The Waikato Times With which is incorporated The Waikato Argus. SATURDAY, AUGUST 26, 1916. ALL MUST HELP

Waikato Times, Volume 87, Issue 13269, 26 August 1916, Page 4

The Waikato Times With which is incorporated The Waikato Argus. SATURDAY, AUGUST 26, 1916. ALL MUST HELP

The greatest tiling in the world is to beat Germany. That is the task with which we are confronted, and have to carry through. We have made a start on the contract, and it has been forced home upon us hard and unmistakably that it is the hardest and stiffest proposition with which we as a nation have ever been faced —and that is saying a lot. When, at the outset, the late Lord Kitchener predicted that we were committed to a three years' struggle, we regarded it as incredible, and believed that our late Chief Secretary for War was putting the worst possible complexion upon things. We never imagined that Germany and Austria, even with the aid of Bulgaria and Turkey, could defy the combined forces of the Entente Powers for such a lengthy period. Events, however, have j.roved that Lord Kitchener knew whereof he spoke, and, unpalatable as the truth is, there is very slight hope of escaping another winter campaign with its attendant hardships, sufferings and privations to the men in the trenches. The great offensive, from which so much was anticipated, is making slow progress. It is a case of hammering through and bears no semblance whatever to a triumphal march. While there can be no doubt whatever as to the final result —even Mr Lloyd George, who is of an unusually optimistic temperament, admits that though he can see the end, it is still dim in the distance —it will require the utmost ene*y and the utilisation of every resource to accomplish the consummation of our hopes. Mr Lloyd George is not singular in this opinion. The Overseas Parliamentarians who have recently been shown Britain prepared and preparing on land and sea, and subsequently went on a visit to the Western theatre, have expressed themselves similarly—that though Britain has done wonders, she is not overwhelmingly strong, and the task ahead of her will require every ounce of strength from all her people in every part of the globe. The enemy will be conquered, but when? He is still of respectable strength, his machinery is great, his organisation is magnificent, he is a past-master in resourcefulness, he is dismayed by no difficulty, and hampered with no scruples. These things have been emphasised time and time again, but it is imperative to keep them as frontlets before our eyes so that we cannot forget them. We are easily lulled to sleep and like to be assured that all is well. All is not well, and all -will not be well until every Briton realises what is required of him and makes up his mind to do it. - The only thing certain is that we have got to win, and the more we use our energies and brains and the more active and determined we are, Individually as welt as collectively, the sooner will daw* tte moss of vfclsnr. Tne longer

we dally and procrastinate the longer will the struggle be, and the greater the sacrifice and the higher the price paid for victory. The War Loan and the Military Service Act open up avenues for service ! by which every New Zealander can do something to hasten the end. The first was largely availed of, and ;t is still open. It provides a way in which every man and woman, and a great many children, can assist to win the war with little or no sacrifice and even ultimate profit. The response to the appeal for money and the readiness of men of military age to assist the enrolment of the Expeditionary Force Reserve will show whether the people realise the position as clearly as they should. There is nothing compulsory about assisting with the loan —it is altogether a moral obligation upon the citizens: but the enrolment of reservists under the Military Service Act, while not less obligatory in a moral sense, is also a matter of legal compulsion and failure to comply with the requirements of the Act by men of military age will invoke serious penalties.