THE EVE OF WAR

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2261, 22 September 1914, Page 6

THE EVE OF WAR

SCENES IN THE CAPITALS NATIONAL CONTRASTS SPIRIT OF THE COMMONS

. The contents of-'late.. English files are thus summarised in lih Australian exchange:—The tone of the British acceptance of tho jnevitablo se/jms to have been ono of calm acceptance of an unpleasant duty. John Bull appears to have felt his responsibilities much in the same manner as a policeman feels his when called upon to remove a disorderly inebriate from tho streets. The reporters at Westminster, where the brain and nerve centres.'df .the Empire control' the movements of the limbs ever 1'2,000 miles of sea, report that "the temper of tho. House is splendid, aiid almost unbelievable.' We heard the phrase, "This terr'ible emergency' several times, and perhaps you might imagine men with' pallid cheeks and grim-set jaws contemplating .'the prospective ravages of war. But not a bit of it —not a little bit. The pulse of tho House is normal. Nobody is excited. Everybody is rather good-natured." Nothing could bettor indicate the nerve of the' House of Commons than the fact that on August 5, after the war questions had been dealt with, the House settled down quietly to consider a Bill for improving the conditions of byres in Scotland. At tho direction of Parliament millions of £1 and £10 notes were issued, and postal notes were made legal tender. Some people, however, began to lay in household provisions as though their houses were fortresses soon to bo beleaguered. Rico in the Edgeware Road went up from 2d. to 4d.<a pound. In the Haynwket, at the Civil Service Stores, where the upper middle classes shop, it was 4£d. Brown sugar eold at 6d. a pound. The manager of the stores declared that some of the mansions in the streets which were not mean were probably like Joseph's granaries. Hundreds of Euglish people were stranded at Dieppe. They were treated vrith great kindness by the French people in the town. The hotelkeepers and boardinghouse proprietors, though the rush for accommodatiou at the Frencli seaside ,gave a lino opportunity lor raising their prices, declined to take advantage of tho refugees.

Cerman Sentiment. Although tho tono of the German military caste and the Press was arrogant and over-confident letters received in London showed that many of tile thinking Germans had their doubts.. One lotter from a German officer contained the following: "I am of opinion that we are in for a very bad time. Somo of my brother officers, though convinced, as I am, that wo shall give good accounts of ourselves, yet believe that this war will mean practically the end of our country." Contrast this with tho fierce compound of prayer to tho Almighty and of threat to humanity published in the Berlin "Militaer Wochenbktt": "If God gives us the victory, woe to tho conquered I" "' One of the first acts of the defence authorities was to hunt the spies with which German diplomacy so invariably plays its unpleasant game. Amongst the many arrests made was that of a German baron. Unfortunately,' all these people were not Germans, for whom some justification might be found. A hairdresser named Fowler was arrested afc Penarth upon espionage charges. In Germany the chivalrous Teutons took a short way with any unfortunate English people in their country. Many they imprisoned. British motorists were.captured and their cars taken from them. Young English girls at school in Germany wero taken by.train to the frontier and left penniless to get home as best they could. Out of one large school part} only two girls had got back to England when the mail left. In some of tho outer London suburbs there wore indications of food riots. In Southwark Park Road, Bermondsey, a crowd of women entered a grocery store, enraged by the increases of prices,. and tried to s\veep the ppods into the street. Another crowd attacked a grocer's shop at Hitchin, and only desisted when tho proprietor declared that food would be sold at the usual rates. Trigg, a London jockey, was one of tho lucky ones who got back from Austria easily. He rode in Austria on July 30, and at tho declaration of war made for the frontier. .On the way he met a King's messeneer, who know him. "1 followed him like a, dog follows his master," said Trigg. "He just showed a paper whenever thorn was trouble, and overybody instantly stood oreet and saluted."

Events in Paris. Paris appears to have been a little different. The soldier was moro in evidence, becauso there was moro of him In

France than in England. In some instances whole .famine's were to. tho tront. lii one family, named Blanchard, tho father went on duty as major in tho cavalry. Mme. Blanchard left for the front some hoiira later at the head of a section of ■ the "Dames do Franco" Ambulance Association. Tho eldest sou was-.a lieutenant of cuirassiers at Longwy, and his brother a specialist in the Aviation Corps. This accounts for the whole of the Blanehard family. Most of the women in Paris had lost somo relative, husband, brother, son, • lover,- who had iMiie to the front to "dine on blue beans," a characteristic Parisian euphemism for bullets.

