The Star. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 1915 EDITORIAL NOTES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 11482, 2 September 1915, Page 4

The Star. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 1915 EDITORIAL NOTES.

. -As it Is Impossible to follow tlie con- ! flicting, coloured and purposely incoherent reports from the Eastern front with any degree of reliability, it is ini stractivd to read what an. anonymous t' expert, writing in the "Novoe Yremf ya," th© most influential journal in | Russia, .-vfter the first German snoceeses ■ fin Galicia and Poland, thought was the •<> enemy's objective. The information t contained ia the article was evidently 1 from direct official sources, and it, " ! i pointed out that Petrograd y'• the 'goal of the German armies. , Now, Napoleon, believing that Russia had ar- ' rived at th© rune stage of centralisation. as had the war? modern States of Europe, decided on Moscow, the anMtaient o2 'th© Russian Empire. Hralapoleoirs experience had proved to Bppi that with .the fall of the enemy's BPbafeital his effective resistance was KSi&d. He failed, however, to grasp IV thft fact that Russia had not developed '' into an organised industrial nation with a centre like Paris, whose existence was vital to the independence of the State. For his failure to grasp thi salient fact, Napoleon suffered disaster and ultimate banishment. At the present time, if the forecast of the " Novoe Vremya " is correct, ' the Germans are making the same mistake as did Napoleon. For, though ■ Russia has advanced greatly in industrial life as compared with a century ago, her industries are still essentially agricultural, and though there are manufacturing centres their destruction would not cripple the country. Of v caunse, it would bo a different matter if the Germans wero to capture and destroy the arsenals. Why then does Germany seek Petrograd? The German General Staff are a practical set of men, and they know tfmt the area around Petrograd is more or less industrialised. The largest 'ship-building yards aro there, and li is the chief naval dockyard. Tho 'Russian Navy has been making mat- ' r Hers by no means easy for the Germans in the Baltic and in the Gulf of 'Riga, but if Petrograd should be taken ihf Russian fleet would be deprived of its chief base. The largest ordnance works, too, are near the capital, audi there is a large cotton stock in the Petrograd regiou, both to the south And >to the east. In the event of the capital becoming untenable the Russians would, of course, remove or destroy everything which might be of use to the enemy,, but they could not construct dockyards and ordnance works at a week's notice.

Another object that the Germans have in mind in attempting to reach Petrograd is to make an impression m Scandinavia. Sweden especially has leanings toward Germany, and the Germans have so widened and deop- - t>ned their influence in Sweden that thut country is somewhat in th© posi-t-ion of a dependent. Taking advantage oi her commercial position in Sweden, Germany has for many years been poisoning tho vS wed i.4i. mind against K-n-sia. Sweden is always reminded ihat Russia. robbed her of Finland, and 1 lints have beon dropped that, in "X----chs nge for Sweden's, help, Finland ivould be restored to her. But the Finns are making ready reinforcements to the Czar's armies, so it is hardly likely that they would assist Germany in this project. In addition there are physical reasons for preferring Petrograd an objective. From Mifcau, in the .Riga province, the capital is only a little over 300 mile* in a straight lino. The ooiiniry i* well deve!oj/fd and iheiv is a iair jfc, (tyPtyga Mi xtmlsu Diken tiiorjc aro

