The Winslow mail., 1914-09-19

piece INTO ms ldDQ.
1t was a gift that, in spite Of the
precedent Of De Quiucey, might under
the repressive social legislation of
those times have brought Barnet with
in reach Of the prison lash. But he
took it. he coufesses, and thanked her
as well as he was able, and went off
gladly to glt food.
A day or so later-and again his free
dom to 20 IS he pleased upon the roads
may he taken as d mark Of increasing
social DISCRIMINATION and police en-
barrassment-he wandered out into the
country.
He speaks Of the roads of that pluto
cratic age as being fenced with barb
ed Wire against uhpropertied people,
Of the high walled gardens and tres
pass warnings that kept him to the
dusty n8rTOWness Of the public ways.
In the air happy rich people We're fly
ing. needless Of the misfortunes about
them. as he himself had been flying
two years ago, and along tile road
swept the new traffic, light and swift
and wonderful. One was rarely out of
earshot Of its whistles and gongs anG
siren cries even in the field paths or
over the open downs. The officials of
the labor exchanges We're everywhere
overworl1ed and infuliated, the casual
wards were so crowded that the sur
plus wanderers slept in ranks under
sheds or in the open air, and since Civ
ing to wayfarers had been made a pun
ishable Offense there was no longer
friendship or help for a man from the
rare foot passenger or the wayside cot
tage.
4 wasn't angry" said Barnet. 81
saw an immense seIfshness. a mon
strous disregard for anything but
pleasure and possession, in all those
people above US but | saw how inevi.
table that was. how certainly if the
richest had changed places with the
poorest that things would have been
the same. What else can happen when
men use science and every new thing
that science gives and all their avail.
able intelligence and energy to manu-
facture wealth and appliances and
leave government and education to the
ruSting traditions of hundreds of years
ago? Those traditions come from the
dark ages, when there was really not
enough for every one, when life was a
fierce struggle that might be masked,
but could not be escaped. Of course
this famine grabbing, this fierce dis
possession Of others, must follow from
such a disharmony between material
and training. OF course the rich were
vulgar and the poor grew savage and
every added power that came to men
made the rich richer and the poor less
necessary and less free The men |
met in the casual wards and the relief
offices were all smoldering for revolt,
talking of justice and injustice and re,
venge. saw no hope in that talk nor
in anything but patience"
But he did not mean a passive pa
tience. He meant that the method of
social reconstruction was still a riddle;
that no efectual Encouragement was
possible until this riddle in all its tan
gled aspects was solved 81 tried to
talk to those discontented men," he
wrote, but it was hard for them to
see things as | saw them. When |
talked of patience and the larger
scheme they answered, But then we
shall all be dead, and could not make
them see what is so simple to my own
mind, that that did not affect the ques-
ton Men who think in lifetimes are
Of no use to statesmanship.
He does not seem to have seen a
newspaper during those WanderingS,
and the chance sight of the transpar
ency Of a kiosk in the market place at
Bishop Stortford announcing Grave
international Situation did not excite
him very much There had been 50
many grave international situations in
recent years,
This time it was talk of the central
European powers suddenly attacking
the Slay confederacy, with France and
England going to the help of the Slavs
But the next night he found toler
able meal awaiting the vagrants in the
casual ward and learned from the
WorkhouSe master that all Serviceable
trained men were to be sent back on
the morrow to their mobilization cen
ters. The country was on the eve of war
He was to go back through London to
Surrey His first feeling, he records
was one Of extreme relief that his
days Of hopeless battering at the un-
derside Of civilization were at an end
Here was something definite to do,
something definitely provided for But
his relief was greatly modified when
he found that the mobilization arrange
ments had been made so hastily and
carelessly that for nearly thirtysix
hours at the improviscd depot at Ep-
som he got nothing either to eat or to
drink but emp of cold water. The
depot was absolutely unprovisioned
and no one was free to leave it.
CHAPTER III.
The Last War.