"ALIEN'S" LETTER FROM ENGLAND.

Otago Witness, Issue 3397, 23 April 1919, Page 50

"ALIEN'S" LETTER FROM ENGLAND.

(Specially Written -for the Ladies* Page.)

SURFACE STRAWS.

January 27. The deep currents that are making to- . wards the open sea of the -world's free- , dom are not seen or heard these days. The Peace Conference in France is deciding the fate of nations for generations to come. The upheaval of Europe might not have been, judging by the apparent aftercalm of these armistice days. And yet there are surface signs, straws drifting that show the movement of the stream. The disquieting reports of strikes and threats to strike affect many of the; great industries of the country in "their transi- "* tion stage; they .are passing from old conditions tcynew, and at first glance it seems as if the whole order of accepted law was erruptive. But the transmutation, the change of one condition into another, will take time. Meanwhile until the common agreement people are adrift concerning the future policy of the nation, and the eddying tides bear the wreckage of many accepted things of pre-war date. This is always our season of discontent. The long, dreary months of the English ' winter, require stimulus in one form, or another for ordinary human beings to carry on. The depressant of sunlessnesa is not realised by those who scarcely know a day without a golden gleam, and thus it is that entertainment is a necessity, or the uplifting of some great purpose, to* keep mind and, therefore body "above par" or normal balance. The great stimulus of the war removed, men and women, who have been stretched like elastic to the utmost of their powers, are suddenly released from strain; and there is a rebound. Many who for four years have not relaxed under the tension of great exertion find themselves, now that the tension is removed, unexpectedly ill. The doctors say that many have been running down from over-exertion for a long .time past, but were not conscious of it, so intent were they upon 'doing their bit." The present moment is drab and colourless beside the days that are past and the days that are to be. The normal life of the country has been broken, and is not yet restored. The ruts—good, bad, and indifferent—have been harrowed out of access, and those—and there are many—who asked nothing better than " Good old Blighty" and a -return jto the old job find England changed, the whole atmosphere, political and social, indefinitely changed, themselves changed, ands the j>ld job distasteful, or the abilities required to fit it in its changed, shape foreign, to the capacity of the applicant. Strikes for reduced hours of labour, resulting in the shorter day of work, are not yielding satisfaction, because of less nay. Shorter hours and more pay is the demand—more and more pay to meet the greater cost o! living. The labour world is in a ferment, and will remain in a ferment until the conditions of life are more equalised. Men and women are no longer content to give their best for the upbuilding and enrichment of firms and companies to their own impoverishment. They want and demand a fair- share of the fruits of their labour, not the old.dole of level, low-water wages, irrespective of the conditions of the hour. With-ihe purchasing power of £1 at 9s as compared with four years ago, it is un-. reasonable to content with the £l. Honest workers cannot pay their way on the old-time wage, and with the cessation of the big war-work salaries there is realisation of the inequality of the conditions between master and man. But not all masters are unjust or all servants

honourable in the service rendered. In the main, however, the principle holds that the labourer is -worthy of his hire, and, once being convinced of his right, he will fight till he gets it The abstinence" which during the waryears was in part voluntary and in part sustained by the high endeavour of a nation content to fast for the furtherance of a great cause,, is resented now that the people suspect that profiteering, both by the Government and commercial agents, is at the bottom of much of the continued control of food and exorbitant § rices. The great stocks on hand bonded tiring the war years—of tea, bacon, and many other things—are not to bo released in unlimited quantities at reduced prices, but those to be realised kept at war prices until they have paid the cost according to expectations. Given a reasonable amount of time for the replenishment of the depleted stores of Europe, and there will be rebellion, among the people at the impossible cost of living. The discontinuation of war-work pay and the separation allowances w'ill greatly reduce the incomes of millions, and make impossible the present exactions. The only relief that a cessation of hostilities has brought to the housekeeper is that' more of certain foods is obtainable, but at no reduction whatever in cost. The latest reports of the food situation say that our undesirable bacon is going to be sent to another country. Where is it going ? From to-day the allowance of sugar is raised from Boz to 12oz, and confectioners, etc., put on the' same footing as jammakers, increased supplies of sugar arriving in the country. Apparently," it is said, "food rationing has taught people economy, - ' as they are not now buying food in greater quantities because they can get it. The fact of the matter is that the great majority cannot afford more at the price. Many people do not buy their full margarine allowance, and the butchers report from all over the country that the public are not buying meat up to the full coupon allowance. Meat at over 2s a lb (steak 2s 6d) will remain a luxury. As regards the incessant striking of the workers for higher and still higher wages, it is overlooked by many intelligent men that excess profits in the coal and steel and many other industries in the past few years have been taken by the Government to help to pay for~the war, and certain Hrades unions seem to think that the Government can be squeezed now that the war is over, as while the war was on certain labour was absolutely indispensable. But these insatiable people will find it a big mistake. The stoppage of work does not now mean postponement of victory.But many shibboleths are passing, and time will test the new claims. Women who were for long supposed to be the " sheltered" class, and whose emergence from "women's sphere" was so long opposed by men, have made the discovery among others how very much better paid a man's activities are to her own sheltered and incessant tasks. The women who are* now asked to relinquish the men's jobs and go back to their own have a good deal to say on the matter, and in many instances roundly refuse to re-enter the ' woman's sphere " as a place of ill-paid drudgery and thankless monotony. They have found a man's work so much more remunerative and 1 interesting than their own that they will return to" the latter—especially domestic work—only when induced by affection or necessity. The down-trodden " slavey" is a creature of the past, and the incompetent over-esti-mate their own value.. Thousands of gentlewomen emancipated from the miseries of the inflictions of an ill-trained, ill-mannered girl during the war are determined to remain free of their " help," so that the scarcity of servants works both ways. * Many women have discovered how much of the work an inefficient " hek)" makes herself, and have never

