Current Topics

New Zealand Tablet, 12 October 1916, Page 21

Current Topics

War and the Hate Spirit There has not been published, so far as we know, in any previous war anything at all comparable to Lissauer’s ‘ Hymn of Hate ’; but though there may have been in past wars no formal incitements to mutual hatred amongst the belligerents the virtue ( !) has been at all times vigorously practised. It is, in fact, one of the essential and ineradicable evils of war that it generates in otherwise charitably-minded people the thoroughly un-Christian and anti-Christian spirit of hate. In his work on The Four Georyes , Thackeray describes at length how we wrote and spoke of the French during the Napoleonic wars. ‘We prided ourselves/ he says, ‘ on our prejudices ; we blustered and bragged with absurd vain-glory; we dealt to our enemy a monstrous injustice of contempt and scorn : we fought him with all weapons, mean as well as heroic. There was no lie we would not believe ; no charge of crime which our furious prejudice would not credit. I thought at one time of making a collection of the lies which the French had written against us, and we had published against them, during the war; it would bo a strange memorial of popular falsehood.’ It would—but it would be nothing to the memorial of colossal hate and malice which could be compiled in connection with the present struggle. A New 4 Fake ’ Some people are victimised through .their ignorance, some through their affections, others through their passions, still others through their —fancying themselves more cunning than their neighbors. But it seems to be reserved to Catholics to be ‘ got at ’ through >their spirit of piety. Religion, in this case, 1 is used for the advancement of sordid ends. The guilty parties used to be, for the most part, wandering nuisances armed with novel objects of devotion and rubbishy books in glaring bindings ; the latest development is a devotional mail order fake. We learn from American papers that a neat folder containing instructions how to obtain a ‘ direct and personal blessing from the Holy Father ’ is being mailed from Rome to residents of the State of Washington, and doubtless to the residents of other States also. Here is a portion of the alluring circular which accompanies this guileful offer; ‘As only a favored few have the privilege of being able to visit the Eternal City and so obtain a direct and personal blessing from the Holy Father, Catholics, far removed, will doubtless be glad to know of a means by which they also can participate in this much valued benediction. Remit one dollar to Miss Josephine Englefield, care of American Express Co., Rome, to cover expenses, including apostolic fee. The blessing is printed on Roman vellum, with a fine photograph inset, representing his Holiness . Benedict XV., seated on his throne and wearing pontifical stole, in the act of imparting the Papal Blessing, and round the photograph is a handsome illuminated design bearing the Papal insignia. These blessings, which can be obtained in any language, are forwarded by registered mail in especially constructed tubes for ample protection.’ * The idea that h Miss Josephine Englefield, or an American Express Co. should be in a position to deal out Papal blessings to all and sundry at a dollar a time is too absurd for even the simplest and softest of Catholics. We have little fear that anyone anywhere will be taken in, but it is just, as well to draw attention to the fraud, and so anticipate any attempt on the part of Miss Josephine or the American Express Co. to jimload ’ on to New Zealand.

