CHAMPION GERMAN BLUFF

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXX, Issue 27, 6 May 1916, Page 5

CHAMPION GERMAN BLUFF

ifong Reply to America %' ' ; I Responsibility Thrown on Britain iGerman Squadron in the Baltic if' , . / More Irish Rebels Sentenced

CURRENT WAR TOPICS.

There is not really any grave necessity for “demoralisation” of the United States’ stock markets so far as any possibility of war between Germany and America is. concerned, though nothing more colossally impudent than the bluff Germany is putting up has ever probably been conceived—even by such forsworn liars and rogues as the mod-, ern Huns are now known to be. To accuse Britain of breaking international law while Germany observes it, is simply another evidence of German lack of a sense of humor, while also £t is an enormous lie. To pretend to America any desire to refrain from murder and piracy oh the seas, is merely hyprocrisy and deception of the approved German pattern. But it "’id all probably .be accepted by , the American Government as the statement of honest and humane people. In fact, it is even possibles—iu t the,interests of American trade—that ‘it may, be civs-' covered by Mr Woodrow* Mil son and bis friends that England is not doing the right thing, and ought, at least, to let all ships flying the. Sjtars . .add Stripes free iqgress to and egress from German ports.. . The bettor-glass American newspapers will speak out plainly, but thpre is hot any great likelihood that a serious rupture will occur.

A late telegram received on going to press entirely bears out the views above expressed. Uncle Sam is not looking for trouble, and any old excuse Germany dues to offer seems to meet' the jcase. By-and-by Germany- will grow bolder-—and'not even trouble tb ; make excuses to Washington.

Still there come reports of German activity oh the Westenf front, partied- i larly opposite the British, towards the horthem end of the line, but just what, it means has not been made clear; 11 the Allies are going to, bring off thenpromised “push” this year, there is nob mlioh time to lose, and the probabilities, are that the enemy is prepaiing defence plans to meet the move. Nothing further is to hand concerning the position at Verdun, beyond that in one sector, on the west of the Meuse, the Germans momentarily occupied some of the advanced French trenches. South of the Somme they were completely repulsed, and elsewhere theie has' been intermittent artillery work.

Fierce fighting has evidently occurred in the southern part of the line in Russia, as to-day the cables state that a whole Hungarian regiment perished in an engagement at Rovno,

A short cable concerning the Balkan, campaign states that the trench have occupied the town of Fiorina, which is situate some sixteen miles south-south-east of Monastic. But it is npt a town in Turkey as is believed in some quarters. It is in Greece, about ninety miles as the crow flies west from Salonika, and a few miles west of the Salonika-Mona-stir railway at a point five miles from where it crosses the Graeco-Serbian border. Monastic is, of course, in the hands of the Bulgars, and the latest French success will no doubt prove a fine base from which to conduct

operations across the frontier. At * Salonika the defence works against aircraft are evidently as good as the fortifications, of which so much has been said in their favor, although, as to them being impregnable, nowadays that is claiming rather too much. However, the loss of an attacking • Zeppelin with the whole of the crew except one is confirmed, adding another to the toll which the Allies are taking in*ever-increasing numbers. The report that a squadron or German ships comprising some of the largest in that Navy was seen steaming north 'past Malmoe, situate on the southern part of Sweden at the entrance to The Sound, will give rise to many conjectures as to the destination of the enemy. Through The

Sound’ into the Cattcgat, round the top of Denmark, and through the Skager Rack lets the squadron into the North Sea. But it is doubtful if the Germans arc very anxious to meet Sir John Jellicoe and his merry crews of the Grand Fleet. They may make a dash, as occurred at Yarmouth and Lowestoft a fortnight ago, trusting to chance to escape their natural enemy. Once into the open sea, the distance to Aberdeen.or Edinburgh is not much more than 350 miles, and about a fourteen-hour journey would take them near enough to bombard the Scottish Coast. Now, we do not hear much at this end of the Globe about the mysterious doing of the naval ships which have their, headquarters in the Firth of Forth, and it is noti likely that on the approach of the enemy fleet the authorities are going to blazon forth the purport of their movements. They may be trusted to do the very .best, .thing under the cir-i cumstances, and it ill becomes anyone to throw, -the ■ taunt in tlieir, teeth —as was ’ the ’ case on the occasion of the* spurt to' the English coast at Yarmouth—that they had better “Wake Up!” It would be well with'the Em-1 pire as a whole to-dfly were all the; other departments ,of defence in such; gobd nick and fit and well to fake, on, the Hun. If a meeting does not. eventuate, however, it will not be the' British fault, ami the best way to take it is not to lay the blame upon the' shoulders of the men who carry their responsibility of Britannia maintaining her right to be called Mistress of the Seas,

The Belgian Army is reported tube more (numerous and better armed than when the war began. Many people must have wondered how it manages to keep going at all; with sevQneighths of its Country in the hands of the enemy. It is dependent, dikelother armies, upon the continued existence of numbers, of institutions; depots, training schools, arsenals,' stores, repair factories, and many others. All these have had to-be established in France, but there, at .'various points behind the front, Belgian men and horses are trained, repairs to guns, motors, and everything else are attended to, and the innumerable other articles required by an army are manufactured. These Belgian military establishments are described by a Times correspondent who visited a number of them lately as a triumph of improvisation. It is no easy matter to set up the whole of a country’s military establishments in foreign territory, and with an exceedingly limited amount of material in hand. But Belgium has done it. Land and buildings have been acquired, sometimes from the French Government, sometimes from private owners, and the greatest ingenuity has been exercised in converting them to military purposes. For instance, the laundry in which all the dirty linen of the army is washed was once a dye works, a charming country house has become a school for cavalry officers and schools and convent buildings and workshops have been transformed into hospitals and ambulances.