ENGLAND'S NEW POOR.

Press, Volume LVII, Issue 17112, 6 April 1921, Page 11

ENGLAND'S NEW POOR.

i. j°-*t- —-. I (gy a£M ibourne ';Argus.") '/■' j n s ix years the cost of llvin2 has inereascuT«kout threefold in England, • vet some have thriven • exceedingly. Many coal-miners and other manual wooers have earned stupendous wages; manufacturers j yreat and small, have ainarfjcd fortune*"; even farmers drive "ia'ufetor-cars to a sumptuous club iu »tffflgkbourmg town. Jn contrast with tlifc&> schoolmasters, clergymen, wiit-ertt'-'in short most members'of tne professional, class, find their incoinvi'httle changed, or not at all, while the cost of living ever grows, and rates and taxes'mount apace. Equally uncomfortable is the plight of those whose private means- once sufficed for an_ unostentatious Ittit pleasant and dignified, life of: leisure. ' For the "new poor" .aro the aristocracy of intellect and culture, together with those who have inherited or acquired the social amenities and elegancies of life. Jn London the "new poor" are not very apparent to a casual observer, for the "new rich"*flock to the metropolis, and there provide the satirist and moralist with many a theme for denunciation. And in Leeds and Bradford and other industrial centres they must indeed hide their . diminished heads. But the countryside u still dotted with their delightful homes, and in many quiet towns they still reign supreme in. tho social sphere.- Cathedral cities, scats of and those pleasant places frequented, by retired colonels and the like—-these are the strongholds /of the "new poor.'' On thrt yurfa,co all'is dignified still. For in conservative England the manners and customs of generations cannot be lightly set aside. Yet oven England moves, tbourdt slowly. . It used to "lie vulgar to talk of money..- There seemed to be- rt'taeit assumption among, the socially elect that everyone had money iu abundance; those who lived quietly and frugally doubtless did so because they preferred that style of living". Now this dignified convention is fast vanishing, though occasionally tlie tone of former days creeps imperceptibly into tho conversation. Even in Eng-

