The Redwood gazette., 1918-01-23
England As She
Is In Wartime

When l arrived in London l found
that | had been slated to do some
special work at headquarters, which
was rather disappointing, seeing tnat
my colonel already had a request in
to have me sent to France. Pm r1iss-
ing some splendid fighting, and it's
difficult to reconcile ones self to
mere pedestrian task even for
month or two. At the same time I'm
interesting myself by watching Eng
land in wartime 1t seems an abb
surd thing to say when so many of
our chaps are dying, but England
is a much more genuinely happy
country than in days of peace. There
is spirit of alertness in the streets,
may-care poise of the head and flash
of the eyes. l can remember Eng
land when she told herself every
morning in her breakfast newspapers
that she was decadent, that her pub
lie schools were no good, that her
merchants were pot-bellied, that her
soul was atrophied. Any stranger
could say what he liked against Eng
land; the Englishman would wag his
head, "That's true-that's truep' We
all believed that the American was
much smarter than we were, the
Frenchman much more artistic, the
German much more inventive-in fact,
there was scarcely nation whom we
wouldn't acknowledge as having out
| trumped US in the art of nationhood.
We regarded ourselves as a kind of
Jim Jeffrey, who stood waiting for
| almost any Jack Johnson to come
along and give him a knockout blow.
| It's credible to remember the humility
of our attitude. 1t was because of
! this that | came to America as soon
as | had finished at Oxford univer-
sity.
And now I've come back to this
to this wonderful England, where the
Screaming Sisterhood and Red Gross
nurses and men and women are
working side by side as pals. Every
body is in the uniform of service. The
flying corps girls swing jauntily along
the streets with a neat display of
khaki ankles. The w. A. c. KS sa-
lutte you as they pass, looking girl
soldiers every inch of them. The
funny old dugout majors and colonels
who were told they were no use tc
man or beast, go scooting along the
asphalt propelled bv the precious
petrol which none of US can get
their errand is so important, | think
that's it-thats what makes US al
so indecently cheerful-we each one
feel that we're needed and doing
something definitely worth while.
The American army AMI navy mer
strike an entirely new note. They're
different from us-they haven't caught
our carelessness. They look terrific
ally in earnest-they've no time fo1
trifing. And we like them for it
They seem always to be saying t.
J themselves, Were not out for lark
We mustn't play. We came so late
They'll learn to play when they'v'
done a tour of the trenches--they'l
have earned the right. I'd like t.
see them again in a years time
They'll have a more "gather-your
, rosebuls- while-you-m may" look in thei
eyes-a kind of "we've-won- -our-spurs'
swagger. But they're creating al
! extraordinary good impression. W.
t Canadians and Australians went MAJ
) on our first landing. England be
! gan to wonder whether she'd beer
, wise in bringing US out of our nur
, series-we broke too many window
! and made much too much noise. Sh
, expected a similar display from you
/ chaps. and she's little surprised
! The immaculate department OF Amer
, lean officers makes us look YER
rowdy.
England's doing her best to max
$ American officers feel welcome. Ler
t Leconsfeld has presented his hous
4 in Chesterfield gardens as club TO
e them. Other people have presente
: money and furniture. The Pilgrim
e have taken charge Of its manage
r ment. and it's the most comfortabl
! and popular club in London nova