Part 28

I can see only two methods. One is recommended by a writer in The Observer of the 10th inst., who acknowledges himself to have been a lifelong free trader. His remedy is a 25 per cent. duty on all German goods, and on German goods only, imported (or rather offered for import) into Great Britain and her colonies, and also that German passenger liners and freight boats should not be allowed to call at any one of the ports of the empire. His reasons are fully stated in his letter; it is signed "A City Merchant."

The other method is perhaps less apt to offend free trade susceptibilities; it is to impose on what remains of our opponents at the conclusion of this war free trade for a term of years. It remains to be seen whether we shall be powerful enough to insist on this measure, or to persuade our allies that it is one likely to fulfill the proposed end. It is, so far as I see, the only other alternative.

Those who are thoroughly convinced of the benefits of free trade should welcome this suggestion, unless, indeed, they think that such a blessing is not deserved by Germany. On the other hand, they may comfort themselves with the certain knowledge that no possible punishment inflicted on the Germans could possibly be more galling and repulsive to them. Doubtless, too, it would suit the books of our allies very well, who could impose on German goods any duty they thought fit, and deposit their surplus and inferior goods in Germany at a price which would defy competition. But these are questions which I must leave to those more conversant with the merits and demerits of free trade and protection than I am.

Whatever view you take, you cannot but acknowledge that the situation calls for early and anxious deliberation, and well-thought-out and firm action; and it must be action taken as a nation--through our Government--whatever the political complexion of the Government may be at the close of the war. It is for you, as members of the Employers' Parliamentary Association, to make up your minds what you wish to do; above all, to agree, and to take steps to force the Government in power to carry out your wishes.

BELGIUM.

By EDITH WHARTON.

[From King Albert's Book.]

_La Belgique regrette rien._

Not with her ruined silver spires, Not with her cities shamed and rent, Perish the imperishable fires That shape the homestead from the tent.

Wherever men are stanch and free, There shall she keep her fearless state, And, homeless, to great nations be The home of all that makes them great.

Desired Peace Terms for Europe

Outlined by Proponents for the Allies and for Germany

_The following forecast of the terms of peace which the Allies could enforce upon Germany and Austria is made for The New York Times Current History by a former Minister of France, one of the leading publicists of the French Republic:_

The Allies will decline to treat with any member of the Hohenzollern or Hapsburg family or any delegates representing them and will insist on dealing with delegations representing the German and Austro-Hungarian people elected by their respective Parliaments or by direct vote of the people, if they so desire.

The Allies will facilitate in every possible way negotiations between Austria-Hungary and Italy with a view to the latter obtaining the southern part of the Tyrol, known as Trentino, and the Peninsula of Istria, known as Trieste.

The 200 miles "strait" channel (Dardanelles, Sea of Marmora, and Bosporus,) between Turkey in Europe and Turkey in Asia, is to be declared free to the ships of all nations, and under the direction of an international commission, which will also administer Turkey in Europe and form a permanent court of arbitration for all questions which may arise among Rumania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, and Greece. In settling the status of Albania respect will be paid to the wishes of the inhabitants.

Alsace and Lorraine, after rectifications of the French boundary line in accordance with the wishes of the inhabitants, are to be annexed to Belgium, whose permanent neutrality will be guaranteed by the powers. Schleswig-Holstein is to be returned to Denmark and the Kiel Canal made an international waterway, under either an international commission or a company which will operate it as the Suez Canal is operated.

Poland is to be declared an autonomous State under the protection of Russia, and its boundaries are to be restored as they were in 1715.

The Allies will also entertain a proposition for the restoration of the independence of Hungary and the geographical integrity of the country as it was in 1715.

The delegates representing the German people must pledge themselves that military conscription shall be abolished among them for a period of twenty-five years.

The status of all German colonies and protectorates is to be settled by a joint commission appointed by the Governments of England, Japan, and France.

The ownership of Italy and Greece to the Aegean Islands, now in their respective possessions, is to be confirmed by the powers and guarantees shall be given that the said islands shall not be fortified.

The ownership of England to the Island of Cyprus is to be confirmed by the powers and her protectorate over Egypt acknowledged.

