ENGLAND AND THE WAR.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXV, Issue 303, 21 December 1914, Page 7

ENGLAND AND THE WAR.

STRATFORD RESIDENT TALKS INTERESTINGLY OF HIS TRIP. Mr W. L. Kennedy, who returned to Stratford on Thursday evening from an extended trip throughout tin* British Isles, was in Belfast when the war broke out, and two days afterI wards went' over to Edinburgh. Quite a scare was on for a time,- he stated to a “Stratford Evening Post” representative, and the price of everything jumped up, including the bank rate of interest, which rose from 10 to 15 per cent. Bank holidays were on at ‘the time, and these were ex- , tended for a week. Banks would, when they opened, pay out very little, as the statement made to Mr Kennedy while in London by a New Zealander bears out, and that was that . New Zealanders with as much as £IOOO to their credit in the London Banks could not get as much as would pay their weekly hotel bill. • The action of the Government* was just splendid at the crisis,—their regulation of the food prices apd the Mora, torium Bill brought things very soon to almost their normal level.

The Eventful March of the Germans

to within 15 miles of Paris caused much anxiety, but, said Mr Kennedy, one person would ask of another in the street; “Are we down-heartedf" and the answer, invariably, and quick to the point was, “No.” When tne turning point came, and the Germans were driven over the Marne there was no jingoism, but a calm assurance of ultimate victory that made one feel proud to be a Britisher, and to see the calm way they took the position. All seemed imbued with the same spirit, to see the thing through. There was only one opinion, continued Mr Kennedy—that Britain and her Allies must win. “Belgium—gallant, brave Belgium—was the first big stumbling block in the path of the Kaiser, 1 Had it not been for the Belgians, with their unconquerable determination, the Germans would have been in Paris. Our Army was small, the French sadly unprepared, but the gallantry of the Belgians and the pluck of the British at this juncture saved France. What it has cost in men and money -since then has been great. Where are the Black Watch, the Goiv don Highlanders, tbe Munster Fusiliers ! J ” asked Mr Kenendy dramatically and he supplied his own answer: “Almost annihilated—the flower of the British army—but for every life sacrificed there has been at least five of the enemy, who, inch by. inch, in all these weeks has been forced to. retreat.” In early September The Call to Arms was Sounding

all over Britain. A*ll the* houses along the North Sea coast were being fortified with trenches and barb-wire entanglements. Soldiers were being billeted in every house, and private houses were, by the generosity of their owners, being turned into private hospitals. While staying with friends in High Wickham, the lady of the house offered fifteen beds in their home. Everywhere the women were urging their men folk to enlist. In all the theatres a woman’s recruiting song, which was having a great run, was entitled: .

“Your King and Country Want You,” the last verse of whicH runs:

It’s easy for us women to stay at home and shout, But remember there’s a duty to those who first went out, The odds against that handful were nearly fopr to one, And we cannot rest until it’s man for man and gun for gun, And every woman’s duty is to see that duty done.

MR KENNEDY DREW A PICTURE OF LONDON AS HTE SAW IT.

A special Order had been issued regarding lights, and the great metro- , polis was almost in Stygian darkness. I Where the lights were not actually put out, they were shaded so that the traffic in the principal thoroughfares was greatly hampered, the lights along the Thames, where possible, being also prevented from shining on the I water. Occasionally one caught sight of the Government airship hoveling over the city day and night. In I the parks there 'was always *a motley ! crowd of derelicts. Men and women sleep all day, until the parks are closed at night, when they saunter round town to pick up what they can—bleereyed men and women. When darkness descends, the sights and sounds are devilish, but at the present time there is a universal soberness in all classes. . In fact the judges and magistrates say there is a great falling off in crime and drunkenness, but still it was amazing the number of women, rnaiiy of them respectable, who frequent the public houses. And this was London, great big, rich, poor, London, with its great underworld of vice and crime, good nature and civility, full of refugees from France and Belgium. The spirit of charity was abroad, and the desire to help was 1 very apparent. Often one saw convalescent wounded soldiers from the seat of war. There were signs of mourning for lost ones, yet they were calm and willing to suffer for King and Country. Refugees by the Boat Load

were pouring in from France and Belgium, and Mr Kennedy had a chat or two with them. As showing the horrors of what they have gone through, and the effect of it on the

Mr Kennedy said that, repeatedly while dozing in sleep, (hey would wake with a start, and shudder as some remembrances of those dreadful days and nights of German bombardment came back to them. All, however, appreciate very much the kindness shown them in England. Mr Kennedy said it was very amusing to hear the little Belgians endeavoring to pick up the English language and to take every opportunity of displaying their knowledge. While in London, Mr Kennedy had the good fortune to secure, through the good offices of a friend,

A Seat at the October Wool Sales*. There was keen competition for the coarser kinds of wool. The buyers experienced mixed feelings when an order was read prohibiting the export of wool, some evidently being pointed, but generally the order was approved. Asked by the interviewer of the prospects of New Zealand wools, Mr Kennedy said that for coarsely wools they seemed good, very good, the mills going night and day. An unsatisfied demand existed . for khaki and blankets for the soldiers. Continuing, Mr Kennedy said that there is so much wool being used for those purposes there will he none for other requirements, and it will be only a matter of time when stocks run ■short. After the war there must of necessity he a great demand not only on the Continent but in America and ilso Japan. Of course the prices may fluctuate in the meantime, through shipping difficulties, etc., hut the general feeling was that prices would he maintained if not enhanced for some years to come.