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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1914-9-24, Page 8RICK SOLDIERS Of FRANCE ?IG TT'IN° WITH THE ALLIES IN THE PRESENT WAR. They. Are Among the Most Valuable Soldiers That Can Be Employed. No troops fighting under the Tri- color have resisted more desperate - 1y the German advance than have the Tams. On et least one ocea- nion their charge put to utter rout an opposing body of Germans. On another occasion they were able, to get close to the German lines be- fore it was discovered that they were enemies, their khaki uniform having deceived the Germans, who thought it was the dull grey of their own men, In charging home they have exhibited an impetuosity that suite equals the best French trail- tions, and there seems every reason to believe that whee properly led they will be among the most valu- able-sol&di.ers that can be employed against the common foe. The Tut- ees are the native blank and yellow troops of Africa who live under the French flag. Many of them are of Arab blood, and to fight is as natur- al for them as to eat. Moreover, France, like Britain, has employed native troops for two generations to put down risings of hostile natives, and the Turoos will have more right to call themselves veterans than any of the soldiers fighting in the Kais'er's army. Turcos in Europe Before. tplrt o militarim that boded- all for their European rulers, There is also the objeetio•n raised that near - 1v all the bleok and yellow troops that could be pat in the field by France and Britain are Mohaanme- donee, and that tc permit them to slaughter Cluistien.s of one rata would be a mere incitement an- them to slaughter those of another nation, Britain, however, who probably knows more about the problem of governing Mohamme- dans than all the rest of the na- tions put together, has come to the conclusion that the Kaiser is a more dangerous• foe at the present tiuz}e than any Malydf, and will plasm some of her Indian army in the field, The Sikhs and the Ghoorkas have already proved their valor and their devotion to the British flag, and soon they will be fighting side by side with the French natives. After the problem. constituted by the Kaiser has been satisfactorily solved, it will be time to solve the problem created by. the emcees of the Mohammedan troops, SCIENCE IS RETARDED. War May Dim Torch of Progress for Years to Come. Nor is this the first time they leave been employed on European soil. In the Franco-Prussian War France called upon some of her le- gions from Algiers, and if she had called upon more of them it is pos- sible thatthe war would have had a different ending. At Wissenburg the Turcos drove back the German in- fantry with heavy loss, and under MacMahon at Worth they hacked their way through the solid German ranks. Although they were not then fighting for their fatherland the French blacks displayed all the qualities necessary in a soldier. Since then they have been brought closer to France. The policy of the French Government has been to impress the natives in her colonies with the magnificence and impor- tance of the French nation. It is only a few months ago that, in pur- suence of this wise policy, the French War Office brought several companies of Senegembians to Pa- ris. It was said that the idea was to show the citizens of France what magnificent specimens of manhood were to be found in the. French col- onies. The real reason for the visit was to impress the native troops with the magnificence of France. The Medical Record expresses the opinion that a long .drawn- out struggle in Europe will retard the progress of medical science tubroad for many years. "It may be premature," •says the editor, "to attempt to prophesy the ultimate effects of the insane struggle in Europe upon the pro- gress of medical science, but there can be no doubt that in Europe, where the torch of science has been carried high, the economic losses resulting from a long -continued war would dim its radiance for many years to came. Attainment in science and in the liberal arts is favored by unrestricted leisure and freedom from the stresses and cares of daily life, and the dissipation of a country's resources eannot but react unfavorably in halting the onward march of science. "In addition to the diminishing endowments for research which will presumably follow the war, there is another important fadtor that will hemper medical investigation. The mobilization of the large Eu- ropean armies must drain the la- boratories and the clinics of their brilliant young workers, who, as reservists, volunteers, or members of the Red Cross, will ate added to the medical corps of :the respective armies. On the other hand, these men, or sudh