LETTER FROM LONDON

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXI, 11 October 1926, Page 8

LETTER FROM LONDON

We have only just passed, almost unwept, honoured,, and unsung, (lie .jubilee, of Benjamin Disraelis last. House of Commons speech. Fifty years ago last week the historic statesman roso to address the Commons on a subject that had given him much anxiety for some time. It was the Bulgarian atrocities, which gave occasion for his great rival’s famous “bag and baggage” phrase, and Dizzi’s line was that they were nothing but “coffee house babble." He described the alleged enormities of the. Turk as political exaggerations for party ends. Hardly anyone guessed it was Dizzi's swan song m (lie House of Commons, but next morning came the news that, the former little Jewish solicitor’s clerk was a Peer of the Realm, and Earl of Beaconslieltl in “another place.” The intriguing question to-dav, in the light of all wo now know, is whether Pizzi’s cynicism which gave such offence at the time to the now defunct Nonconformist Conscience, was right or wrong in his estimate. Most of our ex-service men still maintain (hat the Turk is the only. gentleman in the Balkans. I

STICKING TO STEAM The interesliiig news that the White Star Line is contemplating five new ocean liners, one of which at least is to be bigger than the Majestic, should indicate better times in the shipbuilding trade, as well as a bright outlook for shipping. But it is noteworthy that, in

GOSSIP OF THE TIMES

JUBILEE OF AN HISTORIC SPEECH

(From Our Own Correspondent )

the instance of their vessel now under construction in Belfast, the White Star people are still sticking to steam engines. And the inference is that, still doubting the potentialities of the motordriven leviathan, the White Star Company intends its later boats to be steamers also. This is rather a set-back for those Diesel enthusiasts who predict that the steamer’s days are numbered, and that the funnelless motor-boat will become the general ocean-going vessel. But there seems no doubt that the latest double-acting motor engines, fitted in several lug ocean-going boats, have given perfect, satisfaction, and Lloyd’s List records year by year a remarkable, growth in (lie proportion of non-stcam-ers afloat. Foreign shipowners appear to have .made up their minds in favour of the. latter more quickly than our British owners.

AIR MINISTRY FINANCE I gather that of all the departments, I the Air Ministry has come most severely j under the harrow of the Estimates Comj mitteo of the House of Commons this [session. That is an exceedingly august i body, over which Mr William Graham, I'M,l*., as former Secretary to the Treas- | ury presides, and it. has a. formidable ! officer in the person of the Controller | and Auditor-General, Sir Malcolm Ram--1 say. When it expresses censure the ofI licials concerned have to sit up and take j notice. The committee formed the opin- > ion that the expenditure in proportion to j the size of the force and the number of men on the ground, as compared with those who take the air, was excessive.

RICH AMERICA Over hero in Europe wo got an inipressiou ,of America, as n, land where multi-millionaires arc thick as autumn leaves in Vallombrosa, hut. where the rest of the community is more or less attuned tc> (lie normal financial status of ourselves. From details now available regarding the latest New York experiment in workmen’s flats, tin's would appear to be an erroneous view. Tho new fiats in America’s business capital arc very much on the same model as those recommended for erection by the L.C.C. architect, with slightly over half the total ground space devoted to gardens and playing grounds, and three bedrooms to each flat. But the rental that New York will exact, and the American (workman will cheerfully pay, would ho preposterous in London. Imagine a Cockney working man, even of tho highest-paid skilled artisan type, paying in rent sum of £lO a- month. That is what. New York expects as a matter of course, which rather suggests that the American under dog is a bit of a millionaire, 100. But Through'tho American big centres the lowest wage rate is said to ho roundabout a dollar an hour. To pay a £l2O reutal a working man neods it.

CAVALRY AND MOTORS -Judging from the success that attended its use at the cavalry reconnaissance tests on the Blackwater last week, j the desired type of motor vehicle to I work with a mobile column of cavalry, armoured cars, and tanks, has been selected by the War Office. The lighter carrying capacity motor vehicle of 25 and 30 cwt. has conclusively proved its value over those of heavier tonnage.. Both as regards speed and climbing qualities, really fine work was accomplished. Most difficult .situations wen*, negotiated, tho six-wheel base, being a considerable factor in the machine's success. The next point is to encourage the use of these vehicles in tho commercial world, and therein the War Office will make their possession by merchants worth the trial, so that in case of an immediate demand in an hour of emergency there would be an ample supply obtainable. All military plans for future evolutions are now being made on tho principle of mobility. Trench warfare as known in France, which was mainly responsible for the length of tho war, is to be a thing of Ihc past.