The Mediterranean Sea is to be declared a "maritime area" to be policed by England, France, and Italy.

_Here is the declaration of peace terms by the Central Committee for National Patriotic Organization of England:_

Great Britain can never willingly make peace with Germany until the power of Prussian militarism is completely destroyed and there is no possibility of our children or our children's children being forced again to fight for the national existence. As far as we are concerned, this is a fight to a definite finish. We must either win all along the line or we must be completely defeated and our empire destroyed. Our allies fully share the same conviction. The thousands of lives already lost, and, alas! still to be lost, will have been tragically wasted if the German menace remains to terrorize Europe and to stunt the progress of civilization. In order to convince public opinion that the only peace worth having is a peace absolutely on our own terms, a Central Committee for National Patriotic Organization has been formed from the members of all the four political parties. The committee will, in addition, take steps to lay a clear statement of the British case before neutral countries. Both the tasks it has undertaken are of the first importance, and it should have the support of every patriot.

GERMANY'S PROGRAM.

_Professor Ernst Haeckel, the militant German zoologist, supplies, in an interview in the Berliner Tagesblatt, the following summary:_

Freedom from the tyranny of England to be secured as follows:

1. The invasion of the British piratical State by the German Army and Navy and the occupation of London.

2. The partition of Belgium, the western portion as far as Ostend and Antwerp to become a German Federal State; the northern portion to fall to Holland, and the southeastern portion to be added to Luxemburg, which also should become a German Federal State.

3. Germany to obtain the greater part of the British colonies and of the Congo State.

4. France to give up a portion of her northeastern provinces.

5. Russia to be reduced to impotency by the re-establishment of the Kingdom of Poland, which should be united with Austria-Hungary.

6. The Baltic Provinces of Russia to be restored to Germany.

7. Finland to become an independent kingdom and be united with Sweden.

_An article by Georges Clemenceau, in L'Homme Enchaîné, reports the following view of the German terms accredited to Count Bernstorff, German Ambassador at Washington:_

One of my friends in America informs me of a curious conversation between an influential banker and the German Ambassador, Count Bernstorff. The banker, who had just handed over a substantial check for the German Red Cross, asked Count Bernstorff what the Kaiser would take from France after the victory.

The Ambassador did not seem the least surprised at this somewhat premature question. He answered it quite calmly, ticking off the various points on his fingers as follows:

1. All the French colonies, including the whole of Morocco, Algeria, and Tunis.

2. All the country northeast of a straight line from Saint-Valéry to Lyons, that is to say, more than one quarter of French territory, including 15,000,000 inhabitants.

3. An indemnity of 10,000,000,000 francs, ($2,000,000,000.)

4. A tariff allowing all German goods to enter France free during twenty-five years, without reciprocity for French goods entering Germany. After this period the Treaty of Frankfurt will again be applied.

5. The suppression of recruiting in France during twenty-five years.

6. The destruction of all French fortresses.

7. France to hand over 3,000,000 rifles, 2,000 cannon, and 40,000 horses.

8. The protection of all German patents without reciprocity.

9. France must abandon Russia and Great Britain.

10. A treaty of alliance with Germany for twenty-five years.

_Dr. Bernhard Dernburg, late German Colonial Secretary of State, has published an article in The Independent, in which this forecast appears_:

1. Germany will not consider it wise to take any European territory, but will make minor corrections of frontiers for military purposes by occupying such frontier territory as has proved a weak spot in the German armor.

2. Belgium belongs geographically to the German Empire. She commands the mouth of the biggest German stream; Antwerp is essentially a German port. That Antwerp should not belong to Germany is as much an anomaly as if New Orleans and the Mississippi delta had been excluded from Louisiana, or as if New York had remained English after the War of Independence. Moreover, Belgium's present plight was her own fault. She had become the vassal of England and France. Therefore, while "probably" no attempt would be made to place Belgium within the German Empire alongside Bavaria, Württemberg, and Saxony, because of her non-German population, she will be incorporated in the German Customs Union after the Luxemburg pattern.

3. Belgian neutrality, having been proved an impossibility, must be abolished. Therefore the harbors of Belgium must be secured for all time against British or French invasion.