1 it.morons Germans. fifteended Irom tho old .settlers who helped to colonies the Baltic province. The Russians hnrs fnnnd many of these. men in hiob Govern in cut. positions acting as traitors, und bet weou 'Mi tan and Potrocjrad the inv?tdera aro likely to get a pood d-,r»l ; of help from this .source. I If, on the oilier hand, the Austro- ; Germans made Moscow their objective j they would hnvo to cross a nearly roadloss wilderness of 700 miles. Beside*, ! there arc great physical obstacles, such as good defensive positions behind rivers and marshes, such as do not exr?t on tho road -to Potroffrad. Again Moscow, although it is now a very im- ' portnnt manufacturing centre, does not j contain shipyards or ordnatieo works. Bi.it even with' the Germans in posses- ' -ioi) of Pctrograd. the Russian resist- ' anco would not bo slackened. The industries would be transferred to tho ! south, where, with tho opening of tho j Dardanelles, the war industries at least could bo carried oti. The Turkish difficulty with regard to munitions of war is of a. twofold nature. Tho tirst difficulty is that of obtaining adequate supplies and the second is in. getting what supplies are available to tho firing; line on tho Gallipoli Peninsula. Krupps have established a munition factory at Constantinople, but it cannot meat the ever-increasing requirements of the Sultan's army, while Rumania, by adhering to apolicy of tho strictest neutrality, has cut off supplies promised by Germany. To-day's cable messages indicate, that the position is becoming acute. Turkey complains: that the attitude of Rumania is unfriendly. • Whatever the attitude of that particular Balkan Power may he, it is keeping strictly to the laws of neutrality and it is a navv development for a- combatant nation f to protest araingst the neutrality of j another Power. • With regard to the second difficulty, that of getting munitions and'-supplies to the liring line, a glance at a map will make tho matter clear. The Turkish forces oil tho peninsula 'must he supplied from Consuiu' inmile. These supplies cannot m:H: ,i iiv road, for to do this they v i'>ve to pass Bulair. at tho en. i; 1 tho Sea of Marmora, and Bui • under the fire from tho .ships in ;h> Gulf of Saros. Supplies must therefore be sent by water across the Sea of Marmora and landed at Maidos or Ak Basi. But here the submarines of the . Allies have proved their mettle. They have entered the Sea of Marmora and several transports have been destroyed. The Turks have still a counter-move. They can send their supplies down the Asiatic side nearly as far as the Narrows. or as elo*e to the Narrows a*s the warships will allow, and then send them across on ferry boats. The submarines cannot easily interfere with this pro'coss, since the straits are so narrow that they would be seen at once, and they could easily be .hit.from the shore. On the other hand, the Asiatic, route is a difficult one" and the'ferrying of heavy ammunition is Still more difficult. Neutral correspondents hare stated that the recruits for the Turkish army are being equipped with old-fashioned weapons, and for this state of affairs also Rumania is blamed. What might he termed a neutral blockade has cut off Turkey from her chief source of supply, and any attempt to remove that blockade, by threats or force, must drive Rumania into the camp of tho Allies.

For some years people in North Canterbury have looked! forward to the opening of Lee's Valley, and the pastors 1 country generally referred to as the Oxford hinteriand. The lease of a large tract expired some time ago and the Government, in pursuance of its intention to sub-divide, purchased the only two blocks of freehold in the valley. The land is somewhat difficult of access, but last year the Public Works Department relieved the looal labour market when it was badly congested by sending otjt men to make a road through the Ashley Gorge. It was confidently expected, at that time, that the land would be thrown open at an early date and the deolaration of the Minister of Lands will bo welcome be available until February of next year will disappoint many people. The drainage work which has to be carried out affects the two freehold blocks, both of which are very swampy. In all 33,000 acres will be open for ; settlement early next year, but iu wilt only bo a matter of thresa or four years and then tho lease of tho Snowdale run, on the opposite side of the valley, will expire. This i 9 a fine block of pastoral country, watered by tho Whistler and other rivers. When it, in turn, is sub-divided and thrown open for settlement it should add appreciably to the prosperity of North Canterbury in general and the Oxford district in particular. The reply of the Minister of Lands will be welcome for one reason: it will put an end to the rumours which have been current to the effect that the present lessees of the land had secured a lengthy extension of their leases. NEWS FROM DARDANELLES. "The Star" will be pleased to ro* ceive for publication, and pay fer, .etters which have been sent by soldiers serving with the Expeditionary Forces to their relatives and frUnds in New Zealand. Manuscripts will be oarafully copied and returned to senders immediately.