NAVAL UNIFORM Tf the recommendation of (he Inter Port Welfare Conference is adopted by the Admiralty, a distinctive.feature of Royal Naval uniform will disappear. That body of practical seamen, who must, be credited with knowing what they are talking about, condemn (lie wearing of tho lanyard as being no. longer of use. As a mat!or of fact it, fulfils only on inspection days its object of carrying a knife, which can now ho much more conveniently attached to the new pattern bell. With men working aloft in a sailing ship, the lanyard was, for obvious reasons, indispensable, hut on the modern warship it is superfluous. If, is not improbablo that tho -Admiralty will adopt tho recommcndn•tion in part, and discard this article nf kit during working hours, retaining it only for dress parades and “walkintrout.” b

“POPPY” PAY The British Legions workshops are, hard at work turning out millions of little red emblems that will lie on the streets on "Armistice Pay. This finds employment all the year round for upwards of 200 disabled ex-service men, who make altogether something like 20,000.000 imitation blossoms. All tho proceeds of (he sales go (o the charitable objects of the Legion. Tn 1921 lire street sales of “poppy” realised £196.000. A steady jump in receipts lias been recorded annually, and last November they exceeded £350,000. A big effort will be made Ibis year to lop Hie .amount. On mere than one occasion the movement has boon subject In (ho pqmpptition nf unsrr'iipnlous persons, who have procured large supplier, of spurious emblems from • abroad, sold Them’ (o' a generous public as the real nr lirle. and pocketed tbe proceeds. Th e vigilance nf (he police effectually slopped these frauds last year.

ESCAPED! The now Galsworthy plav "Eseape” 'lrow tho typical Gnlsworthian firstnicht crowd. It was brilliant intellectually rather than socially, and recruited far mere from Tipper Hampstead than from Mayfair. or Belgravia. Thin rnaltos Mr Galsworthy such a good dramatist to produce at this particular season, •when most of the Vere do Vere poo file are fa.r a. Way from town, but the. fiigbr'hrc'w inte")lecttjy.Ls still hang out. Mr Galsworthy is essentially the drumat-l ipt-of the middle class, and he presents,! with real genius and rare artistic Hair, what is virtually (lie middle class outlook, so t tit'ri* was no excuse for the lady wlm raised shrll! protests at, the end wlit'ii everybody else was applauding play and players. Those first-night “scenes” on tho wrong side of tho footlights am getting a had habit. Tin’s lady's cry about Mr Galsworthy “justi-

tying murder” was absurd. Galsxvor thian Olympians treated it. with con tempt, ‘‘What.’s tho matter with her’’' one fair lady asked. “Obviously, m\ dear,” said her escort, adjusting a. Gals worthian monocle, “she’s ‘Escaped!’

DESOLATING EDEN France is still encountering anxious difficulties in Syria, and fighting between tho French troops, chiefly the superb Foreign Legionaries, and tho insurgent tribes goes on fiercely and bitterly. Irreparable ruin has already been done in Damascus to some places of antique history by the artillery, and now a real tragedy has overwhelmed the Ghuta, a blooming and beautiful oasis, nearly twenty miles square, the abundant, harvests of which used to yield £1,000,000 sterling per annum. Regarding this wonderful oasis it is a firm tradition in all the region roundabout that the Prophet Mohammed refused to enter it, saying that “No man should enter Paradise twice.” Now the Ghuta looks liko being utterly despoiled because the. insurgents have diverted the wafers Ilia I refreshed its abundance, and the French gunners have barraged it into desolation. When will the gods grant understanding fo the sons of men?

EASY Last summer considerable annoyance was caused at and about 10 Downingstreet., the most famous private residence in the w’orld by a craze on tho part of trippers. Downing-street is a cul-de-sac that exercises an unholy fascination over visitors to London, who crowd the place in their hundreds all through July, August, and September. Heaven alone knows why, because they seldom see anything more exciting than the blank front of the rather dingy old mansion, and the quite demure "brass knocker on the door. But last summer some maniac, suffering from tho “last touch” nerve trouble described by George Borrow so graphically set a regular fashion for going right up to the Premier’s front door, and solemnly “touching” the knocker. They queued up for it. Now a worse thing has come. One youthful couple went one better by lifting up tho lid of the letterbox and peeping through into tho hall. Surely it should not he beyond the ingenuity of the butler to cure that habit—if Number 10 boasts any sort of effective garden syringe.