LONDON TOPICS

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 4347, 11 January 1938, Page 7

LONDON TOPICS

DRAMA IN THE FAR EAST DANGEROUS JAPANESE MILITARISTS LONDON, December 9. For some weeks now the drama in the Far East, as it deserves, completely overshadowed events in Spain. Winter is probably imposing its freezing armistice on the opposing forces in°the Peninsula, and possibly General Franco, whose currency carries much more strength than that of the Madrid Government, is content to allow economic as well as political pressure to tell its tale. In the bar East, however big activities are still in progress, and at Shanghai a situation is developing which may at any moment present the Western Powers with matters ot the utmost tension. How far the Japanese militarists rule the roost in Tokio may be in some doubt, but in China and at Shanghai they are in supreme control, and are in no mood obviously to pay attention to the niceties of diplomatic usage Yet the situation now emergino- in China is one which not even Germany and Italy, Japan’s European associates, can regard without some disquiet. There is now little doubt Japan is out to challenge any Western finger in the Far East pie.

RELAXING THE TENSION. The joint Anglo-French communique, issued at the conclusion of the conversations between British and French statesmen, is likely to be received with general satisfaction both here and m France. Its tone is unmistakably cheerful, and it cannot fail to the sMirit of conciliation and appeasement is really in the air Its very J’e_ straint is encouraging, tor it is tar better that we are made to realise th progress must be slow and cautious rather than led to expect that the time is ripe for international conferences to settle all the world’s disputes. One striking contrast that could not tan to be noted by all who heard the Prime Minister read the communique to tne House of Commons was that between the hopeful words of the message and the careworn voice and expression ot Mr Chamberlain.

DEMOCRACY’S HANDICAPS. Even so fervent a democrat as Lord Allen of Hurtwood has realised at least that democracy is gnevously handicapped by having to do all its thinking aloud. In particular is this a great danger, he perceives, where foreign policy is concerned, and Ins suggestion, which is not very likely to be adopted, is for a Foreign Affairs Committee Westminster on which both the Lro vernment and the Opposition would be well represented. An experienced diplomat points out to me that theie is an even heavier handicap on democracy than this. The whole impinge of European affairs at this mo mem. he contends, is biased against the democratic and in favour of the totalitarian States by the fact that the latter a?e assumed to be the only ones who do not fear war.. The result of this curious assumption, which is very general, is that the balance ot negotia+lnn is unset greatly in favour ot the military dictatorships. My diplomatic friend is a genuine peace-seeker but he argues that just a tench of honest democratic jingoism might help un S* to rectify the international positioi "We don’t want, to light, but, by jingo, if we do . . •

PARIS AIR RAID PRECAUTIONS. The Air Raids Precautions plans now being organised in this country appear r! be niggling and half-hearted measures compared with those that are already prepared for immediate opeia tion in Paris. At least, this is the unanimous opinion of the four‘ memhers of Parliament who have just re turned from a three days visit to the French capital where they went as the guests of the Government and civic authorities. They were charmed with the cordiality of their reception, and thev were shown everything that mat ters in the way of protective arrangements for the civil population and for the large numbers of official workers who would be required to keep the State Services running smoothly in tne event of war. IMPREGNABLE FROM THE AIR. While 'detailed plans for the evacuation and housing of half the city s inhabitants have already been fully worked out Paris has been provided with an elaborate system of bomb-proof shelters and refuges in ‘ Metro railways. Quite the most wonderful sight that was shown to them was the vast subterranean premises of the Bank ot France There, alongside the vaults in which are stored France’s hoard ot gold, are well-ventilated bomb and gasproof chambers in which the whole stall can live and carry on their duties regardless of the rain of bombs from the air above. The French authorities believe they have made their metropolis impregnable from the air a claim that is fully endorsed by the four members of Parliament, who are much perturbed to think that London is not similarly prepared against emergency. THE INQUISITOR ON THE HEARTH. It is a very long time since any Government in this country introduced a measure so intensely unpopular as the Population Bill. Its reception in the House of Commons was frigid enough, but this did not even faintly reflect the attitude outside. I have met nobody who had a good word to say for the Governments proposals. Hie Socialist Party’s attitude is sufficient indication how the workaday masse., are likelv to react to the domestic inquisition, and practical experience o! income tax officialdom is not hWy to reconcile other sections of society to this new Whitehall catechism- Astute y handled, this Bill might easdy be made the platform fulcrum of a sweeping electoral turnover. Ministers m y argue that the popular anf.pajj is ill-informed and unfounded, but that does not alter the facts. Our democracy is just now pecuharly sensitive, and never less in the mood to accept a bureaucratic inquisition. WHAT SCIENTISTS SAY. 1 have discussed the Government’s Bill with scientists of real eminence whose special interest is leiti t search. They say that an ordinary

