WAR NOTES.

Taranaki Daily News, 10 April 1917, Page 7

WAR NOTES.

J PURRING GERM AX INFLUEXCE. ilr. Wilfrid- 'Powell, late Consul-flen-j oral at 'Philadelphia., at tlie 'Royal Coloi nial Institute: —"In order to keep them 'out of oiir business'We must eliminate all Germans; ' ; 'A«y' (firman may be looked upon 1 as iTposiiM* potential evil. We must employ only clerks of British birth, and these ought to be educated j in foreign languages. Greater encouragement and more opportunity must be given for students to enter all branches of scientific research. Research has been far too much neglected in England; science and manufacture 'should go hand in hand, nnd science should be the handmaid to commerce, and in order to accomplish this our schools of research and laboratories must be very largely inincreased. The English business man stands on an infinitely higher plane t'lian the German, commercialTy, morally, and socially, but whether he does so intellec- . tuallv is another question. Our labor classes are, taken as a whole, infinitely superior to those of the German nation. The latter have the great disadvantage, for one thing, of having to serve in the army for from two to three years just "at the time in their lives when they are most capable of absorbing the technic of the trade io which they belong. Some have said that the discipline acquired in the German army and navy is beneficial. This I venture to doubt. Many artisans in Germany have told me of haw deeply , they regretted the loss of time from their business spent in the army or navy, the discipline in which is calculated to deaden intellectual force, for the soldier or sailor in the German services is trained into an automaton, and this applies not only .to the working classes, but to. the middle opd; business classe, i who are,.,equally compelled to, serve in | the military, though possibly for a I shorter period. ,Tlms. the British work-

man is superior to the German workman in independence and intelligence; but] that very fact, excellent in itself as it j is, may he a cause of serious menace to our trade supremacy if not met iu a fair spirit of consideration by the capitalist." •PEACE PROPOSAL CONFESSION. Captain von Salzmann, the military critic of the Vossische Zettung, In an article, entitled "What is Going On," admits as clearly as could be put into words that the German peace proposal was a mere manoeuvre. ' ''Slowly it becomes more apparent (he writes) that the Rome Conference was only "the concluding act of a scries of negotiations of the highest significance for the future of the war. German peace action in this connection became for our enemies a very unpleasant blow in the flank which threatened to disturb dispositions made by t'lie leader. Such actions, looked upon as diplomatic flank bloiws, are war means wnich in all wars, in all times, have been made use of. As the history of the Seven Years' War shows, there are remarkable parallels to be found. The plan of our enemies to beat lis this spring in warlike action, on a greater scale than ever, was fixed on that day when the recognition dawned on them that the Soninie Battle was lost. From tlhat period dated those strategic calculations and* preparations for coming events which arc to exceed in fury and force of decision everything that has taken place hitherto. "The decision of the war can only he obtained by an offensive in_one of the chief theatres. This is known very well by our enemies. Therefore now this new offensive is being prepared for in the veiy greatest style. Behind t'lie Western front great movements are being completed. It appears even as if Italian political military leadership has allowed it?elf to lie persuaded to change its conviction. This spring will undoubtedly bring an attempt to carry out the old ideas of Frederick, Napoleon, andMoltke of war movement with the object of a battle for decision. The General Staffs of • our enemies are now breaking their heads with the problem, How shall a stiff front be brought into movement without again automatically becoming the frontal figlit of material?' "The chief burden of the fight will rest upon the French, who to-day, as before for hundreds of years, are the masters of war movement. The English are making a virtue of necessity, as they always do. Their army leaders know they cannot lead the war movement in great lityle. The English field of battle is the sea, and will always remain so. "With confidence we go toward this fearful struggle, and that confidence will bring us success. This time we know the decision must fall and will fall. This time it> will be a final fight. In accordance with all German custom, we go quietly, determinedly, seriously, almost joyfully, towards the decision of the issue."