of them as survive, will return with an experience which may perhaps more than com- pensate for the interruption in the orderly prosecution of research ; but even research is not altogether paralyzed by war. "In addition to the surgeons at- tached to the armies in the field there are medical men detailed at headquarters or at the base of sup- plies Who carry on important inves- tigations in connection with the hospital work of the medical corps. During the Russo-Japanese war, while the Russian army was engag- ed in Manchuria there were 'being carried on in the army headquar- ters at Moscow important bacterio- logical investigations as to the na- ture of so-called Manchurian ty- phus, and the story need nob be re- told of the wonderful aehievemenbs of the Japanese in camp sani- tation." A huge Black Reservoir. Their appearance excited a tre- mendous furore. They became so- ciety pets, were taken everywhere, shown everything, and honors were showered upon thein.. Naturally enough, when they went home they loudly sounded the praises of the French people, and are said to. have &roused great enthusiasm among the entire native population. It is partly as a result of this enthusiasm that from Dahomey, Algeria, Sene- gambia, Morocco, French Guinea and the French Congo have corse to the French Wier Office requests from thousands and tens of thousands of natives who desire the privilege of going to France and repelling the German invader. Thinking, as most of us do, of the incomparable extent of British colonial possessions, we lose sight of the fact that in Africa alone the French kg flies over mors than 30,000,000 people, This is a tremendous reservoir, upon which Fiance may draw for yearn, should the war last that long. Objections to Black Troops. How many thousands of drilled black and yellow troops France ccold field is not lace p in the known. Tihe army decree of De' comber, 1900, undoubtedly contem- plated the use of the native troops in Europe. By that order the French colonial army was reorgan- ized, and while ib was stated that the organization was chiefly for the defence of the colonies, it was pro- vided that these troops might be called upon for service in any part ;of :the world where French interests leers 'at stake. When the French brought the Turoos and Sphasi to Europe in 1870, there woe very gen- eral Criticism of the act, based upon the grounds that there was some- thing barbarous in the idea of pit- ting blank men against whites. It was pointed oat that the success of the blacks was a disaster to be guarded against even more than. their failure. If they were ;taught that .they could: defeat one race of white men, they might become seizedof the idea that they co'ul'd also defeat any other rage, and migh•b even turn against Franey. Britislt Blacks Coining. This idea was put forwardagain and again in the course of the watr between 'Russia and Japan, end we Were told that the victory of the laps had fired all Asiatics with a, Gen. Baden-Powell Calls Out 200.000 Boy Semis. • The Chief of the Scoots of Great Brittain, who has just called the 200,000 Boy Scents of Great Britain to r .:1y round the colors for duty as monis and despatch hearers. GERMANY'S FOOD SUPPLY MUST IMPORT FOODSTUFFS OR STARVE. Grows Only Eighty-five Per Cent. of the Amount Slec Eats. When ib is said that Germany's only possible chane° to win is by a short war, it is meant that in a long struggle the combined resources of the allies are superior to those of Germany, and that in the end they w.oulcl inevitably tall, no matter with what genius -the Garman forces were handled. In along war, with Germany unable to import food- stuffs, the result is no mere open to argument than is the assertion that a bag of flour is heavier than half a bag. The German army might destroy nine -tenths of the soldiers sent against them, but some one has made the remark that an army fights on its belly, and 1 the victori- ous ictorious German's found that their army could be starved and that their peo- ple were already starving, there would be nothing to do but to sur- render and accept whatever terms, short of starvation, night be im- posed by the powers that, from the point of view of actual engage- ments, had been defeated. No Problem for Allies. Jews Loyal to England. We Jews, whether England is to us the beloved country of our birth or the egmelly beloved country. of our adoption, will go forward, our one inspiring motive our affection for England, our one stern resolve that come what may her •cause shall prevail. If we cannot do more we cannot do less, for, we repeat, Eng- land has been all she could be to Jews; Jews will be all they rain to England.