The Donaldsonville chief., 1920-08-21
GETTING BEe

London. tinancial
| dustrial conditions are steadl
| proving in England but are {4Eg :
very long way from being 6
! Strikes are the bane Of prog
| in these DAYS. Demands for 8
and shorter hours follow 4r
in quick succession fron1
branches Of organized e.
Bile Is that less efficieI
low the granting of each de n'
mediately one of the big f1al
companies settles with ona OF
its employees by. increasing wages,
trouble starts In another se9abn of the
workers till the changW goes ali
around. Then it begins gain. Rail-
way fares have been inAEased 80 per
cent b the last thrA years. Now
anotl 30 per cent to be added
to meet the increag cost Of opera
tion. New rollinaEtock, however, has
been constructed and service has been
improved considerably in the last year,
and in spite Of the high fares and
dropping Of excursion rates the trains
are packed In every direction.
London still has an extra million
population which drifted there during
the war; and the hotels are SO crowd
ed that strangers who have not re"
served rooms frequently have to drive
about for hours seeking accommoda-
zion. Prices are high, especially for
Americans, whom q part Of the popu-
lation seems to regard as travelling
banks, always ready to hand out large
sums when called upon. The hotel
best known to Americans charges $40
a day for a room without a bath. and
New Workers staying there assert that
1t costs them S24 day for lodging,
meals and tips.
Women smoke practically every
where since the war. Some Of the
more daring now have special brands
Of cigars imported from Cuba for their
use, and smoke them publicly in thea
ters and restaurants. In the streets
Englishmen have become quite &C.
customed to having women ask them
for light.
The emancipated Engltshwoman has
invaded the mems territory to such
an extent that on the golf links and
In hotels you sometimes find notices
have been posted which read: "Th1s
smoking rooppis reserved for gentle
men only"
One tobacconist asserted recently
that women now purchase three times
as many cigarettes as men and some
are taking to pipes. Since the new tax
has come into force the quality OF
cigarette tobacco has deteriorated, as
has that of cigars, except the very
high priced ones.
English people are probably more
heavily taxed than any other nation In
the world at the present time. They
do not complain Of this, but protests
are heard against arbitrary methods
adopted by the government in dealing
with excess profits and against the
waste which still goes on in many de-
partments. Food is very dear and
there is still scarcity Of butter and
sugar. Many people have become so
accustomed to going without the lat
ter during the war that they now dis
pense with it altogether, which Is well
from the point of view OF economy, as
sugar costs 30 cents pound now and
threatens to go higher. On June Is
the bakers were instructed not to
make any more white bread, and ii
Is considered possible that bread cards
will again be issued before ChrlstmaA
the big supplies of grain from RUSSIA
promised by the soviet government to |
Lloyd George having proved to be
purely mythical.
The housing problem in London, |
and in fact in all the large cities In
England, is very serious and the sug-
gestion that the authorities take over
all empty houses, as they did in some |
towns during the war, is being agitat- |
ed.
Shoes, hats and wearing apparel |
generally are very dear.
The Defense Of the Realm Act II
called Dora for SHORTS still in force |
in England, so Ais impossible to buy |
candy, cigars, tobacco, matches, books |
and great many ether things after 8
q. m.
Public houses (saloons) are per
mitted to sell intoxicating liquors be-
tween II and 2 80 p. M, and between
6 and 10 p. 1n., which is two hours
After the closing time for selling
chocolate ~ These hours are strictly
observed, yet those engaged in the
retail liquor trade are making more
money than they ever did before on
account of the high prices and the /
short drinking hours.
Khaki uniforms have disappeared
from the streets and MANNED ex-sol-
diers can no longer be seen on
crutches. Most Of these have been
furnished with artificial arms and
legs and provided with Jobs in gev-
er@fnent offices and banks. The women
have left their war jobs on the motor
buses and street cars, but there are
still few in the booking offices of
he railways. England gradually II
hevirnin2 Ia 1ttrn normal