AMERICA'S WAR MOOD

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 181, 20 April 1918, Page 2

AMERICA'S WAR MOOD

. « ■ HEATLESS, MEATLESS, WHEATLESS DAYS INTERVIEW WITH MR. G. A: HIGHLAND Mr. George A. Highland, who was brought (ill tho way irom Broadway, New York, to produce "liatinka" fur J. C. Williamson, Ltd., is an Englishman by birth, a naturalised American, by nationality, and a wholo-souled en-' thusiast for tho puro white cause of • tho Allies. As he only left "the Great White Way" during tho iirsfc week, of Fobruary, ho speak? with first-hand authority on matters .pea-taiintg to America and tho war, and what ho says makes good reading for us.' :

"One. of tho first things wo in tho United Stales had to learn was the gospel according to Mr. , Hoover. It took soruo learning in many cases. I mean to say that wu bad to learn to do without, and Hoover was the man who made tho game. What does it amount to? I'll tell you: Monday is. a coalless or licatlsss day, which means that on that one day no business block or factory (barri'ig munition factories) or restaurant or family residence is allowed to use its steam-heating apparatus or burn coal in any other way. It niny not sound much of a sacrifice to you out here, but tho" day I left Now York City tho temperature was 7 degrees below zero, and the Monday before that in Boston it was 17 degrees below. That law was as sternly applied as those of the Medes arid the Persians as far west as I tho Mississippi—over half- tho "United States. The penalty for any breach was a. lino of 1000 dollars, or twelve montliß , imprisonment, or both, at the option of tho authorities. "Wednesday and Thursday aro wheatless days, and no one is permitted to eat the forbidden wheat for a- whole forty-eight hours. Thero are no wheat-cakes, no biscuits, no buckwheat cakes (with or without warm molasses), and no white bread, nothing _ that savours of wheat, because , it is wanted for the armies and tho peoples of France, England and Italy. Similarly no meat is allowod to bo served in tho hotel, restaurant, cabaret, or home on Tuesdays and Fridays. No meat of any description is supposed to be eaten on those days, and tho authorities are not slow in following up cases of alleged meatoating on war fast days. To make tho programnio complete Saturday is a porlcloss day, and a sad ono. Tho American is firmly wedded to his pork and beans, but on Saturday there v> nothing doing. So that, you seo, Sunday is tho ono glad day in tho week frco of all restrictions. A Dull "White Way." "Peoplo out here have uqt begun to realise, how deeply . America realises her responsibility in this war. Do you know that from Monday till Friday (included) aio electric sky-signs iiro permitted on Broadway? To those acquainted with that wonderful thoroughfare and its myriads of flashing sky-signs, Broadway loses its identity coiuplotcly. Only on Saturday up till 9.30 p.m. aro tho signs allowed to bo lit. This is part of tho coal economy measures considered essential to the well-being of the .Allies. And do you know that, east of tho Mississippi no thoatre, concert hall, music hall, picture show, or dime museum is allowed to open its doors on a Tuesdayday or night? To make, up, for this two'performances are given on Monday (tho coalless day), winch answers very well, as many peoplo are unable to work .owing to. the factories jio.t he-, ing allowed to bo heated, and uerforco are given a day off. , . ■ . . .'.'Y.ou'.vo heard of. our danger zone. No, not ■in the firing line, but in every one of our eastern shipping ports, including New York, Boston, Baltimore, Newport News, Philadelphia, otc. In those places no one is allowed to approach within one mile of the- waterfront where ships berth without a special permit. . The '«ons is outlined by a. white cord, and is guarded throughout its windings by' tbo military, who are impervious to all, save the permit proper, vhich, of course, is issued to passengers who are.armed with passports. It is very difficult to leave America at all now. Even a British passport is not sufficient. It has to be endorsed by tho American Consul, and to got that your business lias to .bo of very special urgency. Thsro are many thousands who want to get out of America and are doing it without passports, but they aro all branded 'U.S.A. 1 and oarry rifles. .....■'

As With a Magician's Wand. "What can I say about tho munition works? No language of mino could convoy, even feebly, tho wonder of it all. Huge plants, costing million!) of dollars —boot factories, toy factories, olo.—have simply been scrapped to lnak'o wa-y for munition plants. Great towns spring up in a night, as it were, where there was formerly a tract of waste land, some of them'with 70,000 or SO,OOO inhabitants working hammer and tongs turning out tilings to kill men. Somo of the great steel works never shut down for ono minute out of any, twenty-four hours. -As soon as ono shift of men finishes another goes on—b ceaseless round of activity that continues throughout tho vear. Near Philadelphia I saw. shipyards where tlioy wero laying down fifty keels at a timo. Tho call is for ships to carry men and food—tho Allies must have them —and they aro getting them. I havo ,i letter from ■ a frioud m Atlant.l, Gii.> Raying that the men are praying for ships to enable them to got to Franco. And what a stimulating sight it is to sen tho British and French'vessels arriving at the docks, tho thousands of hands that aro thero waiting to coal and provision them, and thon sro the troops em-' harking—without any notice or sontimoiital 'good-hyps'—and away they go again, often within a space of thirty hours. And somo people ask ino if America' is really in this war! Liberty Theatres. "In our 48 States there aro about 00 bi{i: camps, some of thorn 'accommodating as many as 65,000 troops, most of thorn some 30 miles away from any big contro. Tho distance is mentioned to show that the authorities rcaliso tho ojangor that exists for mon in tho big cities and towns. In each camp, the Govornmont, realising that tho men must have intellectual amusement and a place to spend their leisure time, has creoted a substantial 'theatre, with good accommodation behind for tho actors. Tho idea is a rational otiu which should not cost tho Government a, groat deal of monoy, whfct it certainly supplies a need. No Drink for Uniformed Men. "In the American Army and Navy," said Sir Highland, "drink is absolutely forbidden. It is illegal for any hotel proprietor, saloonkeopor, ■ bartondor, or cabaret lure to servo any man in uniform with intoxicating liquor. The penalty is a. lino of 5000 dollars or twelve months' imprisonmont, or both. Tall Flguros. "ft a for our loans, read the papers! Towards tho second Liberty Loan Henry lord contributed nOIOOO.OOO dollars (£lO,000,000) without interest at all, John D. Rockefeller bought 25,000,000 dollars' worth of bonds, and hchwiil), the stool king, wrote- in for 5,000,000 dollars' worth. Thoro's only oun thing now—to win tho war, ami to do that

wo must mo fond, conserve our conl, find build ships. Our people are throwing their all in. They aro not looking for 4J or 5 per cent, for thoir money, but arc proud to ho privileged to lend it to tlio Government. For our second Liberty Loan drive tho British Government none us a tank fresh from the battlefields of Flanders/ and a- German submarine, was also brought over in three pieces. It took forty horses to drag each pieco up through tho city to Central Park, wlicro they put it togother. Covered with tho flags of tho Allies it was moored in tho lake' 1 for five weeks, and anyone who.wished to inspect it had to liny a IQO dollar war bond. Another moneyraising devico was the war stamp. If you went into a hotel, restaurant, and many other places, and tendered money in excess of tho cost of what you wero getting, no chango was tendered, but you were handed stamps to tho amount, redeemable, five years hence." •■ Badge of Service. Mr. Highland showed a small button ho was wearing. It showed three stars on a bhto background—the United States Government Service (lag. Tho stars represented tho three brothers, who had fought in tho war (one was killed at tho first Battle of the Somme). Referring to this, Mr. Highland said that tho outsido world did not know that 44,000 Americans fought in tho war on tho sido of the Allies Jong beforo America declared war or. Germany. To the Money-Hoarders. "As for your War Loan here," said Mr. Highland, I vas present at your Parliament on Wednesday and heard Sir Joseph Ward sound a uoto of warning to tho hoarders of money.' It should bo tho pleasurable duty of all to lend all they can possibly afford to the Government. To those- who hoard their money I would say. "What would be the use of it all if we lose the war? All your wretched hoarding will avail you nothing when the brutal Hun is at your gates. You can only save your money by lendbg it to tho Government 1' " , Mr. Highland himself has invested in New Zealand war bonds, which he ■will - deposit with his stock of Australian war bonds, American Liberty bonds, and English Treasury bonds.