THROUGH GERMAN SPECTACLES.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XLII, Issue 12822, 14 April 1916, Page 2

THROUGH GERMAN SPECTACLES.

TITTOXIC HI.ASI'HK.MY li KACH KS THE LIMIT. ISF.UUN DF.rI.OUF~ IIIK UKPHA-\-JTY OF TIJK I'KKSS. There ale certain phases oi the German character which are beyond comment or criticism. The Germans pose as a Kultur people, but newspapers, with appalling, and, in English, unprintable, frankness have been engaged for weeks past in demonstrating the fact that Germania, like the Babylonian god Bel, is' all clay within and brass without, and that their Kultur is like/'dust that is blown away with tKe wind." "IN CO-OPERATION WITH GOD.'

'There is another phase of the Ger-lnau-ctmarctor which js more complex, but not less revolting. Its nature is .illustrated by the following extract from Die. Fnedenswarte" —the "Sentinel of Peace" : "German science, which has rendered possible so many marvels, now enables us to direct-our battles by means of the telephone. •'When General von Hindenburg had made his final arrangements for deal-' iug the decisive blow in the vicinity of the Masurian lakes, he found himself at Lotzen in the presence of the Kaiser. The artillery fire was to open at a predetermined hour, and momentarily the telephonic message was expected stating that the action had begun. '•We are all aware of the lact that our great general prepares his plans rn collaboration with God, and that he is in the habit of engaging in prayer behind the lines of the combatants. He is in constant communication, not alone with the different bodies of troops, but also with the supreme arbiter of battles, with the King of Kings Who dwells in the heavens above. This is why Ood is with him, and gives l'lim success. "On this particular occasion at Lotzen —the fact has been communicated to us on the most indisputable authority—the Emperor and the marshal together put themselves into communication with the Most High before tin* battle opened, and God's reply was: I •Victory, and the liberation of East Prussia from the enemy.' "'

. In ancient Hebrew days the blasphemer and the liar were linked together in bonds.Jiardor than steel, aud the family association has continued throughout the ages, but even German blasphemy has rarely gone to such lengths as this. SATAN AT THE 'PHONE.

The "Sentinel of Peace" goes on to draw a curious moral from its story: —

"In time of war there is, however, one matter which we should by no means forget. It is this, that a telephone line may easily bo destroyed by the machinations of the enemy, and when this has been accomplished, the enemy exults and rejoices in the doing of the deed.

"In prcisely the same way the devil, our enemy's ally, is seeking with all the craft and cunning at his command, to cut us off from our communications with God.

"We can only prevent "him from cutting off the connection, by constant and unwearying watchfulness, by a dauntless and undanntable valor that scorns to know the meaning of the word ' retreat,' and by fortifying ourselves in faith in God till that'faith is as strong and unshakable as the confidence we have in our arms aud armament." •DOLL WOMEN" IN SHORT SKIRTS.

German degeneration is the subject oi a caustic article in the iierliner Zeitung am Mittag, which embraces in its indictment "doll women," theatres, picture palaces, and the German Press, which it declares is sinking to the lowest stages of decadence —a conclusion which has also been reached elsewlieru than in Berlin: —

"Wo read again and again, and \yo are constantly assured, that the war has brought us back to the old German

virtues, to the German purity and nobility, and yet we know full well that the .shameful degeneraion of morals forms one of the saddest and most sombre chapter* in the life of a belligerent nation. '•Much as they may prate about our return lo simplicity, we still see the silly, extravagant doll women parading the streets. . The fact that the prevailing mode is now called'the ' German mode' make; no difference at all. They

tan scarcely keep their balance, these lrivolous, un-German females, a.s they ambiu and pirouette along the pavement in their short skirts and high Germanic boots, with heels long and pointed like the bill of a stork.

. *'\Vc see the theatres devoting them, selves to a muse of the lightest morals, the cinemas day after day showing the most suggestive and erotic pictures, the titles of which alone are suffi-

ciently revolting. Our eyes and ears arc offended on all sides by .sights and sounds traceable to our youth of both sexes, and our Press gradually sinking to the lowest and most abject grades of moral decadence and depravity. "Such are the fruits of this glorious war which, as is still stoutly maintained by some—interested parties mainly—is to purify and ennoble, the German race!" OFFICIALS IN BLOUSES. Germany is so devout a worshipper of officialdom in uniform that a recent order of the authorities will cast a.s

deep a gloom over the people-as the North German Gazette attributed the other d'ay to Liverpool. According tt> the Neueste Nachnehten, of Munich: "The Ministry of Communications has issued a regulation limiting to a /ar-reachiiig extent the Jivearing of uniform during tho war. All railway officials and employees will be required to substitute for their uniforms simple woollen or cotton blouses of dark ma. terial, and a simple badge of office. ' "The higher railway, tramway, and municipal officials must wear ordinarycivilian dress, with a service cap or a white and blue armlet impressed with a Government seal. "Far be it from us to criticise the Government's action in this matter, but we cannot help expressing our fear lest, with the well-known respect of our people for the official uniform, and for all that it stands for, disagreeable incidents may result from the contact of the public with men clad in blouses or other garments which do not bring home to them sufficiently the authority they represent." KEIN DEUTSCH HIER.

The Berlin Lokalanzeiger is painfully surprised, and even "shocked, that neither in Constantinople nor in the Balkans are the people able lo spt>uk German:—

"There is -one thing that strikes us with astonishment. It is the fact that at this moment, despite the great sacrifices that Germany lias made, begin, ning long before the war, to bring about the truiniph of her language, her ideas, and her civilisation, and to put an end to the intellectual supremacy of the English and the French, at Constantinople, as in all the great Balkan cities belonging to the allies of the Central States, the German language is scarcely heard at "all, and Germans have to suffer the humiliation' of speaking French or English when wishing to communicate with our own allies.

"We cannot, and must not, tolerate this state of affairs any longer. The German language must be taught in every Turkish and Bulgarian school. What.is more, teachers and professors must be sent in large numbers from Germany to the different Turkish and Bulgarian schools. We must make our ideals paramount in the East. "It is in this way only that we shall succeed in dissipating the hatred which .so many persons feel towards our ideas. ■our customs, and our institutions, notwithstanding the fact that they are allied to ns by-political and, as we had Tioped, friendly ties.

''Let us now see if, though we may not be able to compel their love, we cannot at least make them censn hating