The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-09-29

1 the whole thing will be over and done with, but at the present time next to the war, the most important thing in Eng | land is the bus strike that makes people I walk and be peaceful, or ride in a train and fight. The condition of the under- ground railways and tube stations I can | only liken to the rush hours on the New York subways-and you can't get very far ahead of that for real energetic | hust1ing!
 | Today there are various meetings Of | strikers in different quarters of London. and, therefore, crowds of the uniformed 1 young women who are making such dis l turbance in the world of passenger over- 1 ground traffic are stroling about ths | streets arm in arm and taking a very | interested survey of shop windows and
 cinema theatres which probably they have | little time for visiting during the busy | hours of their working days
 The London omnibus girls are, for the most part, quite smart looking young women who wear their dark blue uni | forms, slouch hats and knee-high leather ] gaiters with quite a style. That they | still take an interest in feminine frip- l peries, however, Is proved to me by the 1 fact that not one among a large num- l ber of strolling conductorettes could pass without covetous glances and comments before a certain shop devoted to French ; lingerie in Piccadilly, where "le dernier ] cri de Paris has an exhibition of chit- 1 fon and lace that looks much too per- 1 ishable to be worn beneath blue or khaki cloth But really think that it must be I the munition girls and the omnibus girls and the various other feminine wartime 1 wage earners who are responsible for the | extraordinary increase of shops of this kind in London during the last three or ! four years.
 They have sprung up in amazing numb | bers and in most surprising localities, 1 and chiffon and ninon petticoats and teaches corsets' and other garments of | all descriptions embroidered, lace- trimmed and robbin- decked, apparently tsen like hot cakes to young women who certainly do not look as if they had been accustomed all their lives to any special 1 extravagancies of toilette. At any rate in between their strike meetings the bus l girls are doing their shopping and seen quite contented andhappy, wksch is more | than can be said of the general puoic
 who have either literally to fight to s'e'
 on board the over-full trains, or else are compelled to use an ancient anima called "shank's mare" with the best grace that they can muster. Even those wht can afford taxis are unable to gratifA that desire, for 1 should think there was about one taxi to 20 would be hirers alonf
 the length of Regent street or Piccadilll
 for instance.
 | I went to a tea party at house 1T Portman Square, and one taxi arrives into which six guests mounted. They were all going in different directions, pu they arranged to drop each other aiont
 the line of route, after having made al
 exhorbitant bargain with the driver wh
 first of all talked about having no pa
 trol and then about the amount of none!
 The quired. Private cars as you know
 are quite non-existent in England a
 present You can be taken to poilc
 court and heavily fined if. for instance you drive to a shop in a private car ant
 allow it to wait outside the door unt your purchases are made. Such thing
 as "joy rides though not unknown, ar
 indulged in at the genuine peril Of who
 ever may be discovered in this specia i crime, while the idea of being given lift anywhere in car belonging to tn government war office or the admiralty , lis one of those great adventures Una ; can be indulged in only by abnormaii r daring people; and so you see we ar
 really having quite thrilling tune or f [ heard one girl remark to another a . she was trudging through the park yes . terday, that she really preferred the eN l citement of an air raid to the grim co i, lar work of motorless London r aif raid," she said, lat least has a spc
 Of danger and excitement in it, and yo