While the situation of Germany vis-à-vis Belgium, and Holland appears for the moment to remain static, nothing has as yet transpired to show that the fears, which have been expressed relative to a possible invasion of Holland, and perhaps Belgium as well, are not justified, That they are felt in Holland itself is amply demonstrated by the decision to commence flooding the country, a step which could not be left to the last minute for fear the floods would not be deep enough to impede the progress of the invader once he starts to move. As it has already been pointed out, the decision to take this step was a grave one, but, nevertheless fully justified in view of the massing of German forces along the Belgian and Netherlands" frontiers. The German explanation that because of the shortness of the western front, these men, really reserves, had to be spread out fanwise is by no means acceptable, for many of those troops between Aachen and the Elbe are as far away from the western theatre of war as if they were still on the German-Polish frontier. The latest German pronouncement on the subject declares that Germany intends to respect the neutrality of Holland and Belgium so long as Great Britain and France do so, and so long as the first two countries show themselves capable of preserving their neutrality. If words meant anything at all, it would seem that that assurance was sufficient guarantee that the two threatened countries might yet escape scatheless from the present struggle, but Herr Hitler's government has made it perfectly clear that the neutrality which it desires from those two countries is one in and their world-wide organisation and connections are admirably suited to this purpose. which they shall actively assist in breaching the system of economic control which is proving so effective a weapon for the purpose of depriving Germany of war supplies. The Allied control of the import of supplies into those two neutral countries is an ac-
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.