4. Great Britain having bottled up the North Sea, a mare liberum must be established. England's theory that the sea is her boundary, and all the sea her territory down to the three-mile limit of other powers, cannot be tolerated. Consequently the Channel coasts of England, Holland, Belgium, and France must be neutralized even in times of war, and the American and German doctrine that private property on the high seas should enjoy the same freedom of seizure as private property does on land must be guaranteed by all nations. This condition Herr Dernburg accompanies by an appeal to the United States duly to note, and Britain is making commercial war upon Germany.

5. All cables must be neutralized.

6. All Germany's colonies are to be returned. Germany, in view of her growing population, must get extra territory capable of population by whites. The Monroe Doctrine bars her from America, therefore she must take Morocco, "if it is really fit for the purpose."

7. A free hand must be given to Germany in the development of her commercial and industrial relations with Turkey "without interference." This would mean a recognized sphere of German influence from the Persian Gulf to the Dardanelles.

8. There must be no further development of Japanese influence in Manchuria.

9. All small nations, such as Finland, Poland, and the Boers in South Africa, if they support Germany, must have the right to frame their own destinies, while Egypt is to be returned, if she desires it, to Turkey.

These conditions, Herr Dernburg concludes, would "fulfill the peaceful aims which Germany has had for the last forty-four years." They show, in his opinion, that Germany has no wish for world dominion or for any predominance in Europe incommensurate with the rights of the 122,000,000 Germans and Austrians.

THE BRITISH VOLUNTEERS.

By KATHERINE DRAYTON MAYRANT SIMONS, JR.

We are coming, Mother, coming O'er the seas--your Younger Sons! From the mighty-mouthed Saint Lawrence Or where sacred Ganges runs, We are coming for your blessing By a ritual of guns!

We are coming, Mother, coming On the way our fathers came! For their spirits rise to beckon At the whisper of your name; And we come that you may knight us By your accolade of flame!

We are coming, Mother, coming! For the death is less to feel Than to hear you call unanswered? 'Tis the Saxon's old appeal, And we come to prove us worthy By its ordeal of steel!

Chronology of the War

Showing Progress of Campaigns on All Fronts and Collateral Events from Jan. 31, 1915, up to and Including Feb. 28, 1915.

Continued from the last Number.

CAMPAIGN IN EASTERN EUROPE

Feb. 1--Russians retake Borjimow trenches and capture men of Landsturm; severe cold hampers operations in Galicia.

Feb. 2--Germans advance, with heavy losses, southward toward the Vistula and eastward between Bejoun and Orezelewo.

Feb. 3--Russians again pour into Hungary as Austrians yield important positions; German position north of the Vistula is insecure.

Feb. 4--Von Hindenburg hurls 50,000 men at Russian lines near Warsaw.

Feb. 5--Russians reported to have killed 30,000 Germans under Gen. Mackensen; Russians recapture Gumine.

Feb. 6--General German offensive is looked for; Russians shift troops in East Galicia and Bukowina.

Feb. 7--Germans rush reinforcements to East Prussia; second line of trenches pierced by Russians near Borjimow; Austrians resume attacks on Montenegrin positions on the Drina.

Feb. 8--Russian cavalry sweeps northward toward East Prussia; Russians move their right wing forward in the Carpathians but retire in Bukowina; Germans shift 600,000 troops from Poland to East Prussia, using motor cars; Italians say that 15,000 Germans died in attempting to take Warsaw.

Feb. 9--Austro-German forces attack Russians at three points in the Carpathians; Russians begin the evacuation of Bukowina, where Austrians have had successes; Russians make a wedge in East Prussia across Angorapp River.

Feb. 10--Fierce fighting in the Carpathian passes; Russians are retreating from Bukowina.

Feb. 11--Russians fall back in Mazurian Lake district; they still hold Czernowitz.

Feb. 12--Von Hindenburg, as a result of a several days' battle, wins a great victory over the Tenth Russian Army in the Mazurian Lake region, part of the operations taking place under the eyes of the Kaiser; more than 50,000 prisoners are taken, with fifty cannon and sixty machine guns; the Russians retreat in disorder across the frontier, their loss in killed and wounded being estimated at 30,000; a second line of defense is being strengthened by the Russians; Paris announces the complete failure of German offensive in Poland.

