The Dominion THURSDAY, MAY 13, 1915. THE UTTERMOST FARTHING

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2460, 13 May 1915, Page 4

The Dominion THURSDAY, MAY 13, 1915. THE UTTERMOST FARTHING

The publication of sworn declarations regarding the brutal murder of British prisoners at the instigation of tho German authorities has sent a wave of hot indignation throughout tho Empire. Ono would like to think that these horrible stories were baseless fabrications, but it is impossible to overlook the fact that the British Minister' at The Hague is sufficiently impressed with their truth to embody them in a dispatch. The Marquis of Crewe has informed the House of Lords that the reports come from official sources, and that the Government has no reason to doubt their authenticity. _ Unhappily, too, they are in keeping with scores of other German infamies which aro. known to the whole world. Indeed, the Germans have made their systematic devilry tho subject of open boasting. Tlio answer' to our doubts is to be feared in the enemy's deliberate and avowed use of poison on the battlefield and the carefully planned murder of tho men, women, and little children who were on board the Lusitania. Thero are well-meaning people who have been doing their- best ever since the beginning of the conflict to convince the British public that the atrocities which have been attributed, to the enemy are unbelievable - and that any breaches of the rules of .war which have really occurred should be regarded as the unpremeditated acts of irresponsible soldiers in the heat of conflict. Perhaps the eyes of these apologists for Gerfnan "kultur" will be opened by the report of the Committee appointed to investigate tho outrages which have taken place in Belgium. The Pall Mall Gazette states that the report has now been completed and that "the country must be prepared for a narrative of officially sanctioned mur-v der and of brutal acts .on unarmed men, women, and children comparable only in their brutal excesses to the Kurds' Armenian massacres." The Chairman of the Committee is Viscount Bryoe, and any report to which this distinguished Englishman is willing to attach his signature will command the respectful attention of every civilised nation. Tho Committee's findings will carry especial weight in the 'United States where Loud Bryce's honourable career, .fine sense of responsibility, and judicial mind are as well known as in the British. Empire. As a mattor of fact the Germans stand condemned out of their own mouths, for they admit that the wholesale murder of the Lusitania's passengers was an "officially .sanctioned" act, and Herr Dernburg has insolently informed the American people that every effort will be made to repeat the crime. It is no wonder that America is "ablaze with indignation." This climax of Teutonic savageTy has made the neutral nations realise more vividly than ever before that the overthrow of the Prussian tyranny is a matter that concerns every civilised State, and not merely Britain and her Allies. In the light of recent happenings it is_ pathetic to x read the weak and futile utterances of the President of the great American Republic which are recorded in our cable news this morning. While the very foundations of civilisation are threatened by the atrocious crimes 'of ■ Germany; while American citizens are ruthlessly done to death on the high _ seas by the greatest assassin in history; while the whole world is thrilled with horror at the deliberately-planned and cold-blooded murder of helpless women and children, his own people, President Wilson tells his countrymen they must stand-tamely by, and make no effort to call the perpetrators- of these horrors to account. "America." says the official mouth-' piece of tnis great nation, "must set an example of peace and reason. She would not fight because peace'exerted a healing influence upon the whole world. There was such a thine as a- man being too proud to fight." There is such a thing no doubt as peace at any price; but it has never brought honour or lasf> ing peace to any country yet, nor is it likely to do so in tho case of Amerioa. A man may take pride in refusing to fight, but there is only one opinion of the man who; wil> nessing the callous murder of his kinsfolk, declincß to attempt to punish the assassins or to assist in rendering them helpless to commit .further crimes, on the ground that ho desires to set an example of peace and reason. It is inconceivable that the President truly represents United States opinion in this matter.. Even if America should not be in a position to embark on a war she could render immense service to the Allies and to the cause of civilisation- in other directions and thus materially assist to oijerthrow the monstrous menace to the whole world which has arisen out of the teachings of Prussian militarism. "Never since the world began," remarks the London Times, "has it before seen the spectacle of a whole race of many millions scientifically organised for wholesale murder, lust, and devastation." This is not exaggeration; it is plain fact. Exaggeration is impossible. 'A situation lias been created which demands the full exercise of those great qualities which have enabled Britain to confound her enemies in the critical moments of her past history. It would be the grossest outrage on justice if the ghastly crimes for which the Kaiseh and liis advisers are responsible were permitted to go unpunished. The e can' be no thought of peace apart, from relributinn. The moral souse of the world would be shocked if Germany is no I: compelled to suffer for lvr terrible misdeds. Mf. Awmi gave exiu'cuicm to the sen-

timents of every mail and -woman worthy of the British name when ho declared the German "excesses would have to be '•paid for to tho uttermost farthing." This is no time for figures of speech or rhetorical flourishes. Tho Empire will interpret tlic British Prime Minister's declaration literally, and will demand | that it. shal) be carried out both in the letter and the spirit. We have no patience with flic suggestion that we.should "appeal to the better nature of Germany to bring this war to a conclusion.One might as well appeal to the moral sense of an infuriated tiger. The war can only be brought to a satisfactory termination by smashing blows. Peace talk is regarded in Berlin as a sign of weakness. The hitting power of the" Allies is the only thing that counts there. Germany must not only be beaten and humiliated; she must also be made to pay a penalty proportionate to her crimes, besides being deprived of the power to repeat, them.