Semi-weekly herald., 1915-04-05

VI
any possessions. He reminded me OF
Colonel Roosevelt and, by the way,
he admires Roosevelt.
We met about thirty-fve young
lieutenants. All of them are educat-
ed men and many of them are
wealthy. have been told time and
again that when visiting high-grade
British men that it is best to do little
talking, it being the best policy to let
the Britisher do the talking. The Brit
| ish man is so polite that he will his
ten to you as if he were interested,
| when as a matter of fact he is not;
he is simply enduring you, and after
you are gone he will make remarks
and from his remarks it may be infer
red he thinks that all Americans are
fond of talking.
This has not been in accordance
with my experience. These young
British officers talk freely. sat next
to captain who has been in the
army about a week. He is a Cam
bridge graduate and has been fitted
for the law That is the way they
speak of it in this country. In our
land they would say he had been ad-
mitted to the bar. This Cambridge
man has full comprehension of what
he is going up against and he is going
to war as matter of duty. When l
told him had been to Oxford he
insisted that I must also visit Cam
bridge. To him Cambridge is the
greatest place on earth and that is
just the right feeling.
British Officers Gentlemen.
i One thing is true, that these British
officers are all gentlemen; they are
thoroughbreds. When tn e colonel
comes into the room it is customary
| for all present to rise to their feet
We had fine dinner and the young
officers were waited upon by privates
Everything was as fully military as
if we had been messing in camp. AT
ter dinner we visited with the colonel
and his wife an1 we found both of
them perfectly willing to talk and
both charming.
The colonel's wife had had some
sad experiences in Belgium. The ma
jority of these troops gathered in
camps around London will not be in
the war for three or four months
yet.
4 When Will War End?
The commonest inquiry at the mess
was: How long will the war last
Will Irwin said it will end in Octo-
ber. The soldiers made no predic-
tions A soldier is not allowed to
talk, We did not expect 10 stay all
night at Southend-on Sea, but when
W. re- -hsd the station in an army
automobile we found the last train
| for London had gone. We found beds
in nearby hotel and reached London
, this morning.
I was entertained at luncheon yes!
terday by Lieut.. Col. j. ]. CarriclS
who is member of the Canadian
parliament, but he is a member of the
British army now. Lord Blythe, Sir
George Perley, Canadian high com
missioner; Maj. G. W. Stevens and
, Maj. r. M. Sims were the other
, guests. | was seated by Lord Blythe
: who is a round-faced man aged about
, 70. He is said to be the largest dis
tiller in Great Britain and, of course
is wealthy. We did not discuss pro-
, hibition. But 1 found Lord Blythe q
: genial companion. He is a large lane
owner and has been taking care oi
| the horses bought in the states ant
elsewhere for the use of the army
The horses, after long sea voyage
, are used up and the government call.
ed on Lord Blythe to do a patriotic
work. He is now caring for two hun.
, dred horses and is paid $50 apiece for
his work. He has expert men who
know how to build up horses into goot
condition.
British Agriculture.
| Lord Blythe is much concerned with
regard to British agriculture. He has
promised to devote fifty acres to the
experimental culture of sugar beets
; A movement is on in Great Britain
loking to the manufacture of sugar
This idea comes as result of the
war which has cut off the importa-
ton of sugar made from beets from
Germany. My readers know that ag-
riculture has languished in Great
Britain and for no particular reason
excepting that estates have been too
large heretofore. Now there is a
movement for small holdings. Small
holdings invariably result in better
cultivation and as consequence
/ Qrpntpr yialdc of oil ,~ol,,a.