The Cordova daily times., 1916-08-30
WAR SENTIMENT IN NEUTRAL
 HOLLAND

iiEatlOH oI tHe DutCh army suggests glance at the present position of Hol- l land and the multifarious changes
 wrought by the great struggle still raging around her.
 1 The country has borne much in the past two years, which stronger pow 1 CT would not have suffered, but it has l been preserved from the miseries of l war, and although vigilance is still
 now entertains good hope of preserv- 1 ing peace to the end. That i.s posi- 1 tiOn is still perilous. however, the lat est Orange Book testifies. and 1t is i recognized that the ultimate peace congress may itself bring dangers in
 it's train. It is clear that nothing but a direct act of war, or action tending
 to force the nation from it's strict path of neutrality, will bring the queen or her ministers to enter the strug- gle; in all other cases of restriction of Hollands rights and damage to her
 interests they are evidently prepared
 to content themselves with protests
 For Queen Wilhelmina and the roy
 al house the whole period has been an
 exceedingly trying one. Her majesty's mother, the popular Queen Emma, and
 her cOnsOrt, Prince Henry of the Meth 1 erlands, are of German birth; and in other ways, not overlooking the close
 ties with Belgium, the deepest person i al feelings of the House of Orange i have been painfully affected by the events of the past two years. Never 1 theless, an attitude of the strictest correctness has been adhered to 1 throughout. Her majesty has closely 1 devoted herself to the responsible work of state. She has freauently 1 toured the country on military inspec- tions, at which ceremonies she is of l ten mounted on horseback.
 l So far Holland has borne the heavy
 burdens laid upon her by the war re markedly we'll. The maintenance of her army of quarter of a million men on a war footing and other extraordin- ary expenditures has so far cost a round sum of $18O,OOO,OOO, which money has been temporarily found by two big loans and is soon to be tackled in earnest by the raising of special war leyies and a tax on war profits, which are expected to wield minimum of $6O.000,00O
 The economic tussle between the al lies and the central powers is stiH considerably embarrassing the coun- try; while the food problem, partly i growing out of big exports to Ger many, has brought ministers no end of trouble and may land them in seri- ous difficulties, for once started on the raad of artificial regulations, maxi mum prices, cheap government food stuffs, export consents and the like, fresh and more complicated adapta. tions are constantly called for.
 The two years mobilization has giv- en Holland by far the largest and best equipped army she has ever possessed. For limited conscription has been ex- ! tended into what is in effect universal | compulsory service up to 30 years of age, and training of fresh troops has been going on continuously ever since August, 1914, bringing the number of trained men in the country (though only partly under arms) up to between 100000 and 500,000 While a large proportion of the younger men have been with the cOlOrs for the entire two years. the relief of the older men have improved the spirit in the army, and nothing is heard now of the agi- tation and disorders which the seeth- ing discontent at one time brought about. The Socialists in parliament are professedly in favor of partial de mobilization, but it may be doubted whether they would have moved their motion in the chamber to this effect a few days ago If they had not known it would be defeated for the continued extreme danger of the country's posi- ton is as we'll known to them as to the responsible ministers.
 Coming to the Dutch press, one or two of the leading journals do not hide their pro-ailied or pro-German sympathies. In their role of judge Of all the belligerents, Dutch editorial writers occasionally evoke an ironi- cal smile. The nature of the com ments on the position and prospects In the theatres of war has undoubtedly