WAR DAY BY DAY

Taranaki Daily News, 12 September 1940, Page 6

WAR DAY BY DAY

By Our Special Observer.

COMMENTS ON THE NEWS * LONDON'S GRIM ANGER DAMAGE DONE BY RAIDERS

In the voluminous accounts of the damage being inflicted on the capital city of the British Empire by the Hun air hordes, the really important result of the utter sadism of the attacks does not receive a prominent place. But a phrase here and there and comments on the radio from British and neutral sources tell of a steadily growing grim anger which is beginning to burn in the people of London. In spite of evidence to the contrary, that extraordinary sense of being unable to believe the very worst about ahybody had until this week permitted even Hitler to receive a benefit of the doubt. "Fair play," carried to quixotic extremes, allowed many people to think that the Nazis' objectives really were military targets. As a result of a natural insularity born of generations spent behind the sea- . filled moat surrounding their island, it has been hard for the people of Britain to learn that what has happened to Con-, tinental nations can happen to them too. Now they know, and the knowledge will have a far-reaching effect not only upon the result of the war, but upon the shaping of the world of the f-.ture. Suggestions for Reprisals. Hitler's greatest political blunder has, time will show, been arousing this sense of anger in the English people. The report of an American- journalist that a • London policeman looked at the lines of homeless people, spat disgustedly, and said, "to think we give those Nazi airmen tea when they land here," is most significant when one realises That the statement was from that usually most temperate of beings— the London bqbby. Other statements tend to show that the people will not be content with the view of the air staff that there is no intention to bomb non-military objectives in Ger- - many. To take specific instances— the war correspondent who talked with a man who had sent his wife and children away and was prepared to stay and "take it— so long as we give Berlin a pasting." Again, a B.B.C. commentator concluded a description of the manifestly grand fortitude of the Londoners by saying that when the people knew that the Berliners were getting what they are getting, then "they'll take it still better." Both comments are straws showing the direction of the wind. Mr. Churchill's Delicate Tack. Meanwhile the German radio reiterates that the "reprisals" on London will continue as long as the Royal Air Force continues to bomb non-military objectives in Germany. This is, of course, but a part of the Nazi strategy of terrorism. Nothing - would suit the rulers of Germany better than that the war should be called off now while they have plenty to gain from their inhuman tactics. Hitler's promise that he would repay every bomb on Berlin tenfold by bombs on London is one promise he is keeping, and the world looks on and draws conclusions. The anger of. the British is a most potent force in the hands of its Government, but it will have to b'e directed sympathetically. The upward surge Of the people of Britain has brought down people who seemed very firmly established at its head, and for that reason it is a movement that will be watched with keen attention. If it is made plain that the exigencies of the situation— possible invasion, for instance — demand that the bomber force concentrate on other targets of more immediate importance than | Berlin then the people will have to derive what satisfaction they can from it. But from this distance even it is easy to perccive that Mr. Churchill's task 'in balancing the political and military requirements is delicate. As a consequence, his next speech will be awaited with even more interest than usual. Dangers of Disease. The strain on the air-raid precaution workers of London must be intense. Day after day and night after night of gruelling work under conditions of extreme danger must test the highest degree of courage. When it is remembe-.id that most of the workers are volunteers from ^ offices and shops, and people who were previously just plain idlers,' it will be appreciated that the widespread tributes paid to them are the more deserved. - . The utter disorganisatioA of the .lives of the poorer people of the metropolis is not easy to grarp fully by those who have no real idea of how the.masses_of London lived. Seldom mdving outside their little orbit of a few crowded streets, their pleasures a footba." match, dog racing and cinemas, they have suddenly been deprived of even the elementary necessities of their lives, such as gas for cooking and lighting, and, even more important, have had their supplies of water disrupted. All this has ,thrown problems hard of solution upcn the civil defence authorities. In a crowded part of London the need of water to prevent disease in its most horrible form from spreading with rapidity is obvious. Human nature :j can adjust itself to circumstances, but the human body demands certain stan? . dards below which even the most stout heart is of no avail. The civil popular - tion of the greatest city in the world is in the battle-frOnt to-day, and its gallant soldiers of 'he air-raid- prec^tltion orgariisation are flghting their Verdun. Turn Again, Whittington! St. Mary-le-Bow, what memories the . name of the church that so narrowly escaped destruction by Hitler's pagans wui evoke in minds the world over. Every true Cockney was born within the souncl of Bow bells. .To even the very young St. Mary-le-Bow is significant, for its . bells ,rang like a song of hope to Diek Whittington, so that he turned hiseteps. to the city once more and lived to Be jif? ; Lord Mayor. Curfew was ringing from Bow Church 600 years ago. _ The bells hang in one of London s mosj\ famous steeples, built by Sir Christopher Wren when he made the church new after the Great Fire. Of all Wren s parish churches Bow was the costliest, and nearly half the money spent on it Wren put into the steeple. It is -222 feet , high. The name of the church comes from the fact that it was built on arches, or bows, in the time of William" the Con- ; queror, and the old vaulted crypt extends still under almost the whole church. There are Roman brieks in its masonry. A balcony on the tower, looking out on Cheapside, wa. put there by Wren » memory of an old gallery built agamst Ihe church, from which kings and fiu^ns from the time of Edward Ihe Third watched pageans and processions. The anxiety of Londoners at seeing this shrine of history so near to obliteration by so unworthy a man will be plain.