—London Jewish Chroni ole. The Result. "I," -said the temperance man, "strongly object to the custom of christening ships with cham- pagne." "I don't," replied the other man. "I think there's a tem- perance lesson in it." "How can that be " "Well, immediately after the first bottle of. wine the ship takes to water, end ,sticks to it ever after." 5 -- Tho Doctor's Reply. When a lady patient living far from town had to telephone for her physician she apologized for ask- ing him to .come such a distance. "Don't; speak . of it," said the doc- tor, cheerfully. I happen to have another patient' in that vicinity, and so can kill two birds with one stone." The Limit Reached. As far as the allies aro concerned, the food problem is solved already. It is command of the ;sea that solves it. From all parts of !the world food is now arriving in England and in France. Russia is self-supporting. seamy, cannot Morrow. Her Even should she he isolated, she bbems industries are at a standstill. could continue to grow all the food Not a wheel is turning except tor her people require. Moreover, in rmilitary purposes. Nobody is draw - on receiving a certain supply of cattle, and from Hungary also she will continue to get barley for brew- ing purposes. Neither Austria nor: Hungary, however, has any great qu'a'ntity of surplus wheat et lir present time, and there is always the extreme probability of the ad- vance of the Russian army dam- ming •this channel before many months have elapsed. There re- mains Italy. Should Italy continue neutral, it will be possible for Ger- many to secure a certain amount of foodstuffs, :but it will he only the food that Italy grows herself for ex- port purposes. It would be impos- sible to ship food from abroad to Italy and forward it to Germany, for the powers in command :of the seas would probably hold up such grain -carriers. Moreover, Italy's neutrality to Germany, should it be main'tain'ed throughout the war, is noplites. likely to be. a friendly neutral- ity, and the Italian Government is not likely to. encourage Italians to help out Germany with food sup - Where Is the Gold to Pay'?a But supposing that even if Ger- many had access to the food mar- kets of the world, she could be sup- plied only with what the could pay for, and where is she going to get the money to pay for anything in a year's .time 1 She is now spending at the rate of $20,000,000 adayl and huge though, her war chest is, it cannon survive a year's steady drain. Everything is going out and nothing is coming into Germany. Her foreign trade has collapsed absolutely. Not a dollar's worth of artiolss of German manufacture is being exported. She is not being paid by any [foreigners who owe her ut t! ^, 1, ss e arras+., cseasess.3 The Standard stile of Canada. Has >tallallaj Imitations but Imo equal CLEANS AND DISINFECTS MMO%N E ° 'RU"+'.An' t'i iSIMS` itis i "t CIVIIRATION'S CHAMPION A SCIENTIST EXPLAINS GER- MANY'S MOTIVES. Columbia University Professor Gives Some Interesting Information. Even nations in the death grips upon the battlefield appear to un- derstand the value of the sympathy of onlookers, and in the present struggle Germany seeks to show that the war eras, thrust upon her. It being impossible to prove that som'eo'ne streak her first, she falls back upon the cry that this is thie. irrepressible conflict, the babble be- tween Teuton civilization and Slav barbarism. She tries to prove bo the onlooking world, and especially to the United States, that she is the veritable champion of civiliza- tion, stemming the aide that flows upon her and upon civilization from Russia. Her loyal sons in the United States have been arguing upon this theme since the outbreak of the war, and they are ably an- swered by M. I. Paupin, professor in Columbia University, who was born in Hungary and proclaims him: self a Slav, but who use's the King's English as though it were his mo- ther tongue. Ln the course of an entiole in the New York Sun, Pro- fessor Pupin gives some interesting information regarding the situation in Germany as revealed to him by brother scientists long before the war broke out. Militarist Intellectuals. She (impatientbiy)--•f.is is the fourth time von have asked me to marry you, How often do you with me to refuse youl He --Well, I think three times quite sufficient. Many e man makes a strenuous effort to recognize his duty •so that he will be in a' position to dodge it, Russia the vast majority al the population continues to till the soil and harvest the crops, and will nom- tintre to do so no matter how long the was may last. In the event of a long war, France, like Great Bri- tain, will have to import foodebuffs; but if the seas are secure for Bri- tain they are secure for France. Germany, however, in normal times grows only 85 per cent, of what she eats, and