The 4 Tablet * and the Back-blocks Sterne'' sighed over the caterpillar that never reached the grace and beauty of adult life in the butterfly. And the moralist sighs over the good intentions that, never following their proper development into the glory of good actions, drop in dry and shrivelled incompletion—mere species virutibiis similes —to pave the floor of hell. 'Ah, thank ’ee, neighbor/ said a perspiring English shepherd to the friendly wayfarer who had prevented the driven flock taking The wrong road ; ‘ thank —a little help is worth a deal ’o pity.’ Those engaged in the ticklish task of religious journalism realise, at least as fully as most others, the chasm that too often yawns between good intention and realisation, between the 'little help’ and _ the ‘ deal of pity ’ —and how often fervid sentiment and flattering resolutions in favor of supporting and spreading the Catholic newspaper end like the courage of Bob Acres, which sneaked out at his finger-tips when the time for action came. * The good intentions of the correspondent who writes to us from Blenheim in regard to the extension of the Tablet’s sphere of usefulness in the out-back regions of the country are of the strictly practical kind, as his letter sufficiently shows. We need not add to his earnest and sympathetic description of the difficulties and drawbacks and religious disabilities of Jit'e in the remote, ill-roaded, and sparsely settled backblocks. If the Catholic paper is found to be an invaluable aid in preserving, the faith and promoting good livinga teacher, preacher, guide, and friend—even in districts well supplied with religious facilities, it is easy to see what ample scope for its good offices there must be in those distant settlements which are without church or school, and which are served with only a very occasional Mass. The difficulty, so far as we are concerned, _is the practical one of getting in touch with the households so situated. Our correspondent has shown a way by which at least a start can be made. We accept his offer and to " encourage others to follow so excellent and praiseworthy an example, we undertake, for every pound received for the purpose, to send the Tablet to two out-back residents whose names and addresses are supplied by the donor, this being a substantial reduction on the ordinary subscription rate. Our Blenheim reader has given the good work a start; it will depend on others how far it is to go. A Captious Critic In our daily papers in the last week of June a cablegram appeared stating definitely that General Carranza had declared war on America. Accordingly, in dealing with the situation, we began our article by quoting the cable to the effect that had declared war on America, though we pointed out that general hostilities had not so far developed, and that there was a possibility, though a somewhat remote one, that the pending conflict might be averted. Prior to this, some skirmishes had already taken place, and regarding these we gave definite and authenticated particulars. Upon which our contemporary, the Boston Sacred Heart Review , with futile and very much misdirected energy, takes us to task. We have destroyed the number, but we quote from memory the substance of our contemporary’s remarks: ‘ The censorship in New Zealand, it said, ‘ must be responsible for the statement in the New Zealand Tablet that Mexico has declared war on America. But the Tablet goes further and gives particulars of the preliminary skirmishes, in which, it states, the American soldiers were worsted. We in America know nothing of • these things.’ If it really knows nothing of these things, our esteemed contemporary must be much less wideawak®

than most of our American contemporaries. Taking up the New York Freeman’s Journal of July 1, two days after the date, of our article, we find the following : ‘ During the last week the air was filled with rumors of a coming war with Mexico. The State militia in the various States has been mobilised and already militia regiments have started for the Mexican border. Other regiments are preparing to follow them. An armed encounter has taken place between American soldiers and Mexican troops in which several American soldiers were killed. A few days before the hostile meeting took place the American officer in command of the forces sent three months ago in pursuit of Villa and his followers, was notified that the Mexican Government would not permit American soldiers to advance any farther. They were forbidden to march south, east, or west, but were allowed to go north in the direction of the boundary line between the United States and Mexico. Our soldiers were in Mexican territory with the permission of the Mexican Government. They had entered Mexico in pursuit of bandits, who had raided United States territory. The Government that permitted its territory to be traversed by foreign troops believed that the time had come for withdrawing that permission, and so notified the American commander of the punitive expedition. ''"He saw fit to disregard the notification, and the result of his so doing was a skirmish at Carrizal, State of Chihiahua, in which several American soldiers were killed and seventeen taken prisoners.’ * That is precisely what we stated in the X.Z. Tablet article. We are not in the habit, any more than other Catholic papers, of making statements without taking care to have definite authority for our assertions, though we cannot, of course, in all cases, guarantee the accuracy of our authorities. We have a great respect for our Boston contemporary, but there are spots in the sun, and our contemporary has a little weakness for picking holes in the sayings and doings of its friends. A Catholic paper has surely a higher role to play than that. We have plenty of enemies to attend to, without wasting valuable time and space in empty and frivolous criticism of one another. If we chose to put our Boston contemporary under the magnifying glass, it would be easy to retaliate in kind, but that is not to our taste. We much prefer to concentrate our attention on its sterling and undoubted good points. The Casualty Lists and their Significance The heavy casualty lists that have been pouring in of late tell their tale so plainly that he who runs may read. Though the captures of trenches and vantage points and villages are conspicuously proclaimed and keenly* awaited, the real issue now is not so much a battle for positions ; it is a contest in man-power between the belligerents. From now on the casualties on both sides will be on a high scale, and the question is, Which side will best be able to pay the price ? On the answer to that question depend the length and ultimate issue of the struggle. Until lately the Germans have asserted that they could hold their lines indefinitely, or impose losses greater than the Allies could possibly afford. The Allies, on the other hand, expect that, apart from any immediate or early map gains, their concentrated and continuing attack on all fronts will wear down the German power of resistance, tax the German man-power beyond its limits, and secure final victory for the Entente. The real test will be in the casualty lists, and in the capacity of the respective sides to bear them and their formidable dimensions of late would suggest that the war of exhaustion is rapidly reaching something like a decisive stage. * The main purpose, then, of the Allied offensive is to strive for the exhaustion of the German reserves, and geographical objectives are more or less secondary. Nevertheless, it is interesting to endeavor to follow

