Progress of the War.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16210, 13 May 1918, Page 6

Progress of the War.

Following comparatively closc on tho British naval exploit at Zecbrugge, which resulted in effectively closing the harbour, conies another exploit even more successfully carried out. This is the brilliant raid on the German U-boat l>aso at Ostend, where tho Vindictive, an old light cruiser which distinguished itself in tho Zeobrugge raid, was sunk at tho sea entrance, practically closing the harbour. Tho importance of tho Navy's exploits in thus bottling up the enemy's U-boat bases cannot be over-estimated. It is clear from recent cablo messages that the loss of 3eobrugge was in itself a great blow to the enemy, but while Ostend remained open lie still possessed an excellent base for

his nefarious activities in the Channel. Now that Ostend has apparently shared tho same fate as Zeebrugge, his nearest U-boat harbour is the port of Emden, away beyond Holland, of much less strategical value than either of the bases on the Flanders coast. Of military operations there is no news of importance to-day, activities on the West front being still confined to local attacks, counter-attacks, and aerial reconnaissances and bombing expeditions. On the Italian front a successful attack by our ally resulted in the capture of a strongly organised height, together with a hundred prisoners and two guns.

The British naval authorities have not been long about, completing tho task of blocking up the C-boat base of Ostc-nd, which was only partly accomplished in the great raid of April 23rd. Oil that occasion, it will be remembered, an unlucky eliango of wind dissipated tho artificial fog produced by our ships to hide their operations, and the blockships wore sunk before tlioy got right inside the harbour. This time, in spite of a natural sea fog embarrassing the movements of our vessels, tho cruiser Vindictive, which played such a splendidly gallant part in the Zeebrugge affair, was successfully sunk some 150 yards to 200 yards inside the entrance, which, except for a narrow passage of about 20ft, is now completely blocked. There aro some slight discrepancies in the cabled accounts of this notable exploit, but it seems certain that Ostend is not now available as a harbour of refuge for raiding German light craft, into which thoy have been wont, when chased, to bolt like rabbits into a burrow.

Thero is one discrepancy in the cables which is as characteristic as it is interesting. We have, on ono hand, the description from British sources of the manner in which the harbour is blocked, the statoments being confirmed by photographs taken by our airmen. On the other hand, we have tho German official report that tho Vindictive lies outside the channel, that tho whole entrance is quite clear, and that the attempt to block tho port "was quite frustrated." As a specimen of official Gorman mendaeity this deserves special mention.

One of our cables to-day states that Gorman U-boats have been instructed by -wireless not to return to Zeebnigge or Ostend. The reason given is that they would find the passage impeded by the new mine-field in the North Sea, to which wo referred a day or two ago. This field closes the North Sea except for tho narrow strip of Norwegian territorial waters. We could not mine that channel, but as tho U-boat commanders will liavo no scruples about using it, the Admiralty, as suggested, will no doubt take measures to watch tho gap very carefully. Our readers will have no difficulty in view of tho news about the Ostend raid, in .imagining another equally cogent reason why the German submarines should steer clear of that port as woll as of Zcebruggo just now.

Nowhere will the latest i'eat of our Navy be more warmly praised than in the United States. American opinion of tthe part played in the war by tho Navy has become during tho past year increasingly eulogistic, and within the past two or three months it has culminated in tho publication in several leading papers of articles of remarkable and gratifying warmth. The "New York Herald" recently recounted its deeds, and spoke of them as a marvellous record of achievements, while tho "New York Times" said that among its accomplishments tho sequestration for over three years of the German Navy— a sequestration from which it escaped only once, and then only to encounter losses so heavy that never again has it ventured out for the winning of such another "victory"—that is but a part, and a small part, of what England's ships of war have done. "They have cleared the Seven Seas, and kopt ' them cleared, of German commerce, with effects far more disastrous to Germany than the aggregate of all the reverses she has met on land, and going far toward counter-balancing all the conquests she has made among her weaker adversaries. Had it not been for the British Navy, the war would havo been over long since. And how?. In a complete German triumph!' s If the world were not so engrossed as it is in tho matters of tho war, an assertion made recently by Professor Wood-Jones, who occupies the chair of Anatomy in the University of London, might revive tho heated discussions which followed many years ago the promulgation of the Darwinian theory of the descent of man. Basing his arguments on recent anatomical research and deductions from the whole trend of geological and anthropological discovery, Professor Wood-Jones contended that instead of man being descended from tho anthropoid apes these could bo moro accurately described as having descended fiom man; "that man as man is far more ancient than the whole " anthropoid branch, and that compared with him tho chimpanzee and orang-outang are newcomers on this planot. '

The Professor's theory seems to ro3t to a considerable degree on the Talgai skull, found in the Darling Downs, Now South "Wales, in 1889, but apparently not seriously investigated until 1914. According to Dr. Stewart Arthur Smith, of Sydney, this skull was found in a stratum with remains of extinct pouched, mammals, somo of which had been gnawed by dingoes, of which animals somo bones were also found in tho same stratum. Now the dingo is not indigenous to Australia; for that matter, no non-pouched mammal is, a fact which is regarded as a conclusive pi oof that Australia has been an island at all events ever since the evolution of pouched mammals. To account, therefore, for the presence of dingo remains with those of long extinct pouched mammals, Professor WoodJones and Dr. Smith aro forced to the conclusion that the Talgai man. accompanied by dingoes, must have crossed the sea to get to Australia. It follows, therefore, that at an inconceivably remote period in the world's history, when, until lately, man was supposed to be'practically indistinguishable from tho ape, a man must have been sufficiently developed to be a boat-buildor and navigator, and to possess domesticated animals.

Non-scientific people would probably ask for no other proof of man's descent from the ape than is furnished in the conduct of a portion of the

human race in the last three or four years. It is certainly not without reason that cartoonists have in many instances depicted militant Germany as a savage gorilla. Professor WoodJones, however, seems to regard the war as the result of this attitude of mind, and in liis lecture he is said to have made a moving appeal for the whole reconsideration cf that postDarwinian conception of man's comparatively recent emergence from the brute kingdom, which he contended had been so disastrous to the world's thought in view of present tragic events. Tho whole theory of bruto striving for the world's mastery, and tho philosophies of conduct based thereon, are, in his view, gross misinterpretations from which human thought must free itself.

The war now touches the everyday life of the ordinary citizen of tho United Kingdom at so many points, and lias given rise to so many regulations and restrictions, that it has been found desirable to establish centres at which anybody can obtain any information on a large variety of matters on which ho or she may require enlightenment. What are known as "information kiosks" liavo accordingly been set up at the principal railway stations in London, the great stores, and several of the chief restaurants. L';tdi kiosk is in charge of a lady official, who directs applicants to the particular departments to which their enquiries should bo addressed, and also distributes the pamphlets and leaflets issued for general use by tho Ministry of Pensions, the War Savings Committee, the Ministry of Food Control, tho Ministry of National Service, tho War Aims Committee, and tho Women's Army Auxiliary Corps. By this moans it is hoped to relieve tho householder's mind of many of the problems of life in wartime, particularly, one imagines, in connexion with the many vexed questions to ■which food-rationing has given rise.