ESTABLISHED 1866. The Marlborough Express PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 1917. NOTES.

Marlborough Express, Volume LI, Issue 33, 8 February 1917, Page 4

ESTABLISHED 1866. The Marlborough Express PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 1917. NOTES.

As was suggested hy this journal the other day was the real meaning oi" the concluding sentence in the President's speech to Congress, America has hinted to her fellow neutrals that it would be well were they to take similar action to that; of ' the United States. In other ■-.vordft, President Wilson hopes to form an alliance, as it were, of all neutrals, so as to bring about the devoutly prayed for peace as speedily as possible. As. however, peace can be s»ir?ur'-d only by the defeat of the enemy, a defeat which will practically put him hors de combat, it follows that such an alliance when formed would, to render any efficient aid to the Allies' cause—the cause of peace—leave no stone unt.irned by which the fighting capacity of the enemy, both by sea and by land, could be substantially weakened Of tho neutrals who really count, tho Scandinavian States and Holland -ire in the front lank. The Dutch si.ro in a peculiarly awkward posirion, being so close to Germany, and fears of sharing the f:ite of unhappy Belgium would no doubt prevent anything like active co-opera-tion on their part. Denmark, also, could scarcely be expected to face the mwsihilif.y of a German invasion. Sweden and Norway have less to fear. It is true that they might Ivive to face the bombardment of their ports by the German fleet now sheltering from British attack in tho Kiel Canal: but once they were at war with the Huns the restrictions upon the passage of British warships through their territorial waters would bo lifted, and a second and enIfrered edition of tlie Battle of Jutl.ind might.be fought in the Baltic bet-weer the German fleet from Kiel and Admiral Beatty's vessels, which would then, wo believe, be able to r.**netrai» safely to the Baltic. The Russian fleet, which is by no means of a contemptible strength, would also participate, with the pi'ohable result that the "All Highest." would lo«e f<t. lepst three-fourths of such of his warships as might take • part in such an engagement. Tho answers of the various neutral Governments to the Airioricn President's message win bo ;.n>;'ously awaited. Switzerland, aw was not unexpected, has rejected the proposal..

Spain is in a vory bad temper; and is evidently on the verge of joining with her old foe. America, against.

the in-olonf nnd murderous Hun. There is. it is true, a strong pro-Ger-man party in Spain, supported, it is reported, by-the Clerical party, which has from time Jmmemorial been in close, sympathy with a similar party in Austria. The Pope's :mtion in sto'*nlv denouncing tho new Huu doctrine of "suDcr-frightfulncss" may, however, modify very considerably the nro-Germsm sympathies of the Spanish Clericals. Tn any caso, now that Spanish oversea commerce is threatened with complete destruction by the Germans—alrendy we hear of the fruit trade of the Canary Islands having been brought to a complete standstill—tho national indignation hi Spain is hound to be of so pronounced .a charnetor that no one politiml party would dare to risk its existence by actively opposing any Government action against Germany. Already the Spanish Ambassador at Rome has publicly declared that Snuin will follow America, "even to the point of war with Germany"; and if necessary Spain could give no

despicable assistance to the Allies, for sh» could eusilv s^nd :? qusT^.o?* of a million trooivs to Franco. If Gor~

many imagined sho "bluff" America, Spnm, and indeed the whole

nentral world into a cowardly acceptance of her viibtrwine eamnaign. sho has made a terrible mistake. What sho has nccomnlishoo* Js to r'»n the

risk or forcing the whole of the neu-

trals into open dt»fi."neo of her insane ambitions and brutally savage nu-thorls. ami to stamp herself as th< T»ariah of the whole civilised world.

At W.-ishington thon> is, it- is snM. iji hopeful foelmg that the United ! States "mny yet find it unnecesFSP\v to use force " Tin's w»^ liavo on the tmthyrity o? tho Nov.- York "FH-oning i Post. On the other hand, there is no confirmation of tho report that ' Germany desires to negotiate with a view to granting such concessions as would stavo off war. Tho destruction of th** machinery of tho immensely valuable liermfii steamsijins interned at Now York does not look as if the Cennuns h;:d any intention of withdrawing from the attitude they havo taken up. for were there much chance (if peace being preserved Count Bern?torff would surely not h.Tvo docreod r. course of procedure which is estimated to cost the German shipowners ji loss of six millions sterling. Meanwhile Undo Sam is putting his house in ordor. Congress is rushing Bills through to provide money for nnvi:l and military preparations, the Government is handing over tho American interests in Germany and Turkey to the Spanish Ambassadors, and already a Coalition Cabinet, including prominent Republicans, is considered possible at Washington. Even the once deliriously enthusiastic apostle of peace at any* price, Mr Hr»nry Ford, of motor-car fame, is offering his factories to the Government free of charge as munition works. Everything now depends upon whether

Germany will withdraw her "sink at sight no matter the flag" declaration, or whether she will persist with her mad scheme of making

the whole world her enemy

From the Eastern front there is a noticeable lack of news, but from the Western front come reports of continuous arLillerv activity by the French and British. Hindenburg is reported to be anxiously on the lookout for sorao sign by which he can arrive at the well-kept secret of tho Allies as to the exact point at which the next big offensive will be made. Both at Berlin and at Paris and London there appears to be a widespread conviction that we arc on tho eve of witnessing some new and gigantic conflict on the Western front, a conflict which may usher in tho last and most, terrible phase of this long'and terrible war. That the enemy has of late greatly strengthened his forces in the West cannot be doubted, but neither he nor the Allies are likely to afford any clue Us their exact intentions. Whenever the crash does come, there is good loason for belief that the Allies ".re '.voll prepared for all eventualities, raid fair ground for confidence that the final result will be a yet more severe defeat for the Germans thsyn they have yet experienced. In artillery, shells, numerical strength, and fbovo all in morale, the Allies ar^ now the superiors of the enemy, and this superiority is bound to increase rather than suffer any diminution as the spring comes nearer. Which is fur more- than the enemy can truthfully claim; indeed, more than one of his military experts is clearly very anxious as to the immediate future.