Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1915-11-04
An ENGLAND At WAa
Nation is Fighting for Its Very
Existence.
Burlington BOY in London Describes
n Recent Zeppelin Raid-Fla-
cnrds Calling for Recruits seq
Seen Everywhere.

Lawrence Staples, eldest son of the Rev.
and Mrs. c. j. Staples of this city, who
is studying new methods of Industrial
cooperation in England and Ireland, under
date of October Is, wrote his parents a
letter descriptive of existing conditions
in London, and the Free Press is glad to
print the following extracts from his
letter.
This is an England at Var. fighting for
it's very existence. From the moment that
the detachment of soldiers came ABOARD
at Falmouth armed not only with the
rifle but with a wicked looking knife
which gives one a realization. as firearms
never can of what war means, that fact
is reiterated Soldiers. soldiers every
where; everywhere. too, nurses and
wounded; everywhere the placards calling
for recruits. Great efforts are being made
TO get along with the voluntary system
though with every window displaying the
need of recruits. recruiting officers who
take you aside and ask If you do not
want to do your Bit" rallies or street
corners and in Trafalgar Square. at which
speakers use all their persuasion and
some invective, there is compelling pres
sure on every Engishman to join the
colors. And results are obtained, too, yet
more and more there is the demand for
compulsory service. There seems to be no
deficiency of men on the streets, though
one does see woman at unusual tasks--as
station porters mail carriers. etc. And
though one is disappointed. perhaps, with
the apparent Indifference of many, there
Is a firm determination to carry things
through to a successful conclusion. Eng
land is gradually being aroused-the feel
ing against the Huns is growing more
bitter each day. 1t has become a war of
determination Many of the regiments at
the front Will take no prisoners, despite
the efforts of the their officers. This in
retaliation for alleged outrages for which
the blame seems to fall on the Prussans
The Saxons, even the Turks. are held to
he much more humane. The Canadians
are especially bitter 1t has been proven
that one of them was crucified, and many
helpless from gas, were slaughtered No
more Prussans will be taken prisoners
by the Canadians. And, of course there
is the same spirit on the other side.
a ZEPPELIN RAID
Yes this is England at war, and Lon
don in war time. AT night there Is al
most complete darkness-so dark in fac.
L..
searchlights sweep the sky from all parts
of the city on the lookout for Zeppelins
OF course you have read Of Wednesdays
raid, October IS There is little in the
papers here, but everyone in London
knows where it was. and many have seen
the damage. The first attack came about
$50. and there were two others later Out
Of the darkness and the silence of the
,On0OD Oirbf bor
and the booming Of the bombs, and the
answering discharges of the defensive
guns. The searchlights had quickly found
the Zeppelin-there it was a sivery spot
no more, many thousand feet above the
ground. And though at one time it
seemed to have been hit and turned al
most perpendicularly, there is no assur-
ance that it was destroyed. The censor
ship is absolutely strict, unnecessarily
so, it would seem. So perhaps you know
more than I do. But yesterday I went
down and saw the damage. Very close
TO Trafalgar Square itself they came, in
fact many windows on the Strand were
broken. OF course they have closed much
OF the district But one of the bombs
wrecked the building used as a depot for
Belgian refugees, great hole through the
roof-in fact. a mere skeleton Is left
Another landed on the corner of the I,y-
ceum Theatre close to Covent Garden and
Drury Lane. Several in the theatre were
Killed, that is sure, but there is no pub
lshed statement. And throughout the
district big holes Clipped in the walls and
hardly whole pane Of glass left. All
that have seen. and there was greater
damage in other sections
MANY INNOCENT, 1yI(,TINc
There can be very little excuse on the
part Of the Huns" for such raids Many
over nifty. as you know-innocent VIC
Tins. I do not blame the Germans for
using their Zerpeins, if they can destroy
military stores But there was no damage
of that sort-the bombs fell rather in the
theatre section, where there We're some
soldiers, no doubt. but mostly civilians
That being so. the use of the Zeppelin is
unwarranted, should be protested by the
United States as n civilized nation, and
the absence of such protest, as it has
been absent before. justfies the resent
mert which many Englishmen are begin.
hihg TO feel toward America. Many of
them are inclined to forgive us on the
ground Of the likelihood of internal dis
sensions which to my mind is no ground
ut all
III Germany We're WISE she would give
up Zeppelins as she has to an extent
given up her submarine policy They are
boomerangs. Little real damage is done
and the cost in the feeling toward Ger
many in England, and perhaps in Amer
1ca--I nope so-is heavy. Yesterday the
inc or recruits was much longer than
IL mas oeeh for some timc, And a raid
which would do more damage would only
increase he line.