New-York tribune., 1916-01-17

The unprcccdentcd had occurred. FOR once
I national ideal had proved stronger than
class prejudice. In this matter of tho war
all classes were as one as one not ohiy IN
sentiment but i'm practical resolve Inc
crowd that surged outside the central re-
cruiting Offices in Great Scotland fard was
the proof Of it. All classes were there, strug
cling for the privilege OF cnlistng IN the
new citizen army, conscious OF their uhity
and determined 70 give effect TO IL IN the
common life Of service. II was an extrnordi-
nary crowd. Workmcn were there in cora
hreeches and subfuse coats; boys from the
Fast End in the latest fashions from Petit
coat Lane; clerks and shop assistants IN
sober black: mechanics in blue serge ana
bowler hats; travellers In the garments Of
prosperity, and, most conspicuously well
dressed OF all, gentlemen in their Oldest
clothes Il was Ike a section cut out Of the
nation
Men and boys Of the working class formed
the majority. They were in their element.
shouting singing, checking the "coppers'
with as much rbald good humor as If the
recruiting Office had been a music hall But
some Of the other classes were far less At
their ease. They had been brought up from
earliest youth TO thank God that they were
not "a other men, to set store by the innu-
merable little marks that distinguished them
from "the lower classes All these they
were now sacrificing TO an ideal and they felt
horribly embarrassed. Even the gentleman
who had prided himself on his freedom from
81 .,,b, rLa a
ease. OF course, he had been to working
mems club, but there he had been MI.
Thingumy." Here he was innate" lie told
himself that he did not mind being mate ;
in fact. he rather liked il, but he feryently
wished that he looked the part. He felt az
self-conscious as if he had arrived at din
ner party in a Norfolk jacket. 4 little later
en-, when he sat, one Of four nude men, in
a cubicle awaiting medical inspection, he dld
feel that for the moment they had all been
reduced 20 the common dcnominator Of their
sheer humanity; but embarrassment returned
With his clothes and stayed with him all
through the march TO the station and the
journey 20 the depot.
Sccdy Init of a Seedy Crowd.
A. the depot he fought for the prize Of a
verminous blanket and six feet Of floor 20 lie
on. When he awoke the next morning his
clothes were creased and dirty, his collar so
filthy that it had TO be discarded and his chin
Unshavcn He perceived with something Of
a shock that b., was no longer conspicuous
He was 40 more than the seedy unit OF a
sccdy crowd In any other circumstances he
would have been disguised. As il was he
sought the canteen at the earliest opportu-
nifty and toasted the unity of the classes IN
pntl
All emerged from the depot clothed exactly
alike and meditatcd on the symbolism Of
clothes They donned the gray shirt and
ready made Khaki Of the new era and de-
posted the embems of class distinction on a
common rag heap. Even the perfunctory man
ner of the q. ". s. could not rob the occasion
Of an almost religious soemnity. 1t was
the formal beginning Of new life, in which
men Of al classes, starting with sometime
like equality Of opportunity, should gain what
preeminence they might by merit of their
inherent manhood or the seduction of their