ALLIES' WEAK SPOTS.

Taranaki Daily News, 15 February 1918, Page 6

ALLIES' WEAK SPOTS.

CRITICAL TIMES IN ENGLAND. "CLEMENCEAU MINISTRY A DANGEROUS EXPERIMENT, Some rather startling statements concerning the troubles and disabilities ol the Allies arc contained in a dispatch to the Sydney Sun from that journal's London correspondent, whose communication is dated December 3rd. He states: The health of the Allies, taking them all in all, is certainly better than that of our enemies. But tlmre are diseased spots. They all seem-to have been show, ing their discolor and inflammation during these last few critical weeks. In England there has been a serious strike, which has cost the army and navy 600 aeroplanes. Whether the masters or the workers were at fault is beside the point. MANY TROUBLES. General Smuts has taken a hand oik behalf of the Government; but the fact ythat strikes have oeen allowed to go on for five days before the Administration have taken any notice of them has not strengthened Ministers.

At the time there have been threats of risings in Ireland, necessitating the increase of the already strong garrison: a bitter fight in Canada on the Question of conscription: continued [trouble between leading politicians and leading soldiers; and Lord Lansdowne's letter. The letter suggested that the Allies should without further ado announce that they did not desire that Germany should disappear from the list of Great Powers, that there would be no economic boycott, and that the qucstiona of freedom of the seas and establishment of a League of Nations would be discussed after the war. But France is not all healthiness. There have arisen strong political disagreements, and the end of thera cannot be clearly seen. Partly, they are founded upon the warring ambitions of clever men; partly on the warring ambitions of classes. But they derive their strength from the facts that France is very tired, very heavily hied, very seriously disorganised economically. It would be a mistake to regard m! Thomas, the little bearded, quizzical ex-Minsiter of Munitions, as a peaee-by-negotiation leader. His strong Socialist party does not openly ask for peace. It asked for tlie Stockholm conference, and it opposes that sweeping cleaning out of Boloism demanded and initiated by M. Clemenceau. Anxiety does not come so much from the semi-pacifism of the Thomas party, which is, T think, the strongest party in French politics. Anxiety coines rather from misunderstandings andl dreads in the country.

CLEMENCEAU MINISTRY. The fact is that the Clemenceau Ministry is a dangerous experiment. It may be a brilliant success. Or it may do grave damage, Clemenceau is intensely anti-German, and his every thought and act throughout the war have been devoted to intensification of the Allies' efforts. He is The Tiger—the uncompromising fighting political and journalistic leader of the war-to-victory party. He undoubtedly lias the bulk of the public and the armies behind bim.

But his past political history has made the Socialists his hitter enemies. To them he is anathema—unscrupulous, they call |him; a servant of the wealthv, and oppressor of the poor. Nothing lie can do is right. And so he is suspect. And when munition workers struck some days ago in an industrial section of France, and began riotous sabotage, and when Cleinenceau threatened diem with troops from the front, the word went round some sections of the.army, and they announced that they would march on Paris if Clemenceau did that sort of thing. The Prime Minister's threat killed the sabotage, and industrial peace was restored. But such incidents show how leaders I in France are playing with fire—perhaps necessarily, but with grave danger. There .are passions flaring up in France, as in Italy, which might menace the Allies' case —passions encouraged by the evercunning, oiljj-handed Herman agents. Clemenceau is rooting them out, ""• 1 making France clean. But part of the lv""n lias been done.