CORRESPONDENCE.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16147, 27 February 1918, Page 5

CORRESPONDENCE.

LEAFLETS FOR GERMANY. TO THE EDITOR OF "THE PRESS."

Sir—"Great is truth, and it Trill prevail." There is nothing the German Kaiser and his infamous gang of conspirators liato more than tlw

truth. The Kaiser fears that the Gorman people should know tlio truth, thereioro he deceives them by censoring tho German Press, by suppressing and concealing tho truth, and thus deceiving and misleading the German people. President Lincoln said of tho Americans, that '"you could fool all the •peoplo part of the time, and some ui the peoplo all tho time, but could not fool all the people all the time." Some Germans, like Dr. Liebknecht, have always opposed tho war, but could not prevent it- The people have been fooled into the war, and most of them know it now. We know that there are honourable, sensible, kindhearted Germans, and these must bo heartily ashamed of the unprovoked, long prepared, treacherous attack on the peaco and liberty of .tho wholo world, and the cruelties and crimes committed by order of their Kaiser and his war lords.

The Germans cannot liavo a free press of their own, but there is no reason why we should not provide them with one, free of censorship, at oUr own expense. Leaflets and pamphlets are eheapcr than bombs. The air is free —nights are dark. "When tho wind is favourable ballons, with automatic machines to distribute the papers, might be sent in hundreds across Germany (and Austria, etc.), distributing millions of leaflets.

We might impeach the Kaiser and his brigands and pirates. We might I accuse them of deceiving; the German people. We might say that we do not want to march through Berlin or Vienna, or to slaughter German boys, > or to pour bombs ou their cities, or to ; crush the people op Germany. But . wo cannot trust the word of their : Kaiser and his Government. Wo want peaeo with the people. The .leaflets should bo authorised by tho Allies. ; j They should contain the speeches of President Wilson, Lloyd George, Lord Lansdowne, and others, showing what j tho German Government has censored, * The German Government has threat- j ! encd with death any airmen distribut- | in'g Bolshevik pamphlets. I think the ; I.Kaiser would object to British or American leaflets f|uite as much. Why i should airmen risk thoir lives distributing leaflets when it could be done far wider and more effectually by balloons and machines, which would not cost a tenth part of an aeroplane. If ; it is worth while to distribute a few ; leaflets just across the battle line, how much better to litter all Germany with them? Britain is spending about eight millions a day on the war. And how many men—killed and wounded and maimed? Over four months ago I suggested such balloon pamphleteering. Who knows what the effect might have . been before now if carried out ? Was not, j 'and is not, the idea worth telegraphing to British or American authorities? It might save hundreds of thousand of lives and millions of money —Yours, ctc-,

J. "MILES YERRALL. Swannannoa, February 2-lth, 1918