Returned Residents Foregather and Decide Home is Best: Tea-Party Squad Airs Views By Heston Christabel dear, we are meeting some of our old friends in town again, Ju the language of the moment women have to some extent' strate~ gleally retreated to the home lines and show signs of strengthening their positions in no uncertain manner. They have already made "sundry Inspections of cook-house sectors, and hough humane feelings have prev: ented them from entirely routing the Ikitehen squad, with its reinforcements from the country, certain platoons of Such, who really only lived round the comer, and exploited the present situation (6 save rent, have been sum= marily dispersed Wifely Generalissimos conduct their campaigns with vigour, and opinions Yang held in check, through the limits of evacuation centres, seem to have: accumulated, and now pour forth in perfect barrages of verbal fire. Wolf ub and Brownie battalions, following the rigours of camp and' holiday-hotel life, make effective raids on pantry quarters, but none of these activities can be construed into any sort of offensive design, In fact, it is generally understood from spokes women Ju high command that family morale in our city is excellent: the great objective of domestic peace has been achieved, and home sweet home has never seemed more desirable than in these days of our sad distress and that her own country was seething with unrest; that there was neither Uberty of thought nor of action there, while in her neighbours' states folk Thad to harness their spoken opinions to. the Government or Dictatorial coach, watch their steps, mind where they got off, bottle themselves up. look before they leaped and perform all sorts of strange social gymnastics.
seem to remember having read that some countries, (not our own), women had to dress in accordance with the ideas of men in high com= mand whose sartorial education had been entirely neglected. They had and in short, put up with worse than harte, murder and sudden death, Home Sweet Home Peace And Plenty Those who have ventured to return fare delighted to be back in their own homes despite the bombings which disturb their slumbers, One wife stated that the actual experience of warlike expressions of goodwill were preferable to apprehensions aroused When far removed from the seat of hostilities, "for rumour' and report caused the deepest uneasiness for the safety of her husband, who was in Now in some of the big-power countries which I visited last and this year I, In my ignorance, seemed to nota that things with the common people Were entirely happy" and glorious, and certainly expressions of opinion were free. In America, during the Presidential election, for instance, T was astounded at the insults which' were hurled at President Roosevelt and his party, and of the counterattack too. "Yet no one seemed to be jailed for it, Domestic seemed happy and, comfortable, food was cheap and delicious, and the folk "altogether charming and in the main contented. Certainly the women were having a good time and hot even the President would dare t0 {ell them how to dress, In Britain" things were Ukewlee looking up tremendously, T have never noted the working classes so well off. Housewives were able to the thick of it and particularly dangerously placed in his office. She was right, I think, for pondering upon dangers we wot not of can be mighty disturbing, The evils we know are preferable, In somewhat limited circles we now foregather and exchange experiences. When the returned have exhaustd their tales of woe as to the horrors of being out of their own homes, and in durance vile, we turn to current events and matters topical. Children and servants as topies are rather in abeyance these days, In our feminine way we advance tea-party logie on the great problems of our times and og such T pass some of it on to you.
In my circumgyration of the small Ufe social as it is to-day aspects of our political situation and the for eigners' attitude towards world affairs Cand our little affair in particular), have been presented which have dis: turbed my domestic soul, We and our Governments have come in for 'a good deal of adverse criticism and T have wished many times that I hod taken a more intelligent interest in polities—as some women do—and could give the right' answers Irritating statements which have come my way. In expressing my views to you, Christabel, you will understand that T do so merely in the rOle of domestic-hearth stump-orator (my favourite one), "and" these opinions are none but Hester's, AN their shopping baskets, not only with the necessities of life but with some of the luxuries too. They. and their children were almost all: well dressed—not invariably tastefully forbed by any means, but well, and comparatively expensively clothed with all sorts of decorative and. some cases, hideous vanities added. So, judging' by results there is some thing to be said for our deplorable way of doing things, and a contented and free people is something for politicians to strive for.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.