The Washington times., 1921-09-25
GOLD RESERVE =:
Loses GROUND .
AMONG bR|TONS
Pre-War Aloofness vanishes
and People Take Interest In
Meeting Neighbors.
by EARLE C. REEVES,
international News Service.

| international News borvscc.
LONDON, Sept. 25.-The war. or
something, has made difference in
England. The oid-time reserve, some
Of the prewar ''timidity." has been
shaken OUT of Enslands people.
The war was followed by promises
of a new world ami further democ-
ratization Of these tight little Islands.
Those promises were followed py
many printed assertions that the ma
ton which worked as a family, hish
and low aide by side, in time OF need
was relapsing into its old class dis
ltinction-that chumminess had Deen
wiped from the slate.
First, the new brotherhood OF man
was discussed on the platform and
in the press, And then. in the press,
Brit&ln's presumed failure to live the
lesson of war In peacetime came In
for a round humping at the hands
of persons who saw q return Ito the
old iron-clad reserve.
The publicists Of Fleet street and
adjacent territory haven't observed
all the signs. Perhaps the signs
aren't at all visible to an English
man. To an American who has seen
England in both periods and, in 10th
instances, seen not merely the down.
town life, hut the home life as well.
there are unmistakable signs that
John Bull has retained q sizeable por-
ton Of the spirit Of comradeship he
learned in four bitter years.
Dustrnan Replaces Noble.
The other day a parsonage of some
Importance, distinctly q somebody.
had been selected to unveil war
memorial in an English village. Iie
fell Ill. The village dustman, q cor
poral and a first-rate fighting man,
with thres or four ribbons. was Sc
lected instead Of the titled parsonage.
1t couldn't have happened a little
while ago. Such things were done
during the war. obviously. but not
before. And II the back sliding of
Britain had been as bad Is some
have contended II couldn't happen In
peacetime. 49,
The other day attended a garden
party In district where had lived
nearly four years ago. In those days,
in the last year of the war. milady
and her maid were frequently found
side by side In some sort Of war work
But In that neighborhood, with few
exceptions, the residents were shut
in alright compartments. Each fam
lily about seemed to know" half.
dozen others and no more. There was
an air Of typical British reserve about
their relations.
But this garden party started at
ESQ, with children's games, a veri-
table riot. with all the grown-ups on
the side lines. and many competing.
and continued straight through to I 80
next morning. when the lights had to
be turned out to drive the guests home
The feature OF the evening was a
fancy dress dance, and II was, .figura-
lively speaking, as giddy as the big
bust" Of the year might be In a
Western university.
The well-known and much carcica-
tured "compartmented" Englishman
was not among those present.
Aloofncss Disappears.
Four years ago a family moved into
this neighborhood and after a year
very nearly sold their home because
in that time they had not met q single
neighbor. Today they are the center
of any party. and newcomers to the
neighborhood are voted into every
thing with almost the spantaneity and
enthusiasm to be found at the Elks'
convention.
Something has happened to Eng
land. This IL an isolated instance. I
cite It because II In the one know
| best. It may be an exaggeration, not
applicable over the entire country.
But many signs show that it cannot
be any great exaggeration.
Fancy the canny Scot calling the
Yankee Rotarian by his front name
in the good old pre-war days. 1t
wouldn't have been done. don't you
know, and during the war even II
would not have been done with any
spontaneity, no matter how strongly
the department of information rec.
commended open-handed friendliness to
the American cousins as an act Of
deft propaganda. But II was done at
Edinburgh.
The signs are too many for recount
ing. Leave II at this: Something is
jolting England and the English from
their one-time aloofness. 1t IL per-
haps only a small beginning. but a
beginning 1t is.