THROUGH GERMAN SPECTACLES.

Waikato Times, Volume 87, Issue 13269, 26 August 1916, Page 2 (Supplement)

THROUGH GERMAN SPECTACLES.

The German newspapers share with a famous but feeble-minded character in fiction the peculiar privilege of "hearing things." Every now and then they "hear" that there is a mutiny in India, or that, 3000 or 4000 Australians have been shot in Cairo by the "natives" (who possess no arms), or that bread riots have broken out in Manchester, or that the Prime Minister's windows have been broken by "infuriated conscripts." FALLING TO PIECES.

One of the latest victims of this unpleasant disease, which is so closely associated in its symptoms with the condition known to the general practitioner as delirium tremens, is the Hamburg "Fremdenblatt," Jt has heard that neutrals are of opinion that England is "falling to pieces"; that the British Government, has practically ceased to exist, and that our forces at the front aro utterly disorganised.

'From the front wo hear that every French prisoner, be he officer or private, foams at the mouth about England'* inactivity. 'We have to do everything, the English do nothing; is the doilv recurring cry. The fact is that England does not even dream ot suffering any more important losses on the Continent. Her war aim has been shifted to another point, and it goes on shifting further every I day. "In the earlier days of the war she risked her troops without seruplo m order to cause Germany bloody losses, and to weaken her as much as possible. At the present time England thinks that this result is within reach. Hence she grows more anxious than ever to 'be sparing of her strength, and to augment her well-being—in one trord, to place herself in the best possible condition to meet the advent of MUST BE HELD.

The other Hamburg paper, Nachrichten, thinfcs, on the other hand, that we have arrived at a state of complete paralysis, but warns Germany against the danger of. British cunning at such a. crieie:— "We deem it our highest duty to declare that, precisely,at this moment, when, as Hindeabuirg says, the enemy begins to show signs of utter paralysis, the German people must be doubly on its, .guard not to aßow itself to. Be caught by cunning Ettglißh r made illusions, and induced to be swindled •tki" of a future which it may g*atqp>, in its ;own hands whenever ii hkes.. "A Belgium such as Gtjeat Britain and France would have it, wonld derit that place in the have. On this point afl"th|*e <»t*rtt» in which they love to tbe

strong ;resentinerit,. which is Jhus expressed*by the "local Post: "In the totest imrafetpal ordfer w;e read : ' The police are instructed to visit all cafes, theatres, and places of resort, to arrest ail ladies found there who are dressed too conspicuously in accordance with the fashions, and to conduct them to the police station for examination.' "Wo should not demur to this regulation if wo could be sure that it waa directed solely against those who so scandalously transgress by their scanty attire against the code of decency. Unfortunately, however, we know of instances where women of the best classes have been subjected to police rudeness for which no possible excuse can be found. "Are we living again in the days of the sans-culottes of the French ltevolu-

tion?" s, • COUPONS FOR STOMACHS.

The multiplicity and complexity of I food tickets inspire the Berlin "Vor- I waerts" to the advocacy of books of cou- I pons for domestic use: — It would be a. wise thing to transform the bread, flour and all the rest of tho tribe into a species of stomachic travelling booklet after the fashion of the popular touring railway books. He who should be unfortunate enough to lose his book should be compelled to starve until the next issue, but the theft of foodtickets, would be prevented, and a person who misappropriated a stomachic travelling book would be liable to severe punishment.

Far too frequently one hears of cases where women, desirous of securing additional moat tickets, offer persons poorer than themselves sums of. money to part with them. This traffic is going on without shame, and quite openly. Such creatures are concerned only about them selves; their cavernous stomachs must be filled, no matter how others may suffer. The food hogs and unscrupulous hoarders would also find themselves brought up short in their selfish and unpatriotic procedure.

PRIMATE IX MUFTI. The "Vossische Zeitung" gives the F>laee of honor to an attack by Pastor ] [mmanuel Hoyn, of the Kaiser Willielm Memorial Church in Berlin on tbe_ Archbishop of Canterbury. In justice to Pastor Heyn. however, it should be explained that he does not know that it isi the Primate lie is criticising. Ho regards hini as an obscure person by the name of "Herr Randall Cantnar.": — Where is the true professor of the religion of .Testis who does not lament the circumstance that the most devout professors of that religion in EuropK the Germans and the English, should be such bitter enemies and should strive to crush one another in the dust instead of bein<j; friendly rivals in works of morality and philanthropy And vet —I can neither pray nor work with oiie who slanders me or mine. _ I can hold no lasting religious communion with one who, though perhaps willing, is not capable of drawing from the religion which he professes, in common with myself, the samo moral duties and responsibilities which ho demands of me and mv people Finally, there is a question I must ask of Herr Randall Cantnar. The | heaviest, blow that the English have struck at all honest mission work consisted in the circumstance that from Africa. India, Japan, they procured armies of colored humanity to fight in the field asainst Christian Europeans. Do Herr Cantnar and his associates think that such a sin was atoned for by the subsequent revolting offer of English gold to European missionary societies? No, sir, deply though I lament it so long as such a standpoint is maintained by the English, so long must wo Germans decline all community of prayer or of work with tliem of absolute moral impossibilities.