The Dominion. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1917. ALLY OR ENEMY?

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2996, 6 February 1917, Page 4

The Dominion. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1917. A LLY OR ENEMY?

. Very special stress was laid by Mr. Lloxd George in his latcsb public address on the importance of pressing forward with the utmost speed in connection with every task that bears directly or indirectly on the prosecution' ol tho war. "Time," ho said, "is the most deadly of all neutrals. Let us enlist him,amongst our Allies. The only way to win time is riot to lose time, whether in tho workshop,' the council chamber," or on tho iield." Tho Prime Minister was directly appealing to the people of Great Britain; and he especially urged early, and generous effort in tho way' of subscriptions to the War "Loan and more general effort in tho growing- of food, and greater economics in food consumption. Indirectly his appeal applies to every part oi the British Empire. ■ The urgent need of the hour is that we should speed up our efforts in all directions, so that in the quickest possible time our resources of all kinds should be brought to the highest possible standard—our military fltrength, our available finance, our food supplies, and our industrial efficiency. And tho reason for this is plain enough. It is essential that if tho war is to bo ended this year we must not only strike shattering blows 'at. an enemy already etaggoring under his past efforts, and morally weakened by failure to achieve expected results, but we must add further discouragement by demonstrating our capacity as well as our readiness to carry on tho struggle with as great or greater vigour than ever. Mb. Lloyd George sums, up the position in a sentence: "Peace," he said, "will come in 1917 if Germany knows that by holding out till 1918 she will be_worse off." This states the situation clearly'enough.. Germany is fighting now not for victory, which she knows to bo a hopeless ambition, but for terms of peace that will onable her to escape the just penalty of her colossal crimes. If Germany can be- convinced not only of tho hopelessness of victory, but of the hopelessness- of so exhausting ths resources of the Allies as to compel a stalemate, then Germany will have no further incentive to maintain a struggle in which her position must grow increasingly worse as time passes. This does not mean an early collapse, but it does mean that the sooner we demonstrate our complete readiness to subordinate everything to the winning of the war, and by unity and energy oi effort, .national organisation, • and patriotic sacrifice ensure that the full strength of our power and resources are ma.de available, then thesooner may we look for the complete demoralisation of the enemj and the advent of the day of vie- • tory. ; "Time," said Mr. Lloyd George, "is the most deadly of all neutrals." Time if wasted now may prove our deadliest enemy. The pressing factors of the struggle to-day arc men, munitions, money, and food supplies. Delay in relation to the supply of any of them is a matter of vital concern, and it is well that this should be fully realised bv the people of New Zealand as well as by the people, of Great Britain. The watersido trouble here is an example of how wasted time may prove an enemy to the Allied cause, hampering as it does the movement of snipping and the transport of food supplies. It is pleasing to note in this respect that there ;irc signs to-day of- a better spirit between the parties, and it'may be hoped that the earnest words of tho British Prime Minister will not bo without weight in assisting to promote an amicable : understanding .when tho matter comes for' decision before the Disputes Committee. There are ■ other directions, of course, in which' Time might be turned to better account in ,lhe Dominion. . Tho delays which have been taking place in the- enrolling of recent .Reinforcement drafts to their fu I lest .strength have perhaps been unavoidable during • (be early stages of Lho new system, but it his become plain that morcactivo measures will bo necessary to bring to account thoso men who fail to respond when called un. The matter, we believe, is in hand,' bill, no time should lie, lost in perfecting tho organisation which will enable prompt .action "to bo talsou. To ii.ga.in quote.the warning words of Mr. Lloyd Geohoe: ' "The assistance we ask the public to give must be given without delay. Thcro must be no loitering, no lingering." "That this chamber is of opinion thai, id would be wi.w for lho. tiuveriiiiient to l-iiko into consideration (.lie early organisation of the Doiniuion't; pro'duoing power of primary products, to assure the maintenance of tho country's exports in.l.ho face, of waning man power." Tho foregoing was a resolution passed by the Wangatmi Chamber of Commerce, and scut on to tlio WolliniHon Chamber for endorsement yestni'lny. U was decided to endorse lho resolution and reply that a Commission appointed by tlio Government wan inquiring iutu the. matter al, tlin present time,

