THE KAIPARA AND WAITEMATA ECHO WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED "THE KAIPARA ADVERTISER & WAITEMATA CHRONICLE." HELENSVILLE, THURSDAY, June 22, 1916 A GLIMPSE INTO GERMAN HISTORY.

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 22 June 1916, Page 2

THE KAIPARA AND WAITEMATA ECHO WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED "THE KAIPARA ADVERTISER & WAITEMATA CHRONICLE." HELENSVILLE, THURSDAY, June 22, 1916 A GLIMPSE INTO GERMAN HISTORY.

It is refreshing some times to get a peep into ancient history, though as often as not, it is anything but gratifyfng, The Hokianga Times reminds us that whilst the German Chancellor is telling the American President that Britain is murderingl German babies by depriving them of food, it might be well to remember what the Germans did to Paris 46 years ago. When, at the end of the seige, Bismark was told that there were still pretty babies in Paris, he said he was surprised to hear it, as he 'thought they would be all killed and eaten.Evidently that is the German idea of thoroughness, During the Thirty Years' War cannibalism was common in Germany, and when Bismark made that remark about the babies he probably had in mind the methods adopted by German soldiers when hard pressed. During the seige and defence of Breisach, in Baden, Bernard of Weimar made himself notorious by reducing the garrison to such straights that children were slaughtered to feed the defenders. The dragoons who acted as executioners were called angel-makers. Such has been the teaching of German militarism.

Nor is this an isolated instance. At the close of the Thrity Years' War Germany was in a state of extreme famine and bands of halfstarved thieves and murderers wandered about the country robbing and killing, and frequently eating their victims. In the storming of Madgeburg the soldiers amused themselves as a relaxation from the wholesale horrors perpetra ted on the adults by, torturing little children. One man bragged that he had tossed 20 babies on his spear. A writer of the time says hundreds of infants were roasted in ovens, others were pinned to the ground and left to die in agony. This is the stuff the German army is founded on. Frederick William I. had an insane idea of breeding a race of giants for his grenadiers. Men of big stature were kidnapped from all over the country and big women, married or single, were forced away from their homes and friends, and carted to Potsdam to be mated to one Nof Frederick's grenadier giants. So mad was he for the accomplishment of his scheme, says Henry de Halsalle in his " Degenerate Germany," that he frequently accompanied these raiding expeditions himself, despatching his "bag" of feminine flesh and bone under escort as so many cattle being sent to market.

The atrocities perpetrated in Belgium and France evidently are based on good precedent, and we cannot express surprise, knowing what German soldiery has been bred to, that the most shocking outrages have been perpetrated in the name of war. In the Napoleonic wars there was a marked contrast between the conduct of the French and Germanic troops. Napoleon made war as humane as possible, whilst the Germans endeavoured, to make up for the want of the brilliancy of genius by savage brutality and barbarous ferocity. The same conduct has marked this war. It is only natural that a people so constituted should be utterly lacking in the saving grace of humour, and no doubt they cannot see anything incongruous in protesting to America against the British blockade on the ground that it starves tlie babies.