"YELLOW ENGLISH"

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 7, Issue 437, 27 December 1918, Page 3

"YELLOW ENGLISH"

+~ (Written specially for the " Times.") If everyone in the Empire ware to read Dorotea Flatau's "Yellow English," there would be no question as to what we should do with our Germans and their descendants There is nothing in the book that we did not know, perhaps, as to the activities of the spies and traitors who have taken advantage of our eaßy-going, unsuspicious natures to make their homes among us with the sole object of wrecking the Empire, but the whole sordid story of the underground workers of the Kaiser is presented to us more vividly when putin the form of a novel than when pieced together in our minds from scrappy newspaper reports The central figure of "Yellow English," Schultz, comes to England as a youth, and with Teutonic thoroughness sets himself out to lose his German identity and to pose as one of the most English of the English. Helped by German gold he succeeds in business most marvellously, and by the time he is middle-aged has become a prominent financier. He marries an English lady of rank, and ultimately manages to secure an English title of nobility for himself. His son ne trains from the earliest age to become a spy and traitor like himself. He has opportunities of learning Cabinet secrets from our foolish chattering politicians, because he is able to bamboozle them with the Kaiser's favours, and he sucks the brains of Generals and Admirals by his pretended love for England and dislike of Germany; and Potsdam owns him to be one of its most valuable secret agents. In the end, of course, retribution overtakes him and his son, because this is a novel. In real life he would J probably have gone on wealthy and ' un-suspected to the end, except by a few, who would have been accused ! of persecuting him without cause if they had objected to his taking pa:t in the affairs of the country. When we think of the number of Schultzes we had, and still have, throughout the Empire we must admit that for us to have won the war, with our politicians playing into the hands of these Hccursed traitors, is the most marvellous thing that can be imagined. That their spying and treachery cost us thousands and thousands of lives is certain, and has been certain ever since the begiuning of the war; yet our politicians have not only allowed them to hold Government positions, but actually to take part in the administration of public affairs. We know that in England, Canada, South Africa, and Australia, men of German blood, who have for years identified themselves with us, have been found to have taken advantage of their positions to assist the enemy . and work us mischiefs and we have j every reason to believe that for [ every discovered traitor there are a dozen undiscovered ones. If here in New Zealand we have not actually discovered our traitors it may only be because they are too astute, or we are too simple. j Shall we ever be wide enough ! awake to cease to believe in truth and honesty among those of German blood, when a thousand bitter ex-' periences have shown us they are only capable of the blackest and most cowardly treachery? Shall we ever have brains enough to realise j that their desire to mingle in public affairs is simply to lead us to our undoing ? Are we never to be freed of the poisonous canker of the enemy alien fostered and favoured in the land he has done his best to make desolate ? Tt is becoming increasingly evident we shall never be rid of him if we trust to nur politicians to purify the public services. We know now what it is to be ruled by a Government that is not repro-.; aentative of the people, and because wo are too tim ■• and lavish to c>lg >s, we shall have to put up \vi;h tie sight of our gentle Huns, every one of whom is a potential, if not an active, traitor, fostered and favoured^