EMPIRE EXHIBITION

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 85, 9 April 1924, Page 15

EMPIRE EXHIBITION

SUNDAY CLOSING CRITICISED

A COMPROMISE

FIRST LIST OF EXHIBITION;

FELLOWS.

(MOJI OCR OWN CORRESPONDENT.) LONDON, Bth January. Already the decision against the Sun- | day opening of the British Empire Exhibition has many critics. It would be interesting to know how much criticism there would have been had the directors of the Exhibition decided to keep the .doors open on Sundays. Sir Henry M'Mahon, chairman of the Board of Management, contends that under esisting laws ■• and refutations nothing short of a special Act of Parliament •would enable the board to open tho Exhibition and charge for admission.- But it is not to be closed entirely. The stadium will be open for certain religious events, and various ecclesiastical bodies will be permitted to hold meetings there on the Sabbath. Lady Eve, a London County Councillor, declares herself entirely in favour of Sunday opening, providing that the management ensures that every member of its staff lias Sunday off duty in turn, "It is most important," she mentions, "that no one should be debarred from visiting this great exhibitioir as they will be if it is closed on Sundays." The Rev. B. G. Bourchier, Vicar of St. Jude-on-the-Hill, Hampstead Garden Suburb, said that he could see nothing contrary to the observance of the Sabbath in opening the Exhibition on Sunday. "It must be remembered," he explained, "that it is a great educational enterprise, and will.teach everybody who visits it what the Empire is and what it stands for—and that is something which must be encouraged. Of course there is no necessity to open the Amuse•ment Park on Sundays, but the exhibition proper—yes, by'all means." A PRACTICAL SUGGESTION. "The decision," says the "Evening Standard," "is on the widest grounds unfortunate. This year London is to ba the hostess of tho Empire of the world. What will our visitors from the Dominions think of us when we thus go out of pur way to condemn them to the desolation of a metropolitan Sabbath? What will our week-end visitors from the Continent think of us when they find' that some religious gathering is the only attraction open to them on Sundays at this greatest o£ British exhibitions? Ii there are those whose religious susceptibilities will be hurt by the Sunday opening of Wembley, there is an easy way of comforting them. Let tho Churches go to the Exhibition. Let a

hall be built and services held there every Sunday, and an organ provided, and concerts of sacred music be arranged. That will show whether' our people, in seeking wholesome enjoyment, havo lost in any way their abiding religious instincts. To draw a line, as the Wembley authorities have tried to do, between pleasure and religion is to do a service to neither." AN UNHAPPY DECISION. "There is a wide feeling of astonishment," says the "Sunday Times," "at the .decision to close the British Empire Exhibition on Sundays. It means closing it on the one clay when millions of Londoners, especially the poor and the weekly wage-earners,' are really in command of their lime, and would gladly flock- to Wembley for the interest and wholesome enjoyment they have been led to espect there. It means that we are going deliberately to confirm the worst tale 3 that our visitors from the Dominions and the Continent have ever heard of the horrors of the London Sabbath. If they knew their business, the Churches would unite to make of the Exhibition a centre of religious activity. They would build a hall and have popular preachers there, and sacred music every Sunday. The one thing they would not do would be to deprive the people of innocent pleasures in the vain hope that they were thereby encouraging them to be religious. Is it too late for the directors oE the Exhibition to reverse their unhappy decision?" EXHIBITION FELLOWSHIP. | Last week a list 6f the first five hunj dred members of the Fellowship of trie I British Empire Exhibitioa was issued. The names of those desiring to become members, it is stated, are arriving every day from all parts" of the Empire. The list included the following names of members who joined before the end of last year: The Prince of Wales, the Duke and Duchess of York, the Duke of Connaught, the Duke of Atholl, the Marquess and Marchioness of Aberdeen, Mr. L. 0. M. ,S. Amery, Mr." Stanley Baldwin, Mr.' S. M. Bruce (Prime Minister of Australia), the Earl of Balfour, Earl Beatty, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Earl of Cavan, Mr. Winston Churchill, the Duke of Devonshire, the Earl of Derby, Viscount Grey of Fallbdon, Earl Haig, Mr. FrankHodges, Sir Samuel Hoare, Viscount Jellicoe, Sir William Joynson-Hicks, Mr. Lloyd George, Sir Philfp Lloyd-Graeme, Mr. W. F. Massey, the Duke* of Northumberland, Sir Louis Newton (Lord Mayor of London), the Earl of Onslow, Sir_ M. F. O'Dwyer, the Marquess of Salisbury, Sir Robert Sanders, Admiral Sir F. C. Doveton Sturdee, Air Marshal Sir Hugh Trenchard, Mr. J. H. Thomas, the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster. Mr. W. B. Warren (Prime Minister of .Newfoundland), and Mr. J. Havelock Wilson. " ACCOMMODATION IN LONDON. It has already Been announced that Messrs.: Thomas Cook and Son,- of Ludgate Circus, and Messrs. Whitfield, Baker and 'Co., of Pall Mall,- are between them, dealing with the- question of accommodation for the visitors to London during- the Exhibition. Hotel, boarding-house, and apartment resources in London, and many of the seaside ' resorts comparatively near are now being classified and organised. 'The big parties from the provinces, the hosts of school children, the groups 'and families from overseas—we shall be able to deal with them all if we have reasonable notice," said an official of the latter firm. "We could at this moment find room. for' 10,000. people in apartments and 9COO in ' flats—this, is the busy London season. If we did no more organising, these figures would double themselves automatically in a few months as the London season wanes. But our work proceeds every day, and we shall soon have at our disposal every decent flat and apartment house available in London. Over 2CO London agents of repute ai'o co-cpe fating - with us, and. we have representatives at Brighton, Eastbourne, Bournemouth, Margate, lUmsgate, and Weslcliff. Already there is room ■ for 1200 at Brighton, and the space is steadily growing-. Many people are offering space to us who are not in the. habit of doing so.- They are prepared to allow-'.suitable people from overseas to share in their family life during the Exhibition period." ORGANISING HOTELS. "The work of organising accommodation for the Exhibition . perjgd v already jyell in hand," said an official pf

Messrs. Thomas Cook and Son. "We have booked rooms in most o! the London hotels, big and small, and in board-ing-houses. We are looking upon the seaside resorts, within easy reach of London, as London suburbs, and we shall press them into service. Everything humanly possible will be done to cope with the great streams of visitors \s chief official passenger .agents' lo the Exhibition we are arranging special tours from all parts of the Empire, and there is to be a great June to September escorted tour from South Africa. Hundreds of thousands of home day trippers will want to see the Exhibition, and ws are arranging Friday night to Sunday morning excursions on" a big scale, so that people from the previnces will be able to spend a full day at the Exhibition." WOMEN OF THE EMPIRE. A women's section is being organised in connection with the Exhibition. The Queen has consented to become Patron, and the Duchess of York President. The section will have as its object the organisation of hospitality, more especially for visitors from the Dominions and colonies overseas. Nothing is more desirable than that Empire visitors should be made really welcome, not only in London, but throughout the length and breadth of the home country. "Home Weeks," as understood in the Dominions, will also be arranged. In Eastern Canada, for instance, Old Home Weeks, are an established institution, and it is certain that visitors from overseas will wish to visit those parts of the Home .country to which they or their ancestors belong. Other objects of the section will be to assist in promoting the fellowship of the British Empire Exhibition, of which the Prince of Wales is President, and which already has members in all parts of the Empire; to assist in the organisation of private accommodation for visitors for overseas; and to form a representative body to which the Board* of the British Empire Exhibition can refer on all matters, particularly affecting women's interests. Among the ladies .are to act on the General Committee are Princess Arthur of Connaught, Lady Patricia Ramsay, Mrs. Baldwin, the Duchess of Norfolk, Duchess of Devonshire, Dame Margaret Lloyd George, Mrs. Amery. Mrs. Winston Churchill, Dame Meriel Talbot, and Lady Allen. CHILD WELFARE. The Central Council for Infant and Child Welfare is to organise and manage a Child Welfare Centre where visitors will be able to leavo their babies and small children while exploring Wembley. In this they are to have the o-operation of the British Red Cross Society and British and Dominions Sections of the International Council of Women. Accommodation will be provided for over 100 children. The National Baby Week Conncil are holding an' Imperial Baby Week from 25th July to 31st July, at which films will be shown dealing with the various aspects of the infant welfare question, scientific and popular. Lantern lectures will be given, and there will be a series of Baby Week talks. In connection with the "Week" a "Bonny Baby" Competition is at present being arranged to discover the mast beautiful and healthiest baby, in the Empire. The Joint Conncil of the British Red Cross Society and Order of St. John of Jerusalem are providing a Central Aid Station, and two subsidiary Aid Posts within, the Exhibition Grounds. In addition to those various bodies, many other women's organisations have promised to co-operate with the women's section as soon as it gets to work.