The Daily News. MONDAY, APRIL 1, 1918. GERMANY'S GREAT GAMBLE.

Taranaki Daily News, 1 April 1918, Page 4

The Daily News. MONDAY, APRIL 1, 1918. GERMANY'S GREAT GAMBLE.

The present formidable otl'eusive of the Germans on the West front may well be regarded an a desperate gamble of chances, but is also, probably, the outcome of the recognition that as a military nation Germany is bound to try and defeat the Entenlo Powers in a decisive tittle. It is also a recognition of the (failure of intense submarining, but above all it is a gamble against time. The enormous concentration of men and guns by the G'eVmans on the West front is plainly indicative of an attempt to reach a speedy decision, lience the utter reckless wastage of man power. The. Germans are flinging down their capital 011 the gaming table in the hope of gaining ft great coup that will give 'cUein the stakes. Apparently their military authorities liave come to the conclusion that the defeat of the enemy must be now or never. It is their last hope and they are plunging desperately on the-chance of success. If the whole position is calmly reviewed it will be seen that Germany had no alternative but to fling the whole available weight of 'her power into tlie western arena where the forces of her enemies were growing stronger oyery month. The Germans had either to attack or be attacked, and they chose the latter in consequence of the release of troops from the Eastern theatre- The Germans, however, are quite aware of the fa-c-t that at any moment the Russians may prove a menace, and they arc equally alive to the fact that every week brings nearer that American help for the Entente which will eventually be the deciding factor in the war. There is also another factor which they have donbtlesS recognised—the war weariness of their Allies, especially Austria, wliose defection consequent on internal troubles, might occur at any moment. Tri addition to this the German High Command evidently reckons on an advance so rapid that British reinforce-

mcnts of men anil guns will Jiot have I lime to ariive before the Germans have ' accomplished their object of breaking through their enemies' defence. As against this, every foot of territory is heing stubbornly 'held to the last prudent moment., aild an enonnoii:, toil i., being taken. It is obvious that, immense as are the l.erimm re,,crn,.-, u.1,. cannot i'. of time stand the

decimating .vindi .i-.-.v have been undergoing. The only hope of success is id break through speedily and effectively, but in tliiis tlicir opponents will have a large say. Judging from tile confidence which exists among the Allies there is no danger of the collapse which the Germans are so strenuously striving to bring about. That the position is grave cannot be questioned, but the fact that the Allies have firmly withstood the first great shock, and are still preserving (heir line, as well as bringing up their reserves, engenders confident in their ability to hold up the enemy until sufficient reserves are available for turning defence into attack. The cabled descriptions of the various conflicts cannot fail to convey a graphic conception of the intensity of the battles and of the 'sledge-hammer blows that have been delivered, and form an historic record of | the. horrors of modern warfare. The crucial hour has arrived for testing the strength of the opposing forces, but Whereas Germany and her Allies have reached the zenith of their power, Britain and her allien art! growing in strength. It is perfectly certain that if the Germans did break through to Paris, their task of achieving victory in the other theatres of the war would he comparatively easy, but such a contingency is not to be thought of. We luve also to take into consideration what, may happen in the event of the failure of this German drive. In all probability the Germans will turn their attention to swooping on Italy and possibly Salonika in the hope of forcing the Allies to conclude a peace. The desperate, gamble will, without doubt, lie continued as long as possible, lmt when the full weight of' American aid is available, there can only be one ending to flie war. Meanwhile there "are many subsidiary matters, all bearing on the final result, that n>ill be watched with keen interest, not the least of winch is the shipping problem, o„ the solution of which so much depends.

WAR DEVELOPMENTS.

