The Otago Witness. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE SOUTHERN MERCURY. (WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 1915.) THE WEEK.

Otago Witness, Issue 3195, 9 June 1915, Page 51

The Otago Witness. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE SOUTHERN MERCURY. (WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 1915.) THE WEEK.

“Nunquam allud natura, allud sapientia dixit.’* —Juvsxal. “Good nature and good sense must ever join. Popb.

The belligerent nations have now entered upon the eleventh month The Eleventh of war, and it is a fitting Month of War. point at which to take stock of what has actually happened ..since the 4th of August last. Tea months’ fighting sees Germany still in possession of virtually the whole of Belgium and of a large part of Northern France. With the assistance of Austria she has not only effectually stemmed the tide of Russian advance, hut the recapture of Przemysl places Von Hindenburg’s forces in as commanding a position as they occupied in September ■ Ijist. Germany has been able to detach _ a sufficient force to oppose the new offensive by Italy; and she has successfully directed the Turkish defence of the Dardanelles, so that the capture of Constantinople by the Allies is still in the dim distance. Admiral Von Tirpitz’s navy is yet virtually intact; scarcely a day passes but German submarines take their toll of the shipping in the North Sea or on the English Channel; whilst the Zeppelin raids upon the English coast are becoming more frequent and more effective. And although (the Allies have accomplished marvels in sweeping the seas of German shipping and in holding up Germany’s further advance, yet there is much in the existing situation to arouse some anxiety. It may be remembered that ns Great Britain at the outset of hostilities began to realise her great unpreparedness for war, comfort was continually sought in the thought that time would fight on the side of the Allies. lew thought it possible that Germany could stand the strain of a lengthy coinpaign. and her economic, industrial, and financial breakdown was freely prophesied. It is now generally admitted that all hopes of a cessation of hostilities to be brought about by indirect causes must be abandoned. Germany would probably welcome peace, but upon terms which would virtually amount to victory, and which would leave the Kaiser free to prepare yet more effectually for another world war. Such a peace could have in it nothing of permanence; it would not be peace, in the true sense of the word, but merely a thinly-veiled armistice behind which every nation in the world would be piling up armaments and munitions, drilling troops, and building ships in feverish haste, in anticipation of another conflict more deadly than the last. The moral of the fighting of the past ten months is emphatic enough; at all costs—and they promise to be terrible enough—this avar must be fought to a finish: on this at least the Allies are agreed. Germany is evincing a supreme disregard for aught but victory; .undismayed bv the addition, of Italy to the side of the Allies, careless apparently of the growing antagonism to her.tactics in America, she carries everything with a high hand. Her policy of terrorism and barbarism is being consistently pursued both on land and on sea. A warfare which uses submarines to sink on sight merchantmen and passenger vessels flying neutral flags, and which scoffs at the drowning of the hapless crews; a warfare which utilises

poisonous gases on land, and which subjects brave soldiers either to a long-drawn-out death by torture or to lifelong invalidism—such a warfare places Germany as a military power outside the pale of civilisation. The wild beast which now possesses the German nation is a menace to the world; it must be snared and caught and killed in order that Germany, restored to sanity and right thinking and acting, may—purged oi Prussian militarism—-once more take her place in the comity of nations. The task is a stupendous one; it will require all the courage and resource the Allies can commend, but, having once been entered upon, there is no alternative but to go right through to the bitter end.

Great Britain's first task upon the outbreak of war was to make an army. The call was so magnificently responded to that ere many months had passed the stream of recruits was greater than could be immediately equipped. The War Office machinery was hopelessly inadequate for the work it was suddenly called upon to do. This mav be weft illustrated by the difficulties which beset the War Office officials in the matter of clothing contracts. In times of peace the War Office Clothing Department has to arrange for uniforms for about 160,0u0 men of the regular" army, • and' in normal times this work is done by direct labour at the Royal Army Clothing Department at Pimlico or by contractors on the War Office list, who get the work done jn outside factories. In August of last year many hundreds of. thousands of uniforms wero required immediately, and as a uniform when worn on active service lasts only about three months, the supply required increased enormously as the months went by. The recognised contractors obviously were unable to cope .with this tremendous demand, and there was no machinery available for putting the whole of the civilian tailoring trade on to the work. The military tailor was in a class by himself because of the unusual design of the garments required by War Office regulations. There followed the inevitable deadlock: the military tailors were hopelessly submerged with pressing orders; the civilian tailors were idle with no work to do, and the War Office officials hopelessly looked on. Fortunately a London manufacturer of clothing who had a factory in London came to the rescue. He suggested a simplification of the design of greatcoat and uniform, so that the tailoring trade as a whole could get on with the -work; the War Office gratefully adopted the suggestion, and presented him with an emergency order for three million garments. It was then discovered that Germany had practically secured the monopoly of khaki die, and experiments had to be made to discover a Substitute. Then the supply of cloth ran short, but by -the threat of requisitioning the factories the Government compelled the manufacturers to devote a large part of their output to this essential purpose. Soon the whole tailoring trade got to work. "An unprecedented demand, arose for labour, and capital flowed into the trade even down to the small East End workshops. The tailoring trade was more prosperous than it had been for a considerable time. The output of military clothing increase'd, and by four months after November it had probably trebled. By Easter the new army was practically clothed. We had blundered through as successfully as ever, though for the measure of success attained the War Office, at anyrate in its initial stages, cannot be given any praise." This aptly enough illustrates the difficulties which stand, in the way of systematizing the industrial organisation of Great Britain so as to place it on a proper war footing. The making and the clothing of the army are small matters compared with the task that confronts the Empire, and to which Mr Llovd George, as Minister of Munitions, has energetically set his hand. He has had to face the possibility of a gigantic industrial strike throughout Lancashire, brought about by the dissatisfaction of the workers at the existing conditions. Mr Lloyd. George has addressed both employers and workmen in conference at Manchester and Liverpool, and placing the critical situation fairly and squarely before them, has eloquently, appealed to the patriotism of all classes. The Times admits that the Minister of Munitions has struck the right note, and Mr Lloyd George himself declares: "I believe things are gohig all right; I feel that the machine is beginning to move." And the general verdict will be that after ten months it is just about time it did.

