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Taranaki Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 144666, 28 April 1915, Page 2

The man in the street is saying that the war will -soon be 'over, though, it is difficult to see what grounds he has for this opinion. There is absolutely no sign that Germany is weakening in her determination to fight to the hitter end.... The recent fighting in Belgium shows ho lack of guns, ammunition; or men on the side of the Germans, and the Allies, with all their increased re-

sources, have as yet made no advances that are visible on a map of ordinary scale. On the western front the Russians are hardly ,in as,good position as they .were after the wav had been going on for three months. They had then, crossed the Carpathians and occupied the whole of Galicia. Now they have to fight' for every yard of the Carpathian passes. So long as Germany is free from invaders the German people will persuade themselves that all is well, and the manufacture of munitions and clothing for the army will go on steadily. The people of Germany are well organised and, even when the hope of victory grows dimmer, they will tight on in the expectation that dissensions will arise among the Allies. It is always a mistake to undervalue an enemy, but in this case the people of the Dominion in general have so little idea of the real resources of Germany and the determination of its people that false ideas are very likely to arise. Tho proper attitude to take is to hope that the war may end soon, but to act as if it might continue for years.

Tho fact that Germany has deliberately failed to observe the conventions qpmmon to all civilised nations in tho conduct of the present war is now fully recognised throughout the world. The treatment of Belgium, where the population is now on the verge of starvation, the sinking of merchant vessels by submarines without any inquiry as to their nationality or provision for tho safety of their crews and passengers, and the use of poisonous gases to suffocate tho enemy are all well established facts which prove that the Gormans regard themselves as bound by no laws human or divine in their attempts to secure victory. Though these breaches of rules affect the Allies very seriously and give the Germans an unfair advantage over men who still remain humane, it seems probable that the gtpn will ultimately he on tho side of tho Allies. Every neutral country, seeing tho barbarism of tho Germans and knowing that it may be turned against them in the future if tho Gormans are successful in tho present contest, will bo animated by the utmost hostility to the country which is undoubtedly tho enemy of civilisation. This outside opinion will prove a great support to tho Allies, who will have the sympathy of the whole world in their attempts to suppress once for all tho unexpected outbreak of barbarism.

A movement initiated at Tamnanmui lias for its object the construction of a first-class national highway between Auckland and Wellington, something on the lines of that being built between New York and San Francisco. It is proposed to link up existing roads, bridge the streams lying along the ronto principally la-tween Taumarunui and 'ifnhape, and build the missing stretch of road between Taumarunui and To Kuiti. It is believed by the advocates of. the work that if this 100-milo road could be put in first-class order, metalled at least, and with a concrete bed in parts, it would give an impetus to trade between town and country that is hardly, realisable. Motor traffic would rapidly develop, and the cost of living, which presses hardly on residents in the remote interior, would he substantially reduced, because prosperity would come wherever easy locomotion was possible. The idea is an excellent one, and suggests a similar movement in which Taranaki and Auckland might well co-operate, to connect these two provinces more closely by the completion of the road between Waitara and To Kuiti. Not only would this servo as a connecting link between the Auckland province and the -whole of this coast, hut it would also serve well as a through route between- Wellington Auckland, not much longer than the proposed road through tho centre of the island, and a pleasanter one to travel by, especially for tourists, who would be able to "do” the Waitomo Caves, the Mokau River, and Mount Egmont without much deviation from t|ie main road. The road has this advantage also, that the whole of it, from Te .Kuiti to Waitara, is formed, and about half of it already metalled and a good motoring road in summer or winter. There remains about forty, or fifty miles to metal and the -Mokau River to bridge, and these works carried out there would be a first-class road from Wellington to Te Kuiti. Between the latter place and Auckland much remains to bo done, but that is common, to both routes, and must ill any case be done in -the near future.