"THE MAIL’S” LETTER FROM LONDON

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXIV, 19 February 1931, Page 12

"THE MAIL’S” LETTER FROM LONDON

(From Our Own

LONDON, Ist January

To' the many tribulations suffered by British industry in 1930 the untimely death of Lord' Melchett comes as ft final.tragic curtain.i There are few men of the present times to whom we owe a deeper; debt of gratitude. In each of the many industrial crises that have marked the post-war period, Lord Melehett’s restraining and pacificatory wisdom has proved an important factor in reaching the solution. While Labour throughout the country has realised what a far-seeing friend it had in Lord Melchett, it is not so generally known how often his belief in co-oper-ation led him into conflict’with his own side. Capital has been none too ready to adapt itself to new industrial relations between itself and labour, and where it has done so has been largely at the instance of Lord Melchett’s forceful assiduity. In the coming year his sagacity and vision would have been invaluable. Without them it is at least to be .hoped that the pioneer work done by Lord Melchett will be held in mind by the masters even more than bv the men.

JOFFBE THE “BUOY” The salient characteristic of Marshal Joffre was his cheerfulness under adversity. Hence he was always known, by the French General Staff, as the “Buoy,” because he could always get through stormy seas. A graphic illustration of this cheerfulness was afforded when Focli lost his command in the field and went to. see Joffre. Joffre said: “You are limoge, I shall be limoge. We shall all be limoges.” Limoges was a military centre of small importance in France, to which generals who lost their commands were reputed to be sent. But Joffre’s greatness as a soldier has never been fully appreciated. He was the first to press for coordination and centralisation of the Allied Armies and efforts, not only in France but outside France, and the credit was, therefore, certainly not Mr Lloyd George’s. He, too, was the directing force of the many attacks on the Germans in 1915 to give them no re&t, and, but for,liis vigour in pressing the importance of attack upon the British, our ammunition problem would not have been tackled as expeditiously as it was. Moreover, in the pivotal battle of the war, the Marne, he was the sole directing power behind the armies and to him, therefore, is the victor’s crown of laurel due.

MARSHALS OF FRANCE , M . ■ ■ ;-rj The rank of Marechal de" France dates back to Francois I, when it ranked next to the title of Connetablei In 1027 the title marshal became the highest in the land, and marshals were described as “Cousins of the King.” In the 17tli century their numbers were restricted to 12. The rank was abolished at the Revolution, but restored again by Napoleon, who fixed their number at IG. By the law of 1839 this

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was altered to 0 in time of peace and 12 in war. Prior to the great war the title had virtually disappeared, but during the war there was a strong feeling that such a historic rank should bo revived, and the Marechelat was restored. Six great French generals were created marshals, Joffre, Petain, Lvautey, Focli, Franchct D’Esperey, and Gallieni, the latter posthumously. Of these only 4 are alive, Petain, Lvautey, • Joffre, and Franchct Q’Espcrey. They carry a baton or staff covered with bright blue velvet, with gold- ends, and powdered with gold stars. Under the old Empire these staffs’were powdered, with gold fieur delis. No more marshals are to be created, so that Marshal Joffre is one of the last.

FLEET ECONOMIES The excursion of the Atlantic Fleet to the West Indie.4 will not take the place of the usual exercises later in the year, but there is strong suspicion in naval circles that the latter will be “trimmed” to meet the expenses of the West Indian visit. If the heavy fuel bill of. the Atlantic passage will have to come out of the ordinary fleet “ration,” the sea-going work of the exercises will have to be greatly restricted. During the Summer, when the Fleet was exercising in Northern waters, all sorts of makeshifts were enforced, such as searchlights taking the place of gunfire to save ammunition, while, to save-fuel, parsimony underlined all the orders dealing with speed. It is expected that the same sort of thing will recur. There can be no objection to rigid economy being practised on all manoeuvres, and the best value being obtained for the money spent, but too much make-believe must in the long run react on the general morale of the navy.