next year, on account of practically all the table -bodied men of the nation being under arms, she will grow far less. It is saki that even now the pinch of hunger is be- ginning to be felt in Berlin by the poorer classes., I•n anbioipation of a famine, those with a little capital laid in supplies, and those whom stern necessity compels to live from hand to month arealready hungry. ing wages excelab from the Govern- ment. Where is she to get the £162,000,000 ayear that she has spent with foreign nations for food and drink? And without this food for a year, what is to become of her'? CANNING FACTORIES BUSY. Canned Vegetables From France and Belgium Curtailed. Must Import or Starve. It is incredible that among the preparations for the war the Kaiser did not provide a stock of food- atuffs that he calculated would be ample for the needs of the people, In some quarters it has been said that Germany has on hand but four months' sbo•res, while others say that there is enough food for a year. However much or little there is, 'there is not an indefinite supply, and sooner or later Germany must import foodstuffs or starve. Where is she to get her food 1 In the past she has purehesed most of her grain from Russia, as e writer in the Lon- don Mail points out, She will not purchase another bushel from Rus- sia as long as the war lasts. She cannot impart from, else Unated States, from. Canada or frons the Argentine, for the British navy will not lot the food pass to the ports on her northern timet. There remains only the frontiers that part her from 'I:taly and Austro -Hun- gory, If she is to get food et all, it must he from this source. Only One Soiree. Frain Hungary she earn •count up Industrial 'Conditions in Canada at this time will result in the em- ployment of many more Canadians then usual in the canning factories of the Dominion. In previous sea- sons many canning factories, find- ing difficulty in obtaining sufficient local help, secured from the larger labor .market of the United States. It is •estimated that several t'hons- and employees of ;Canadian canning factories during previous seasons were not permanent residents of this country. In view of the unem- ployment in some industries at this time the canning factories will be able to secure in Canada most, if not all, the help they require this season. Thus many 'Canadians who would otherwise be out of employ- ment will have the work in the can- ning factories that in previous years was given to ,parties who were resi- dent in IOanada only during the canning season. The policy of the leading canning companies has been to employ local help as far as pos- sible. Another condition that will tend to increase the number of ,Cana- di:anM employed in the canning in- dustry in. this .00nntry is the cur- tailment of imports of canned vege- tables frons France and Belgian. The imperbs of canned vegetables from these countries into Canada during the fiscal year ending March 31, 1014, amounted to $164,• 181 and $124,468, respectively --a to - tat el earnest $300,000. The curtaiil- mont of these imports will increase the demand for the 'products of Canadian canning factories. with Fiance that Germany really began to become the great indus- trial nation she was before the pre- sent catastrophe occurred. Until 1885 she had no iron industry to speak of, end a,s a wit remarked, "the Iron Chancellor represents the only fine iron that Germany has." Hex metal contained too much phos- phorus; but suddenly England, through Bessemer and Gilchrist - Thomas, developed a process that made this iron entremely valuable. Immediately the iron and steel in- dustries of Germany started with a bound, and grew until they are •to- day second only bo those of the United States. Other subsidiary industries developed, and this, in brief, is the history of German in- dustrial development in the past twenty years. Side by side with this prosperity developed the prob- lem of finding markets for produots, and feeding the industrial popula- tion. Ger'many's prosperity brought about a great increase in her population, particularly in the industrial districts. Industrial em- ployment at hoanie reduced German immigration to practically nothing. The agricultural population clid not increase so rapidly, because Germany does not possess en•ouglr arable land. The inevitable result approaohed. Germany caw the time approaching when she could not supply more than one-third of the food supply that the country consumed. As one distinguished German told Prof. Pupin some years ago, it was necessary for Germany to find a method by which one were could produce what three then produced or to multiply the number of her acres. PREPARE FOR A 1OPt WAR GERMANY WILL FIGHT TO DIE LAST DIAN