THE PAN-GERMAN PLOT.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LX, Issue 17061, 14 August 1917, Page 5

THE PAN-GERMAN PLOT.

WHAT THE HUNS SET OUT TO DO

It is now clear that the Germans meditated the establishment under German rule of a vast confederation comprising, in the West, Germany, Holland,- Belgium, Luxemburg, and a large part of France; in the East, Austria-Hungary, Russian Poland, a large portion of Russia, the Balkan States, and T rkey. The Germanic Confederation was to form a huge customs union with treaties of commerce of a special character. Germany was to control the whole area, comprising 4,000,000 spuare' kilometres and 204,000,000 inhabitants, of whom only 77,000,000 would be German.

In the East the watchword was | 4'From Hamburg to the Persian Gulf.' This scheme was to be carried out by means of a railway from Hamburg to Bagdad. The plan very nearly came off.

In 1916 the Germans were already in control of 3,500,000 kilometres out of the 4,000,000. To-day they are still in possession of a greater f.art of this territory, but are gradually being driven out.' The Germans know that they cannot hope to retain the part of France in their occupation, or Belgium, and that their scheme for the expropriation of Holland is doomed to failure. They are, however, playing for a peace which will leave them in possession of what they control in the East. If they can retain this, it will be worth their while to give up Alsace-Lorraine. If the Germans can maintain their control over Austria-Hungary, the Balkans, and Turkey, they will be in possession of an area containing 3,----500,000 square kilometres, and over 150,000,000 inhabitants. Small effort of imagination is required to visualize what would take place in the future ,in the event of such an arrangement. !Any Power which controlled such a population and such a huge area would soon be able to dominate the rest of Europe. A well-organised population of 150,000,000 would provide no fewer than 21,000,000 soldiers, controlled by a single hand. All this shows that we must keep an eye on the East, and how necessary it is that the man in the street should learn to understand and appreciate the importance of the new Eastern question.