The Taihape Daily Times. AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 1917. UNPARALLELLED DUPLICITY.

Taihape Daily Times, Issue 220, 11 September 1917, Page 4

The Taihape Daily Times. AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 1917. UNPARALLELLED DUPLICITY.

(With which is incorporated The Taihape Post and Walmarino News).

The machinations of the German Government in its determination to rule the world .seem to be as wide as the world itself. In its campaign of dishonour, of all that is detestable and repugnant to mankind generally it has dragged down with it into the depths of infamy it has dropped to nations which have hitherto been regarded honourable and in the van of the most civilised. Sweden has been posing as a neutral, with a leaning to the Entente; shiploads of grain, iron, cotton, and all that is required to feed an army and to equip it with clothing and munitions, have teemed into Sweden from Britain and America, and it is >only just recently when Sweden refused to give the undertaking required, not to reexport to Germany that supplies have to some extent been denied her. The people of Sweden have refused her products to Britain, and did successfully manage to maintain a face of friendship till America came into the war. It was then the huge importations became common knowledge, and America, being an interested party, refused to continue sending them. Negotiations between the two countries were commenced, but no one appeared to explain the unusual American adamant in its dealing. This resulted in a special mission being despatched by the Swedish Government to Washington, and it was while in America the amazing disclosures were made which were detailed by cables received yesterday. For how long cannot at present be known but for some very considerable tim e Sweden has actually been the agent and active assistant of Germany in the war, has furnished a constant flow of food and war material, and has participated very materially in that most hideous of all known cruelties the submarining of ships carrying only innocent women, Children and non-combatants. The Swedish Foreign Office has acted as jackal to Germany in hunting and locating the prey of the U-boat campaign of piracy, and in that is equally guilty with the very pirates .themselves. , The .Swedish Minister in Argentine has the utmost

facility for knowing whon all ships are going and coming. The Buenos Ayres Legation has been the receiving office of shipping intelligence from all other parts of North and South America, and the Swedish Minister, has up to the present time coded all this intelligence to Berlin. It is questionable which is the most detestable crime, unearthing the quarry or sending it to death and destruction. It is not only from America the reports of all sailings and arrivals of ships were made known to Germany, but German Ministers and Agents in various parts of the world were coding their shipping and other reports to Buenos Ayres to be dispatched from thence to the pirate dens in Berlin. Is it at all wonderful that so many ships have been sunk; that wherever there was a merchant or passenger ship in any part of the ocean there appeared to be a submarine to meet it? This astounding relationship and co-operation between the Swedish and German Governments made the number of submarines appear quite six | times greater than they were. Where- I ver there was a ship there was a submarine, and it puzzled even British naval authorities to understand how Germany could furnish the number of under-water craft to cover the widespread ocean over which they were so successfully working. Now they know that it was by the most revolting dup-licity-of a Government that pretended friendship, a veritable national Judas. Under the guise of friendship Sweden has been actively bringing the submarine to our ships, trying to starve Britain into submission to Germany; trying to drag th e British Empire in the dust. Sweden has been a companion to Germany in the most awful, hateful, ghastly crimes the world has ever had knowledge of, and all these many months, even years, it has been under the guise of friendship to Britain and to 1 America. What, we wonder, will ■ President Wilson say to the Swedish Mission that is now in the United States asking that more shiploads of wheat, eottbn, and other products be sent to save Sweden from starvation. There is no mistake about this horrible duplicity, for the American Secretary of State has delivered copies of the coded messages , from the Ger-' man Eepresentative to Berlin, sent by the Swedish Minister, to parties interested ..and even sent a copy to the treacherous Swede himself. The messages have also been published in American newspapers. The convicted Swedes express surprise, and they are no doubted more concerned about the failure of their mission of importunity to America for wheat and cotton, inviting the American ship fly to walk into the Hun submarine spider's parlour. The deliberate plotting of Germany in all that tends to the wholesale destruction of life and property in her determination to dominate the i world taxes ones conception to the 1 utmost. The Swedish Minister will, of ] course, be bundled out of Buenos j Ayres; it is probable Argentina will ' declare war on Germany; that relations will be broken off between Sweden and the United States, and Britain. The only restraining feature will be the condition in Eussia, but we may rest assured that Sweden will be bereft of all power to assist Germany, and that her mission to America will go back empty handed. One more long long step has been taken towards killing the submarine menace.