land otic hears elegant ladies comparing !■ notes outsido , a greengrocer's shop i aboutthe price* of _ turnip-tops and CftbWges. And : in • circles uncontaminnted'by the- "new rich" economy has become more than a virtue; it is good form. Those who wish to show off I boast of their frugality. "When ono hears a hwiy with a very long and dis^ tinguished pedigree declare tlwt she Hoes all her cooking w'ith Loney instead of sugar, becauso it is cheaper, ono iiibpccts that sho is ej.peiiencud neither 1u housewifery nor in* economy, but merely wishes to be fashionable But talk about ways find nieanv is uSiully teridus enough in these* dajd when but- ' tec is a trout to bo offered to fnenda, ■ and margarine the daily faro Evert \ ton ants t have grow n economical; tho capaWo ones ha-ve learned to make no of every kcrap of food, and no longer ■ detpise a mistress who tries to keep down tho bilK "When'l wot a cooki general rit "Wandsworth before the i war," said one to me, "wo used to havo ' lo\ely puddings—l ha.ro even forgotten tho names of thorn—-puddings with two eggs in them'" Since the .prices of'such commodities as bacon! *Hce,' potatoes, and jam vaiy , greatly frota week to week between ono bhon and another, the prudent housewife hunts for bargains at the pio\ision shops, and ladies and working-class women wait, together in queue*.. Customers oxpeot to* g&t good measure. Goods aie not Weighed by tho half or quarter pounds hut by the ouugo. '".fwo pound*, fifteen ounces," Cries the butcher. I Lave se,en a shopman selling a pound of sausages look carefully at tte gcaletf, then add about'the eightft of ft sausage to tttake up the weight. The generous hospitality that Ails- " trallafla found sd pleasant is necessarily much curtaued. Invitations to lunch dinner are less frequent; a°week- - end at a friend's ,hou t se < has become,a i'xnre tte»ii hospitable spirit is -atill there,' out it"expresses itself in "forms. I have dined at a beautiful bouse in intellectual- society on JWo coursed and dessert, •joyment of the jjnests seemed m no 8 Way the absence- of tho entree or of J£fre-vrar Xe» \ fpkrtictf' stiH -flourish with unabated ' syigour, though docked of the traditional ' fplunt cake?"" " j < : dispense With superfluous maids ' seehis &fl obvious economy, especially - since wagesJiave gone up ; and the sup- , ply of willing, ana experienced domesj ~tiCß,j»"Bmtill f so far Englwhwomen i v hjtve no&'tfioveavery adaptable in this | } respect,"partly because servants aie the « "Unost conservative class in England. § ' n £ "wish, 4*could manage with two ser|.s!^ts'inCTsajll'of three, my cook i; r ond tho "work £ #otfld Vssfr tench for her," fa- tho \f&tt of' k tears. So the :,; mistressJjMa^inises:, in Jess pleasant K> irajs. lit© to move into U'^sjnall'houso'and keep only one*ser L iftv/ kind- of/liouse. „is unrentable »nd If anttosb* unpurthasable., Jt is amazing U what f aj|> with£jxha war profiteers must have |, afcnosfc cornered the supply 'of efficient some oft the young perU sons whp\parn high' wages are incredibly S- incompetent and laitf, and at times not f 4 eyeh. yeM"!»bute, Girls whom au Auswould aot ptt op if Sftkh' ior*l4~ft&i!fc keep -their situation's ' ~heffe. J ; v^4,.,moit s English • ladies , still 1 with, the,terfor in- \ hy and think that l wojisb. of-"-domestics is hettfir than *• mwh'l&uajf my pity wa* in- ' of tw<s servants r-. VMlgetsinwi every morning at 7 and EPfiftmVtthe- Arts;, while the girls come L ?-to wefl-wenned let tiß !fii" barf-past eight. Many of .the ;er girls who worked at munitions g the %ar tie* refuse to lite in; ft 'Maily has become a f «*og* Some of them are /general cannot and will not try to learn, and do j of any, kind of Work. >. a form of manual 2ab6ur Jios hefashionable. The cull of economy id niany k families to undettslke the I if papering and thou: j 9/ Houses gtejw shabby during tho |" ( ]|Mj when.iwacß cania * waeeß. had] and painters worked less. So. s*in despßtiti&i/many v set .to and did litioeir own house-decorating; they hav? x they declare, ihat pa»(ffI and indoor painting are neither difI ficult. sot labonou*. Mealiwlulo paiat* . ore are beginning to find their occupff., lion gowb. .One day I .-ailed ott ih* wiabw of nrgreat man, a hdy who^pneo - W* S^ I gatßerearthat to 1 except in cafeo of tir* V *e» kayoured «f optentaiion, r>W%* b 9 jK. a vo ino Jiheorebcal insr*uctio» '■S&tSg&f ' H *T*King trnfcU ^ > 9 bdl > ut^B paste on tho /'2?y no lsfi,*aO ?■?».'» 4hen. as on I«k>to the days of mv clrildM.the Jfan years that followBdTboom. " > **ho matter of dross that the a>Vaner chaoßtt is seeh.» Arnny aien always .l«cn dq\\dy, comparatively e\travaganb has given, place to a dowdin»s9 possible wear out of clothes ft are discarded. Ono may opstartling new dress, perhapi scarf and* other lohgtrcas'nrcsj or otic ihay fee p»»si-. m. ft *»slftol seem to mat- ! «ii>!it of 4mi&-WVite of fesig--smaju "We T Isai c let ,our> :a^fs>r^My f iir Kie*nuttor ttt i-fceuff-aa'imtf emphasise hs ( tountlois little wn\s frr- | ;jjp in«lo. tf > >*otopap{'r has ; and *V»fu% vx

quality. "I found %onie of my old Kotc'i*yper flue other day," said one woman, "and it does look luxurious, so thick and embossed in red." The etiquette of'leaving cards has changed, or, .-ather, there are no fixed rules at present. It is no longer necessary to follow the absurd practice ot leaving a sheaf' after a call - u one is quite enough. "1 shall leave'only my brother's card," said one lady, wno lias dispensed hospitality for years in stately and lavish fashion. "1 never leave more than one nowadays t consider it horribly extravagant. tii 1 waste them as'wc used to do." A mean and jietty economy, some may say, but perhajw inspired partly by the desire to set a simpler, standard for less wealthy friends.

lu tnite of their trials, tlie ''new pooi J ' are mostly cheerful; some of the-: older ones particularly seem less seriously inclined than in tlie good old (lavs. Tho topic* of conversation tend to" be lighter" than they used in be. Politics is no longer a prevailing theme. —perhaps because the subject is too unpleasant. I have heard the merits of different kinds of chocolates and cakes discussed more often than the demerits of politicians —a strange change from former days'. Perhaps the wave of frivolity and (-raving for relaxation after the strain of war is, after all, not confined to'tho "new rich."