THE WORLD WAR

NZ Truth, Issue 606, 27 January 1917, Page 8

THE WORLD WAR

RAIDERS ON THE RUN

" THE CAUSES Of INTERNATIONAL UNREST "

Concentrations near Lake Constance

(By "Campea'dor")

Yet another German raider Is abroad In the Atlantic, and for all we know there may be more than one. Tho losses credited to this venturesome craft have been considerable so far, and coupled with the losses sustained from undersea boats it does seem numblfylng how Britain can afford to lose bo iriuch without feeling the pinch very severely. We fear, however, tjiat the pinch is being felt, and that it will not bo long ere conditions are seriously accentuated. It would seem that Britain has not captured any of the enemy raiders thus far. The ' AMAZING EMDEN WAS DESTROYED. Since then we have had several raiders out In the Atlantic and elsewhere, notably the Moewe, the Vlneta and the famous KaTlsTuhe. The latter craft haunted the worlds waters for a long time Indeed, but we never heard what happened to her. If Britain waa responsible for her disappearance, It 1b strange that she has not said ono word of the feat. Of course, the enemy's raiders' plan of action seems to- be ; a sudden dash from Kiel or from some Latin -American port, with the object of doing all the damage possible m the apace of a few months, and then to .suddenly disappear back again into port. Such tactics favor enemy raidors to a nicety, and contribute to the execution of an Immense amount of damage. Considering the extraordinary bulk of destruction achieved by tho latest raider " out,"one can reasonably surmise that she has been prowling about for a few months at loast. Tho excitement be. trayed m the cable messages warrant us m believing that she has dono much more than she was expected to do. It is ull right for us, perhaps, or not exactly 100 bad. while those raiders are -content to prowl and run tho risks of.rthe Atlantic; but one of thetse days, a surprise visit may bo paid to tho Pacific, and NEW ZEALAND MAY SUFFER SEVERELY. Having regard to the number and audacity of thc»*» raiding vejwela, It He-cms strange that avc have

' been unmolested so long. But then the unexpected always may be looked for In war>»partlculaTly when a clever and powerful enemy Is the nut to crack. No one can deny so , late m the day that the Teuton Is a very clever and powerful enemy. And Britain, for once (n her Immensely successful career, is right vp 1 against It, and she will have to use brains as well as brawn If she is to weather the strenuous storms of battle with any degree of security to herself. The old song says, that she has the ships, and she has the men, and she haa the money, too — all of which constitute certainly a good shove on. But has she the brains? This much wo do know, that her generals m the field and her statesmen at home and abroad have floundered — and floundered badly. The same cannot be said of the navy. Reverting to the strange raider or raiders AT LARGE IN THE ATLANTIC. / It may bo well to note that it wus not Britain or the admiralty that released the news anent some. We are indebted to America — to Argentine this time — ! centres that know more about the war than we do. Of course, tho news la bad news; but tho last chupter of the raidors' exploits is not penned yet. j Mr. Bajfour In his note to President Wilson "for tho onllghtonment of neutrals," nays that Britain entirely shares tho President's ideals, though, bear m mind, the President announced m ills j peaco note that according to their ex- j pressed statements delivered again and again, all the belligerents wore lightIng for Iho same ends. These ends are — the freedom of all the poor llttlo nationalities; the freedom of tho wide. wJdo sea. and the triumph of elvlll.sation! What ji horrid mo-ss they j have made of thing* nrior nil, |f clover j President Wilson i» riftht. And, perhaps, h« may not be f;»r wrong. ProMldont Wilson haa mado it plain that It I is his ambition that tin- bolliKcn'nt.s j should nu'ft one iumhlht at a round- j tablo conference, aiul thore sot forjh j what they are noting for. Ho eccn ; no reason why ftuch a conference should not mUi! place, ami tho Kunctit man amongst" us cannot xee any reason to the contrary cither. " Yet the awful dittoing »nu*;i go on. Why'. 1 God alone can give the reason now, obviously In view of tho above. Britain's ideals i\o not fit In with president WlljiohV. «sropt m tin* bald matter comprfel«>»ul<?d In '!•.<? vaguo aspiration, i'V^cc, .Mr. Balfmir goca on to mention the three conditlona (baaod upon tha Alllea' victory), for a durable PQAt.O'.

Firstly, the removal as far as possible of the existing causes of inter-, national unrest .„ • Secondly, that the aggressive aims and unscrupulous methods of the Central Powers should fall into disrepute among their own peoples. Thirdly, behind international law and all treaty arrangements for preventing or limiting hostilities, Bomo form of International sanction should be devised which would give pause to the hardiest aggressor. With the third condition EVERY SANE PERSON MUST AGREE. The second is vague m the extreme, and may mean much; little or nothing. As a question, however, history has got to settle that The first condition j is the critical one: w Th.e removal as far as possible of the existing causes of international unrest." To tho close student of international events for tho past decade of the world's history is i it not as plain aa the nose on one's face (which can bo very plain at times) | that the causes of International unrest I are the lust of lucre and tho lust of j power by the Kaiser and tho | financial magnates behind him: both summed up In tho one I.' term— the tyranny of organised capital—the frightful tyranny that caused tho war and that Is running the war. If Mr. Balfour means to eradicate this awful cause of International unrest, all wo can say Is that he and his have a far bigger Job before them than tho complete defeat of the enoroy entails. Something has apparently been doing for some time m Upper Alsace, and on the borders of Switzerland. One gath. ored as much a few weoks back when the cable messages discussed the menace that threatened France via tho Swiss Cantons. The probability has now taken more concrete shape, for wo have Btrango reports emanating from France, Italy, Switzerland and Germany Itself. It Is said from Berne, that- a concentration of the enemy

along the Rhine, between Basle arid Lake Constance, may be connected ,w,ith a contemplated attack on Belfort, or part of & feint to Induce the Preach to strengthen their defences In tho Vosges, while the onemy, delivers the real blow elsewhere. Thore la sound logic In this, and we can rest assured that one or the other move Is at the back of the enemy's mind. The enemy, himself, charges the French with a contemplated atack from Belfort, but the French smash the charge to smithereens by .answering Dock: The excuse fails to explain Germany's now strategic railway to Baslo costing £750,000," The very fact of the existenco of this lately completed railway indicates that something ere long will bo doing m tho. vicinity of Switzerland — either an attack m Franco, or one on Italy on the Trentlno border. Llko France, ITALY IS ALSO FEARFUL. The Italians allege that the cnomy is concentrating heavily on the Alsatian borders of Lake Constance, and fears are expressed for tho Trentlno front. Switzerland may or may not havo fears from the enemy menace, for wo know that tho German element la 6trong indeed m Switzerland. Tho Germans, according to statistics at any rate, would seem to have Vnore friends m Switzerland than oil tho Allies have. Hence, it is not wlbo to place much reliance upon Swiss messages alone. When, however, news from Uerno is corroborated by communiques from Rome, Paris, Berlin (indirectly) and London, we can rest assured that the enemy is actually concentrating on tho Swiss borders. From thence ho con either assail Franco or Italy—but Swiss territory for a portion would havo to be used to enable tho enemy U> deliver a swift, powerful blow.