The Sun FRIDAY, JULY 21, 1916. DISQUIET IN CENTRAL EUROPE

Sun (Christchurch), Volume III, Issue 763, 21 July 1916, Page 6

The Sun FRIDAY, JULY 21, 1916. DISQUIET IN CENTRAL EUROPE

I Whatever its significance, it; may jbe remarked that never at any stige i of the world-war has there been so much talk from Germany of economic trouble and domestic discontent as now. This increase of pessimism in the Fatherland can he 'dated from about the time the Rus- ■ sians threw their whole might | against the Austrians from the Prii pet to Rumania, and smashed in the j enemy's front. Up to the beginning r of June it was generally expected ; that the Central Empires were: only ;j awaiting a favourable opportunity to strike al Kicff and Petrograd, but, t j'lo the surprise and discomfiture ofj ;', the enemy, the Russians suddenly' i launched an offensive which immediately produced major results, and has continued to do so up to the | present. While the military situation favoured the Teutons, while, I anv dav promised an attack on a ! I ; large scale against Germany's foes, : | the German citizens, possessed of in-1 ifinite confidence in their military; j masters, suffered in silence. They j i could not believe that it was pos- j i sible for the initiative to he taken I from their armies, and it was only ' When the blow fell in the East, and! j the long-talked-of British drive was j 1 begun north of the Sonime, that the' , German people, recognising the j gravity of the position, were moved

to complaints, and their'outcries have been re-echoed in the German and neutral Press. It was a new and dangerous change that had .come about—this pressure throwing Germany on the defensive. Anxiety j was piled on anxiety at the collapse i of the Austrians on the Italian and I the Russian fronts, and the failure i of the Crown Prince to hack a way through into Verdun. The rush of enthusiasm at the first reports of j the naval battle off Jutland passed with the publication of the British Admiralty's interim statements, and the belated and almost shamed ad-! mission thai the German authorities j had misled live country as to the ac-1

I'.iuiif losses sustained. me peoples I suspicions were immediately arousi e<l. If the authorities coulil be so j mendacious in one instance, what guarantee was there that they would not be as brazen whenever it suited their particular purpose? The stark fact remaining after all the fiction and hysteric boasting of a section of the German politicians and Press was that the blockade had only been affected by the Jutland battle in that it left Britain free to increase the pressure. All these things have combined to sap the enduring patience of the (ierman non-combat-ants. The military situation holds out no hope of Germany ever being able to resume her old dominating position in the field. The turn of the tide has made inevitable her ultimate defeat if all goes well with the Grand Alliance, ll is not 100 much lo say thai Hie Kaiser's titanic war machine is at lasl beginning lo go backward. Hussia grows more powerful every month. Her depots arc crowded with reserves, as are Britain's, and unlimited munitions ;m<l an ample supply of reserves are a winning combination. In the circumstances I he pessimism in the ] Fatherland, expressed and repressed, is not to be wondered at, and il will

be intensified if, as seems a certainty, Hie German populace is forced to undergo the privations of another winter with the troops slill in the trenches. One may take up another hole in the belt without 'much remonstrance when the sun is shining, but it is quite another I matter when the tightening process lis called for in the rigours of a ! European winter. The prospect of j another winter campaign must be '■ distasteful to all parties, but particularly so to the Germans and Austrians, who are being bled to the bone, and at the .same time kept on paltry, and at limes, inaccessible rations. When Austria thinned her Eastern front in order to concentrate her military resources with a view to smashing the Italians and invading Italy, she gave the Rus- j sians an opportunity which was put to excellent use. The prime result I to date has been to pin Germany, down tight on all fronts, and rob her of the power of initiative she has so long held, the while her ally shrinks before the onslaughts of the Russians and Italians. The autumn months should show still morel satisfactory results. - = I The revival of German submarine activity is not a threat, but an actuality, for in the last few days the cable messages have announced the loss of several ships. It is evident, from the German Press that the' people are being led to expect a sub-l marine campaign of much greater! intensity, not to starve England this tune, for the enemy has learned j much since the early days of the! "unterzeeboot" warfare, but to pre-! vent England from forcing the neutrals which assist in feeding Ger-| many to take an "unfriendly attitude." Since Rritain has thrown j overboard the whole of the terms of the Declaration of London, by which | she restricted her exercise of sea' power, she probably has at least the intention of making it still more difficult for neutrals to get supplies more than sufficient for themselves,' and they will be forced to conserve; their commodities, just as some of the German States are refusing to' [allow their food reserves to be ex-' ported into other States which are' j worse off. In that case Germany j 'would use her submarines still more! I violently, if that were possible, as a j j retaliatory measure. But that has ! been done before, without any suc-| I cess other than that Britain and; | various neutrals lost a considerable! ! amount of shipping and suffered the! j inconvenience of a shortage in cargo 1 space. That loss, as Mr Runciman announced not long ago, was made, up for by the number of ships built hj in British dockyards. No doubt! Germany, too, has steadily replaced! her lost submarines, and is prepared!

iu nimiii n mi iiiuic I lawlessness, which is lo be really ruthless thb time, but the achievements of the past must give small comfort to those who propose it as a last resource, Germany's food troubles are driving her rulers to desperate means, yel even the hampering of Britain's commerce will not let up the blockade. One may ignore the possibility of American intervention in the mfttter, for the Presidential elections are too near for her to seriously act in any case, but some of the German Press seem to have an uneasy eye on that country. There seems to be no doubt that Germany is preparing to launch one more underwater stroke at Britain, although it may be regarded as the despairing violence of desperate rulers.

I The opening of the Government ; school of telegraphy for girls yesteriday is another indication of wide 'changes which are coming and of problems to be solved. That women J will make as efficient telegraph i operators as they make efficient typists, stenographers, and ledger clerks I no one can doubt, and in such occupations their numbers have increased year after year without any im- ! petus. In New Zealand the effect of ! the war has not been so marked as in Europe, where such an impetus | has been given to the employment iof women in all sorls of industries ; formerly believed to be the exclujsive field of the male that even trade union leaders are convinced that they! |have come to slay. But here, also,! j women who have taken over the ■ ! jobs of men on service are not likely i to go out of employment immediate-j jly the men return, and we already j [have our problem of providing for | the returned soldier. Under ordinj ary circumstances the woman employee, especially in a country where, the sexes are about equal in number,! ; may reasonably expect to marry, andj jlhat the average woman does expect j 110 marry is Ihe main argument' | against equal pay for equal work, j since a man may also reasonably; j expect lo support a wife and family, i But now there are thousands of I women who must look forward to j making their own way in Ihe world! for the rest of their lives, since so many thousands of men will never: come back, and it is these who will make the future problems of industry, and will introduce new eondi-' lions. In a country such as England,! where the female population greatly outnumbered Ihe male population' even in ordinary times, Ihe diflicui-j lies will he greatest, and are already!' giving concern. Time, of course,) will make ils own adjustments, andj! in New Zealand immigration will I help, but in some occupations ifl| seems probable that women wiil be- < come predominant. I