NEWS OF THE WEEK
THE War enters its fourth month with all its immediate developments still obscure. On land no operation of any importance, apart from the considerable operations of getting the opposing armies into position in their fortress- lines, has taken place, and none is to be expected for some months, failing a German attack on Holland, which is still always among the possibilities. On sea the British and French Navies have fulfilled their function of sweeping the seas clear of hostile merchantmen and almost clear of hostile warships, but submarines and mines have exacted a heavy toll, which may be heavier yet ; but there is not the smallest ground for believing the German threat to " isolate " Great Britain capable of fulfilment. In the air activity has been almost confined to reconnaissance work. Public attention is naturally concentrated on the few but spectacular air duels, but if the total of aircraft available to either side is put at the modest minimum of, say, 12,000, the statement that since the Firth of Forth raid 23 hostile aircraft have been shot down off our coasts will be seen in its true proportion, and even the greater number destroyed in France makes small impression on a total which is no doubt still, on balance, growing. Air-warfare on the great scale is still to come, and no one can foresee within what limits it will be confined. Meanwhile the pressure of the Allied blockade continues, and the new measures against German exports will intensify it. But it will and can yield no early results. An American opinion that Germany is nearer defeat than when the War began need not be questioned, but the un- known factors have not been tested. Except at sea, the real war has hardly yet begun. The forces are still gathering, and the resources of the British Commonwealth are vast.
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