THROUGH GERMAN SPECTACLES.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XL, Issue 12541, 12 May 1915, Page 8

THROUGH GERMAN SPECTACLES.

CONCERN FOR THE FITNESS 01" LORD KITCHENER.

PRUSSIAN CONQUEST—OF FROCKS AND FRILLS.

By one of those common impulses the: source of which is easily traceable to the Wilhelmstnisse in Berlin., the leading- German newspapers are now asking whether Lord Kitchener is ''equal to the task of lighting Germany's.splendid armies." On the whole, though some of these enlightened organs of official opinion betray a little uncertainty on point, the balance of opinion is decidedly in the negative, though the Frankfurter Zeitung has the courage to admit that "K. of K.V passion for old china may turn the scale, since, in way, it indicates a certain amount of Kultur. ON THE KNEE IN FOUR MONTHS. On the other hand, the Deutsche Tageszeitung knows, that the ''English so-called war-lord" is confronted with an impossible task, and that the British Empire will be on its knees iii four months:— " 'Only hold out long enough; soon the time will come when the Germans are ■at the end of their resources.;' These are the phrases with which our enemies whisper comfort in one another's ears, and Russians and Frenchmen are in all faitlc&waiting this glorious moment, as well as a great part of the ignorant British public. ,"The men of .the Thames city, however, who ' know,' arc perfectly well aware that the word 'starvation' is but a battle-cry which is useful in keeping up the courage of their Continental allies. "All the sufferings and defeats Britain's Continental allies patiently .take on their own shoulders because the big"" brother in London has told them: 'Patience, the collapse must come. Then you shall have all back . again with interest.' "And all this was carefully planned in London more years ago, when it was thought that a threemonths' campaign would suffice to force a hungry Germany to supplicate for peace! "These are all vain imaginings, however. Kitchener is at the end of his tether, and in four months' time the English will be forced to admit the utter futility of such illusions. The next four months will show how much more than bulldog-like is the grip of the German Michael's teeth, which will not relax -their hold on the prey until his flesh hangs in threads' and rags from his body."

NO PSYCHOLOGY. The Frankfurter Zeitung; if rather less confident, is decidedly more personal : • have the strongest doubts of Kitchener's ability to fight our noble forces, and this for solid reasons. "For one thing, he is lacking in the attributes of. a. great general—he has no £3ns2 of the psychological, and not the slightest conception of the .soul df either the peoplo he combats or the people he commands. "He'is the incarnation of the soulless British war machine, which attempts to wage war by means of oon tracts and intrigues. That is precisely' the reason why his soulless countrymen believe in him. "Personally, however, Kitchener is a passionate collector of old -china, and this hobby constitutes absolutely the sole bond that links this wooden creature with humanity. It is this fact, this link, which gives him a loophole and affords him a chance." His other hobby is that of creating powerful new armies. USELESS MILLIONS.

General Blume, who writes in the Vorwarts, takes a- much more decided stand on the question:— "Our position in the west, in Champagne, as everywhere else in those parts, remains practically as it was; here and there it has even been im- , proved. j "We are still strong enough, to resist every attempt to dislodge us. This, i taking into account the warlike skill I cf the adversary. "Lord Kitchener's millions, the arrival of which may now be daily exI peeted, cannot do very much to change i the situation, except that in all probability thev will add to the embarrassments of ' the commissariat through the accession of vast 'numbers of Eng- ] lish prisoners who have to be led I though the heavens fall." j . HIDING THEIR SHAME. All this concerns land battles. On ' the sea it is admitted that matters ~do I not go smoothly, and many apologies are offered for the inactivity of the ' German fleet, while the Kolmsche Zei- ! tung puts forward a "quaint pie* in i respect of the warships Britain has :sunk: — _ . I "The armies of the Ivmg of England ! and the Czar having ranged themselves ! on the side of regicides against Germany's heroic hosts, the Blucher and ! the 'Gueiseuau, bearers of the most i silorious names in our history, have j gone to hide their shame at being, coni demned to do battle against such deuraded foes as the English. "Ihev arc at the bottom of the »e», and thev arc bettor there than when fi'ce to "face with a despicable enemy whose very presence disgraces the grandiose titles they bear." VICTORY A LA MODE.

lii 011 c direction, however, the prospect is all rose-tinted. Neuve Chapclk mav have been lost, and Memcl and J'rzemysl, but in the. realm of fashioi —in Berlin —Berlin reigns supreme; so. at least, says the Tageblatt: — "A notable- step forward lias been taken towards the ultimate conquest bj the -German mode of the place it is ! destined to occupy in the world. "In the salons of the Jvaiserhof,-all ' that is brilliant and notable in Berlin ! society, assembled to admire the beau- ! tifnl creations of the fashion artists of . I the German and Austrian capitals. ' "Where everything was so beautiful, I it would be bad taste, to make in- ' j vidious distinctions. We cannot, howj ever, help paying a special tribute to i the ' new triple alliance ' robe, in ( which the national colors of Austria, •Turkey, and Germany are most har- ( moniou.sly blended. I "Thus Germany marches on to the conquest of the world, not by the sword I only, but also by the needle and the 1 fashion plate. " . . j SUEDFRTJECHTE. j From the Tagliehe Rundschau: The .export to England of the indispensable dye-stuffs which they ar6 unable to produce over there is now strictly forbidden. This is a real German act of barbarity of the vilest character, for now John Bull has been deprived, of 'the means of painting his ships in the neutral colors. From the Vossischc -Zeiturig: The low, despicable British plan of starving us out has failed ignominiously. Economically we are already the victors. Saltpetre we no longer need, for we can now obtain from the air the j nitrates- required for our ammunition, ! while the resources of the Imperial Bann are such as to remove all fear as to the resisting powers of the German Treasury. ' From Die Post: When this war is at an end impartial historians will establish the fact that wherever the enemy has not destroyed his own historical monuments through utilising them as screens against our artillery, they have been preserved against French, British and Belgian vandalism by the artloving officers and soldiers of Germany.