The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-11-03

London. october 1 2.---"Srnall talk" is strange hearing for those who liston nowadays. l was at 0 dance the other evening and during a pause in the op- erations I sat down near a group of girls and young officers who were drinking lemonade and chatting
 There were peaIs of merriment and occasional rifts of. silence and I iis- tened. expecting to hear the usual pleasantries that occupy the bralns and tongues of young people in every station of life. But instead of moon light and music, memories of past gaiet;es and prophecies of, more to come, what I heard was war, war all ways war being discussed in the hap piest and most triumphant key mag iinaEle The lads were telling of their experience lover there'' and nearly i every one of them had some story to recount concerning the killing of Ger mans and how strange dead bodies l look ed piled in grotesque attitudes in. captured trenches or in woods swept ] lear by our guns. The girls seePed l to absolutely gloat over "the horrible i details" and the onlv5 sad note in the | party was struck by a single subal-
 tern who had to confess that he had i. been 'knocked out by bit of shell i from one of our own guns and had never had a chaee of killing or much !, less capturing Fritz or "Heinie" CT Boche during all the course of his ex- 1 periences at the front. e I It's hard luck" he said in one of I the few pauses that he salone made 1 gloomy, "but I'll be back at them~sooii sagain and if don't account for at 1 least a half dozen I promise you I'll i never dance another. fox trot.' | Five years ago or even slightly less, conversations about men killing other men and how they did it would not l sponse from carefully ynurtured young ladies. but times have indeed changed and sirls with blue eysS and soft, pink l cheeks and fair waving hair who would much rather, have talked about | roses and stars and moonshine are | now enthusiasts concerning the hor- TOTS of a battlefield. Now. you can see the 'breaa and butter-miss" Gas she used to be called in the days before the war) flush and sparkle with delight as she recounts stories she has heard of slaughter and horror told to her 1 by some hero whom she is quite ready to worship for his deeds of righteous | violence.
 l IThe world is indeed changed and the ! view of men and women is no longer guided by that compass of marrow thought that always pointed toward the icold north bounded by convfntion. jdare say you are feeling this new spirit Il in-sthe women of America just as Surely as we feel it in the women of Britain As l was walking down Piccadilly this
 morning I saw a Red Cross nurse witt two gold wound stripes on the sleeve lof her dark blue uniform coat while
 her left arm was bound in surgical ban ldages and rested in a cradle Sht AI Ia1 1ncc tur. ar11y ffNy.f hAS lsigns' of battle and I do not think be
 yond an occasional admiring glance land a salute from passing officers tha
 anyone specially noticed that she was
 indeed bearing the honorable mark
 of a soldier. N
 The talk about the coal situation throughout England is occasioning { good deal of anxiety among those peo ] pie who have always been accustomed to warm rooms and blazing fires, ant all sorts of devices are being suggested
 in order to keep us warm this winter. nm told that every London hostess wht
 the troop train that carried his regi
 ment. He would like to hear from mem
 bers of that family They feel an inter est In him. Cards. letters, clippings iron
 them would be appreciated. That is ths
 sort of news the men want, from tn'
 men and women of their own neishbor-
 hoods. What building is going on in Bir.
 mingham. what are sthe striking window
 decorations who has, moved. and Where
 and do you know any poultry news
 Why. we never see home chickens anf
 gardening. What about Fairfield ant
 Ensley? Is there to be a Lyceum cours'
 this winter? What changes in you
 business house. who has gone. and where Write the home and local news to tn
 home men and Sboys you know. sent
 packages when you, can, and mail you V magazines as soon as you are througl with them.