Tho I'arisiaris, being more, emotional than the Londoners,' began work upon tho Gorman firms and shops. Somebody ealls out "Down with tho Germans, and the hooligan and apacho do the rest. We had a little ebullition of tho kind hero on the night that the larrikins set out to wreck the Turn Voroin Club. But in Paris the police'do not mind a little riot when directed • against tho enemy's people. Crowds continually paraded tho Boulevard des Italians, singing the "Marseillaise," cheering the F.oldiors, and waving the ■ tricolour. These crowds were mainly v composed;of vauriens and apaches. . The if spectable Parisian shrugged his shoul'lers. Theso bands of marauders lirotuj up all tlie "maggi" shops because "maggi," a kind of milk consommo, had beeu discovered as aGerman manufacture. A brasserie, kept by aM. 'Muller, aroused tho suspicions of thorn, patriots Muller must be a German. Could anything be more German than Aluller? The attack began, hut when M. Muller appeared with. his mobilisation'card as evidence of good faith, it was obvious that he, too, wan a Frenchman and a patriot, and;so for ten minutes tho rabble yelled "Vivo,Mullerl" and "A bias le Kaisnrl" and wont otf to look for more "maggi" shops. .

Labelling Soldiars. AVe had hoard last week that. ■iacU^, containing about 126,000 German identification labeis, had been sent back to Berlin—grim, evidence of the slaughter •of that desperate, wonderful dash -Vj wards Paris. From the "Daily Chronicle" files it appears that every German soldier wears an aluminium plate upon a string round his neck. This plate bears his name, regiment, and rand. If dead it atfords easy identification.If wounded, the.' plain iv verse side is used by tho Jici-1 surgeon to jot down the victim> injuries and details of .treatment. in:s is "a wonderful little detail, showing how thorough is the organisation. Each corps, too, carries its special company of grave-diggers, who accompany the army for this work alone. Tnese companies were formed for the\Franco-Ger-man war of 1870. Probably some of theso specialists now in France are wishing that they liad not specialised [so much in grave-digging and more in Marathon running.

"Berlin Went Mad." And how did Berlin take the declaration of war? "Berlin went madl" writes an English lady. "The people were madly delighted, and in the last stage of excitement. At about half past 2 p.m. the Kaiser, followed by the Crown Prince and Princess, with theneldest son between them, motored slowly through the streets on the way to the palace. The reception was really inspiring. I can give no diea of it in words—tho noise and excitement were overwhelming." After a hurried trip home this lady reached London two ,days later. "Where were the excited crowds, seizing newspapers and discussi ing the war?" We saw only bank-holi-day makers reading novelottes. The contrast was extraordinary. Truly the English are a strange race." It certainly seems that for awhile the Germans had no idea that Britain was to join the French and Russians. The same lady writes:— "One curious incident more. A German spoke ill of the Tsar of Russia in a railway carriage containing a Russian lady. She rose and walked out. Not a word concerning England did he speak, and was most friendly and helpful' towards us. Also a word about Gorman newspapers. On Friday evening I read in a German paper various details about the destinations of. various parts of the English fleet. The Pathfinder, Hazard, and Bonaventure were mentioned. One paper stated that it was to be hoped that the Ulster disagreements would be rapidly settled a-s they so much lessened England's power as peacemaker!" One is permitted to wonder whether, in view of that looks like overwhelming disaster in France, tho Berlin crowds still cheer the Kaiser and his sons, and whether the "Wochcnblatt" still cries "Vae Victis!"

Mr. J. H. Thompson. Stratford, has a farm of 912 acres for sale, about six miles from the Whangam'omona Railway StaMes?re. A.'li. Wilson and Co., Ltd., have boon instructed by Mrs. Lee, proprietress of The Tiffin Tea ■Rooms, to sell by auction tliß contents'of her tea rooms, at 11 o'clock this uaoraing,