The Chronicle. PUBLISHED DAILY LEVIN. SATURDAY, MAY 15, 1915

Horowhenua Chronicle, 15 May 1915, Page 2

The Chronicle. PUBLISHED DAILY LEVIN. SATURDAY, MAY 15, 1915

General {Sherman, of the united ijtates Federal Army, summed up the actual nature of war in his often quoted dictum "War is hell." This fa</t is becoming more apparent than ever a.s the awful tragedy of the present war 011 the Continent of Jiurope develops in intensity. Germany and her ally, lighting with their faces against more chivalrous but equally determined and 11rave opponents, goes Irom bad to •worse in her methods, till to-day we have the awful spectacle of defenceJess men and women being sent to a watarv grave through submarine attacks, while on the Continent the I Fiench and British forces are being i done to death by poisonous gases the use of which is prohibited by the Hange Convention to which Germany was a signatory. The fact is clear that rules of warfare are made to be observed by those who regard their ■word as their bond ; but only those. AY hat penalty will bo exacted for these > breaches must dfpend upon the future successes of our arms; Out whatever may be the penalty there remains the saddening proof that hunianitarianism and war are a quality and a condition that cannot be made a true amalgam. AVar "is" hell when unscrupulous foes wage it: and the converse to this is the need for perpetual remembrance ol the troth that preparedness for war is the best surety of peace. The use of submarines in warfare is so new that the rules for their use still have to be made, but the existing rules of naval warfare surely should be the guide for any newer development in marine craft used for purposes of offence or defence. If not, the upshot may be a return to the medieval practices ol poisoning water and food; and a general refusal to take, prisoners instead of the issuing of such an order only in extraordinary circumstances. The awful experiences of the South African contestants who suffered from the use of lyddite resulted in the Hague Convention's humanitarian resolution against any further use of such poisonous gas; but already in the present war two instances of such breaches of the Convention have been reported. Early in the present year we had J cabled advices of the awful effect on the German lines of shells charged with "turpinite" that were fired by the French forces. AYhofe rows of German soldiers, we wer<S told, were found dead, facing the French and without a wound on them. This, if true—and we frankly say that we doubt all ."sensational cables that do not come bnck.V tll ° War Office—puit.s the responsibility on France in part for the breach of pact. But. however, the truth actually is. the latest- development as shown in the German methods is a greater and more enduring offence. and an offence that" unfortunately. will ] P!m > for the future an impediment against effective agreements, for the amelioration of war conditions.