The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-08-17

miraIty.
LONDON, Aug. 16.-Since coronation
day the exodus from London has been
continuous and the population of the
city is now probably at the lowest
water mark for the whole year. The
activity of the capital may be said to
have been temporarily transferred to
the Solent where the last flicker of
festivity was witnessed at the naval
review. The royal guests have nearly
all departed and the American migra-
ton is limited only to the carrying ca
pacity of the Atlantic liners. Six
steamers which sailed this week were
heavily loaded with departing tourists.
A general wall is going up from the
hotels and boarding houses, which
have not profited to the extent expect
ed by the coming of coronation Wis
itors. At the same time the railroads
report a very slack seasons haulage.
The unreasonable summer reduced the
weekend traffic to a minimum.
King at Cowes.
In the meanwhile King Edward is
holding a floating court on board the
royal yacht Victoria and Albert at
Cowes. Two big receptions, have been
planned to take place on board the
yacht next week in honor of the shah
of Persia, Ras Kakonnen, the Abyssin-
ian general.
The former arrives in London Mon
day. He has been waiting rty-eight
hours at Calais, France, for the most
favorable weather in order to make a
dash across the channel, being a bad
sailor. In fact, he is said to be in alb
ject dread of even a visit to the kings
yacht. anchored in the smooth water of
the harbor of Cowes, and the officials
in charge of the shah's tour are aetu-
ally afraid that catspaw breeze Tues
day may wreck what is intended to be
an imposing reception on the royal
yacht.
Admiralty Is Indicted.
The great naval parade off Spithead
is filling columns of the London papers
with indictments of the admiralty as
we'll as panegyrics- of the magnificent
pageant. William Laird Cloves the
naval critic and historical writer who
is unquestionably an authority on COM
parative naval statistics and who can
that while there are a dozen very eff
cient battleships off Spithead and a
few cruisers, all comparing favorably
with those of the best foreign construc-
ton, the bulk of the great fleet is
merely an exhibition of flags, paint
and gliding and the majority might
well be built of cardboard, as they are
mere dummies, too feeble to fight and
too slow to run away"
Tie admiralty is also coming in for
scathing criticism on account Of the
oveTcrowding of transports. Returning
colonial troops from Capt Town on the
steamers Britannia and Drayton
Grange, going to Australia, were devas-
tated with measles, pneumonia and
pleurisy. The stories of filthy quar-
ters and inadequate medicine and food
rival anything charged in connection
with the fever ships" which arrived
at Camp Wyckoff, Montauk Point, Long
island, after the war with Spain.
Over Crowded Half a Thousand.
Official statements from the admiral
ty all deny over crowding, but the fact
remains that after indignant protests
from Australia the transport Aurania.
then on the eve of sailing from Cape
Town, before proceeding, disembarked
go officers and men, thus admitting
that the ship was over-crowded to this
extent.
Even more serious from national
point of view than the transport. re-
mount and commissary scandals is the
problem of caring for the hordes of dis
charged soldiers now clamoring for en-
ployment. There is no question that
the various relief organizations accom-
pushed vast amount of good through
out the war and they are still doing so.
They disbursed literally millions Of
pounds sterling in aid of widows. or
phans and invalids, but now the work.
houses of the United Kingdom are filed
with ttme-expired men and in all the
big towns masses of volunteers and re-
serVists are vainly seeking fresh situa-
tons in place of those their EMPLOYERS
promised to hold open till after the war
but who did not do so. Strangely
enough, while the cities are glutted
with men out of work, the farmers in
all sections of the country are reported
to be lamenting the dearth of field
hands.
Play Based on the Nativity,
1OSSluly the r1cn receipts from the
opening of Westminster abbey to the
public after the coronation prompted
committee to approach Cardinal
Vaughan with the object of securing
Tor the as yet unconsecrated Catholic
cathedral at Westminster a great
Christmastide production of Laurence
Housman's miracle play based on the
nativity. Nothing can be settled until
the cardinals return from the CONT
nent' but the committee hopes to Sc
cure the cathedral and thus avoid con-
tact with the censor's well known
prejudice against the PRESERVATION of
Biblical characters in theater.
Dramatic London like the remainder
of the capital, is moribund. Charles
Frohman, Aug. 10, will introduce Marie
Tempest at the Duke of York,s theater
In a newly adapted French comedy.
The sterility of the theatrical season
is indicated by the fact that while
thirty-two theaters presented first per-
formances at Christmas only eight
houses west of Temple Bar are now
open.