STERN WARNING TO THE BRITISH NATION

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2566, 14 September 1915, Page 5

STERN WARNING TO THE BRITISH NATION

MR. LLOYD GEORGE'S APPEAL MENACE OF POWERFUL FOE By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright . (Rec. September 13, 7.15 p.m.) London, September 12. / Mr. Lloyd George (Minister of Munitions), in a preface to Ms collected war speeches, entitled, "Through Terror to Triumph," says: ''Alter twelve months of war my conviction is stronger than ever that Britain could not have kept out without imperilling her security and impairing her honour. We. could not have looked on cynically, with arms folded, while the country wo pledged to protect was ravaged and trodden by ono of our co-trustees. .If British women and children had been brutally destroyed on the high seae by German submarines Britain would havo insisted on calling this infanticide Empiro to a stern reckoning. "Events havo demonstrated the fact that a military system so regardless of good faith, honourable obligations, the elementary impulses of humanity, constitutes a most sinister menace to civilisation, and despite' tile terrible cost in suppressing it, the well-being of humanity demands that it should bo challenged and destroyed. The fact that events have shown that the might of this military clique exceeded our gloomiest prognostications provides an additional argument for its destruction.

Iron Heel of the Hun. "In its greater might and darker menace, the untoward incidents of war have not weakened my faith in our ultimate victory, hut it is essential that the Allies should put forth their whole strength.before it is too late. Anything less must lead to defeat. The Allies liavo an overwhelming preponderance in raw material, men, money,* metals, and machinery, but'these must be mobilised and utilised. It would be idle to 'pretend that tho first twelve months' task has been accomplished satisfactorily. Had we and our Allies realised the full strength of our redoubtable and resourceful foes, or realised our own strength and resources and promptly organised them, wo to-day should liavd witnessed the. triumphant spectacle of our guns pouring out a_ stream of shot and shell, deluging tlio German trenches with fire, and scorching the Gerjnan legions across their own frontiers. The Central Powers have still an overwhelming superiority in all material and equipment. Germany's iron heel has now sunk deeper than over into French and Belgian soil; Poland is entirely German, and Lithuania is rapidly following; Russian forresses, which "were deemed to be impregnable, are falling like sand ca6tles before the -resistless tide of the Teutonic invasion. '

Stem the Tide. "When will that tide bft stemmed? As soon as the Allies have supplied an abundance of war material. That's why I am recalling these unpleasant facts. Because I wish to stir my. countrymen to put forth their strength to amend the situation. To dwell upon such events is a most disagreeable task" to fall to the lot of a public man, but a public man who either shirks these facts, or does not do his best to force others to face them until they are redressed, is guilty of high treason to the State.- There has been a great awakening in the Allied countries, and prodigious efforts are being made to equip the armies in the field. Nothing but our best and utmost can pull us through. Does every man who can help, whether by fighting or providing' material, understand clearly the'ruin that awaits remissness? .How many people apprehend the full significance of tho Russian retreat? For oyer a year. Russia, despite her deficiencies of equipment; absorbed the energies of half the Germans and four-fifths of the Austrians. Is it realised _ that Russia has for tho timo being made her contribution—and what a heroic contribution it is to the struggle for European freedom—and that we cannot for many months expect the same activo help from ; the Russian armies? Who if. to take the place of the Russian's whilst tliose_armies are- re-equipping? France cannot be expected to sustain much heavier'burdens than those she now bears with, a quiet courage that- has astonished and moved the world. Italy is putting her full strength into the fight. 1 Our Duty' to Europe. "There is only Britain left. Is Britain prepared to fill tho gap that will be'created when tho Russians have retired to re-arm? ' Is she fully prepared to cope with all the possibilities of tho next few months in the West, without forgetting the East? Upon the answer which tlio Government, the employers, the workmen, tho financiers," the j;oung men who can bear arms, the women who can work in the factories, in fact, the whole of the people, give to this question, will depend the liberties of Europe for generations.- If we are not allowed to equip our factories and workshops with adequate labour to supply the armies—because we must not transgress tho regulations, applicable to normal conditions—if the nation hesitates, when the heeds are clear, to take the necessary steps to call forth its manhood to defend its honour and existence, if vital decisions are postponed until too late, if we give ground for tho accusation that we are slouching into disaster as if we were walking along the ordinary paths of peace without an enemy in sight, then I can see not a hope. But if wo sacrifice all wo own, if our preparations are characterised by griD, resolution, prdmpt readiness in every sphere, then the victory is assured." .