CURRENT WAR TOPICS.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXVIV, Issue 100, 3 April 1916, Page 5

CURRENT WAR TOPICS.

Zeppelin raids on England occur with monotonous regularity, so that the news of the latest on the Eastern counties will fail to cause much excitement. There is, unfortunately, 28 deaths and the wounding of 44 persons to be recorded, with no doubt the attendant destruction of many buildings and works, for the Hun does not take the risk of flying to Britain" and back for the sheer fun of the journey. He gets as many harmless civilians—be they men, women, or children—as possible, and he has tne satisfaction of knowing that if the poisonous and incendiary bombs miss humanity they are good for a smashfnp somewhere on English soil. But there is a bright side to the story of the raid for those who have not lost some dear relative or friend. Zeppelin LIS came to grief as .the result of anti-aerial gunfire, which is a feather in the cap of the authorities who are concerned in the defence of the The airship found a resting place in the Thames estuary, and surrendered to the British patrol boats. Of the captured crew, twentyseven have been imprisoned. There will be some regret that in the towing operations the v Zeppelin sank in the-sea, as an inspection of the works would bo very helpful to the Allies, who cannot learn too much of these engines of war, the result of the combination of Germany's most talented scientists. Latest reports aver that the men from the Zeppelin were not wounded, hut that being bootless when they surrendei-ed they were conveyed to

barracks in ambulances. Xt * s a * so •i affirmed tbat the Germans drew lots among themselves as would remain on the ship and destroy it, for the purpose of preventing its parts being of use to the British, the drawer of course taking his own life in his hands. The task fell to a junior officer, who demonstrated that valor of a kind for the sake of the beloved Fatherland is not wanting in our.foes. The antics of the airship in its endeavors to ■ escape the ruthless glare of the searchlights in the towns being attacked gives an idea of some of - the modern methods of protection for these monsters of the air.

The news from the West side of the Meuse at Verdun shows how determined is the enemy to break through the defence. We read of the men being driven into the battle by their officers, who, regardless of the sacrifices, instituted attack after attack with masses of men and guns. These attacks failed against the French until overpowered by weight , of numbers, and from pure exhaustion . they had to give way, but then only foot by foot and house by house. The question is, will the advance gained by nfche enemy be of any material service . to him in his final objective atjbis sector? There need to be no alarm just now at the account of the Malancourt fight, as it occurred some time ago, and" the enemy are now fighting at Avocourt, but to the lay mind there appears to be success for the Germans if they o'nly make up their mind to spend enough men for the sake of victory. Are they strong enough to keep up the sacrifices ? Time alone will tell the tale. In the meantime let us place implicit confidence in our leaders and Recruit! More Recruits! and Still More Recruits!

On the east side of the Mouse, at Vaux, the enemy appears to be also making slight advance, which gives , further ground for the uneasiness referred to. The latest act of murder on the high seas by the Huns is the torpedo- \ " : ag of the French hospital ship. Portufi§ in the, Black Sea. For deliberate ,Hi methods of warfare, this incident appears to take the palm. The ship was in the act of anchoring, when a German submarine appeared at a distance of about sixty yards and despatched two torpedoes. There could surely be no possible excuse at this short distance of not noting the Red ' Cross painted on the .side of the vessel, or the Flag of Mercy which hung at'the masthead. The work of destruction was done thoroughly and well., if time counts for r t ii> thing in

such a dastardly venture, for the Portugal sank within a minute. But willing hands from trawlers and a torpedo-boat close handy rendered all the assistance possible, and one hundred and fifty-two were saved from a watery grave, thgt. is, if their end had not already followed the trail of the torpedo in its joiirney to the en-gine-room of the vessel. Prominent officials and he lowliest worker in the cause of Humanity went down together and to-day we all mourn their cruel fate. On a topic such as the . Red Cross, the spirit of revenge is tabu, but no one can doubt that one day Nemesis will overtake the perpetrators of the foul deed.

The latest from Salonika is rather remarkable, as disclosing the Greek Premier's attitude to the belligerents. No one for a moment expected that i" the position in which he was placed by the Salonika representatives in the Chamber, in urging the Allied evacuation of the city and in informing Germany that any bombing would be considered as being directed against the interest of Greece, he would ro aught but show his pro-German partianship. He conveyed the terms of the motion to the Allies, but did not inform Germany of her position in the matter. This was. only to be expected in the face of his recent "winking of the other eye" at the extensive operations in the interests of German submarines at Corfu. With the majority of the people of the country decidedly proAllied in their wishes, and the King and Government distinctly on the side of the Central Powers,- a remarkable position has arisen. Will the spirit ot Democracy assert itself or will the Allies have to step in to save the country from the effect of the sins of its Government?

An English newspaper correspondent described the other day what he called a very typical assembly of Ottoman troops, captured at Kut (pronounced Koot). "There were Bagdad Jews," he said, "who had been im l pressed as sanitary workers; Chaldean Christians who had acted as ambulance orderlies; Kurds from Amadia. who could talk to no one but each other, and knew not where they were; Arab Moslems from Mosul and Bagdad, who rejoiced in their capture, and hailed the British as their deliverers ; and 300 Turks from Konia. These latter were oldish men of 4.0 years and upwards, fair-haired, heavylimbed, round-shouldered men with that solemn, slow, patient expression which marks Anatolians from all mankind. They sat still in the shade as quiet and sleepy as buffaloes; if one spoke to them they rose respectfully and saluted. At Kut they had fought stubbornly, and now many were dead. Hearing a word in their own tongue they rose with beaming eyes and deep, respectful greetings; one of them, an old sergeant with dark, gentle eyes and grey black beard, came orfc into the palm grove." The old sergeant's story had rather a pathetic touch ; 'I come from the Konia province, sir, from a little village, Hassan Bey Koi. Yes, there are forests and fields and running water, and great mountains. Yes, I have a wife and four children, the smallest a girl so high.' As he spoke his eyes filled with tears, which trickled down his wrinkled cheek. 'Yes, sir, it is shameful for a soldier to cry. I was in the Greek war, and the Balkan war, and now when a man finds all lost and that because that boy Enver has set him fighting against his best friends, why a man must needs cry. Whoever heard of the Ingliz fighting Usmanlis? But the world has been upside down since Abdul Hamid fell; and the Germans use us to fill their ditches, and kill us to defend the railways they have stolen from us.' "