GERMAN HONOR

Hokitika Guardian, 26 January 1918, Page 3

GERMAN HONOR

"EXPOSED TO THE WORLD. LONDON, January 11. Air Balfour (Foreign Minister), speaking at a war-aims meeting at Edinburgh, unreservedly eulagised Dr AVill son’s declaration. “The United States,” he said, “had only recently taken its rightful place in the political community of Western nations and for the first time in history had entered fully intothe struggle against barbarism. Despite repeated invitations from neutrals and the Entente the Central Powers had refused to declare ,'their war-iaiims, although the thought that the recent lialf-lieartcd expression of hope for the avoidance of future wars was evidence of some improvement in their moral tone.” Referring to Belgium, Mr. Balfour said that if the Germans left to-mor-row they would leave a, derelict starving population, and would consider it contrary to their honour to repair the bitter wrongs they had committed. The Germans had a wholly alien sense of honour. Before all the world ethev had actually announced that Ger;ii»an dignity would he outraged .if they were asked to give reparation By their refusal to consider our terms .the whole wdrld had learned w.hpt Germany was warring for. Air Balfour showed how intimately our war-aims were concerned with the hearts and homes of Britain and the Dominions. When a Power like Germany with her methods, ambitions and morality, was ,r\ inning amok, dhatterng tbT'fnhrio of civilisation to the foundations, the present sacrifices called for wore nothing compared with the evils that would befall their children and grandchildren if the war ended in a German peace.