The Daily News. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 1916. UNITY AMONG THE ALLIES.

Taranaki Daily News, 14 February 1916, Page 4

The Daily News. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 1916. UNITY AMONG THE ALLIES.

Whatever may have been the case in the past concerning that unity of action amongst the Allies, without which valuable time and golden opportunities for important operations were thrown away, there can be no doubt that to-day there exists not only perfect unity as to the general conduct of the war, and as to its prosecution to a successful and decisive issue, but also relative to detailed operations in the various war theatres so that the best use may be made of the forces of each Power in attaining the object in view. To-day's cables eontain several references to this all-im-portant phase of the war, and they should afford the students of war developments satisfactory material for serious attention. M. Scrgius Sazanoff (the Russian Foreign Minister), is reported io have said in an interview at Moscow that the Allies were in perfect agreement, that the Austro-Germans must be rendered perfectly harmless, and that means, beyond all possible doubt, that the war will not end until our enemies are absolutely crushed and deprived of their power to disturb the peace of the world for many years to come. While 11. Sazonoff does not consider that the war will end this year, he is of opinion that it cannot be protracted "as Germany will be unable to bear the financial strain, her present financial position being very grave." By a curious coincidence the truth of this assertion is strongly supported by another of to-day's cables, wherein the Lausanne Gazette reports that two of the largest German banks have filed, their liabilities amounting to five hundred million marks. It is well-known that Germany is trying to accumulate a gold reserve, and that her people, conifident of victory and of vast indemnities from the vanquished Allies, have been accepting uncomplainingly the endlesschain of paper money system—printed promises of the Government to pay—and as long as their faith remains unshattered, Germany is in no clangor of internal financial collapse, but when that childlike faith is undermined it will not take long for a panic to set in. It

ill, therefore, be easily understood that the failure of large banking institutions may bo the means of forcibly tearing the scales from the eyes of the German people, for it is rarely that, under such [adverse circumstances which exist in Germany, when banks have to close down, that a panic does not follow and spread with awful consequences. Tt looks very much as if the German authorities will have to use armed force to uphold their promises to pay. If we turn from Germany to France, it will be seen in to-day's cables how greatly improved is the position of the Allies. M. Briand (the French Premier) points out how that in the past the enemy's greatest strength has lain in her remarkable system of transportation, which permitted the rapid concentration of huge forces on any front, but now that the Allies have attained perfect unity, they are enabled to completely encircle Hie Austro-Germans with a ring of steel, equally strong and impregnable at every point, rendering the enemy's means of transportation impotent. We learn also to-day that Russia is baffling the Aus-tro-Garmans and upsetting all their plans; that Roumania appears to be definitely on the point of joining the Allies, and that everything indicates big events are pendirg. Allied troop 3 are pouring into Salonika and the future looks very bright with promise. This is the result of unity of action and agreement in council.