GERMAN WAR LORDS AND THE MASSES

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2234, 21 August 1914, Page 6

GERMAN WAR LORDS AND THE MASSES

THE GRINDING WEIGHT OP PAN-GERMANISM

SHADOW OF A "COMMUNE"

A Wellington resident who toured dorniany during July of last year hae no hesitation in saying!that he does not believe for one moment that the surface trouble between Austria and beryia had anything to do with the unshoatlung of. the sword by Germany. It may have been the. means to an * n V* Peg to hang a war on-but ho holds tamt the upheaval has been hastened on by an arrogant war party to prevent an internal revolution, a revolution against a Government or a series of Governments, who to build ud a mighty army and a great navy, have ground tho peoplo down and down untU their hard, unremitting labour in nold and factory produce just so much as mil keep body and. soul together The peasantry of Germany were a clear, sober, hard-working people, who work ed on their little farms and vineyards rom dawn to dark withdut ever get ting any further forward, and vaeuelv wondering why Hf e was'made sucha thing In the cities where they are m closer touch with what k g<Z sentmg the soulless means that have n^A 3 * • end, J % y hare turned b the r despair and disgust to Socialism, h it r 1 y , oars w Rifted mouthpiece in J,he late Herr Bebel. Socialism is hnrt Pa ? honeycombs both the Army and the Navy, for tho and extended frontiers is for erer grindnig down the parents, and the brother, and sisters of the men who serve'B io^ nks of thase two a ™« of the >n It. wa-s the fear of a general rising tw£ P^°5 le -, our informant, that has led-the war party to seek a oimyohms the nation in a great struggle., and «, engage tie-at-tention of millions in an actual struggle with other nations rather than allow the growing internal .dissension to blaze out, and perhaps .'consume all who stood in its path. , "I very much doubt," concluded our intormant, "if there will.be' any Kaiser or Impenal Government when the final washing-up takes place 'after the war. u Germany wins, the Kaiser will probably be the most powerful monarch-the world has' ever beheld—more -powerful' than Napoleon the Great-but should he fail, he: will be dealt with not only by the. nations wno have beaten him but metaphorically, torn limb from limb by his own people. The next few days will probably be the most momentous that have ever been in the hi* tory of Western EuriJpe."

BEEP TO RISE

'A 10 PER CENT INCREASE THREATENED. .Mr. A. Cheeseman, secretary of. the Master Butchers' stated yesterday that the wholesalers were raismg the' price of beef to 31s. per 1001b., a rise equal .to lO.per cent, from Monday next. This, advance, said Mr. Uheeseman, would have to be handed on by the retailers to tho public, unless there- was an easement, or the demand of the wholesalers. For the past two months the master butchers had just beon. about their own, and with the early advent of spring had been looking forward to a reduction in price instead.of an increase. The cause of the increase was the advance in prices at Home, which was tempting them tc ship to England more than they other, wise would. The master butchers had no desire to put the price up on the public, but they were left no option when it was jumped upon them without adequate reason..' It is intended to hold a meeting of maeter butchers tomorrow night, with a view to urging the Government to prohibit the export of beef from the Dominion.

GERMANY IN THE PACIFIC

COALING PORTS. TSINGTAU A STRONG PLACE. The-most important coaling station owned by Germany in the Pacific ie Tsingtau (in Kaiochau, China), and,after that, Sainoa. In both of these there is a German resident colonial population of 500 or more. Yap, in the Caroline Islands, just north of the Equator, and .Rabaul, near German New Guinea, are also possible resorts. There may be about 360 Germans at Rabaul, 150 in New Guinea, fnd a sprinkling in the Carolines. Bub Tsingtau of late has been turned into a' regular naval centre.. A large ironworks, according to -the "Sydney Morning Herald," ia due to bo opened about the present moment. About a mile : and half north of the'town is the dockyard tfhich the Germans have been building •' for! 14 years. It contains a floating dock, able to lift ships of 16,000 tons, a 150-' ton crane, and complete plant for re-; pairs of every sort. The flagship, Scharnhorst, was reboilered and overhauled there lately, and, although/6he was badly, shaken up by stranding in the River Elbe when she was a new ship, she is said to be now a verjr fast and Teliable steamer. The Tsingtau dockyard would certainly build small vessels nowadays, and is possibly doing so. The fortifications aro said by some German critics not to bo strong enough to resist a determined attack either from, land or sea,, but there is very good reason for supposing that this is incorrect. At anyrate, the garrison includes four companies of seamen artillerists—which is actually one more than are stationed at Heligoland —and unless this means the presence of very etroug defences, it is difficult to. understand . There are also four companies of marines, one /mounted company, one field battery, and a company of engineers, and the fortress and *ceenal are known to have a special system of mine defeuoe. Altogether, Tsingtau seems a very strong place.