The Wanganui Herald. (Published Daily.) MONDAY, JANUARY 29, 1917. THE GERMAN WAY.

Wanganui Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15132, 29 January 1917, Page 4

The Wanganui Herald. (Published Daily.) MONDAY, JANUARY 29, 1917. THE GERMAN WAY.

A Beitish officer who was prisonered in a recent raid is, according to a Paris cable, credited with haying stated that the Germans never discharged aspTiyxi : ating gas without the special authorisations of the Kaiser, who is anxious to reduce to a minimum war cruelties. No one, of course, will take the cable seriously, though the message is significant, in the first place, it is extremely unlikely that such a declaration was ever made by a British officer; and, in the second place, little reliance is likely to be placed upon any statement concerning the Kaiser’s desire to avoid needless cruelty, in view of his failure to prevent the destruction of towns in States which have been over-run by German hordes, or barbarities and cruelties perpetrated on men, women, and children in those States, or the sinking of defenceless ships, or the bombing of defenceless English towns, or the deportation and enslavement of Belgians and other unfortunate victims of Hun barbarity. The Kaiser anxious to reduce to a minimum war cruelties, indeed! Why only a few days ago the German Press were hilariously jubilant over the declaration that the calling up of all the musclemale and female—in Germany, as' also in the unfortunate occupied States, was to be followed by a sudden revival of widespread and most violent warfare, in which all forms of frightfulness will be introduced. The two statements do not coincide. What, then, is the object of making two such diametrically opposite declarations? The first message was sent through American sources, and was intended, no doubt, for the especial benefit of neutrals, the object being to terrorise them ajid prevent them, if possible, from joining the Allies. It would seem from to-day’s cables that the Germans fear they are to be treated with severe doses of similar medicine to that which they inflicted in the earlier stages of the war on the unsuspecting and unprepared Allies. The Allies, however, are not to be thwarted in their purpose by pleas or threats of frightfulness, and will pursue their active war policy until the present conditions become to Germany so intolerable and the chance she hopes for so slight and remote that she will be forced into a peace of despair. The blockade is weakening Germany more than any of the Allies’ military operations have yet been able to do, and the same sea-power is destroying her economic force. Already her exports have ceased, threeparts of her manufactures have had to close down, and it would be years, even if peace were declared now, before she could patch up her industry agajn. Therefore, since it has been at last realised that there can be no longer any question of indemnities, for Germany anyhow, there comes in view for her an •nevitable prospect of enormous, taxes, beneath which she may crack up entirely, unless sue can come out of the war with territories large and rich enough to secure to her great economic expansion. Germany’s present situation may be fairly summed up by saying that peace even now would mean to her a threat of ruin unless it left her her hold on Africa or the Near and Middle East or both. Since the Allies won’t leave her these things, Germany’s dilemma must be as serious as a nation can have. She stands between peace with a tnreat of rjuin land war with the same threat. Seeing that her military force, though exhaustion can be seen ahead of it, is not yet exhausted, and that she can look back to a succession of not altogether barren victories whoso evidence, as illustrated by the map, seems to appeal very much to her types of mind, she intends pursuing the war with greater violence and ; frightfulness than ever, in the hope that something will happen in her favour.