The Evening Star TUESDAY, JANUARY 30, 1917.

Evening Star, Issue 16335, 30 January 1917, Page 4

The Evening Star TUESDAY, JANUARY 30, 1917.

THOR 1S mud, iu llUr mnvs t „ The Pcnnm I'V 1 " !l °" ld and the War '' '' r ° “ th Waf - ov vr-coniident. that it will living in a h-,/" "■ 01,11 11 l >PtJ P te Prosperous bad . , -T ~ns!,ill ° which e n' ' Uic streets , T , Ute tell Ot ll;u , DV 0. fl, " ' '‘""’"'““'J- ISJOCI .111(1 e;,„ u l L apjc.l i.-g„ja n tv-duHv-OvUr.TViis of st'irv (mll„>„.; Tiro. (, do, Sin,. XT - "r' Yiaw ,i - 1 '..nci.ig uumeu mid cb.il '.“T “r ll ' ,l,r ‘ ’"s 1 " t:iV1 e ‘ bnirlpzl tc w J!o ptirsoniil s i: zir' ; scrap, su.l, J'.. ia Cdi-cdos-s n-.-iT,‘ T;/. 1 ' 1 ‘ h V ! ' U ti,,K Zealand citiXnV T. ' . S MSliah.to or i]j;;l-.. ti> . , ■ d *. . ‘ 1 - (, 1. (O Ol!i r,--!.'! VC" ;hi n&utcsimm uf lhu ‘ STh tM, “ U,:u !i -" :ii - «-«iitv.-:-»d at thpn : "ot ten.-, of tiioiisiuul' Dirt Gmcwimat Europe at this iiour and U! h I:,- f.,. many vc t come—v. in, pi... | L -t , “ Ml - '' -ill luDiuvr iijlll m Ve , ni V lWi ' !i; " ‘-l- “7 “PlTadng us p.lilgs. Riis-.i-,, IbeiinahV. and l| Ull . the'un'l""’ U] "‘ l ' iliful lv l ;un L with tae undemmg cmuiniy ih-u what is smd Balk,in Mate, ami a modified ,k.. iV ,: of Irarnm and Italy as well. Tim mwV f, Kus>lil ; ,p:illP T- (lives rise to keener inte-* ivct and more anxiety than does that f,o m Germany ami Hungary. 'J'lu-sc two pow-rs /rathe authois of the war; and Gonna.,,v knew, when she ianuch-d her k , ;o ,; s against 1aa0,:,., t p at thy (j . ports and the disappmu-uin. e of i u -r overseas commerce were among the possioilitic.s her anogeme did no,, permit lug te icgtnd them as j roba.hiliHm;. GiTinm.v if sbo S o desires, can hay p-acc a nd I'oyi whenever she chooses to ; ,sk for* them, r “ i!l,,! ’ “ s iw diArruight Kaiser has again declared, - obtain them by the might of the German sword.” That, road is lor eve., barred to her. whatever bo the fimd -me,.me of the war. f; er . many* 011 U- , ies ju sui))li] . 3li>l , . 1,6 bu.-sia is largely due to incompetence and inellieirney. Dec Gotermnonuil „oi risen to the greatne.«s ot Himr Empire's need, (hj, t Jm field of ~ES|a - s "bghty JioTte have proved themselves .superb lightens, and more than /ble, when .adequately equipped, to stand against then- Ws !}ut inu-rnallv all ],a s not been well. Given competent admi,us- - I 1 I ( 111 J.t I > ~ ■ * , , , inio.-uion ( ~t Llusßias vast 1 th vte siiouid inute bee,, a snfliZ'r, "I:’ Kr all. And doubts Un ic j-,. 'i j,,. breakdown in t!w a,,,i distribution of supplies to the consumers appears U. be in jmt those oepartments where organisation mid mains- sn,dv riot an impossible de-mand-.,,e mosi. nig"iu!y needed. U is a 1, e,m, r ,! - H- jmoi'er "U>'"uls o, • iviiians in l!„ss,a to-dav are lh ' V,: in trie lies ‘ n tm- many ),, !tI , iie t ;. jV^ni . n-nt m l iu-..- g n[ ,, paralysed their activi- >«. amt ne-Hy ded in Pacing Llfi-.an, io I.ieak away from that Ententein vv io.<„ sm.eess lies Hie supreme suretv of ner own iiitev. Had Hu- time lost in boning to the whispers of ,!m tcmpU-r a ," d i o dy iiig German been devoted to fine provision „f interna! means oi transport and H, the perfeeting of ,nca‘ Mile., ;ns:-ui ing adv.puile means of susteutUlCo }: ' the stories that, arc novv coming i:, mi (tu.-oia might, whatever teen- burden, have b,on redeemed bv the ■nov.leagc liiat evcr.vtinug it was humanlv possinm to do had been done. From England ih me .. . i ‘ Una no ’Much l*cpmvs :i.s *-!"■.«■ v,T h;:v.‘ fmrn the Centra’ CC‘ S ' Uul ih '* l '.v.-mj;tion of the Mother Land n mn anything move serious, (so lar, tlnui high ovi, e.s cannot Uonestly be claimed as Hm u-mit of own national wisdom or individual economy. It is tho simply truth,, however humiliating, that, speaking generally. the people of Enelagd did not wake up to the realities oi' this most tragic and unprecedented' of wars until lens tlia.ii three months ago. Not 27 mouths of nnimvalleJed slaughter, not tho onslaught in arms of 14 or 15 nations nor a casualty roll of over 10,000,C00 and most arrange of all, a . conflict in which the very existence of the British Empire iA at stake, had produced any- noticeable difference in tho lives of scores of thousands of Britons. 1 hey ate and slept and took their pleasures as -usual. There was sm absence of economy, too many evidences of waste, a freedom from restraint, .and to outward .-*-<*.nii,g a deliberate ignoring of the awful tragedy in which tkey wero participator.--., and which_was being played out on their very threshold. At a tim-o when i’avis was serious and Petrograd anxious, and when lung lines of .women were to be seen iu every city of Central Europe clamoring for the bread tluit was not to be had, tho

gi’eat cities of England look life as usual. There seemed to .bo neither restrictions nor regulations. At the best hotels the diners could select from a, dozen or more dishes, a half-dozen soups, on 22 grills. And ’as they alo they could order expensive wines, listen to a line orchestra and criticise the costly dresses of the guests. Afternoon tea rooms were crowded, and the. price—ls 6d and 2s—freely paidi while the sale o c sweetmeats never flagged. Worried mothers might want and want in vam “a bit of sugar”; bub the supply of chocolates at 5s 6d per lb, and ironi a guinea a box, was in keening with the demand. Such scenes were normal. Nor was it until November last that the people as a whole came to realise that something aas amiss, the war made no headway, the Government lacked vigor, and tho nation was without a leader. Happily for tho Empire, the leader was ready to hand and the England of to-day lias taken on a new liio. Thanks to tho mere handful of men who carried through the momentous changes in tho dying mouths of last year England and her people are awake at last.'