The British Empire's Part.

It is inspiring to turn from Mr Lloyd "George's exhortation-'to the employers and workers to begin to organise and do, to Mr Winston Churchill's review of the part the navy and army have played in the endeavour to force the passage of the Dardanelles; Mr ■ Churchill did not waste one word in attempting to vindicate himseif from the charges hurled against him; his desire when speaking at Dundee was to place the position plainly before' the people. "The whole nation must organise," he declared, "in order to gain a derisive victory. The nation must be socialised, and the Government in some form must make sure that every man and 'woman of rank would do their fair share." The "reason why Mr Churchill resigned office may possibly be found in the following sentence: "If it was impossible to win the war without compulsion he would support it; but he did not believe it had been found necessary." For in his speech at Manchester Mr" Lloyd George is made to say: "It has been decided that compulsory powers are essential to utilise our resources to the best advantage. We have a great voluntary army, but it took months to enlist i*, and we cannot afford months to enlist the industrial army." The truth of the matter seems to be this : the onward move in France and Flanders promised in May has not come off pimply because the accumulated supply of high

A Socialised Nation.

explosives is not sufficient to warrant the attempt. Meanwhile our forces are simply marking time, repelling the German attacks and occasionally seizing a trench or two to vary the monotony of trench warfare The French advance is also delayed because the offensive movement must bo made simultaneously along the wnole line. Profiting by this enforced inaction of the Allies on the western front, the Germans have been able to transfer large oodie. of men to confront Italy and to strengthen Yon Hindenburg. The Russian offensive at first hindered by lack of transport is now handicapped for want of nor can much relief be expected until the Dardanelles is forced. Jhzs accounts for the stubborn resistance which t Turks arc. making under German d ice tion. This explains the concentiatuni o energy on the part ot the Government upon the industrial situation. Anjtlnn like a disorganisation of iaboin, *.uch a great strike would precollate inns mean playing right into Germany, and would ' V Q aze tt e justify the sneers ot thc + /-° G' hope There is every reason theief - , { furs? «.*-s In view—the Seience ot Empire anti the defeat of Germany.

The finest compliment ever paid to Commonwealth ana vv minion was contained 1Q the concluding portion ot Mr Churchill's speech at Dundee, when he said: "Above all, let us be of good.cheer The lovaltv of our dominions and coU.ne* vindicates our civilisation; our enemy. hate proves the effectiveness of our warHie If vcu are anxious or depressed vou £ould watch Australia and New ZeakmL In this last and finest crusade of stn tmg down the combined barbarisms of Prussm and Turkey we-should set General Botha, who is holding South Africa for the and Canada, which is defencling to the death the last few miles of Belgium. Then across the smoke and carnage of this immense battlefield we should look forward on the calm background of a liberated Europe. It is evident from the whole tenor of Mr Churchill's remarks that the gallant forces on the Dardanelles were withm an ace ot achieving the greatest victory of the war; the army and the fleet were "separated only by a few miles from a victory such as the war had not seen." This was the operation in which the New Zealanders •were privileged to take part. This news will act as, a balm to those whose sorrow and anxiety on account of those at the front knows no end; it should also serve as stimulus to the recruiting going en so Steadily. Mr Winston Churchill is to be thanked for these words : in the dark days ahead it will be something to remember that away in the Homeland thev are saying the 'one to the other: "If yon are anxious or depressed, watch Australia and New Zealand."

Watch Australia and New Zealand.