"ALIEN'S" LETTER FROM ENGLAND.

Otago Witness, Issue 3335, 13 February 1918, Page 51

"ALIEN'S" LETTER FROM ENGLAND.

(Specially Written for the Ladies' Page.} WITH THE WOMEN. November 27. With the ringing of the first joy bells of victory—and in such a week of crisis! —England smiled. Even we who did not hear the bells smiled, for we" know that our bells do. not ring and our flags wave at every little conquest. But we needed thoso balls that db not ring lightly to reassuro us among much that lias been anxious and much that has disappointed and depressed—the failure of Russia among the things that matter and the surprise in Italy. For these things mean the prolongation of our struggle, the deferring to a day indefinite the final victory, when all the bells of all the Empire will ring. It is only on rare occasions that the bells of St. Paul's are pealed, and when they rang out over London for Byng's victory in France they thrilled all within their sound. The noise of the traffic prevented people in omnibuses or at a distance hearing the bells until they came upon them suddenly, and it took very urgent business to carry them past St. Paul's'. They alighted and joined the crowd on the 1 - steps, and people flocked from their offices, shops, and warehouses, and poured up Ludgate Hill—among them many wounded soldiers. But the crowd was quiet—it smiled, and once it cheered for the "Byng boys"; but it was a temperate joy. It is "a long, long way to Tipperary" yet, and we know it. We know it, but not hope-, lessly. Inside St. Paul's were many women, iii mourning—many kneeling; not mothers only, but young women, girls only _ in yeaors, with the widow's veil shrouding them as they knelt in prayer. And grey-headed men. To these the joy bells 'were muffled mournfully. In crowds mourning, in crowds rejoicing, the wometf preponderate. Happy will be that day when the men come home! Meanwhile we rejoice at every inch they gain in their splendid battles. America's enthusiasm over Byng's victory with the tanks had not our restraint, because it was applauding an ally. The papers vied with each other in praise of the victor. This is one of the rhymes: Yon are the thing, the whole thing, Byng Byng; You sent them on tho wing, Byng Byng. You made the Bodies ears sing, Byng Byng, And the Kaiser's too to ring ring, Byng. You'll" take your rank, Byng, with the first in the hearts Of these who do their parts, Byng Byng. And all along the front they'll hail you king Byng Of tho British Tommies from every clim© And of the loping, crumbling tanks. 'Twas all sublime; To you we'll give thanks, Byng. And while yon r© up an' at 'em, Byng. We'll just rise all and toast you, Byng:' Here'e hoping you'll soon, quite soon, ba Byngin' on the Rhine, Byng. There, listen 1 Don't you hear 'em roar? "Byng, Byng, Byng!" Just "Byng," and nothing more. The hero of the hour, General Sir Julian Byng, is the son of the late Vicar of Holy Trinity Church, Twickenham, from 1862 to 1867. There is a memorial tablet in the church to the General's mother, who died during the family's residence there. The General's own home* is at the village of Thorpe-le-Soken, near Beaumont, Essex, end at Beaumont every Sunday the vicar reads out the list of the names of those in ,ihe district who are fighting for light and' country, and "Julian Byng" is among them. Lady Byng is one of the proudest women in England. She has been inundated with telegrams and letters of congratulation. General Byng did not marry till he was

