PROGRESS OP THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3199, 25 September 1917, Page 4

PROGRESS OP THE WAR

It is again reported to-day that IFalkenhayn is in Asia Minor, concerting measures for a campaign aiming at the recovery of Bagdad. Tho prospect is in some respects serious. The position of .the British force under Sir Stanmjy Maijde which holds Bagdad and a section of- railway extending north of that city along the Tigris Valley is somewhat exposed. ' lta communications arc long and may be difficult to defend. The worst feature of the situation is that effectual Russian cooperation can no longer be taken for granted in the Turkish theatres or elsewhere. It is remarked'in the message under notice that Russian aid from Persia cannot be relied upon, but it is a more serious possibility that tho slackoning of ltussian effort may result in releasing a number of Turkish divisions from the Armenian front. A powerful effort to recover Bagdadt js well, within the bounds of possibility, and since the offort would be made at a time when operations in the main theatres will nocessarily slow down, the enemy may have no great difficulty in providing a- considerable force of artillery and supply of munitions. He would have to cope, hpwever, with somewhat formidable transport problems, and the work of "containing the Briilsh army in Palestine," while de-. veloping an offensive iin Mesopotamia, may present unsuspected difficulties.. The development of the Palestine campaign seems to bo one obvious method of effectively engaging the Turkish forces and croating a diversion, which may bo needed, In favour of the British army on the Ti B rk „ * 1 ■ *

Little new light is cast upon the situation in Flanders, apart ■ from 'the fact that the area of conquered ground has at one point, (north-west of Langemarck) been slightly extended. To-day's messages, however, emphasise the magnitude and significance of the British success, notably in some further references to the enemy's counter-attacks. Tho manner in which these efforts were crushed by gunfire on tho most vital section of the battlefront represents a triumph of British organisation. It is evident that perfectly ordered work- by the British artillery and aircraft has materially lightened the task of tho infantry, and that the enemy's losses in his abortive efforts werei correspondingly heavy. It is manifest that the Germans have not only suffered a defeat of magnitude, but that their general prospects have been heavily impaired.

The Unite'd States Committee on Public Information, which is investigating and exposing German plots in America, remarks in the course of a report published to-day that "it is an open secret that Holland was merely a midway station for the shipment of. contraband to Germany." This is a final answer to the plea which Holland, in common with other neutrals, has advanced, that she will be subjected to intolerable hardship by the measures the United States is taking to prevent American exports being conveyed, directly or indirectly, to the enemy. A considerable amount of detail information indicating 'the enormous sbale on which Holland has developed her export trade to Germany since the war began has been published recently. An interesting addition to'this is made in the following communication from an authorised-source, lKcently supplied to Router:

The Dutch Minister at Washington is Teported to have stated that ''Holland sends million's of guilders' worth of certain commodities to Germany each month, but she sends still greater quantities to Great Britain." : ■ The reference to only "certain commodities"., makes this' statement somewhat vaguei but, in any case, it is incorrect. There are, of course, one or two isolated commodities, such as margarine, of which Holland sends greater quantities. to the United Kingdom than she does to Germany, but of commodities wholly or mainly of Dutch production a greater proportion of the exports go to Germany. Thus, whereas only about forty million guilders' worth of butter, cheese, eggs,' meat, sugar, potatoes', potato flour, j>nd fish were sent to the United Kingdom in 1916, some 540 million solders' worth ivere sent to Germany in the same period. Even if we add margarine, which is not strictly relevant, as the raw naterinls for this commodity are imported for the specific purpose of being manufactured into margarine for the TTnited Kingdom, exports to the United Kingdom ire increased to only some 160 million guilders, as against the 540 million guilders to Germany. . . . ■

A guilder is equivalent to. Is. Bd. in English money, so that the total amount of trade covered in these figures, and the margin in favour of Germany, are enormous.

The numerous disclosures of Gorman conspiracy made as an outcome of American investigation may seem to reflect upon the efficiency of measures' to the same end taken by the British Government before the United States entered tho war. It has to be considered, however, that Britain had not the same motive "for- publicity as the United States. No doubt secrecy was often of material value in enabling her to foil tnemy schemes which came to her knowledge. Though she worked by secret methods, .evidence that she wis not neglecting the work of investigation was afforded at times, notably in the case of the acute controversy which arose- over interference with, American mails. Tho American Government has an obvious motive to give • the fullest possible publicity to its disclosures in that this course tends in a very valuable degree to arouse and consolidate the loyal population of the Union. It is, of course, admitted that the American co-operation has in many ways mado British measures more effective. This is particularly true of the blockade of tho Central Empires, but it has a bearing also upon the detection of German conspiracy - • < * A message just received gives the result of the Swedish elections with the fate of four-fifths of the seats (Iqtermined. Tho Conservatives, who

at present hold office, are shown to have lost heavily. .This is no doubt a direct result of the recent exposure of the part.played by Sweden in transmitting messages relating to the enemy submarine campaign from Buenos Aires to Berlin. Precisely what the outcome of the elections will be, however, cannot vet be foretold. In tho last Parliament the Conservatives held 86 seats in the Lower House, the Liberals 71, and the Socialists 73. With fourfifths of the seats accounted for, the Conservatives have lost 22 seats, , the Socialists have won six, and the Liberals four. Twelve seats have been tron by a new Peasant Party. Much, obviously, depends upon the attitude of this party. Hitherto tho pro-German Conservatives in office nave been opposed by a SocialistLiberal group headed by M. Branting which is regarded as pro-7?«-lente. M. Branting, who presided over the Socialist Conference held at Stockholm some time ago, has openly expressed his conviction that the Kaiser is the chief obstacle to peace, and must be removed. • Ihe result of-the elections may very possibly be to put M. Branting in office at the. head of a Socialist-Lib-eral ooalition. In that event Sweden might be expected at least to observe a more honest neutrality than in the past stages of the war.