WAR NOTES.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume XLV, Issue XLV, 5 October 1917, Page 1

WAR NOTES.

[By Ex-Yeoman.]

CURIOUS TIMES, tl The strange times we are liring iu come h liome to one in alt sorts of ways. Whilst a w verger was hoeing potatoes ixv a City of London r( churchyard a few days ago he discovered a. g, Uenuau bomb, which had been dropped dur- 111 iug the recent air raid. Iu the time of U peace we should have been startled, to hear of tl potatoes in a London churchyard, and the tl war has indeed been responsible for curious si

changes. WOMEN'S DRESS. Another startling- change tho war has brought about is in regard to women's dress. It creates no surprise nowadays to see a woman walking through the street wearing a working garb of trousers and jaekct. On the land, too, women have adopted breeches, coat, leggings, and stout boots. Few object, and it is strange how war has accomplished what years of propaganda failed to do. Knickers are natural.y more suitable than a skirt for many sports—cycling, angling, shooting, riding, hunting, hocKey, skatmg, etc. —and now that the ico has been broken in earnest the fair sex will hardly revert to the old order of things. LONG LIViJ ENGLAND. Sacrifice is the keystone of patriotism, and how patriots from all over the .Empire have made it is well known. Some threw up trell- v paid employment at the start of the war and' faced ah sorts of difficulties so as to join up. Closer to the heart of things, many patriots willingly gave up all, or nearly ah,, their prospects trom a business point of view so as to do their • duty. Often a man's wife and .family had to shoulder a heavy burden by inoving into a smaller house, dispensing with, servants, turning out to work, and so on, through the bread-winner being away. There are miljons of such people ui the Empire, and they are silent. They will bo heard ot however, should the pro-German and selfish element in our midst go too far. An incident at the Shoreditch. (London) tribunal last week may be related. The head of a firm said: '" If you take this man away from mo I shall lose tho work of 40 years; but if you think that is the right way, so be it. Long live .England." That, is the spirit patriots feel as apart from the attitude of the seinsh. Wnat matter the. private concerns of any individual ? The needs ,of the Empire come lirst, and there is merit in the pnrase: "Who dies if England lives P" PATRIOTIC JsJiAMfciN. The service rendered by seamen in this war has been vital, and it. means far more than the fighting part. Men of the merchant service, the hardy fishermen, and the volunteers from all grades of lite who risk death in mine sweeping operations, deserve our deepest gratitude. Another service, which pernaps das .noc attracted the notice it deserved, is the action of the seamen and firemen who refused to sail on a Vhip on which certain delegates to a Socialistic Conference at Petrograd desired, to sail. This stopped Ramsay Mac Donald and another of his type from advancing ideas in Russia which represent only a small section of the cornmumty. In this me patriotic seamen and firemen gave a lead to the Government which should be appreciated and taken to heart. PEACE TERMS. We hear a lot about peace terms just now. and the probable end of the war. Of course, it suits Germany's "book" that the cry of no annexation and no indemnities has gone forth and is being pushed for all it is worth by tho dupes ami agents of the Hun. Germany only talks ot no annexation and no indemnities because the prospects of the Kaiser enforcing such terms are not bright at the present tune. If we agreed to this, it would mean restoring the German colonies, which represent the credit side of the war ledger. It is well to rellect .why Germany entexed the war. Only the ignorant fail to see the object, which was to despoil the British .Empire. Had we been so loolish as to remain out of it at the start we should have hud a much harder task in the future. Nor can anyone doubt the sort of indemnity Germany would have forced out of us had the Hun gained the victory ho desired and mastered England after sacking and burniug London—as he hoped to do.

WORK FOE JAPAN. It is well to remember that Japan is at war with Germany, and that our Eastern Ally has rendered most valuable service in. convoying troops, dealing- with the U boat . - danger, aud in many other directions. Poli- ; tieal reasons iu connection with, the Australian aim to keep Australia, a white man's country (and very lightly) explains why a large army from Japan is not' fighting in . Europe. There may yet be work for the gallant soldiers of Japan, however, should Russia play into the hands of the euemj-. A hint of this was given in recent notes, since when "Vanoc," of the London feree' (one of our greatest ipatriotic writers), lias had something to say on the subject. This is how he puts it: " A separate peace with Germany agreed to by Russia will be followed by events" in the Far Bast. The Japanese do not pet Oerman hornets. They are loyal to their treaties, and they could occupy half Siberia if the Germans succeed in deceiving the Russian peasantry and then . robbing them of their land." THE FUTURE. What patriots of the British Empire haveto recognise is this: No more help can be expected from Russia. Thus the burden of confronting the Hun on the western front will maiuly fall on the Empire's soldiers for the next iki months. We may hold a shorter line than France'; but we know well enough where the German High Command sends his best and biggest armies. It looks now that. we, must keep the Germans in check until the United States troops are in the field in a year's time, when a joint offensive by all the Allies will have the best prospects of succeeding. Apropos of this, it is a certainty thai. some Americans will claim that they had to come in so as to savo the Old Coun-. try. That is a " fly in the ointment," which the joimng in of the United States created. Many Americanised Canadians said this sort of thing when they first came to England for training. A few weeks' fighting alongside the men of the English county regiments soon led to a change of tone, however, and a better understanding was brought about. The men from overseas do not come to the rescue of the Mother Land. The Empire is in danger, and all parts must act together, for the fate of each part concerns the rest. „ Meanwhile, England has shouldered the main burden, both as regards men, money, and material.

THE MELTING POT. Few of us realise how many ma tiers and problems are in the meltiug pot as a consequence of the war. -It will be a long time before the general public are -able to see the great changes brought about, and which will follow. One hears vague phrases oi what the war will do and how it will'prevent wars in the future. Some folks honestlj believe this, and prominent statesmen niakt it known that they look on war with, horror, and so on. Opinions may differ, but. the writer has never for a moment changed his opinion that- the war is a blessing, and nol the other way about. It .is a hard roattei to say " Thy will be done," and no doubt the victims of the war—that is, the maimed, ant the relatives of the dear ones who have suf fcrcd—look on the war as a visitation anc not a blessing. If should alwavs be aremem hered that in bringing about cures it is oftei . necessary to inflict pain. Amputation of : liinb may save life, the simple extraction o a tooth, gives pain, taking physic is no pleasant—yet; one recognises wit itkss* die

comforts tend to 'beneficial results. So it is with regard to the war. Many lives will be lost, many maimed, and debt wiil be piled on the nation. Against this the nation as a whole has been hardened and purified, sacrifice has ■ been made which must ennoble those able to understand. Silly class barriers have been broken down. Our prestige, which was much on the wane, has been more than restored. Great domestic problems for the good of the Empire have been brought to a ncad, thanks to the war, and beneficial legislation and enterprise will result. Perhaps the greatest blessing is that the future of the Empire as a whole has been made more secure.

A few patriots in days were strong advocates of a United Empire, but tho Radi-cal-Socialist as a rule looked on the overseas men as foreigners, and it was not unusual to hear poopie say: " What, matters if the colonies do separate from the 'Mother Land.'' That policy would not find favor now, and one may safely look forward to seeing the

"United States of Britannia" in being before iong. That would be a federation of fixates each with its own Parliament for domestic affairs (two Parliaments for Ireland), with an Empire Seuate' for Empire affairs —naval, military, Customs, foreign policy, harbors. All->this is worth many sacrifices, and there ■ are' numerous other benefits."