THE TRUTH ABOUT BELGIUM UNDER THE HUNS.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 1493, 6 January 1916, Page 4

THE TRUTH ABOUT BELGIUM UNDER THE HUNS.

Mr Carlyle Smythe, the wellknown writer, traveller and entrepreneur, is just returning to Australia from a trip through the war countries, during which be has written a number of excellent articles for Life. The latest of these appears in the January issue of that magazine, just to hand, and it deals with a subject that is of the greatest interest, and yet is little known—i.e., Belgium under the German heel.

Mr Smythe himself has lived in Belgium and knows the country and its people intimately, and during his stay in London he had the good fortune to meet a Belgian who as a “naturalised Dutchman” is able to come and go quite irequently between London and Bruges. The combination ot this information and Mr Smythe’s knowledge results in one of the best articles Life has published this year. This issue ot Life also includes a set ot four masterly articles by Dr. W. H. Fitchett, in which, as usual, he deals with the .fighting ot the past month and the trend of the situation as a whole. Dr. Fitchett points out the danger to which we are all more or less prone of looking at the Immediate news and failing to grasp the situation as a whole. The so-called bungle of the Dardanelles, the tangle of the Balkan situation, the vacillation of the Greek king are all very disquieting when read in the shape of newspaper headlines ; but anyone who will take the trouble to review the whole situation carefully will recognise, says Dr. Fitchett, that Germany is beaten in the three great fields, and at worst is but involving more people in her downfall, which is as certain as to-morrow’s sun. Although these form the big outstanding features of Lite for January, there are scores of articles and dozens of pictures bearing on the war or various phases ot it. In addition, (here is ample reading of a general nature for the busy man. It is worth noting that the increased cost of materials has at last forced the proprietary to raise the price of Life to sevenpence—though this issue is worth is in value. If Life is unobtainable locally, 3s 6d -'ent to .Life, Swanston St., Melbourne, will bring it. every month by post for six months.