GENERAL WAR NEWS.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 1755, 22 November 1917, Page 4

GENERAL WAR NEWS.

MR. B. CADBURY'S £5. The Worcestershire Prisoners of War Committee, who have to raise .£12,000 a year to support the country’s war prisoners in Germany and Turkey, has decided to return to Mr Barrow Cadbury his cheque for £5, with the intimation that “they saw from the leaflet of the British Empirellnion that he subscribed £750 and the firm of Cadbury Brothers £1,500 to the fund for alien enemies interned and uninterned in England. GERMANY AND MR. WILSON. “We have established that we are unconquerable in a military and economic war, and that we will continue to remain the stronger party provided we do not lose our nerve,” said Admiral von Tirpitz in his speech before the first open meeting of the new German Fatherland Party. Charging that Anglo-American capital was making every effort to save the money it invested in this war, Admiral von Tirpitz continued: —“We have not overlooked opportunities to gain President Wilson’s friendship, but invariably have achieved the opposite result.” SALONIKA BEER SHOPS. According to the Chronicle, Salonika “has, or had, a beershop named after each battleship of our Mediterranean squadron.” That is a very dubious tribute to our national tastes, but it cannot be said that it is without cither foundation or precedent. Lord Crewe once told of a young subaltern who died on a shooting expedition on the Malabar coast, and on whose grave the natives annually deposited a bottle of whisky, two soda-water bottles, and a paper of cheroots. This was their conception of ‘something distinctively British,’ which would keep the spirit quiet.” GERMANY’S AFTER-WAR TAXES. Without an indemnity there is no hope of carrying on during the first ten years after the conclusion of peace, says the German Daily Gazette. Germany would have to bear extra taxation amounting to £600,000,000, as compared with pre-war taxation of £175,000,000. How can a country in a state of ruin, in which it will find itself, and in view of the enormously increased cost of living, shoulder an added burden of that magnitude, when the sura of six billions would be a maximum effort, and even that could only be endured with the greatest effort? ALWAYS A GERMAN. Fifteen years ago Mr Dooley, the Chicago Irish philosopher, expressed an opinion of his German hyphenated fellow-eitizqns that has been to some extent justified by events. He said: “I’m not prejudiced again’ thim, mind ye. They make good beer an’ good citizens an’ mod-rate policemen, an’ they arc fond iv their fam-lics and cheese. But wanst a German, always Dutch. Ye cudden’t make Americans iv thim if ye called thim all Perkins an' brought thim up in Worcester. A German niver ra'aly leaves Germany. Heiakas it with him wherivcr he goes. Whin an Irishman is four miles out at sea he is as much American as presarved fish. But a German is niver an American excipt whin he goes back to Germany to see his relitives.” MORE BOYS THAN GIRLS BORN An explanation of the preponderance of male children in the birthrate of France since the war is given by the official organ of the French Academy of Medicine. For some months staticians have been compiling figures showing officially that the number of births of male infants has surpassed that of females. This caused a certain feeling of satisfaction because it seemed that in this manner nature was automatically making good the losses in the male population caused by the war. According to our authority the explanation is that women who arc extremely fatigued through arduous labour, such as working 10 hours in munition factories, tilling fields, and acting ,as drivers of street cars, can become the mothers of male children only. Gypecolor gists of renown have agreed that such is always the result when women are overworked or required to do the labour ordinarily performed by men, . CROWN PRINCE AS TENNIS PLAYER. From Mr Gerard’s German reminiscence in the Daily Telegraph: “All of us in the Embassy joined the Red White Tennis Club, situated in the Gunewald, about five miles from the centre of Berlin. The Crown Prince was a member, and often played there. He is an excellent player, not quite up to championship form, but can give a good account of himself in any company short of the top class. He has the advantage of always finding that the best players are only too glad to have ah opportunity to play with him. At this tennis club, during all the period of the feeling of hatred against America, we were treated with extreme courtesy by all our German fellow-members.” Mr Gerard is inclined to flatter the Crown Prince’s form, A writer in the Pffild remembers “knocking up” at Hamburg with the vanquished “hero” of Verdun seven or eight years ago, and finding him little better than a plus 15.4 man. But, of course, with a view to subsequent diplomacy, he may have improved. It is stated, by the way, that the Crown Prince placed F. W. Rahe on his military stuff with a'view to an occasional

game on the courts of the French chateaux so ruthlessly despoiled by the German army. / AMERICA’S JOKE AT PRINCE EITEL, The United States authorities have decided to give new names to all the seized German ships, the American sailors who are going to sail in them showing a great repugnance to having German., names on their caps. The big Yaterland will henceforth be called the Leviathan, the Kronprinzessin Cecile will be known as the Mount Vernon, and the Kaiser Wilhelm as the Agamemnon. All the new names are approved by the public except the Mercury, which has been given to the Barbarossa, and which it is thought should have been given to the Prince Bitel, as Mercury is the god of thieves. AEROPLANE AMBULANCE. Tests made at Villa Coublay of an aeroplane fitted with two stretchers for carrying wounded proved highly satisfactory. Dr. Chassaing, of the Army Medical Service, and Corporal Tetu represented wounded passengers during a 12-minute flight, the equivalent to a 15-mile journey. Corporal Tetu declared that this form of transport was far superior to an ambulance of which he had vivid recollections when wounded two years ago. Dr. Chassaing removed a muffler from his head and unfastened strays during the flight. He expressed the opinion that there would be no unnecessary pain to a wounded passenger because the equilibrium of the aeroplane was so perfect. The aeroplane was constructed by the aeronautic service of the army, which hopes tq„ use this form of transport for the severely wounded, declaring that the absence of any jolting fully compensate the patient for any risk.