REPRISALS

A report has come that the reprisals undertaken by the British air fleets on German cities have been of value in shaking confidence and nerves. While we must not imagine huge crowds dashing about in a state of terror, yet it is extremely probable that reprisals, undertaken on a people tired and keyed up, have been effective in weakening their morale and increasing their desire for peace. To the English, air raids are a matter of habit, and the defences are well organized and trainee through long practice. To the Germans they are comparatively new, and they cannot yet have obtained such an efficient defence. The attacks have been delivered in the great factory region of the Rhine, where the men and women, working all day at top speed in clanging manufactories, cannot relish the noise and confusion of an air raid.

As long as there is any evidence of success, these raids ought to be kept up and increased in power. No claim of humanity can now be considered; the Germans have lost their chance for gentle treatment. The only way to fight fire is with fire.