i PROGRESS OF THE WAR ■• Whether Germany intends to force war or. tho United Slates is still, at time of writing, an open question.. Twenty-four hours ago it. seemed .likely that in sinking the! American ship* Housatonic tho Germans had committed that overt act which President Wilson has declared that he will meet by asking Congress for authority to protect American ships .and livos on the ' high seas. According, to later reports, however, it is improbable that the Housatonic case will occasion war. The ship was sunk and her crew compelled to take to the boats; ' bub warning was given, and the submarine towed the boats ninety miles towards land. It is stated Uwt the receipt/ 1 of. these partirulnrs has relieved fcho- tension created by -tiro '•bare intimation that the Housatouic had been sunk. Tf this episode had been oflator date it would haw indicated that Germany was inclined to retreat .from the position taken in her recent Note to America, and bad varied accordingly 'tho instructions issued to her submarines. But it, is impossible that the. submarine which sank the Housatonic can have been in touch with her basr. subsequently to tho rupture in diplomatic relations. The circumstances - in which the American ship was sunk do not therefore imply a modification of German, sea-policy.' In essentials, fchfl situation, at time of writing, is as it; -was outlined yesterday, except that America is now reported to nave severed diplomatic relations with. Austria. This development, if it has occurred, will occa-sion no surprise. • President. Wilson . is at .groat pains.to make it clear'thai.'be docs not seek a complete breach with Germany, hut is most anxious to avoid it, and that it rests- with Germany to avert war' if she so desires. At the same time, if current reports relating to the state of public feeling in the United Stales arc .to be trusted, Germany will not secure continued Anierica.n toleration by any such nominal submission as she made- in her reply to the Sussex note. Replying to'that Note, in May of last year, Germany stated that she had ordered hor submarines to act in accordance with the general principles of visit, search, and destruction of merchant vessels recognised by international law. This undertaking she afterwards grossly violated by sinking merchant ships, without warning, with some incidental loss of American lives, but tho United States did not act. The stand now taken by America means that Germany can avoid war with that country only by instituting actual reforms- in her submarine methods—reforms which would mako an end of any hopes sho may have of securing results of material importance through the agency of her underwater craft. It will ho noticed that even tho Stoats Zciluny, an infiuontial German-American newspaper', supports the stand taken by the President. . . ■ Some interesting information _■ is cabled relating, to the German shipping interned in American ports. There aro some 200 German ships, of au estimated value of £50,000,0uu, interned in United States ports, and it is stated to-day that if to these vessels are added tho German ships interned in South American ports one-third of Germany's mercantile marine is accounted for. That is' to say, if war occurs 'between Germany and the United States and the South . American Republics make common cause with the United States, or seize tho opportunity to lay hands on the German ships in 'their ports, about 1,500,000 tons of ocean-going shipping now tied up will be released for service. This is just about half the tonnage of shipping of- all nations and \all kinds destroyed by the German submarines during two years of war. i • * - » * . The outcome of the present crisis will determine whether the German ships in United States ports are to be made available or not. As to the Latin Republics, it is probable that they would gladly accept a lead in the matter of a ship-seizing policy; In point of fact, such a policy was seriously discussed in Brazil and other South American Republics when Portugal last year summarily took possession of all the German shipping in her ports. Some of the Brazilians claimed to have warrant for following suit in tho fact that when war broke out Germany appropriated Brazilian coffee stored at Hamburg • to the value of £6,000,000. ■ Germany, contended, however, that a sum covering the coffee's value was transferred to Berlin bankers iu payment of tl» services of a loan made to Brazil in 1913. It was remarked at the. time that should Brazil seize German shipping, Argentina and .Chile might take- similar action, and then "how long Peru will be able to refrain from appropriating the £1,000,000 in German shipping in Oalhio Bay is an open question."' .Argentina, it was stated, might find warrant for. the appropriation of German ships in . her ports iu certain outrages of which nor citizens were the-victims. It is alleged that in the early days of the war the Argentine Consul at Dinant, Belgium, was brutally shot down by German soldiers when giving shelter to_ a group of refugee women and children in the Consulate. Furthermore, when the Dutch liner T.ubantia was sunk there- were, it is stated, a large number of Argentine citizens on board. A Peruvian journalist commented as follows upon the proposal to seize Gorman fihips:— So far Peru ie without, a ciiwis belli, though in tlie'cuso of other nations it might tee such action on tho German -doctrine that "necessity kuows no law,-" for if freight rates continue mounting its at present, tho appropriation of the eifilit German' ships in Ciillno Baywill dike on the aspects of n case of sheer necessity. Tin's was written, .no duiibt, half iu jest, bul.-it Germany persists in her announced determination of resorting to unrestricted piracy and murder, it is highly probable that one result will be to release for servico not only -the German ships in United States ports, but Lhoso in South American harbours as well. GIiIWAN ships berthed at Hpbok<m arc said to have been damaged l>v their crows. If reports to (,ru« offoct arc accurate, tho American port, authorities must have boon guilty of somewhat extraordinary laxity. It is mentioned that similar attempts by the crews of German ships interned in Manila Bay were promptly checkmated. Some of tho messages which have come through during tho last day or two are of a, nature lo awaken speculation as to their origin. Yesterday, .we had the sage obsorva.-