census furnishes all the vital statistics ; required, and they deride the whole purpose of the inquisition. Research students assert that human fertility, like that of other animals, reacts to world - wide influences of which, as yet, little real knowledge exists. That knowledge would not be appreciably advanced by anything the Government’s Bill could elicit. They ridicule the idea that contraceptives, about which we hear so much, have any real bearing on birth statistics. The latter rise and talk like the tides, over given cycles ot years. Just now the ebb flows sti ongly in the Western Hemisphere, for all Western Europe is in the same posi tion as ourselves in this matter, and the high tide is in the East. Mrs Partington with her mop, my inform ants say, was not so absurd as our ] Health Minister with his Bill. new c.i.g.s. Probably there is general approval of Mr Hore-Belisha’s dramatic changes in War Office personnel. This is not the least reflection on the senior officers retired, who are known as good and experienced soldiers, but because the public thinks the Army needs younger men as “ brass hats ” Viscount Gort, the new Chief of the Imperial General Staff, won D.S. and M.C. bars besides his V.C. by distinguished front-line service on the western front. From his first days as a second lieutenant be has been keen as a new pin on the professional technique of soldiering in all its phases Whilst others were having a rr oo d time he was swotting away at tactics and military histoiy. He formed his own original ideas about what the latter had to teach the modern soldier, too, and perhaps expressed them, before he attained higher command, with almost undue pnfnhisis Mr Hore-Behsha’s new C.LG.S. will not be hypnotised by any Belisha Beacon. HONOURED RELICS. On behalf of the late Lord Plumer’s widow, Major Brooke, s on-indaw has handed over to the O.C. Ist York and Lancaster Regimentthatfamous war commander s field-marshal s baton, decorations, and medals. U is appropriate that these relics ot the stout old veteran who held A pres wjt the Second Army against all odds should repose with the regiment to which he was first gazetted on stalling his military career. One cannot help wondering what has happened to Lord Plumer’s Sam Browne belt, that piece of equipment was almost as famous, the \roops ot Yores, ns the svelte little General who wore itPlumer had as his batman an Old Sweat whose chief-preoccupation ,m„life wa* polishing “the g°yernors Amy belt. Never was a piece ot leather so conscientiously oiled and boned by mortal hands, its refulgence was the envy of all othei Army batmen, and was accepted as an omen of Allied victorv even in the darkest houis. His Sal was the only living nonl «nth the possible exception of Lady 1 liner > who could venture t 9 tick the governor ,J off on occasion. FROM PL. MOUTH HOE. Surely those who assembled on Plymouth Hoe to witness the departure oi the R A.F. General Reconnaissance Squadron on its 30,000-mile flight to Australia and back must have heard a faint drum-beat in the Devon ail Or was it drowned by the roar of the squadron’s engines tuning up. lie cause it was from these same waters dancing under Plymouth Hoe that Drake set forth 360 years ago to circumnavigate the globe. Hm adv’entuuoccupied nearly four years, ihe K.A.i fivers will be away only six months, and of that time will spend no more than 400 hours in the air. But it is an ambitious adventure, the longest the R.A.F. has ever attempted, and, U an five ffviim boats win through without mishap, it will be a triumph for British mechanics as well as R.A.T . pilots. The oreat difference between Drake s and this R A.F. flight, however, is perhaps that, whilst the Devon seaman was out of touch with the world until his ships sighted the Devon cliffs a uain, the airmen will never be out ot wireless communication with headquarters. WITH THE GUNS. Amazing statistics are quoted by the artillery expert whose articles aie among the best in * Twenty Years After/ At the outset of the Great War we possessed 72 field and 6 heavy batteries. At the armistice we had sob field and 440 heavy and siege batteries At the Third Battle of Ypres. in duly. 1017. we had 120,000 gunners in action That is to say. we had as many men serving the guns then as we had tign ing men of all branches in France in 1914 During the 19 days’ preliminary bombardment they fired four and a-halt million shells weighing 128,000 tons On the first day of the battle propel one six-gun 18-pounder field batteiy fired over 6.000 rounds, a 4.5 m howitzer battery 3,500 rounds, and a four-enm 9.2 in battery 902 rounds. As the cheapest of those projectiles the 18-ponnders, cost about £4 10s each, it will be realised how many millions sterling were spent in battering a way for our infantry through the German entrenchments round the Ypres Salient We must have fired away the cost ot a battleship every few hours.