Feb. 14--Russians check Germans in Lyck region; battle raging in Bukowina; Albanians invade Servia and force Servians to retreat from the frontier.

Feb. 15--Russian lines hold in the north; Austrians state that Bukowina has been entirely evacuated by the Russians; Germans retake Czernowitz.

Feb. 16--Germans occupy Plock and Bielsk; Russians fall back in North Poland; Austrians win in Dukla Pass; Servians drive back Albanian invaders.

Feb. 17--Germans prepare for attack along whole Russian front; cholera and typhus gain headway in Poland.

Feb. 18--Belgrade bombarded; Germans try to cut off Warsaw.

Feb. 19--Germans abandon march to Niemen; they march toward Plonsk from two directions; they occupy Tauroggen.

Feb. 20--Germans repulsed at Ossowetz; Russians bombard Przemysl; Germans capture French Hospital Corps in East Prussia.

Feb. 21--Russians force fighting from East Prussia to Bukowina.

Feb. 22--Russians make progress in Galicia and the Carpathians; it is said that German and Austrian armies are being merged.

Feb. 23--Russians force Germans back along the Bobr; Germans assemble greater forces at Przanysz; Russians destroy two Austrian brigades between Stanislau and Wyzkow; Austrians repulsed near Krasne.

Feb. 24--Russians have successes in the Carpathians near Uzrok Pass.

Feb. 25--Germans besiege Ossowetz; Russians gain in the Carpathians and again invade Bukowina; Russian wedge splits Austrian Army in the Carpathians; fighting on Stanislau Heights.

Feb. 26--Fighting in progress on a 260-mile front; battle in north sways to East Prussian frontier; Germans retire in Przanysz region; Germans claim capture of eleven Russian Generals in Mazurian Lake battle; snow and intense cold hinder operations in Bukowina.

Feb. 27--Germans retire in the north; Russians recapture Przanysz; German battalion annihilated on the Bobr; Russians advance in Galicia and claim recapture of Stanislau and Kolomea; stubborn fighting north of Warsaw.

Feb. 28--Russians are attacking along whole front; Germans checked in North Poland and many taken prisoners; General Brusiloff's army is claimed by the Russians to have thus far captured 188,000 Austrians.

CAMPAIGN IN WESTERN EUROPE.

Feb. 1--Germans evacuate Cernay and burn Alsatian towns as French advance.

Feb. 3--Germans try to retake Great Dune; Allies make gains in Belgium; fighting at Westende.

Feb. 5--Allies are making a strong offensive movement in Belgium.

Feb. 7--British take German trenches at Guinchy.

Feb. 9--Germans again bombard Rheims, Soissons, and other places; fighting on skis is occurring in Alsace.

Feb. 14--Germans are making preparations for an offensive movement in Alsace.

Feb. 16--French forces gain in Champagne and advance on a two-mile front; fighting in La Bassée.

Feb. 18--Allies make offensive movements; Germans give up Norroy.

Feb. 23--Germans use Austrian twelve-inch howitzers for bombardment of Rheims.

Feb. 26--French gain on the Meuse.

Feb. 28--Germans advance west of the Vosges, forcing French back four miles on a thirteen-mile front; French gain in Champagne, taking many trenches.

CAMPAIGN IN AFRICA.

Feb. 3--Portugal is sending reinforcements to Angola, much of which is in German hands, although there has been no declaration of war between Portugal and Germany; some of the anti-British rebels in South Africa surrender.

Feb. 4--Germans have evacuated Angola; some South African rebel leaders, including "Prophet" Vankenbsburg, surrender.

Feb. 6--Germans are repulsed at Kakamas, a Cape Colony village.

Feb. 13--Germans have won a success against the British on the Orange River; German East Africa is reported now clear of the enemy; Germans have invaded Uganda and British East Africa.

Feb. 16--Trial of General De Wet and other South African rebel leaders is begun.

Feb. 21--German newspaper report charges that German missionaries are tortured by pro-British Africans.

Feb. 26--Botha heads British troops that plan invasion of German Southwest Africa.

TURKISH AND EGYPTIAN CAMPAIGN.