tions attributed to "a high official of tho American navy" that Germany could easily blockade tho, American coast with submarines, and that the American fleet was not prepared, and. would be annihilated if tho German fleet got, looso. [ Why concocted rubbish of this description should be transmitted in the guiso of war news it is impossible .to imagine. Any schoolboy '. knows, of course, that the German ' fleet has about the saiho prospect, of getting loose to try conclusions with the American navy as it has of gcL-i ting to the moon. To-day's scare ' story is said to have been extracted froiii the New York Tribune. It is ' to tho effect that, "huge diving 1 cruisers will load Germany's U- * boat armada. They will he subnia- ' rincs of 5000 tons, with a surface ; speed of twenty-six knots, ■ and ', carrying thirty torpedo tubes anti I twent.y-t.wo disappearing guns." I' This sort of stuff would be appropriately placed in publications of j .the-"penny dreadful" order. It is hardly necessary to observe that ! there aro no U-boat armadas and no such marino monstrosities as arc described to lead them. The appear- ' unco of a. U-boat armada, led by any I kind of "diving cruiser" would bo '. hailed with gratitude- by Ihc"British " Navy, but in real life the encounter ' is denied. -As even the writers of ! such stories arc aware, the subma- " rine at its present stage of development is formidable only by'reason' ■ of its powers of concealment. The 1 merits of the German submarines us " fighting machines are indicated in the statement cabled yesterday that ' out of a total of 78 armed liners at,- * tacked by submarines 72 escaped, while out of 100 unarmed vessels only seven escaped. 'Almost equally striking figures in tho same cate- ;' gory were quoted by Mr. Churchill * in ihc Bouse of Commons a few 1 months ago. ) * •«.-■» » 1 An increasing stir of activity has " been iu evidence . of late in tho " Western theatre, and though stories " are still afloat about a pending 3 Gcrm.an offensive, it is manifest that the Allies are sotting the pace. " A number of successful enterprisea " are reported to-day, most of them 5 on the British section of the front, " and one of thpso is of more than f ordinary importance. East of r Beaucourt, in the Sommo region, 3 immediately north of tho Ancrc, a ■> British attack struck into the. Gcrk man defences to a depth of five hun--1 dred yards on a front of threequarters of a mile. ■ Only baro parj ticulars are in hand as yet, but they > suggest that, as on other recentloc- }■ casions, the attack was shrewdly * and swiftly driven home. Two i counter-attacks, it is mentioned, s wore heavily repulsed. In the area 1 of the attack the Germans still hold 5 a considerable depth of their orig--2 i.nal fortified line, and tho British 0 success is on that account the more 3 significant as indicating the state of affairs which now obtains on the r Western front. It is noteworthy that the British are working round > the southern ilank of the German 1 position at Se'rrc, a formidable 1 stronghold which has more than ■once withstood frontal assault: