NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Feilding Star, Volume XIV, Issue 3636, 19 November 1918, Page 2

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

The Fact ana" the Prophets

Now that the war is over, it is interesting to take a glance at the forecasts of the pessimists. Up to oven two months ago not a journalistic prophet outside of Feilding dared to anticipate a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year as the result of Foch's Drive, then in full pressure

Looking to 1920

In a leading London paper just to hand, the editor tells of an old colleague "in whom I have always reposed the highest confidence, who is convinced that the end will not come before the autumn of 1920. Almost for the first time in my life, I am afraid that I must disagree with him. Anyhow, we both agree that peace will be signed in Berlin."

How Poor His Judgment!

We take another instance from a London paper of the end of August: "I was talking to a diplomatist, who probably knows more about the real facts of the war than anyone outside the War Cabinet. On this occasion he was concerned with its duration. T think,' he said, 'that the war will be over early next summer. And were I a betting man, I should certainly feel inclined to take the odds offered by Lloyd's (10 to 4) that peace is not signed by June 30 of next year.' " A diplomat without imagination, indeed.

Arnold Bennett, True Prophet

In our opinion, the prize end-of-thc-war prophet is Arnold Bennett, the indefatigable and dynamic war-worker and novelist. In his latest novel, "The Roll-Call," which has already been published in London and was concluded as a serial in the October issue of Munsey's Magazine (published in September), Mr Bennett concludes the story with a discussion on the attack o-.i Paris. The argument and the novel end with this striking phrase: "1 lav you a fiver the Allies are in Berlin before Christmas!" Mr Bennett has beaten Mr Wells at the game of anticipating events accurately.

United Action Needed

"Why don't you clean down the underneath part of your verandah and disinfect it?" a local shopkeeper was asked. "I have done so several times," was the reply. "But what's the use? My neighbours on both sides haven't" done a thing." The matter has been passed on to the Health Committee. It was suggested to the Town Clerk that he should disinfect all the shop fronts and verandahs, and charge the'shopkeepers for the work. "I'd do it in a mmutc, even without charging, if I only had the staff," replied Mr Geary, who has spared not but spent himself m carrying out his health propaganda work.