\ it is said, and made his proposal "in the middle of the South African war, asking that the answer might be cabled cat to him. Lady Byng is a zealous "war worker" ii the village, where she has a class for the women, teaching them needlework and cooking, vegetable-grow-ing, and the art of preserving fruit, etc. For men must fight and woman must work ! Our interests are fused for the moment as they have not been for many years. So much so that the enthusiasm is not great, beyond Mrs and Miss Pankhurst and a 'number of their most faithful adherents, for the formation of the New Women's party. Most women are too absorbed in the present needs of war work, constructing and organising for reforms for women and children both now and after the war, to be much interested in a new policy. Mrs and Miss Pankhurst have elected themselves leaders, and are waiting for thousands of women to rally round who 'have no time for party interests. Lady Francis Balfour, a staunch Suffragette, says the new women's party can speak only for the women who agreed with their social and political outlook in the past. It cannot represent the majority of women who, in their new order of political life, feel that the first claim on them is to prove themselves patriotic citizens, looking not purely at party interest, but at the good of all estates- of men, in which, for the future, women are included. Miss Mary MacArthur? the founder of* the largest organisation of' women workers- in the world, says that the organisation to which she belongs " would not touch the so-called women's partv with a 10ft pole." She gives the reasons as partly because they prefer to choor-e thair own leaders, and partly because there is not a shred of democracy in the organisation to which the new women's party, is sequel. Miss MacArthur goes on to state that the National Union of Women Workers which she represents recently took a ballot on the subject of entering politics, and as a result of the ballot take up a definite political policy, but not in this sense of isolating the questions pertaining to women, but rather with the idea of working side by side with men's organisations. Women must in future v rally round an idea or definite policy put forward by men and women conjointly, not rally'round individuals for merely personal reasons when conditions have changed. Lady Proctor (president of the Y.W.C.A.) says bhe. has been too busy to think in detail of a woman's party, but believes 1 it is a mistake to emphasise sex differences in a time of grave danger such as this. Dr Garrett Anderson (head of the Endell Street Military Hospital) says it is ridiculous to think of a woman's party till we are quite -sure we have got the vote, which, she says, she is by no means convinced of. Miss Mary Richardson, of the W.S.P. Union, expresses the opinions of many when she says that women will work politically according to their intelligence and knowledge and experience. They will vote (when they do vote) for the man, or, later, the woman who stands for the policy they approve.

Tho disfranchisement of the conscientious objectors has given the women of England, with few exceptions, the greatest satisfaction. It was a thorn in our side that these so-called men. now designated as " Concheys," who will not fight for the State, should have a voice in the lading of the State, for it is well known that cowardice and idleness and not conscience is at the root of their objection. One of the bishops who visited the men at Dartmoor says that only a very small percentage of them have' aay religious convictions whatever. And it is strange that if their conscience will not allow them to fight, it would allow them .to vote in a country the freedom of which is held,by fighting, or to eat the food or accept any benefits for which our navy is fighting on the sea. Bat their conscience is active only when it concerns their own fighting. They have not the slightest objection to other men fighting for them, or women either, for they live in the ease and comfort the women only now make possible. The people are by no means satisfied with the punishment of depriving them of the vste, but ask that instead of pottering at Work in England they bo gent to bury the dead in France and dig the first-line trenches, lor, according to them, it is killing others that they object to, not the discomfort p..nd pain. There are jobs on the battleBold that our heroes are too good for. Why not give them to those traitors of manhood? Surious steps are at length being taken by _ the _ Government to suppress the pacifists in our midst who are " playing Germany's game." They have had an aunost unchecked career? The standing