AND IIORSE, half a Million Additional Men May Have to be Raised in Britain. The war situation and ;the neces- sity of rallying wholehearitedly to the support of Earl Kitchener is set out as follows by the military cor- respondent of The London. Tames It is most important that the pub- lic, alt this critical time, should rally wholeheartedly to the sup- port ,olf the great Field -Marshal :Who has takes.' off his coat to 5e0 the country through this war, and means to fight it out with all the tenacity and the perseverance be- fitting a great occasion in the na- tional history. This is no time for precedent, red -tape, and routine. The coun- ery is in for the greatest war of its history and it must rise to the height of a great responsibility. Le,b it be clear to all than, though politicians have tbabibled about gre•att wars, they have never seri- ously faced such a situation, nor does Lord Kitchener now find un- der his hand the means for waging war on e ;great seal's, Whether it is organization, numbers, arms, equipment, or anything else that goes to make an aimed force for- midalble, we are dreadfully in ar- rears, and the present generation, by its efforts and its steady pa- .traotisin, is called upon to make good the neglect, the selfishness, and the callous indifference to de- fence which has •characterized our peace -•loving nation in the past. A Nation in Arms. He challenges German culture at the outset, and says that Professor Munsterberg is right when he says that among the intellectual classes in Germany there was practically no response to the movement for universal peace. Even among the best thinkers in the empire it was realized than if German ideals were to be established they could be es- tablished by war alone. Therefore, the only enemies to war in Ger- many were those who did not take it for granted that these ideals should be established. Militarism, as a result of .the Franco-Prussian War, which laid the foundations for the modern German Empire, be- came the ruling passion, and beside it grew that other product of medie- valism, the cloctrine of the Divine right of kings. The Kaiser's pious uttter.anoes were not without their effect. He asserted that he ruled Germany as a sort of vice-•gerent of God, and the people appear to have believed him. The difference between Germany and England and France is that while the Kaiser was re-establishing the fetich about the Divine right of kings, e other countries were beginning to lay down the doctrine about the Divine right of the people. What is the situation 1 We are figfhting a nation in arms of 70 ing- lion people, and we have no good reason to suppose that they have any object in life bub to erush us ilf they can. We have stout allies and many other advantages for which to be thankful, bub our two fore- most allies, France and Russia, have certain characteristics to which we must not remain blind. France has already thrown the 'whole of her manhood into the war. !She San do no more, and •enoept for her new contingent of reerubts she cannot even increase by a man her power in ,the field. Russia is a mighty ,ower with immense Dopa- city for defence, but with untried and unproved offensive powers. Ws may beat back .the German attack but behind the first German line are immense reserves, and we muet take it that Germany will fight this fight Mhrou•gh, as the well- known saying has it, "to the last breath o[f man and horse." Changes of a Long War. Germany's Ilced is Farm Land. This was marc than a hint at ag- gression upon the great fields of Russia, The writer points out, however, that the 'greatest iron and coal fields of Europe are in Luxem- burg, Lorraine and Belgium. Could Germany come into; possession of these reso.uress, she could lead the world in her industries, providing that she could also grow sufficient food for her people. Long ago, -it became plain that neither these iron' fields nor the agricultural land could be sscured except by con- quest, and it was for this season that the great German army and navy have been brought into exis- tepee. That she was not threaten- ed, .but acted on, the offensive, is proved, said Prof. Pupin by the fact that in Russia half the popular tion of Russia does not know of her existence, and that the other half is indifferent to it. Russia and Germanyare not industrial rivals. Nor is France a rival. The trouble is that both, Russia andFxanoe have what Germany needs, namely, agri- cultural resources. These, with the coal and iron fields o[f Belgium and Luxemburg, are the stakes for which Germany is playing. Military Inventors honored. Prof. Pupincontinues: "The Kai- ser aiser became not only the war lord, but also the central figure of all activities o[f the