THE EASTERN PROBLEM

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 270, 3 August 1918, Page 7

THE EASTERN PROBLEM

OUTLOOK FULL OF ENCOURAGEMENT OPPORTUNITY FOR ALLIED ACTION

London, August 1. The murder of Field-Marshal von Eichorn, German Dictator in the ■ Ukraine, which lias caused consternation in official circles m ■ Germany, has focused public attention in Britain and France upon the Eastern problem. General Maurice, in a survey of the situation, says:— The veil which has loiiß shrouded the Mast is gradually lifting. What we are. allowed to see is full of encouragement. The dramatic operations of the Czecho-olovaks m Siberia and in ths south-eastern corner of European Knssia, the appearanco of Allied troops on the Murman coast, and the resistance of the Armenians at Bal:u, coupled with the decline of the Bolsheviks and the troubles with which the Germans are involved in the Ukraine, show that the treat} of Biest-Lito\slc is likely to be quickly made valueless. It is improbable that the Germans noped for territorial aggrandisement in tlic AY est, Except for the rectification 01 Uio frontier, and gaining the Bricy mineral fields. Germany looked eastward jov h£r expansion. Germany drew Turkey into the war as a catspaw, with a view to snatchinf from-Britain.her position as the dominant Power in the East, and transferring that power to Germany. Our successes m Mesopotamia and'J.alestine forced Germany to seek a way'roipid, and liussia's collapse opened the way. Germany entered the- Ukraine, pressed on to Odessa and Sebastopol, not merely for the'purpose of gaining corn. She is now trying to take the whole valley of Hie Don so' as to obtain corn, roach the Black Sea, and establish a base controlling the lower waters of the Volga;.and also giving access to the northern shores of the Caspian Sea. Simultaneously Germany urged tlie I urks' forward on the south coast of the Black Sea with a view to dominating Persia. The Germans next Year will probably avoid battle 011 the West front, gradually falling back and "devastating the country. Then Germany will cunningly begin bargaining and will ask France how long she will permit: north l'ranco to be laid' waste to support Britain's Eastern ambitions. If Germany is allowed to realise her Eastern programme she will emerge from the war relatively stronger than when she entered it, and will remain as great a menace as ever. That as ' one of tho main reasons why wo cannot afford a pntchsu-up pcnce. Wo must convince our Allies that it is essential to raise the barrier against Germany-* Eastern progress. We niust act in tho-East, where the miraculous creation of the Czccho-Slovak army provides our opportunity."—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn.