A BACKGROUND OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 33, Issue 191, 9 May 1940, Page 8

A BACKGROUND OF THE WAR

Britain’s Growing Army ON THE WAY TO THIRD MILLION Whereas a year ago only one in every 28 British families had a member in the national army, today the proportion is about one in five or less. Two months ago it was one in 6f families, and since then two more classes have been called to the colours. By the end of the Great War in 1918 one out of every 24 families in Britain had a representative in the forces. By June the strength of the British Army is expected to be about 2,500,000, and by the end of the year the 3,000,000 mark should be near. Britain’s Army is, therefore, growing rapidly into a formidable fighting machine, and the figures given do not include troops from Canada, India, Australia or New Zealand. On November 30 last the army's strength was about 955,000 of aU ranks. By March it had added nearly a million more and the military correspondent of the “Observer,” London, gave the following figures:— Strength, November 30, 1939 985,000 Volunteers 200,000 From call-up— June registration 190,000 October registration .... 160,000 December registration ... 190,000 Feb., 1940, registration .. 170,000 Total 1,895,000 Since those figures were compiled the March registration augmented the total by about 240,000 and the calling up of the 26 and 27-year-old classes added more than 300,000. Though the B.E.F. in France is now considerably larger than in the early days of the war and British troops have already been sent to other parts of the Empire, there is still a very large number of troops in the Old Country itself. Caring For Men

Caring for the welfare of these men is one of the problems the authorities have to face. They Live In training centres, depot barracks, hutments and under canvas.

To feed this multitude there are probably by now nearly 5000 trained army cooks, and it was recently said that the number of these men was being increased by 1000 a month as new cooks completed their training. When new buildings for the Army School of Cookery are completed the output of trained men will rise to 2500 a month.

Tine food for the troops is reported to be of excellent quality, ■ and the large number of camps already existing eased the strain on the civilian population where billeting had to be resorted to. Nevertheless, a considerable number of men are billeted, and it is reported that in most cases both hosts and men give good reports of one another. Explosive Tested

In this column on April 18 reference was made to a liquid oxygen-carbon explosive, claimed to be the deadliest in the world, invented 'by an American, Lester P. Barlow, and known as glmite. Later American reports show that the explosive recently survived a public trial satisfactorily and is now to go forward for Government tests. Before nearly 75 newspaper men and photographers, says a "New York Times” report, Mr. Barlow conducted a series of tests to prove the stability of this explosive. It has a crushing power, he says, which can wipe out all life within a radius of 1060 feet.

The “detonating waves” which, he says, are the killing forces that will result from a 1000-pound charge were not shown in the test. A five-pound charge, the largest demonstrated, was set off in a dugout rimmed with sand bags. With a tremendous roar the bags flew into the air and the force was clearly felt 1000 feet away. Easily Handled

Mr. Barlow emphasized that the tests were made only to refute some critics’ statements that liquid oxygen bombs are too delicate for military use. A telephone pole was sent 50 feet into the air with only an eight-ounce charge. The pole split asunder, sending smaller chunks 150 feet high. To show the explosive’s immunity to Lire, he set another eight-ounce charge ablaze. It flared, but did not explode. A high-powered rifle shot through a pound and a half bag of the explosive did not detonate it. While the spectators huddled behind a sandbag barricade, Mr. Barlow fired a steel jacket tilled with the explosive from a makeshift mortar against a steel plate to prove that it could not be exploded by impact. Then he fired a live-pound charge 1500 feet into the air, recovered it after it crashed harmlessly to earth, and then exploded it with the electric detonator, similar to that used with other explosives. The wall of a nearby shack was ripped away by the blast. The glmite, a black, powdery substance, was placed in cotton bags and soaked iu liquid oxygen. The latter looks like water, but sends up blue smoke when it hits the earth. Mr. Barlow said the bigger bombs will retain their power 30 hours. The explosive can be produced for about sd. a pound for military uses, he estimated, and for about 2fd. a pound for commercial uses, for which certain treatment is not required. No Aperitif Every evening about 5 o'clock it is the habit of Parisians to congregate in the cafes, and in fine weather on the side-walk terraces, just as in England they pause for tea. It is the hour of relaxation, when friends gather for a chat, aud numbers of lonely persons take a social satisfaction from watching the crowds coming and going round them. If the truth were known, too, men transact perhaps a larger share of business at this hour than they do in their offices. Jt is all accompanied by much conviviality and the drinking of what is known in Paris as the aperitif, an alcoholic syrup with ice or sparkling water.

Now, because of the rationing restrictions, Paris, and, indeed, all France, have for the first time in history to get along without the aperitif. It has been accomplished, since the nation is determined to do whatever may be necessary to achieve the victory. In discouraging consumption, the French Government is showing considerable .self-denial, for live tax on alcohol is one of the principal sources of the indirect taxation from which the main part of Franco’s revenues are derived.