empire. Inven- tions, discoveries and all products e which could scientific research w of inoroase the efficiency of the Ger- man army and navy were heartily applauded by him. For instance, scientific men in Germany who otherwise would have remained, oh - souse enjoyed his Imperial favor and laecabe prominent because they dabbled in wireless telegraphy, which to the Kaiser always etpeer- ed' as sa ecially designed by heaven to become a great adjunct to his ar'ny and navy. Count Zeppelin, in the opinion of the Kaiser, is a great German and the, greatest inventive genius of the age, just because he has been adapting an. old French invention for Germain ,military ,ser- vice.' The really great soientido men of Germany felt lonesome; they looked on from a respectful distance and smiled ironically and told ouch other amusing stories about the Kaiser's stabdnrd of scientific acumen. The wise men of Germany know the Keiser's shortcomings; they never took him very seriously, and yet they follow- ed ham meetly, carried on by taw ir• resistible eurrent of German mili- tarism," Debt Id British Genius, ]',b wets aortic years ;alter the war 3r - MACHINE MILLS 'HOPPERS.•. Electric Contrivance Destroys In- sects and Their Eggs. In sudh conditions the war may ibe long, very long, and whether this turns out to be the eaee or not it is Lord Kitchenex's duty to prepare our land forces so that they may not only' emend the ef- forts of our Friends by weak ao.n- tingents, but may by their steadily expanding nrrw!bers and their con- stantly increasing efficiency en- able as to play a part worthy of 'England an the war and at peace impose terms most in contlonance with our interests. If, .at the peace, 'there is a weakened France, a com- manding Russia, and a negligible England, we .shall.only have a voice in the teams equal to the weight of our sword, which will be ;slight, and as the snap of Europe has been torn up, and wholly new conditions will arise when the fighting is over, we are (bound to neglect for a time the arts and crafts olf ,peace and to tamely ourselves 'sternly to the busi- ness of war in the defence oh a righteous and impregnable cause. Increase Military Tower. A new machine has just been in- vented by an engineer, Mr. Frig - i sects. i of n destruction ort g t for the This electric machine has been tried at •Pelacios, in the Province of (Santa Pe, in the Argentine Re- publica On a carriage that it is easy to transport, Mr, Fraggeri ,places a gasoline motor and an alternating current generator. At the back of the car-iagge a drum is placed, on which about 200 metres of insulated cable have been rolled.- . This calble carries the current to a metallic net or system fixed upon a little vehicle with two wheels, and which carries in its centre;; a, brans - former that is destined .to raise the tension to 6,000 volts and even, more. .After several •trials, which have all been crowned with sitcom, the ei4perimen'ts at Palacios were con- sidered as, decisive. Indeed, not only has it been possible to destroy the grasehoppere, but also their eggs, whroh are to be found buried four inches deep am the ground, With the same apparatus ;provid- ed,with a •metallic broom worked at the end of insulated handle, and which is joined to the positive .pole of the transformer, it is also pox Bible to completely than the trees attacked Iby inseeb parasites. At tths base of Lord Kitchener's plans, therefore, lies this need for preparing for a long war, andh'ts further need, experie'n'ced 1 ng 1 ego by Chatham and 'b y Pitt? of steadily increasing aiir mill ary power, day in• and clay out and ear t—since ill at lass I int 1.14 b ear, yy , race of 'war is not only to the swift bub to the pertinacious --we 1n ,y figure 2n a,�ia in a mousse Ilsefita„}r rtg ,.'the wealth and apart off` our Et - vire and the legacy of a great a :d honorable past. Lord Kitchen' r, therefore;' may .quite concervab. y Ise/ye toelgploy 600,000 •additionsl 'men, and it is possible that when's. ` ;other powers have exhaiusbed them- selves, we shall be, as we have been in the past, most capable of eon - galling the war. There must be. n 'queotjog: of peace except on out Iteruha, 'Even if all our pules were :struck down Ave ethotild continue ,the wan, until the enemy had relax- ed his grip, and, ms Russia nt least is equally well prepared for a long war, any misfortunes•—Which are not indeed, to be foreseen but may befall anyone in war—must not turn either Russia or ourselves by Dene bairabreadth'from aur resolit- lion. No disasters must affright ate. W@@ are Sighting for the liber- ties and even the exi,sten:ce of T£rts. rope,and we must make the world learn what it means to turn the thoughts of our people, and their tstupendo'us energies, Se wars, .1