the probable lines of the Allied attack, and thanks to the assistance of the experts, this is not so very difficult. We will follow the guidance of Mr. Frank IT. Sirßonds, who is writing a series of brilliant and singularly accurate articles for American papers. ‘ Look at the map,’ he says in an article written on July 19, ‘ and you will see that near the Somme River two wide circles im the battle-front meet. One wide circle, or semicircle, comes all the way routed from Champagne, from Berry-au-bac, near Rheims. The other is a far smaller circle, enclosing Bapaume and meeting the northern part of the line at Arras. In military phrase these two semi-circles are salients, that is, bulges, extending into the Allied line and held by the Germans. If the French and British were able to penetrate the German line, just where the two semi-circles or salients meet, which is at the Somme River, as they advanced they would be far in the rear of the German troops at the extreme points of the salients, that is, west of Bapaume in the Ancre Valley, in the northern salient, and in Roye, Chaulnes, Noyon, and before Soissous in the southern. If the Allied advance continued, the Germans in these extreme points would presently have to retreat to avoid being cut off by the troops advancing across their rear and lines of communication. This would happen very soon in the case of the Bapaume salient, because it is very small ; it would not happen for a very long time in the case of the Noyon salient, because it is very large and the Allies would have to cut deeply in order to menace the Germans. If the Germans were compelled to abandon the Bapaume salient they would have to retire from their first and second and possibly their third line of , trenches over a front from* Arras to the Somme, rather more than thirty miles. If they were compelled to leave their Noyon salient, they would’ have to give up at least fifty or sixty miles of front and a very considerable area beside, including their territory nearest to Paris.’

After describing the Anglo-French advance up to the time of writing, Mr. Simonds continues: ‘Now the effect of driving in this wedge has been this: The British at Longueval are at least ten miles further east than the Germans in the extreme point of the Bapaume salient. They are endeavoring to advance, not east but north, that is, toward Bapaume, not Peronne, and the effect of their advance is threatening the lines of communication of the Germans north-east of them. If they can get to Bapaume, which is rather more than five miles due north of Longueval, then the Germans will have to come out of the whole salient and form a new line running between Peronne and the outskirts of Arras, which they hold. On their side the French are now endeavoring to strike south, not east. They are several miles further east than the Germans in Chaulnes and Roye, and they are -striking at the communications of these troops. They are fighting to get possession of several little villages, Barleux and Beruy-en-Santerre among them. They are not attempting to get Peronne, which is on the other side of the, Somme from them, surrounded by marshes and dominated by hills to north and east. If the French are able to get south a mile or two on their side of the salient the Germans will have to leave Chaulnes, and probably Roye ; this will mean giving over a good many miles of French territory and may even involve quitting Noyon. But they can stand behind the Somme from Peronne to Ham and then across the hills to the Oise at Chauny. They will not be threatened with envelopment, that is, they can escape unless they hang on beyond all reason, and this is utterly unlikely. The most that is in immediate prospect for the Allies, if they can keep on, is to shorten their own lines by turning the Germans out of Bapaume, Roye, Chaulnes, and Noyan, and recover some hundreds of miles of French soil.’ * Summing up, the writer says; ‘. . . The objectives are plain. If they- are attained, certain things will happen, and the thing to do is to watch, first, the villages south of Bapaume, such, as Martinpuch,’-

(since captured by the British) —‘ and also the villages, such as Carbonel, Beruy-en-Santerre, and Barleux, south of the French line, and then to watch Bapauine, Roye, Chaulnes, and Noyon. Finally Cambrai and St. Quentin may be accepted as the ultimate goals of the two Allies.’ Cambrai is twenty miles distant from Bapaume, and St. Quentin is a little less than the same distance from Peronne; and if either of these two objectives is attained the Germans will have to quit much of France.