menace of the uninterned enemy and the 1 naturalised enemy seems likely to occupy stricter attention from the Government. A new Defence of the Realm regulation requires that every leaflet relating to the war or peace is to bear the name and I address of the author and printer, and ! to be submitted.to f he Press Bureau for approval. Scotland Yard has been raiding the premises of pacifists and proGermans, and taking possession of propaganda that proves the extent to which our enemies are at work here trying to influence—especially the women—for an inconclusive peace, and. to encourage men and women to believe Germany is in the right, and must Avin. If we thought that, we should have given up long ago, for it takes .all our faith and all our courage to brace for pei'haps still years of war, which, had Russia, held firm, might have been over for us all by now. The ranks of the khaki girls in France j are- giving the greatest satisfaction. From I the moment a woman enrols as a member ' of the Woman's Army Auxiliary Corps she I becomes a member of H.M. Forces, and i is subject to army rules. Grace Curnock, i who has just returned from a visit to i the camps and billets of the " Waacs" in France, as they are called, says they I are a vast army recruited from the best j of | Britain's women. That she is going I into a possible, though not propable, danger zone she knows when at her training hostel at home she is handed two identification discs; but the full realisation of being ' in the army' only dawns when she, with the rest of her draft, j goes on board at the embarkation port in England. She then finds herself in the war.' Probably never having been to sea , before, she is in a strange world, shoulder to shoulder with soldiers back from leave, | with staff officers of high rank, with fight - j ing men of all ranks —generals, colonels, ; second lieutenants, non-commissioned | officers, and privates,—jostled against ! trench helmets and packs, and she finds her own precious suit-case of very iittle importance in comparison with rifles and great-coats." A typical draft that the writer saw arrive consisted of clerks, cooks, waitresses, motor-drivers, telegraphists, wearing the soldier's blue-and-white signalling brassard, a workmani like lot of girls. The camps and the. billets in the base towns and the lines i of communication where the women work i are divided intp about nine areas. All are under the Chief Controller, who is a woman of great experience of co-adminis-tration of men and women, a strict disciplinarian, who will stand no nonsense from khaki girl or khaki boy, but withal a woman of much sympathy and a. heart of gold. Under her is a Deputy Controller and administrator, who is a sort ; of commanding officer, responsible for all the camps and units in her area. There is great rivalry in the camps and billets, and the girls impress their own individuality upon them as she does in her own home. Even in the war camps the women are home-makers. That appears to be here "sphere" within all other spheres. But what romance and adventure ! And what would Queen Victoria have said to an army of women? Housekeeping in England is getting more complicated and puzzling every day. In some quarters people seem not to have heard of a Food Controller and Sir Arthur Yapp's Economy League, while in others women wait in long queues to get 2oz of tea and (perhaps) of butter. We either are very short of food or Ave are not. If Ave are, one section of the community ought not to be alloAved to feast Avhile the other goes short of (or without) necessaries. But whether A\-e are short of food or not, the unpatriotic and the alien rich are eating as much as they like of Avhatever they like, Avhile the housewives of moderate means are distracted to kiiOAV how to make the appeties of the family and the supplies meet. And whether Ave are short of food or are not, the profiteers keep the prices up by holding back what there is. Mr Beii Tillett, M.P., taking the following as his I .text, exposes a scandal of the dorks: "At a meeting of the East Ham Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday the chairman said that ho had been informed by ! an official at the docks that Avhen a barg'o | Avas about to be loaded 6cwt of best rice j Avas found lying at the bottom of the j boat, and that no one would take the re- j eponsibility for saving it. Ho understood ! that this often happened, and that what- j ever Avas found in the bottom of the barge I Avas thrOAvn into the water, A member j declared that he had seen thousands of | tons of wheat and other grain thrown ] overboard." From personal inspection Mr j Tillett reports cases of bacon at the East India dock, none too SAveet (and Ave houseAvives can't get bacon, or very poor stuff at 2s a lb!), and damaged bags of pro- j cious sugar, for which the children '

clamour (100,000 or so bags had been stored for four months). A number of gallon casks of treacle Avere leaking and running OA-er the quay into the docks — and Avomen running their legs off for 6ugar and treacle! In the Albert docks the sheds Avere full of grain, barley, and beans, AA-hich had been put into storage fully four months ago. Bacon is scarce and dear, but it would be less scarce and less dear if the cargoes Avere looked after on arrival. Mr Tillett says he is tired of being told of bacon that has gone bad and ultimately finds its Avay to some soap Avorks. The trouble, he affirms, seems to be profit-snatching. The bacon is sold again and again, and Avhile the profitsnatching is taking place the stuff goes bad. Still, this does not excuse the faulty control of foodstuffs that permits such Avaste. " When food goes bad," proceeds Mr Tillett, "the tendency is to blame the shortage of labour. . . . When tonnage is scarce immediately a cry is set up that unloading arrangements at the docks are bad. The fact is that in nearly every case owners of foodstuffs are to blame. They will not have the cargoes discharged. It pays them to keep the food in the ship." To keep the prices up! Over and OA-er again bacon arriA r ing in this country is allowed to run into fat sooner than let- the people have it at reduced prices. Over and over again tons of fish haA'e been sold for manure sooner than bring the market prices doAvn. Men haA r e been imprisoned for life for lesser, crimes. Mr Tillett concludes: "The earning value of a ship is from £BO to £IOO a day. Yet it pays foodstuffs importers to defray demurrage charges rather than bring shipments promptly on to the market. I say that eggs are rotting, and bacon is running to fat; wheat is rotting, rice is rotting, all because of lack of effective control. It seems to be nobody's business to regulate the distribution or proper Avarehousing of these. foodstuffs. ... I make no charges against individual persons ; I merely state the facts. It is for Lord Rhondda, on whom the responsibility of controlling the foodstuffs of the country rests, to take action."

