THROUGH GERMAN SPECTACLES.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 5, Issue 203, 25 August 1916, Page 2 (Supplement)

THROUGH GERMAN SPECTACLES.

PAID BRITISH SPIES WHO KIDNAP GERMANS. BRUSILOFF VICTORIES ALL BLACKED OUT. So far as tho war is concerned th* German newspapers seem to be having rather a bad time just now. All nc.vs ol General BrusUotf's smashing blows at Austria has been sedulously censored in the Berlin papers for the past eigla or nine days, and outside that city has leen just as sedulously blacked out by tha local military authorities. The majority of the people of Ge--many are in complete ignorance of the desperate plight of the Kaiser's "faithful ally," and the ,'idsmal failure of tin redoubtable Hindenburg to stop the rout. They are equally ignorant of the Crown Prince's misfortunes before Verdun, though, according to news received by way of Switzerland, the endless streams of wounded men pouring hourly into Germany have again occasioned p panic. HUNS AT £25 A HEAD. If war news is taboo, however, there is still the infamy of England to talk about, and this, happily, is an inexhaustible subject. One or the very latest of our sins, it seems, tates the form of kidnapping Germans and pretending that they »wece " captured at sea"!. Needless to say, it is the Hamburg " Fremdenblatt" which tells this story : Through the medium of agents whom they have stationed among the owners of taverns, cafes, and disorderly houses in all the neutral countries, the English have offered a reward of £25 a head for every German caught and betrayed into t'heir hands. Such Gfermans are thereupon considered as having been " captured at sea." The result is that every neutral seaport is full of these paid betrayers, who await the appearance of anybody who, in their judgment is or ought to be a German. Such a man is then well plied with liquor, and in that condition he is then shipped aboard an English steamer, where he is subsequently formally " captured," and forced to work among the crew, and his betrayer receives his £25 Judas money. A similar procedure takes place on board British warships. Quite recently a neutral steamer whose captain could with the clearest conscience give the assurance that he had no "Germans" on board, was held up by an English cruiser. The steamer was boarded by an English officer, who ordered the whole crew on deck. Producing six photographs from his pocket, the Englishman, after a cursory glance at the men, selected six of the crew, had them arrested and then taltfen ifoncbly on board' his cruiser. Another English officer, acting on the information of one of these £25-a-man gentry, dragged an alleged "German" out of the refrigerating chamber of another neutral vessel, where the man was simply occupied in his ordinaiy duties. " PLENTY OF FOOD." Another "foolish demonstration by hysterical women" —the latest German euphemism for a food riot ruthlessly stamped out by jackboots—prompts the official " North-German Odette" to declare that there is "plenty of food" in Germany, and 'everybody will soon have his share," providing, of course, that he is not inconsiderate enough to die of starvation in the meantime. l'h» other side of the picture is supplied ! y the " Rhejnisch-Westfalische Zeitung": The army, of course, needs a certain number of carrier pigeons. It is a tact, however, that the 7th Army Corps has in lits posse.ss.ion far more carrier pigeons than are required for military purposes. it is found impossible to supply these birds with the maize needed tor their maintenance, as this article is imperatively needed for the army horses. Owners of carrier pigeons are therefore most urgently advised to keep only tho most tried and reliable birds, and to place all others at the disposal of the public authorities, who will sell them as food. GULLS' EGGS AND CROWS. The "Cologne Gazette" gives another illustration of this plentitude of supplies :- On the island of Graswerder 28,600 gulls' eggs have been collected, and are To lie sold for public consumption. They will be obtainable on the showing of the egg ticket at the price of Id. apiece. The people have, moreover, been placed in the position to procure another excellent food product through the signal success that has attended the crow battues. In one district on a single day no fewer than 1,b22 crows were shot. These were sold at 6d. each. Altogether quite an appetising men.i —gulls' eggs, crow's flesh, and carrier pigeons; to say nothing of "blended sausage" and rat pie. A WAIL FROM THE TRENCHES. Another aspect of this abundance "s reflected •in a letter from tho German front which is printed in the Cologne " Volksaeitung":— " I feel I must protest in the name of my comrades against the contemptible attitude of so many of our women—ay, v.nd girls and men, too. Every letter received at the front. i« a tissue of whines and lamentations, of terror and tearful complaint. \\e are perfectly well aware that our people at home are battling with want and privations, but why repeat these facts .in every letter in yard-long comphVnts? "A young lady from the country writes, amid nothing but lamentations, about the 'fearful' food scarcity. 'Yon can't imagine the goings-oiti of the soldiers' wives,' she writes; 'it is shameful, it is disgusting,' and so forth. Yes, ti is disgusting indeed to see a young girl thus insulting her sex. "Another girl tells her brother scandalous stories of wholesale German desertions at the eastern front, and a woman informs her husband about alleged hunger rows in various towns, and about sanguinary en-counters with the police. "I could add many more examples calculated to create despondency in the army, and thereby endanger the lives of entire companies and regiments. It is more than t'me that this disease which is spreading with the rapidity ot it cholera (epidemic throughout our fatherland were finally crushed out of existence."

TAX ON CORSETS. The same journal has set out to help the Finance Minister in the task of devising new taxes, and has called in the assistance of its readers to this end. i'he place ol honour is given to a lady who contributes tho following brilliant essay;— "In the first place, I should impose a corset tax. Such a tax would affect no one- undeservedly, because a corset is not even necessary, as a woman presents a much less famished appearance without than with one. '•ln respect of those who will not go without I propose a tax of 10 per cent. ad valorem. On tne jnside of the corset a tax stamp would be affixed, and, according to my ample understanding, not very many officials would be necessary to' perform that operation. Nor would those who are not overblessed with money feel the burden very greatly. The o'nlv difference would be that Fraulein Eufalic Birnrieder (Pearnnd) would assure herself of her maidenly shape for 3s 3d. instead of 3s net, while the butcher's widow, Frau Hubermeier. could as easilv armour her 2601b5. of sodlid flesh for £3 17s, as for £3 10s., without serious damage to her moneybag.