LIFE IN ENGLAND

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16166, 21 March 1918, Page 7

LIFE IN ENGLAND

"WAR TIME ECONOMIES, AN INTERESTING LETTER. A former resident of Christchurca now living in the? West of England, writing to a friend in this city, gives a. very interesting account of what life is like in England at tho present time. We make the following extracts f rom his letter, which is dated January Bth last i— You say in your letter of November 20th, which reached me to-day—quite quick for these times —that yon know little of what life is like in We are not suffering real privations; we are having discomforts, though they are not as yet of a very serious character. When anyone asks me whether I would like such and such a thing luv reply is generally, "I have long lost any tastes or predilections that I had, l'am quite content as long as I get something to put inside," and that really roughly represents the position—we can always get something and enough to eat. but it is no use picking and choosing. Meat has been most seriously uhort the last week, due mainly to passing circumstances; fat stock was sold at Christmas, and the cattle that are left are not ready yet. I believe in actual quantity there has only been a decrease of about 1.75 per cent, in the head of cattle in the last four months, and *0 had an unusually large number then. At present, however, there does •.'•.reappear to be much of a popular outcry about the matter, surprisingly little ill fact. To-day is Wednesday, and we have had 31b of meat since Saturday. Margarine and butter are short, and likely to remain so for some months; the latter is 2s Gd a pound, and there has been a little more about lately, as no cream is allowed to be sold. StiH we are limited to four ounces a wool: of either; that is supposed to be a voluntary ration—it will shortly be compulsory, before you receive this. Sugar is short, but we can get about enough, so long as it is used most carefully. I don't have it in porridge, or any drinks; most people have treacle with their porridge. Matches are both difficult and expensive to cbtain. I never use a match to light a pipe with; one day I was not able to buy a box in the town. Fruit is very high, oranges at Christmas were 6d each, now they are 4Jd; occasionally one comes across a banana, when a shipment copies in, but then they are 2Jd each. Nuts and apples are also expensive. C'oal is 100 per cent, up. in 1912 T. paid 19s 3d per tor., last week I paid 30s. Rabbits have been sold lately at 3s 6d apiece, and at Christmas turkeys were costing anything from 35s to 50s for a fair bird, whilst hares were 10s fid. Tea we have been buying occasionally in 2oz packets, niore often lib at a time, and very dear as well. Paper, of course, is scarce, as materials are very difficult to obtain. Gas is appallingly bad stuff—no light and little heat, in addition to which the pipes are constantly getting choked, owing to something which the Government extracts for munition purposes. Gloves which two years ago cost 4s 6d, now r.fll for 18s Gd. and my wifo was warned some time ago to buy cotton material for the children's summer dresses, as there would be very little about then. Eggs at present are Gd each. The last bottle of whisky T bought cost- I.os. and very thin stuff at that. T see the price has now oeen fixed at 8s 9d- All wines are dear and difficult to get. I mean the ordinary cheaper sorts, not the vintage ones. One has only the absolutely necessary repairs about the house done, as the cost of all work has risen v,ery greatly. You caq't get a watch mended in under a month. Leather Las gone un a great deal. I had to_ pay 7s Gil tlie other day to have a pair of boots heeled and soled, which in past times would only have cost 4s 6a at the outside; the Government has commandeered all leather stocks.

Woll, that has given von soirie idea of the cost of living; of course, wo all economiso, and accordingly we manage to get along. Only oncc this winter have wo had a fire in two rooms at tho same time; where we used to use ten tons of cpaj, we now use five. Hot baths have to be talcon on special days when the kitchen range is used, as most days all cooking is on the gas. tSo far wo havo had no serious difficulty about getting what milk _we want, though we novcr know quite when it is going to arrive. Tho bread suits me well, though some people don't like it. However, before long wo shall have to be content with 50 per cont. potato flour. Only two nights ago a local corn merchant was tolling me that ho does not know where we are to get wheat from.

I've lost a few pounds in woight, which J think js due to tjie economy in food. I generally do not touch bread either at breakfast or dinner, certainly never at dinner, resorvmg my portion for tea and supper. '

Social life is practically dead in , although it is perhaps the wealthiest suburb of this city. One hoars absolutely no traffic at night, scarcely a passer-by. It is the same if one goes to the siiops, except for a short time, whon people aro about chasing margarine, etc., overyqne is as busy- as possible. HouseKoeping takes a lot of thought and time, and thon there aro the various working parties, Red Cross shops, canteens, etc. I only know one girl in who is not working hard tfte whole day long, and she is not fit. Tho daughter of one of our greatest friends is a bookkeeper in tho tramways, another drives the delivory car for a wholesale grocery firm, and then the V.A.D. swallows up an enormous lot of people, either actually nursing or in artificial limb jobs. Private motor-cars havo to all intents and purposes disappeared. There is very iittlo golf, and last summer there was practically no tennis. In fact, I sometimes think we have gone a bit too far, as we brood and get the "blues." Every conversation gradually conies round to the war. The boys either go into the Army at 1 Ti, or reach 181, and then disappear a day or two afterwards—callod up, but they take it all as the natural course of things; there is little talk about it. An instance of the inconvcniences one has to put up with happened to-day; my. mother, who has boon spending Christmas with us, wants to go away in three days' timo, but I can't at present find a man who will undertake to drive her to the station—the small men got no petrol for their taxis in some cases, and in others the drivers have been called up. The special day of prayer, January 7th. was, if one may use the word, a great success. All chapels, churches, and cathedrals were thronged, manv pooplo having to stand. In Bristol, at a snecial united meeting of Church and Chapel in Colston Hall, it w;<s filled with 5000 people. It is always difficult to judge current feeling, but tho impression that I've had recently is. that despite sporadic discontent, tliere is a hardening of the nation in the last few weeks; they are not goin<? to be "done by damned Hun." Film propaganda is beginning to have an offset. The working classes won't read, but they will go to pictures, and a voung .charwoman we have who gees, tells us that ooonle shake their "fists and are raised to fury by tho pictures. "Wilson's idealism is all very well, and that of the intellectuals but I am morally confident that 90 per cent, of the present generation will never have anything to do with a German acain.

"Lloyd George's speech has pono down wonderfully n-e'.l '-ith all shades- n? opinion. Thp "Diliy News'' prai«>d it. and so did the "'Morning Post."' The

Labour man of the Ramsay Macdonald tvne eulogised it, and so did the ;?tt o £ 'lory. He saicl IjttJc about the colonic.-;. and u criticism of the Chris - church '•l > re«" has been quoted in one or two papers, but I think Lloyd h< to skate over thin ice. The colonies won't go back to Germany, and the wishes of the Dominion will be respected, but he wanted to get the who o country behind him. Once we nave beaten* the Hun, then we will do as wc like about the colonics. The only thing that really worries us is tho submarine, and it will until wo know we are building: faster than thej sink. I cannot understand why we don't net the whole of tho exits to the Xorth Sea, but it is no use grousing at the Admiralty; they are as keen on boating them as we are. I am inclined to trust Geddes; he is a strong man, with open views, not a politician. I sometimes wondor whether the Dominion folk realise how we are being hit in the matter of taxation; not only is living? dc-ar, but taxes are very heavy. >