The outstanding feature of to-day's news is the appointment of General Foeli as generalissimo on the West front. The filet that such an important step Jms been made indicates the gravity of the situation, as well as the imperative need for that absolute union and co-ordination which can only be obtained by a supreme head responsible for dealing with every emergency that arises. The ,nced for prompt and decisive action under present conditions is imperative, and the only criticism adverse to the appointment is based on the possibility of friction arising' if tin generalissimo's orders are not approved, but there is small chance of such an event happening, as the Allied commanders will still have a voice in all plans of action. There is, however, an obvious advantage in having a generalissimo who can, if need beract on his own responsibility in a contingency calling ior immediate treatment. We should not expect him to perform miracles, but we may confidently rely on his doing all in his power to secure victory for the Allies. The appointment is one that has obviously been made with the full approval of the Allied commanders, and is in the best interests of success. The fighting on the West front is still of a very violent nature, the Germans bringing to bear the full weight of their hordes and gaining ground at a sacrifice of lives that is appalling. North of the Somine the position appears to be un- 1 changed, but on the South side the enemy IS slowly forging ahead, despite heroic resistance. It is only when the weight of the German offensive is fully realised that we can form any real conception of the magnificent defence of the Allies. Never in the history of war has such a sustained and heroic defence been carried out against big odds. Despite the German advance there is a feeling of absolute confidence tliat the turn of the tide is not far off. Hindenburg boasted that he wouid be in Paris to-day. His shells are there, it is true, but the German armies still find the way to I'aris haired, and we may derive sotne consolation from the defeat of t-lii enemy at Arras. It is an extremely anxious time, and our brave men at the front are showing that they realise this. Our confidence in the ultimate issue of the present lighting should not be less than theirs.

'"Tlie swish of a skirt would send his heart into a flutter of fear-" This was the true hero of "Double Trouble," the Douglas Fairbanks feature, screening at the Empire to-night, until he got knocked out in an accident and altered hia ways. This is cue of the finest nf the Fairbanks pictures, and is showing exclusively at the Empire theatre. If you sniffle and sneeze and feel ill at ease. If your sight gets blurred and you sag at the knees, Vou may bet your life it's a signal sure You're in need of Woods' Peppermint Cure. So don't get worried, and don't, grow sad, Thousands of others have, been as bad; Your influenza won't long endure [f you take Woods' Great Peppermint Cure. AND SHE DID. A grocer not wanting in tact (Now, this is a positive fact) Said: Madam, excuse me, take Arcadia Tea, And far more—you'll always come back.

| The omitted competition in the New Mymouth Defence I'.ifle Club's championships was fired oil Saturday aftir noon. Kiflernan 11amton made 85 points, find secured the range prize. Hon. mem her .i:\r.is won the championship by S points. •■table La Pontile, of Wailara, nr- - ■■ ;"i on Saturday for not Imv''■3 i"'gi.xlcred under the Military Service Acl. Accused was brought before 1 J.P. and was remanded for a week, pending iiirthcr investigations, fie wili I*; i :o! e the Magistate at New Plymouth. Air. J. \\. I'ovnton, B.AT., alien enemies commissioner, held an inquiry at Wailara on Saturday into alleged seditious and disloyal utterances by Oscar .Meligil, I farmer, of Awakino, a naturalised Priisj Bian. The proceedings were hold in camI '••• " v ;iven by several witi tiesses, including the police. A report as to the finding of the commissioner will be made later. the net customs duty received at i'i,.moutii (lur.iig March was £31117 8s 7d, as compared with £4051) Us for the corresponding month of last year. The beer duty for March was .•eioi 15s Id, as compared yitji .-CliiO 12s ikl for March of last year. The total duty collected for the year ending March' 3.lst, 1!)]K amounted to ,C,"> 1,4.01. as compared with .Co.lJOl for the previous year, the decrease being £2270. Tt must be remembered that the dutv collected last year \v#s easily a record.

A meeting was held in the Farmers' Club, Awakino, on Wednesday last in connection with the formation of a troop of the Legion of frontiersmen. There ivere over a dozen present, including Frontiersmen P. A. Oppenshaw and A. C. Wheatley, of' Lepperton, and G. Goldsh'orthy, of New Plymouth. Mr. Goldslyorthv explained the objects of tin. Legion and the steps necessary to be taken for forming a troop. It was Hoped to form a district squadron, and if Awakino came in the necessary link between Oka to, New Plymouth and Wnangamomoua would be established. Messrs Wheatley and Oppenshaw also spoke, and at tile conclusion the names t)f nine of those present were put down us prospective members.