LORD CUSHENDEN’S ROMANCE Lord Cushenden’s quiet London redding, to the intellectual daughter of Sir Mortimer Margesson, private secretary to the Earl of Plymouth, .-•urprjsijd all his friends. The bridegroom is in his 70th year, but a massive Ulsterman six foot six in his boots. He has disclaimed'the title of being the-tallest member of the Bar. Before he was made a peer, he did good -/ode as Sir Austin Chamberlain’s assistant at the Foreign ;Office. In the Unio list Ministry of 1922 he was. as a sardonic joke,, made. .Mf.x, Cjiurchill’sjr Financial Secretary at. the. Trebstiry, the humour earlier, he figured-in a memorable House of scene, when he Hurled a b »ok across the Treasury Table ht Winston’s head. Besides politics and the Bar, Lord Cushenden has tried journalism, rditod a now defunct evening journal, and was on the Encyclopaedia Britannica staff. FUTILITY OF THE LAW It is time someone told the brutal truth about the latest much-boomed

devices in London for checkmating “motor bandits.” The London newspapers have been full of optimistic accounts of a new signalling system, whereby 50 ambulance call boxes will, by the simple expedient of switching on a red light from Scotland Yard, immediately mobilise police patrols everywhere against smash-and-grab raiders irt stolen cars. Expert police opinion, whilst quite appreciating such apparatus, regards the motor bandit, with his high-power car and ready automatic, as able to laugh at such gadgets. Even at the cos£ of heavy penalties on motorists, it must be made less easy to steal cars, and judges must deal much more drastically with the bandits. When the police do manage to l ring ‘motor bandits’ to justice, they usually get absurdly tender treatment. Ruffians who escape by driving recklessly, if the law were not ‘a ass,’ would be amenable to charges of robbery with violence, which would make the ‘cat’ applicable, and perhaps persuade American thugs, for whom Chicago and New York are now too hot, to revise their views about London as a pleasant city of refuge. It is no earthly use trying to cure gunmen by kindness. Another interesting point made by the police is the psychological mistake of calling smash-and-grab thieves ‘motor bandits.’ That gives them, in appreciative femininne circles a real aura of undeserved remance. This counts for a good deal in thug mentality.

IRELAND’S ENERGY The progress made by the Irish Free State in developing the Shannon power scheme has completely outstripped that of our recently-created Central Electricity Board. The latter probably encounter more difficulties than are presented in Southern Ireland, and certainly are subject to more public hostility. In the Free State has been accomplished in 14 months what it was estimated would require three years to achieve, and that country is now dotted with pylons with a network of overhead wires carrying current in all directions. All the large cities and 24 towns have changed over to the Shannon supply, while 88 towns and villages, where previously no electricity existed, have been brought within the scheme. Very soon scarcely a village of over 500 population will be without current for both lighting and power. The charges, especially for power, are rather on the high side, but there is every promise that these will be considerably modified.

LONDON’S CHRISTMAS Possibly the London newspapers are deliberately telling tarrididdles about London’s Christmas activities in order to counteract the gloom of the worst season within living memory. The actual truth about this past Christmas so far as London is concerned is that there was hardly a trade that did not experience a deadly slump. So much so, that most Londoners now refuse to be comforted with prophecies that the world's depression has turned the elusive corner. Preparations were made for Christmas trade on much more modest lines than usual, but even so, most traders have been very hard hit. Indeed, but for the presence here of the millionaire Indian princes, who spend their money with the regularity of Monte Cristos, things would have been still worse. The one consolation is that 1931 can hardly be leaner than 1930 in any event.

