January 23, 1915. 
LAND AND WATER. 
Soissons 
^ 
S^ 
— Frontier. 
Line oF Trenches. 
i 
Pont-k-Mousson {g), at the mouth of the pass just 
east of Colmar {h), and that we have not yet against 
us any new considerable bodies of the enemy in 
the West, but only the same original line which 
already feels itself gravely imperilled. 
CREDIBILITY OF THE EVIDENCE. 
It is worth while examining in detail the Ger- 
man communique relative to this action, which 
reached London last Friday. It is perhaps the 
most remarkable point in the whole affair. 
As we have seen throughout this war, official 
communiques are the best documentary evidence 
we have ; the credibility of the various parties to 
them is therefore exceedingly important in the 
formation of our judgment, and the German com- 
muniques in particular have been remarkable for 
two characters which at first sight seem to go 
ill together, but which are perfectly reconciled by 
what is rather unfairly termed " a scientific 
temper." 
These two characters are: — 
(1) Minuteness in detail coupled with accu- 
racy where accuracy is desired. 
(2) The harnessing with the same of startling 
falsehoods which cannot deceive the particular 
enemy in question, and which must have some 
political object of influencing domestic or foreign 
neutral opinion, or even the opinion of Govern- 
ments and peoples allied with the enemy in ques- 
tion. 
These two contradictory characters are recon- 
ciled by the motive of the German authorities, 
which is neither to tell the truth nor to tell false- 
hoods for the sake of truth and falsehood, but to 
tell the truth only for the sake of obtaining general 
credit, and to tell falsehoods when it is thought 
wise and useful so to do upon the basis of such' 
credit once obtained. 
The official German communique which ap- 
peared in print last Saturday is a very good ex- 
ample upon which to work. I quote it as it ap- 
peared in the Westminster Gazette (which has from 