found the domestic arrangements run so smoothly as since she has been away. But in larger establishments servants are a necessity. Not all girls have a talent for domestic work any more than for millinery or school teaching, and the result of the closed door in many other directions has in the past forced many girls into uncongenial employment to the suffering of the employer. With the opening of different doors there will of necessity be less of a rush to the old outlets, and with the return to domestic service only of the women who really choose the work and are competent at it, there will be less friction. After a time things will readjust themselves. Many of the frirls have been " resting " on the Government allowance of £1 5s per week since the stoppage of war-work; others will continue unemployed as long as the allowance continues, but when all the men and women have been demobilised and reshuffled thousands will drift back into service again. Probably with the coming of the spring and departure of the dark, cold mornings, others will find their objection to kitchen work disappear. But as servants become scarce labour-saving devices will become more popular..and the houses of the future be designed, for labour-saving uses, as well as for ornament. The grates, the Uvrders, the cupboards, bathrooms, and kitchens will planned on hvgienic, labour-saving \ principles ;' washable tiles will take the placq of much of the painted wood, and tiled firegrates replace steel and brass and iron. Women spend their strength on much that could be avoided and will be avoided when women archi tects plan the houses. There are signs that most people are more or less passing through a season of nerve strain and reaction after the high pitch of life for the last four years. Now that the emotional tension is relaxed the dailv and nightly fears and a thing of the past, people are discovering how tired they are and depressed and in need of recreation. Thus the crowded theatres and many dances. Never in the history of the theatre has there been so little real interest in the drama or such • demand for seats. The hunger is for en-

tertainment. Nobody seems to care what the play is about; nobody seems to care whether the film pictures are good or bad. The vast audiences who throng the theatres seem to be in search of excitement, or, perhaps, it is relaxation from excitement in pleasant company, or forgetfulness of the dark and cold and horror of the trenches in light and music and laughter. More and more men are appearing in civilian dress again, and here and there in the audiences in evening dress, and occasionally the professional man in silk hat and frock coat. One notes the smarter carriage of all classes. Soldiering has "taught many how to walk aud carry their head, and the mass of pallid faces thronging from offices is absent. There has not yet been time to lose the tan of an open-air life. It is said that soldiering has particularly improved the appearance of the Australian soldier, who came lean and stooping; that he has filled out in face and figure, that the cooler skies and, perhaps, a diet more generous in green vegetables has been good for im. Anyhow he is looking fit. We shall miss our Dominion boys as they go; they have been long enough with us to become a feature—a picturesque feature —of our cities and towns and streets, and there will be a blank in many a British home and heart. I know that many people are rather shrinking from the thought of the recurrence of the pre-war monotony of existence> with no great demand upon time and talent and labour, especially the women of the " leisured class," who, drawn from the trivial round and common task of middle-class society, refuse any longer to be satisfied with dusting the. drawing room and arranging the flowers as a sufficient outlet for their abundant vitality. The servantless condition of the household will answer the problem of some, but,- as I have said, domestic service is not the natural b*ent of every young woman; and, having tasted the sweets of financial independence, they will not take kindly to dependence again upon their father. A good many, too, have lost the tremendous sense of their father's omnipotence, which will make unquestioning compliance difficult, and the mother's old-time reason, "Your father knows best, my dear," quite unconvincing. The social order has had such a shake up that it will require time for rearrangement. Many of its customs have gone down like a pack of cards, and *will never be set up again. I wonder will the afternoon "At home" ever be the fashion any more, where the pick of the dandies will air the latest in socks and ties, and hand round tea to the ladies. One can hardly imagine it, somehow, after the trenches. But there is every indication of the revival of sport. The season will see big days at Hurlingham and elsewhere. That British pluck is bred and brought up'on the playing fields, in the atmosphere and discipline of games, : has been evidenced by the " muddied oafs and flannelled fools" in the scrum and at the wickets of this war. Many a bat has cheerfullv sacrificed his wicket for the good of his side, and the forwards and the backs alike have been equal to all demands. The newspapers, true mirror of the hour, reflect the lighter mood of the-nation to-day. Instead of the awful honours' list, the articles of deep import that kept the will of the people taut, reports of sensational happenings, divorce, murder, marriage, birth, accident, occupy their old space, and the serial has come into its own again. Fed for so-long on terrible reality, the appetite is now craving spiced dishes. Men with tense, war-worn faces, travelling in the trams and buses, are absorbed in their papers, but after the progress of the conference is scanned they are intent on the serial! It is the reaction —the rebound of human nature from the terrible to the trivial, from bitter to sweet. Sick to the soul of bloodshed and horror, the human mind and heart turns to thoughts of kindliness and the emotions of affection. .Unless I mistake, these years that will mark indelibly upon history the dauntless courage and unfailing* heroism of the British peoples will be followed by years of gentle sentiment. So Nature balances and keeps the world sane. People have strongly swum through rivers of hell to reach the shores of peace, and, tired of struggle, will want to sit on the banks in the sunshine and get warm again. The plays and stories most popular will not be of the war, but of the sentiments and loves %f lovers, adventure, romance, improbability. The emotions have been stirred to their profoundest source, and the nation will not sink back easily into lethargy again. Its sleen is broken; activities are necessary, movement. The people have put off drowsiness; the tameless of the phlegmatic has been The easv chair has ceased to be a necessity. The men and women who sprang into action at the call of the bugle refound their life, many of them, and will go on living. Things will be done—good things will be don©—and evil things, for the world is awake. The energy that went to win the war will find vent in other channels, according to the nature, the abilities, and opportunities of the individual.