The Cape weekly tribune. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1914-1914, 1914-08-21
LONDON CLERKS TO
GO TO The FRONT
Men Are Organizing to De-
sert Stores to Take Par;
In Cunflict.

London, Aug. l9.-Shopkeepers of
London now are organizing their
CLERKS into fighting FORCES. Every
evening In the streets OF the business
districts may be seen companies of
shop employees, earnestly drilling to
be soldiers. They are getting ready to
change the yardstick tor a musket and
the counter for the trench. In the big
department stores, where there are
many employees, whole regiments have
been organized. In lesser establish
ments, companies are being formed,
and where there are small stores with
only few clerks, two or three en-
ployers are putting their men to-
gether to form a company
Apparently all of the clerks are en-
thusiastic over the possibilities of go
ing to war. They seem to take to the
drilling with interest and when they
are being put through their PAGES, the
streets ring with good natured shouts
and laughter.
This military organization of
clerks is not haphazard movement.
1t is being supervised by the Govern
ment and the men thus enlisted will
form fifth line of defense. The COM
| phihNS bhhS luIiIltu dIt III dNUlllOI 10
the thousands being recruited for the
regular army and the military organi-
cations in the various cities.
From the appearance of the recruit
ing stations, it would appear that all
male England is trying to get to the
fighting front. Men Of all classes and
degrees besicgc the offices, standing
half the day in long lines in the
Loo, g;l hn4tal H. Il
bows with grimy laborers. The enlist
mcnt is proceeding at the rate Of
} thousand day.
1t is an undoubtcd benefit to the
British consumer that war was de-
: layed as long as possible. 1t did not
come until the first sheaNcS OF the
home crop were already in stack while
so much wheat land was ripe for the
! harvester that a scarcity of food could
: be at least but matter of days. Had
| war broken out in June, the matter of
, harvesting the grain would have been
, II far more serious problem.
The days when British ports held a
! months supply of wheat and ample
= reserve of feeding stuff Cor stock APP
pear to be past and trade profits in
= time of peace are now so small that
lHtIt 10 ilO" llO tOIEtt ~ E'I WI
carrying changes, for paying for the
warehousing.
That flour and wheat have risen
even slightly in price since the var
}. scare became apparent, shows what
D might have been expected had war
e came when the harvest was but two
a months off instead of two weeks.
Y The first, but least important issue
| Of bo &c hot nf tho Rriti oh
kets being cut off from certain arti-
y clcs much in demand, but not abso-
n lutely necessary. Austrian rolls have
g already disappeared from the dinner
a table and the fine Hungarian flour,
so much in demand for pastry has
gone up 100 per cent. II is doubtful
= if Hungary will continue To
export flour, for the wheat crop Of
= the Dual Monarchy, even had there
been no war, is very short This year.
S The eastern part of the Empire: that
nearest to the seat of war, will barely
be self supporting.
The hard wheat from Servia, Bull
d garia and 2oumania, also viii! be MISS
ing from England for time, Tut
happily there is no reason to fear that
4 confectionery will disappear for the
other British cities are now making
excellent pastry flour by Hungarian
u processes, no longer the jealously
y guarded secret Of the mills of Buda-
pest
Servian experts of silk cOCoOns,
,, plums, prunes, cherries and liquors al
u ready have been stopped by the war,
but such things are regarded as lux
= urics and the British consumers are
=, doing without them without complaint
u Through England the people of cv-
4 cry class regard the war with ono
~ mind. They approve of it because they
n believe there was no honorable way
Ii for England to stay out of tn" con
n flict Not . mar but wants to Eo &c
n the front and all the people, high OF
X low, are accepting the privations OF
y war, slight as yet, but apt to become
heavy before long, with great gooC
n humor and grace.
Perhaps one of the most unexpected
results of the war was the absolut,
ending of suffragette militancy. FO
years the British public had been ac
customed to the depredations of thu
wild women" manifested in smashing
of windows, crusades on Parliament
burning of houses, mutilation of pic
turs and explosions Of bombs. One 0
the first things King George did afte
England declared war, was to uncon
ditionally pardon all the suffragett
prisoners who are in the various Jail
for militant offenses. The miIitants re
ciprocated Immediately by declaring
cessation Of their violent campaig
for the ballot. The suffragette organ
izations volunteered to take charge o
the work of providing for the need
women and children, made dependen
by the war and some of them volur
teered to act as nurses at the front.