought, about a war, proceed to whip , up the people into a state of Jingo frenzy.,. In bygone days- they, like Queen?.' Elizabeth, used to : "tune the pulpits" 'jv ( but now they'"tune" something mere in< fluential than- the pulpit • it is the nejws*r paper. That eminent, statesman, the late Count Otto yon Bismarck, ;aise,d, every' year, l >to disburse considerable sum's of money t6 the press. This money was known, as, "the reptile fund." There is:.i no go"d reason to believe that the German Uoyflrnment would be niggardly m the matter .of a Jingo "reptile fund-' if. it boHeved that the hour had); struck for war -against England. , ' ' ■ .

•: -' . .■. v * i .*■ •. ''.. . ' ■j*■' ■ ■■■ ' . Among the journals that may be regarded as belonging to the German "reptile press" is tbe "National Zeitung" of! Berlin. This journal has suddenly brok-J en out 'm denunciation of King Edward of England. It says that the 'reformation "of Turkey by the triumph of the revolutionary "Young Turkey Party" .has only! increased the anxieties of Ki"g Edward ; and that now the English are "beginning to realise ihr.t French support is not sufficient to reduce Germany to impotence." It then proceeds to warn' Russia against becoming /'ths catspaw of Britain." The fact is that the Germans think that they have been, over-reached by the diplomats of Britain. T The Turkish Empire, was, some . 'leading Germans thought, to be sliced, up among ths Pow-' ers m the manner m which" Poland was divided. The "Young Turks," however, who are suspected o,f haying ' "'oe:n aif*ed by England— as they probably were, wltii Secret Service moneyr— have a^parenti/ ib; strengthened Tur%y that^ it is' no longe.r the estate of a "sick man" ; and its division among the Powers seems, therefore, to be impracticable. lience the howls of ,the "National Zeitungi" \yhich, besides ■ speaking for the. ' Government, speaks for those capitalists '\vuo ..hungra' for more territory as a new market for their products. . ; Our local capitalists' journals affect to' ridicule the assumption of German press writers that King .Edward has, of his own initiative, engaged iin diplomatic work. _..•■ The theory of the British Con-, stitution is, as is well known, that the King is entirely m. the hands of his Constitutional advisers, \vhp are themselves" responsible to ■ the elected representatives of tjie people. Speaking generally, this, is the case, so much so that the King of. England has . less power' than. the.. President of the United States of America. Lately, however, the King has t a ten to doing things^ .without the cognisance ' of his Foreign Minister, which does seem to' shew that there is reason m the German press's assumption that he is, himself, engaged ,m r diplomatic intrigue, and without, previous; consultation /with his iYLinis-* ters. It is, for this reason that English Radicals have .protested against the diplomatic activity of the Kjng, and rightly so, for although such means he may, at present, help to secure pe?.ce, at other times such activity on the part .of the King might lead to war. . Even . now there is grave doub.t as to whei^ver the right thing was done by. the King with regard to Russia.' Wliatwas done with Russia may not help to stave off war; and, m any case, if any war would bt justified, it would be a war with the gang of blood-dripping " assassins now ruling Russia. If the peoples of Western Europe were to form a league against the gang, ruling Russia, they would be rendering a service to civjlisatieri.

The danger to England comes from the ruling classes of Gerniany.; and it is great. Not oHly has -Germany the most powerful army m the wsrld— whereas the EHglish army is m a most unsatisfactory state and War Minister Haldtane's most recent . military scheme lias proved a wretched failure— but tl»« Germans are building a formidable navy. They already have a navy that is not to be despised, and they are making, ft bigger und more powerful. The "reptile jpress ? ' of Germany, elig|ged m iashing into a frenzy o< Jingoi|m. as many ol the Uermaas as

possible, has, made it clear that England. is coasWerei as the eliemy against which the German navy may b£ launched., The celebrated German Harden, who exposed -the- filthy ring of "homo-' sexualists" that surrounded -the .Kaiser, .but who isjnoj. regarded as belonging toi:the "rep'tile Tr lirand of iournalists, yeuV says':— 1 ' / " , / . '. . '"So Isolated has Germany become that, matiy perceive the •Ciy drawing, feat- - when the ia&at cut tire 'lajling : inside which\ 'blindness allowed -her -: tb; , be penned. ... It is not only ut. :" jthe army that cbnyersa'tibn" 'turns to; war ilp-day, tha/tr the possibility of a^. Woody morning m the near future is^i pondered on; arid ; even the quietest : mortals need not Jfeel ashamed o! the thought." i

England— how is England facing .this threatened trouble ?| WelJ, ' 'the British' ■Admiralty, "which niay, cr m?y n'oi, have has cogis to ths coixc^usion ;-^?iat the vast fleet posaT^Tcrty Brifalnis 'not sufficient. ludjeed, it is asserted fay those who aflvise the Adrairaliy itiat, m the future, victory will lie with the power that is able to use -the largest number of extremely expensive ships (which ,, each cost rlaut £2,000,000 sterling) called Vtrj>clnough,ts." England ,has these ships'— but so has Germany. It is estimated that, at the present rate of buildiufr, while m 1912 Enfei&nd will have' but dsVch Dreadjipughts, " Germany will have tbktetn. 'Fence it is that German mi&chicf-nia 1 ' 's comemplate Viith complacency a war wtibT^Great Britain. 'There appear to be parlous times ahead Pfor Britain, and proh.a.bly for Australasia, i too, for, m i*few Guinea. Australian so-i 'jcalltd statesmen have provided Germany} fWith oppoitunit.lcs and. occasiops of j.^ilrilcing ' at Auslralasiaj which' would cev..'i|iainly be. availed cf at a time of U^uble between Britain an.d Germany-. Let Australasia prepi.ro and. I e vigilant; for, ghe cannot tell how sooE,tio>T, European 'Btrife-mongers will "let kose the dogs of war."