CURRENT WAR TOPICS.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXVIV, Issue 25, 5 January 1916, Page 5

CURRENT WAR TOPICS.

The position that Roumnnia will take up iu the war has long been anxiously awaited, and it is, therefore, most encouraging to note that the . cables to-day from Petrbgrad refer in satisfactory terms to the subject, lle- ' cognising that Roumania is not in a position to undertake a long war, and that the utmost deliberation should be given to the question of entering the arena of strife, yet Russia is satisfied that Roumanian sentiment and the country’s policy overwhelmingly favor' the Entente. But what is more agreeable to the palate, is the statement that the importance of active Roumanian co-operation is diminishing with the improving situation in the Balkans. Now, we have heard so little of afty improvement—indeed, the oppbtiW has- been the case—that the pe'^irni srtf; n thight take ■ heart 'ofJ grace afid hhhg bri’ a little longer be l -* fore deserting altogether to the ig : doihfg' bn' the Allied side'is' plainly' dblinbatecP throughout to-dhy’s hews. There is the reported landing of . troops from thirty, transports bn the 'southern coast of* Macedonia; the bojhb'irig of Austrian camps at Glievgeli; the ar- , ; rest of lObo enemy subjects at Salonika, following the bold stroke of the arrest of the Consuls; and. an a r of general activity which is regarded as •a commencement of hostilities in Greek territory. There will he trouble » in the Balkans long before-the Spring !

Seamen, but with the establishment of the Royal Alfred Aged Merchant Seamen’s Institution that stigma was removed, and for half-a-century this great charity has provided a home or. pension for thousands oi aged and destitute seamen of the British mercantile marine Like many ptibet old established institutions, the Royal Alfred has felt the pinch of war conditions, and the competition of the numerous funds for worthy objects arising out of the present National crisis. An earnest appeal is made by the committee of the institution for contributions, and any such forwarded to Mr J. Bailey Walker, secretary, Royal Alfred Institution, 58 Fenchurch Street, E.C., will ho gratefully acknowledged.

! ■ •• t;(!i t , Another pleasing not© is struck by the information the. sian operations between , fho .Pripet marshes and the Roumanian frontier. The DdilyniTelegraph’s. corresponded states-that-tlie'curtain is lifting ov;oi. the vast.operations in, this, district. This isiihot: Tjiqfo;re its time, ms many, anxious-thoughts' were cast upon this section'of the campaign. Wo hear that the Allies are active along practically the whole front of I/O miles, having pushed back the enemy at more than one point. It is good news, and Mackensen will find there is work for him to do, instead of doing the will-o’-the-wisp act; as th 0 cables have informed us he is practising. At any rate, it is satisfactory to know that the activity of the Allies on this greatfront is sufficiently dangerous to the enemy to necessitate the presence of one of, if not, their greatest general. In support of the Russian claim to advancement, there is a communique from Berlin referring to bitter fighting. on the Bessarabian front, but the authorities seek refuge in reporting a single engagement, where “the utmost efforts of the enemy to break the Austro-Bulgarians in the Toporoutz district failed!” Just so! A nauseating pill for Germany is the Czar’s speech' at the review of the Knights ..of St. George, particularly this piece(!) : “Peace will nob be concluded until the last enemy is chased from onr territory, nor except theie is a full agreement with the Allies, to whom we are bound, not by paper trunties; but by true friendship, and the ties of blood.”

When one considers the truly great and heroic part British merchant seamen are taking in the war, their claim upon the generous consideration ot all is unquestionably established. That one of these brave fellows should stand in need of a helping hand when forced by age nr affliction to abandon the sea.would be, one ventures to affirm, an ingratitude to those to whom os a body Britain owes her commercial and to whom to a degree r most apparent of late she is indebted for the very daily necessaries of life. At one time it could be said that Britain was the only great maritime nation without a provision for its Merchant