The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1915-01-02

Z 100 "a /. & l. " ts4
b cheer murder to S16d fFanSD0ffS Y6T
Of soldiers to ssa In the face OF sub
marines. When they have Z tunnel
they can use their fine expeditionary
force upon the continent. but until
then Il might just as well not exist %
Tar 40 Europe u concerned. Ny own
country, therefore, was' In. good care
and had nothing to fear. Great Brit
ain, however, was already feeling my
grip upon her throat. Az In normal
times fournfths OF her food Il i'm
ported. prices we're rising by leaps and
bounds. The supplies In the country
were beginning to show signs Of de-
pletion, while little was coming in to
replace them. The insurance at Lloyd's
had risen to a, figure which made the
price Of food prohibitive to the mass
Of the people by the time + had reach
ed the market. The loaf, which under
ordinary circumstances stood at ave-
pence. was already at one and two
pence. Beef was shillings and four
pence pound and mutton 2 shIllings
and ninepence. Everything else was
in proportion. The government had
acted with energy and offered a big
bounty for corn to be planted at once.
1t could only be reaped Eve months
hence. however. and long before then.
as the papers pointed out, half the u
land would be dead from starvation.
Strong appeals had been made to the
patriotism Of the people. and they
were assured that the interference with
trade was temporary and that with q
little patience all would be well. But
already there was a marked rise In the
death rate. especially among children,
who suffered from want Of milk, the
cattle being slaughtered for food.
There was serious rioting in the Lam
AYRSHIRE coal fields and In the mid
lands. together with a socialistic up
heaval in the east of London. which
had assumed the proportions OF a civil
war. Already there were responsible
papers which declared that England
was in an impossible position and that
an immediate peace was necessary to
prevent one OF the greatest tragedies
in history. It was my task now to
prove to them that they were right.
It was May 2 when I found myself
back at the Maplin sands. to the north
of the estuary Of the Thames. The
Beta was sent on to the Solent to block
II ana take the place of the lamented
Kappa. And now ! was throttling
Britain indeed. London. Southamp-
ton, the Bristol channel. Liverpool, the
North channel the Glasgow approach
was guarded BY my boats.
Great liners were. az we learned after.
ward. pouring their supplies into. Gal
way and the west OF Ireland. where
provisions were cheaper than had ever
been known. Tens Of thousands were
from Britain for Ireland In
order to save themselves from starva-
ton. But you cannot transplant
whole dense population. The main
body OF the people by the middle Of
May was actually starving. At that
date wheat was at 100. maize and bar
ley at 80. Even the most obstinate,
had begun to zee that the situation
could not possibly continue.
In the great towns starving crowds
clamored for bread before the munich
pal Offices. and public officials every
where were attacked and often muir
dered BY frantic mobs. composed large
y Of desperate women who had seen
their infants perish before their eyes.
In tho country roots, bark and weeds
Of every sort were used AZ food. In
London the private mansions Of MIN
lsters were guarded By strong pickets
II soldiers. fhile battalion Of guards
was cnmped permanently round the
houses Of parliament. The lives Of the
prime minister and Of the foreign Sec
rotary were continually threatened and
occasionally attempted Yet the gov
efnmentp had entered upon the war
With the full assent Of every party In
the state. The true culprits were
those, be they politicians or journalists.
who had not the foresight to under
stand that unless Britain grew her
own supplies or unless BY means Of q
tunnel she had some way Of convey
Ing them into the island all her mighty
expenditure upon her army and her
6eet was a mere waste Of money 70
long az her antagonist had few sub
marines and men who could use them.
has often been stupid, but has
got or scot free.
This TINA abe waa Htupid and Ind To
pay the price. You can't expect luck
to BE- your savior always.
CONTINUED Next Week.
NJ R.v Ms0r N Esuse vnsde :