The Taihape Daily Times AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE. SATURDAY, MAY 15, 1915. THE POSITION OF NEUTRALS

Taihape Daily Times, Volume 7, Issue 209, 15 May 1915, Page 4

The Taihape Daily Times AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE.

SATURDAY, MAY 15, 1915. THE POSITION OF NEUTRALS

(Wi1»l» is ; inc orporatad The Taijfeage iPoat an* Waimarina News.)

It seems' ifthjs very pearly the whole of tihe -«rorld is to be dralvn iijj-tp rtfoc swirling vortex of war before it is allowed to close. Neutrai epii&tries are drawing nearer, ai&d tibial scenes of fighting may &ow jbe witnessed from the frontiers of several of them. The ebb ..and low of ffeeling in some of them is jfchrillingiy near one day, only to recede t& an uncertain distance away, the next'. . America h;;s jaken preliminaries to war; (i i ■ t>ce has hesitated tal/he brealaitg.pojiit-pi ihv patience '<** her t:xvpr<>.*; mief, miff/H,- iw < xlV^prdin'ary^

it had not the unanimous support of the House in what it termed the present ?grave aspec t of affairs. A small party, presumably supported by ;the King, is averse .to entering > the war if Italy's national aspirations can be satisfied by cessions from Austria of what is virtually Italian territory, peopled by Italians. But by far the

larger number of statesmen, supported by the whole of the people of Italy, arc in favour of war because they know that should Germany and Austria be successful they would be made to relinquish the exacted territory and probably be subjected to reprisals that would cripple or blot out their

nationality, xne Ministry nas resigned, seemingly because the bartering policy by which Italy is to sell her neutrality for something she is certain to have taken from her-should the other party to the arrangement, succeed in silencing the Allies; and now the world awaits:in suspense of the formation of a new Cabinet, a suspense that the next few days is likely to remove. In Greece somewhat simiilar conditions prevail, but, although yesterday's cables indicate that ex-Premier Venezolos, who favoured war a month or so back, is certain to be recalled to i nffip.fi: almost at once, he is''noi

waiting for an opportunity to ;joiniissue with the Allies; he has made one, and is at this time {raising "a sacred legion of fifty thousand soldiers for the realisation of the Hellenic programme in I Asia Minor. This action will un : doubtedly prove a considerable factor in directing and deciclinc the course the whole nation will take. Bulgaria and . Roumania are merely awaiting the trend oexternal events rather than inter-nal-feeling. They are ready to

move ''with the strongest side; nevertheless, they have expressed the . fear that their respective countries will merely form parts of a big German Empire should Germany prevail, and they will, when suitable opportunity offei-s, throw their lot in with the side that, will ensure their indepen-dent-national entity. Successful invasion of Turkey and Russian progress in Galicia will most like-

ly'prove the deciding- factors, i f they have not already some tacit understanding . with Italy and Greece. The possibility of a Ger-man-American war has loomed up very largely during the last few days, and whether war conditions ire reached or not, Germany, from this on, need not expect the performance of any act by Amer,'J:.a, thatiwi!:! favour,, her interests in any way. The, whole and pre- • use truth about what America is l.oiiig will only leakc-out little by little,.and we are advised that tht utimate decision will depend upon how far Germany is prepared to concede to American demands. It seems certain that an emphatic Note has been sent to Germany with respect to the loss of Aniericanlife and property __ through the sinking of the Lusitania, the Gulf Light, and the Falaba, and there are unconfirmed statements respecting the nature of Germany's reply. Tf the reply is unsatisfactory, the American Ambassador is to be recalled from Berlin, and Bernstorfr' is to be handed his passports. It has been said that the Washington Note contains a suggestion that German submar-

-inc commanders probably misunderstood their instructions regarding the sinking df the Lusitariia, but under such provocation itis scarcely believable that America could be in a -'frame of mind to use terms bordering on obsequiousness. So that with regard to the 'intervention <of neutrals the whole world is in.'a state of suspense, and, although the turning-point seems very near with each three peoples mentioned, previous happenings will cause us to have little surprise should it be still further delayed, but present indications, in all three countries, favour the adoption of some decisive policy -almost immediately.