GUNNERS AND THE INFANTRY. The same writer deals with the vexed topic of infantry being shelled by then own guns. At the Dardanelles one battalion commander, whose men had suffered in this way, sent bach his adjutant to the offending battery to say that he was quite prepared to surrender to it, if only it would stop firing. Even with the utmost care it was impossible to avoid artillery fire dropping short on occasion The writer tells how his hatterv traced the fault to a brand of American ammunition, manufactured during the South African War, of which 10 per cent had the driving bands torn off in the bore When he asked permission not to fire these shells, the replv from headquarters was that, if 10 per cent, were falling on our lines and 90 per cent, into German lines, he was to o-o on firing! Much as they hated it this had to be done, but eventually a simple cure was found. By reducing the charge of cordite, the short ranging was obviated entirely. Once headquarters gave the writer the he direct when he said his battery was not responsible for casualties in our lines. He dug out one of the offending shells, and extracted a written apology from headquarters. SNOWDROPS TO THE RESCUE. Recent severe criticisms on onr civil aviation equipment included references to the absence of anti-ice devices on our

planes. In this and other respects, it was stated, we lag far behind our Continental friends But the Imperial Airways planes are, 1 am told, now being coated or smeared with a chemical compound known as Kilfrost, in the efficacy of which the Croydon experts seem to have complete faith. This stuff was first tested to prevent ice formation in refrigerating plant, and, having proved its worth in that way, has now for some months been in use on the civilian planes flying during this winter weather from London to the' Continent. An interesting and slightly ironical fact about it is that its employment sprang from a chance discovery that the snowdrop possesses the effect of melting ice. A scientific analysis ensued, and the basic ingredient of Kilfrost was the result. Some up-to-date poet, preferably in metre that scans a little, should indite another ode to the snowdrop. What a queer world this is! THOSE RUSSIANS. There have been many explanations, some extravagant and others more reasonable, of that amazingly widespread myth early in the war about the Russians, Everybody believed that large numbers of the latter were passing through this country en route to France. Innumerable people honestly believed they had seen them with their own eyes, and some even declared that the migrants still had snow on their boots! All manner of confirmatory legends obtained credence. One vyas that, owing to the Russians using kopeks instead of pennies, hundreds ot railway automatic machines were out of order! Months ago 1 gave the truth about this amazing rumour It was the most extraordinary instance of of mass hypnosis ever recorded. Now we get the complete story by a well-informed writer, who contributes a spy article to that admirable war review, ‘ Twenty Years After. It is a queer story, and it had an unexpected sequel that ought to be taken to heart by all our fighting services. The great Russian myth was started deliberately by two naval officers in the Admiralty’s Whitehall intelligence department. CAUSE AND EFFECT. Their perfectly legitimate object was to deceive and embarrass the German High Command. Particularly, of course, since they were acting for the Navy, to decoy the German sea patrols. The bait took. The German intelligence staff suspected a surprise attack on their coast line, and hurriedly moved large numbers of troops to positions suitable for repelling the stroke. So far, so good. But, unfortunately, as is our habit, the Navy’s