It is pretty disheartening for houseAvives, who are asked 6d each for eggs and 2s for tainted bacon and 2s 6d to 3s for butter, to learn that these things are rotting in tons sooner than bring doAvn the exorbitant prices. The profiteers have had their day. They have bled the people Avhite, and the demand for rationing is becoming insistent, not only that all may share alike, but to stop the hoarding and luxuriance of the ' Avealthy. There will be a terrible outcry if the rationing is left too late. _ It has been hoped that compulsory rationing Avould not be necessary, as it demands the setting up of extensive machinery and labour to carry it through; but although there is enough food to go round, the unpatriotic "food hogs" are daily making rationing more necessary. .At"the first intimation that rationing Avas coming they croAvded the big stores last Aveek—hundreds of unknoAvn customers—and literally purchased piles of non-perishable food in tins, bacon, pressed beef, fish, tongues, dried fruit, tea (Avhere it could be got), coffee, condensed milk—everything nonperishable that their long" purses can afford. These greedy hoarders apparently go the round of the shops securing the best of everything, Avhile the less prosperous and the poor of London and the provinces alike stand in long queues Avaiting on the chance of of an essential food. The food problem is, of course, colossal. The eight million sugar cards now in the hands of the retail grocers, which include all members of a household, are found to be a failure, and the paper, printing, and timo wasted in their production. They are a failure because it Avas overlooked that millions of people are on the move—say those, for instance, Avho live in board-ing-houses,—and the sugar card has to state the number of persons in a household, their names and addresses. In a week there may be no lodgers in the house, and where they have gono no provision made for sugar .in the new locality. So that all these household cards are "to be AvithdraAvn and ijcav cards issued for every separate person, so that Avherever they are they can take their sugar card with them to the ne\v address and obtain sugar from that locality. This means the issuo of 40,000,000 cards before January 1. One would ha. A re thought that, in the first instance, it avouU have occurred to those responsible for the card scheme that not everybody lives in the same house and locality "for the duration of the Avar." There never Avas a time when the homes Avere so broken and its members so scattered —the women folloAving their work and the men their call. A personal inquiry is being made by Sir Arthur Yapp into the food arrange-

ments of some of the big notels which have flouted his Economy Campaign, and have published menus of "sumptuous Christmas and New Year feast 3. Sir Arthur Yapp has been inundated with letters of protest against the gluttonous indulgence of some, Avhile others hunger for simple food. It is a painful contrast, he complains—the long queues of. the East End, regulated by policemen composed largely of. women, Avith babies and small children, 'Waiting for hoArs in the cold to buy half-pounds of margarine, and the bill of fare at one of the West End hotels he took haphazard, leading off with horsd'oeuvre Is 6d, smoked salmon Is r 6d, oysters 4s 6d per dozen, and caviare 4s. The menu also contained :

An official call for the dinner bills for one night, to test lioav much diners at these hotels spent on this one meal of a day, resulted in the following list of the first 14 examined :

Many people haA-e to live for a Aveek and work, pay rent, fire, lighting, clothes, food, and incidental expenses, such as neAA'spapers, stamps, writing materials, etc., etc., on less than some of these foodhogs spent on one meal in a Avell-fed day. No Avonder the country asks for rationing !

