The war news from the Western front is meagre except
for the record of artillery duels. The fact is that in the greater part of the line the ground is so waterlogged that neither side are in a position to move even if they ardently desired to do so, and of such desire there is no evidence on the part of the Germans. No sane German now dreams of getting through to Paris or Calais, or of anything but keeping the Allies from forcing a German retirement. When we say this it must not be supposed that we imagine any large number of Germans to have given up hope on the Western front. On the contrary, what their saner optimists believe is that they have erected so strong a series of trench fortifications that it will be impossible for any army to pass them. They hug themselves with the belief that they can never be driven out of Belgium. We shall see. We are
not believers in hurling ourselves against the German lines, but we cannot forget that there are other ways of causing evacuation than frontal attacks.