intelligence staff had no liaison with the Army’s. They were watertight compartments, Soon the Army’s intelligence men got word of the significant German troop concentrations near the coast, and at once the question vyas asked; “ Is this the much-talked-of invasion of England at last? ” The High Command at home was taking no risks. All moves to Flanders were stopped. Our home defence forces were pushed forward to battle stations in East Anglia. “ Not until various complications had ensued. with resulting naval and military misunderstandings, was the situation cleared up. By that time the naval ruse had run dry, so that the two services were able to confide some of their holiest secrets to one another! ”, BRITISH MUSEUM INDUSTRY. A phase of the British Museum’s activities known to few outsiders is the making of replicas. From all quarters of the globe, even the most outlandish sometimes, come requests to the Bloomsbury authorities for a copy of some treasured local relic that has found its way to the Museum. A department of the Bloomsbury institution is devoted to this work, and, as might be expected, tremendous pains are taken to ensure absolute fidelity in the replicas sent out. These range from brass images of native deities to primitive wood carvings, from aboriginal canoes to ceremonial boxes used by native chiefs. Bloomsbury is supplying Assyrian friezes for Bagdad, gods for the Congo, and idols for Jamaica. Some of the more delicate plaster casts have to be made in 20 or 30 pieces to ensure reproducing the utmost delicacy of the original design What a calamity it would be if the British Museum were straffed in the next air raid. It would be comparable to the burning of Alexandria’s library, which perhaps lost humanity its greatest literary masterpieces. AND WHEN! 1 dined a night or tvyo ago with friends, husband and wife, both of whom are in the theatrical world. They told me a delightful story about their very devoted and efficient maid servant. Not long ago they gave the latter a ticket for a stage performance in which the leading role was played by a particularly glamorous and accomplished actress. The maid was all excitement over the occasion, and duly took the night off to go to the theatre Next day her employers asked her. with considerable curiosity as to her possible reactions, how she had liked the show. She was enchanted with it. And what, they asked, did she think of the famous actress who played the chief part? “ Oh,” exclaimed the maid intensely, “ I thought she was lovely! And hasn’t she got ‘ If ’ ! ” THE FORCING TWO. This is sad news from U.S.A. We are told, with sufficient wealth of detail to make the report seem reliable, that Mr and Mrs Ely Culbertson are to be divorced. Mrs Culbertson is on her way to Reno, the famous American divorce emporium, and her husband is bound for Europe. But the Culbertsons are the absolutely dernier cri in modernism, and their matrimonial divergence is not to affect their business partnership. Nor are their mutual relations in any way impaired. Both still retain the greatest admiration for each other as parents and bridge partners, “ This is not a case of another woman or another man,” explains Mr* Culbertson, “ and ‘ Jo ’ is still my romance. Unfortunately, I’m a married man with bachelor instincts.” This is, 1 should imagine, a perfectly straightforward statement of the case. Mr Culbertson, whose bridge income must be about £40,000 a year, spends most of the day in vivid silk pyjamas. He seldom salutes the happy morn till it is well advanced in afternoon. He is the most sophisticated mortal I ever | met—the very antithesis of the Caveman.

Tho business optimist thinks that in another year it will he hard to find a man who owes money he can’t pay. Isn’t it hard enough now?