S 3" Descriptions of balls, &c., must be ea dorsed by either the 'Witness correspondent for the district or by the secretary" of the ball committee. The MS. of any correspondents who do not comply with this rule will be sent to the secretary for endorsement prior to appearing.—ELIZABETH. To ensure publication in the forthcoming issna letters should reacli the Witness office if possible on Saturday night, but on no account later than Monday night AVEDDING AT TOUT CHALMEB.S. A pretty wedding was solemnised at Holy T.rinity' Church, Port Chalmers, on the sth, Avh-en Miss Jessie Knowles avus married 1o Mr E. E. K. Edney, second steward of a, hospital ship at present, in port. Mr E. E. Pickles (chief steAvard) acted as best man, and the bride'3 sisters as the bridesmaids. The bride, Avho was given aAvay by her brother, Avore a cream serge coslume, Avith a brown hat trimmed with brown satin. After the ceremony a reception Avas held in the Druids' Hall. The Rev. H. Goertz officiated at the service ,and Mr Pizey Avas the organist. Many telegrams of congratulation and a large number of presents Avere roceived from friends of both the bride- and bridegroom, Avho left by motor in the afternoon for Qucenstown. WEDDING- AT INVERCARGILL. A very pretty Avedding Avas celebrated at First Presbyterian Church, Invercargill, on January 29, the contracting parties being Sidney A. Korris, of Bluff, and Florence J. Kerr, eldest daughter of Mr William Kerr, stationmaster, Invercargill. The bride, Avho Avas given away by her father,, wore a gown of ivory crepe do chine supplemented with a .tulle veil and orange blossoms, and carried a lovely showar bouquet. She was ttl ended by her sister, Miss Ethel Kerr, who v. ore a pale blue- acoliene frock find black crepe do chine picture hat trimmed Avith pale pink dahlias, and she carried a pretty bouquet of pale pink flowers. Miss Daphne Kerr, as a flower girl, wore a dainty frock of pale pink crepe de chine with hat to match,;nd carried a basket of pink rosea. Mr J" allies Braclshaw acted as best man, and the officiating minister Avas the Rev. R M. Ryburn, M.A. Tbo church Avas tastefully decorated by girl friends of the bride. The bridegroom's gift to the bride Avas a pearl and diamond cluster ring, and to the bridesmaids a dressing case and pearl necklace. The bride's gift to the bridegroom was a gold signet ring. The oxide's travelling costume Avas navy blue serge, with a picture hat of _ viaux rose. After the ceremony the bridal party and guests Avere entertained at the residence of the bride's parents, Clyde street, Avhen 50 guests sat down to a sumptuous breakfast, and the usual toasts Avero honoured-. The. presents avom costly and numercus, including several cheques. The happy couple departed by motor for the north amidst showers of confetti and rice.

s. d. s. d. 4 soups . . ... 1 0 to 2 0 8 fish dishes .. 1 6 to 7 0 8 entrees .. 2 6 to 9 0 12 roasts .. .. 4 C to 16 0 (mainly j (oultry and game.) 11 vegetables . .. 1 0 to 2 0 6 entremeuts .. 2 0 to 3 6 8 ices ..16 Fruits

No. of Aver a ge Diners. Bill Per Head. & s. d. £ s. d. 6 ..4 9 6 .. 0 14 11 3 ..2 8 6 0 16 2 5 ..6 4 6 1 4 10 2 ..2 7 0 ..13 6 2 .. 1 14 0 0 17 0 2 ..10 6 0 10 3 3 .. 4 17 0 1 12 4 2 ... .. 1 11 6 0 15 9 9 ..9 3 6 ..10 4 5 .. .. 5 15 6 ..13 1 4 ..5 4 3 ..16 1 2 .. 2 15 2 ..17 7 <3 ..16 0 0 13 0 1 ..12 0 .. 1 2 0