'lho following students attending the New Plymouth Technical College °were successful in scouring the Pitman elementary certificate in shorthand—Violet Harrison, Irene Rullot. Maggie Wilson, Lindsay Williams, Gladys" Uncles, Annie Therkleson, Godfrey Sole, Tuki Ruru, Thelma Redward, Olive Price. i'mli'r:ck Preo, l'earl Vhipps, Rita Pennington, Ronald Oliver, Alice MaSon, Mildred Monk,Norah Marsh, Ada .Julian, I'.ileen Ilcllier. Constance Hawkc, tiladvs ITarvey, Reina Gernhoefer, EIM FrAser. l-llsie Fowler, G'.ven Cnmming,Eileen C'orney, Ada Cornev, Myra Corbett, May Ooombes. Elsie Cole', JTavold Ciough, Gladys Clare. .James Reggs Eileen Baker, Thomas Bailey, Lillian Auhrev, Hazel Andrews, Evu Andrews, Dudley Anderson.

Residents of Lower Mnnaorei assembled in force in the schoolroom on Monday evening last to farewell Miss Doris Brown, who is relinquishing the position of teacher of ihe school. Mr. Slanton. chairman of Ihe committte, in making ri' |>rr>M>ntation, referred to the good work that Miss Brown had done Hot only in the school, but also in patriotic matters, and expressed the wishes of all settlers, that the recipient would have the best of good luck in her future career. Miss "rown suitably acknowledged the ;-veseniation. During the evening an excellent programme of vocal and instrumental items was rendered, the following contributing: Mrs. Stanton, blisses Hannah, Bassett, Stanton, Wells, Messrs Rana and Hansen. An enjoyable dance followed, music being provided by Mrs. Worn, whilst extras were played by Misses Hannah and Worn, and' Mr. Hansen.

There have been a large number of visiters to tiie North Egmont Mountain House for the Easter week-end. Several car loads vent up on Thursday evening. The last ear, which left Ne\y Plymouth u'Dout nine o'clock, had an unfortunate uela.v. A suction of the Egmont Koad is at present undergoing repairs, and a car coming down from the mountain had the misfortune to get stuck in the soft part of the road, completely blocking Vhe May for the up-going cars. The passengers had a somewhat unenviable experience in the heavy rain, which might have been very much more uncomfortable for the Indies had not a settlor invited lliem to his hous", and provided warm refreshments, while tlie men folk salvaged the motor car. The party eventually reached the Mountain' House •ibout 1 a.m. on Friday. A good number of passengers had booked seats for Sunday morning, but on Saturday afternoon information was received that it was impossible to take any more visitors until some of those already there left on Monday. The hostlery was said to be full and providing shake-downs. The old house, cottage and tents were all similarly taxed, to their utmost capacity.

Xew Plymouth now possessing a population of over SOfll) lias become an urban area under the Education Act, and is entitled to have two memuers on the Education )}oard, whose members at the election to be held in August will be inci eased from --ix to eight. The new urban area will comprise the Central, West End, Fitzroy, Vogeltown and Westown school, aggregating 1248 children. This has necessitated, the re-arrange-ment of the Central, North and South Wards. Central Ward (2ti'2S children) comprises the schools around Stratford, as far north as Dudley, as far south as Xgaere. west to ilahoe, and east as far as the Main Trunk line The .North Ward ('2310 children) extends along the coast from MangaoUki in the north to Opunake in the south (excluding tlie urban area), and includes the schools inland as far as Inglewood and Kaimiro. The South Ward (2:V2!1 children) is the most compact, and with the exception of Geo, I'iluuna, jt'e Kiri and Awatuna, comprises t'iie area taken over from the Wanganui Board- In August one member from each of these wards will retire according to the Act and be eligible for re-election. Members wished to decide the matter by agreement but the Act states that the oldest member shall retire. In the event of the tivo having been elected together, the one to retire shall be decided by lot. Lots were accordingly drawn, and as a result Messrs 'IT. Trimble (Central), S. Q. (Smith (North) and E. Dixon (South), will retire.

Velvet and velveteens have for ages past been recognised as Regal Fabrics, their ric'h lustrous colorings and soft graceful folds have Wue them tirst favorites for all state functions. Even to-day velveteen is tlio Queen of Fashion, and is being followed bv its devotees in increasing numbers as the season advances As usual, the Big Store, Waitara, is offering a splendid choice of colors and qualities and invites you to inspect their window display or send for patterns.