Feb. 1--Turks withdraw forces from Adrianople to defend Tchatalja; Russian victories over Turks in the Caucasus and at Tabriz prove to be of a sweeping character; Turks have been massacring Persians.

Feb. 2--American Consul, Gordon Paddock, prevented much destruction by Turks at Tabriz.

Feb. 3--Turks, while trying to cross Suez Canal, are attacked by British, many of them being drowned; Turks are driven back at Kurna by British gunboats.

Feb. 4--Turks routed, with heavy loss, in two engagements on the Suez Canal, New Zealand forces being engaged; Turks are near Armageddon.

Feb. 5--British take more Turkish prisoners.

Feb. 7--British expect Turks again to attack Suez Canal, and make plans accordingly.

Feb. 8--Turks in Egypt are in full retreat; their losses in dead have been heavy.

Feb. 13--British wipe out Turkish force at Tor.

Feb. 17--Work of Consul Paddock in saving British property at Tabriz is praised in British House of Commons.

Feb. 22--Turks are massacring Armenians in Caucasus towns; Turks make general retirement on Damascus.

Feb. 28--Turks have evacuated the Sinai Peninsula.

NAVAL RECORD--GENERAL.

Feb. 1--German submarine seen near Liverpool; there is a new theory that infernal machines in coal caused blowing up of the Formidable and the Bulwark.

Feb. 2--English shipping paper offers reward of $2,500 to first British merchant vessel that sinks a German submarine; German submarine tries to torpedo British hospital ship Asturias; men from a Swedish warship are killed by a mine.

Feb. 3--German auxiliary is sunk by British cruiser Australia off Patagonia; German destroyer reported sunk by Russians in the Baltic.

Feb. 4--British ships shell Germans at Westende.

Feb. 5--Germans deny that Russians sank a destroyer in the Baltic.

Feb. 7--Allied fleets menace the Dardanelles.

Feb. 9--Turkish cruiser bombards Yalta; Russians shell Trebizond.

Feb. 10--Germans are said to have sunk casks of petrol off the English coast for use by their submarines; French Government, in report to neutrals, denounces sinking of refugee ship Admiral Ganteaume.

Feb. 11--Cargo of American steamship Wilhelmina, bound for Hamburg, is seized by British at Falmouth, and a prize court will pass upon question whether food destined only for German civilians can go through in neutral bottoms; it is generally understood that the Wilhelmina shipment was made as a test case; German submarines, driven into Norwegian ports by storm, are forced to put to sea again.

Feb. 13--Two British steamers long overdue are believed to have been sunk by the Germans.

Feb. 14--Canada is guarding her ports more vigilantly; the Captain of British steamer Laertes is decorated for saving his ship from a German submarine by fast manoeuvring.

Feb. 15--British steamer Wavelet hits mine in English Channel and is badly damaged; British submarines are in the Baltic; Austrian fleet bombards Antivari.

Feb. 16--Captain of the German battle-cruiser Blücher dies from pneumonia contracted when his ship went down in the North Sea fight; British merchant collier Dulwich is torpedoed and sunk off French coast.

Feb. 17--French steamer Ville de Lille is sunk by German submarine.

Feb. 18--German auxiliary cruiser Kronprinz Wilhelm has sunk six British ships off the coast of Brazil.

Feb. 20--Allied fleets are pounding the Dardanelles forts with great effect; German steamer Holger interned at Buenos Aires.

Feb. 21--Berlin papers report that a British transport, loaded with troops, has been sunk.

Feb. 22--Two German submarines are missing; Germans are building submarines near Antwerp.

Feb. 23--Australian mail boat Maloja fired on by armed merchantman in English Channel; operations at the Dardanelles interrupted by unfavorable weather.

Feb. 24--British capture German steamer Gotha; British armed merchantman Clan Macnaughton reported missing.

Feb. 25--The four principal forts at the entrance of the Dardanelles are reduced by the allied British and French fleet; three German submarines are sent to Austria for use in the Adriatic and Mediterranean.

Feb. 26--Inner forts of Dardanelles are being shelled; mine sweeping begun; wreckage indicates disaster to German submarine U-9 off Norwegian coast; French destroyer Dague hits Austrian mine off Antivari; Allies blockade coast of German East Africa.