Some uneasiness was caused in Russia recently in consequence of the meagreness of official news from the front, and in' order to mest the criticisms expressed, the General Staff issued a special communique. This was published about ten days ago, and stated that in view of the magnitude of ths operations in progress the General Staff would retrain from public communications until military plans had fully developed.
At the time of the German off>n-operations round Thorn, the Government Mersenger," an off cial organ, published a lone enmmunique, not transmitted by the telegraphic agencies in consequence of its length. A summary which has just reached us reads as follows The battle now pending will be one greater in its dimensions than any battle in history. Experience has shown that publication of preliminary details, and of devslopments either successful or unsuccessful, will be highly dang: rous, since such announcements might place the key of our campaign in the hands of the enemy. It must be rem>mbe ed that there isa large German pop-lation in Russia, amongst them number of spies engaged not only upon sending military information to their Government, but also in spreading rumours and false reports with the object of causing panic, in the hope of forcing the Government to allay popular disquietude affairs, present battle being by disclosing the true state of
almost entirely tactical, such revelation of plans and progress would be highly undesirable from the Russian point of view. For these reasons, information will be withald by the General Staff until the proper moment for publication ives. The fabrications by German news agencies need occasion neither alarm nor loss of confidence.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.