THEN AND NOW Christmas inevitably brings back war memories to most men. It is a sybaritic thrill to dwell oil conditions now compared with them. My own experience was rather amusing. The one complete breakdown in the commissariat I remember on the Western. Front occurred to my platoon on Christmas Day, 1910. I dined on a raw turnip shared with a comrade and washed down with pond water. It tasted good though, because on Christmas Eve we had been buried by minnenwerfer in the front line, and not all of us were dug out in one piece. Christmas 1917 was cushy, behind the line at Marquaix, with roast pork and Yorkshire pudding galore, and no complaints about the unusual mixture. Thinking it over, I am not at all sure the 1910 menu did not agree with us best. A big lesson of the war, that the majority of us forget, is that we were much healthier on half the average civilian food and twice the hard work.

LONG TRAINS Most people remain, long after they leave the nursery, keenly interested in the trains. For their special behalf it may be mentioned that during the rush period, when Caledonians are all trecking home, for the Now Year celebrations, the famous flying Scotsman has come near breaking railway record this year. It is a record, however, not of speed but of length. One express consisted of 17 corridor coaches, and its total weight without passengers was 500 tons. Working this out at 00ft. per coach, and 80ft. for engine and tender, with due allowance for the gaps between, this comes to very nearly a quarter of a mile of train. This is only just short of an absolute record, and is the first time in its 08 years that the Flying Scotsman has exceeded 15 coaches. The longest train in existence, however, is a mineral freight train that carries coal to the Black Country.

EASY MONEY ! The organisers of the Dublin Hospitals Grand National Sweep are getting some letters that tickle a lively Irish sense of humour. A friend sends me one, received from the North of England, which is quite worthy of “Punch” at its best. “Dear sir, —Could you kindly forward me a book of tickets for the

Irish Free Slate Hospitals Subscription Fund together with instructions. I work in a mental institution, and I

will have no trouble whatever to dis

pose of about thirty or more tickets.” Incidentally, the applications from all over the world are so overwhelming that, for the moment, at all events, the organisers are actually avoiding undue publicity. POLICE MISOGYNISTS All the police on duty at the Lost Property Office , being middle-aged officers past the stage of sheer romanticism, are hardened misognists. How could it be otherwise, when 90 per cent, of the things left at the L.P.O. are feminine, and over 400 dumptics is the average on any wet day in London? Moreover, whilst men usually want to give a little more to the finder of their lost property than the official percentage, women almost invariably want to cut it down. And when a woman leaves her false teeth in a taxi, as not infrequently happens, she always cajls for them by proxy—usually her husband, Another feminine foible noted at the L.P.O. is that women, when at first they fail to identify their own umbrella, invariably “fancy” it was a much better one than it eventually turns out to be. Where women are concerned, the L.P.O. has no illusions.

THE SPANISH ROMANCES Many people are disappointed that the two young Spanish princesses, Beatrix and Cristina, who have been in London so much with their mother, are likely to find romance in Spain rather than in England. Several possible English alliances have been suggested for them from time to time, and some society folk quite hoped that the Duchess of* Norfolk would be mother-in-law to one of them, and Lady Londonderry to the other. In the case of the young Duke of Norfolk there were no religious difficulties in the way, and it was whispered quite openly during their visit this year that an engagement might be ’looked for before they returned to Madrid. The Princesses are so popular in London, and both are so charming, that it is easy to understand the interest taken in their matrimonial affairs over here. It must be admitted, however, that from most points of view Spanish alliances—which are likely to materialise in the near future—will give the most general pleasure and satisfaction.

A GOOSE ALARM Those who have spent rural holidays staying at farmhouses, know something of the noisy cackling of an agitated goose. This cackling is now being used by poultry farmers as a “burglar alarm,” with such success that the poultry-breeding associations are advising their members to keep a few geese merely for this purpose. The “goose alarm” can be relied on to go off at once, whether the marauder is a henstealing youth or a predatory fox, and is therefore particularly valuable in a hunting country, where the life of the fox is sacred". One is irresistibly reminded of the geese who saved the citadel at Rome by their cackling, awakening the guards to the approach of the invader.