Paradoxical Pettigo It has been left to the Irish to provide one' lof the strangest paradoxes of the. war. Like the "merry town of Roundabout that. makes the world go round," the Invention of G. Chesterton, also a literary paradox, the tiny town of Peitigo, in Northern Ireland, is a gcographical and juridical headache. It seems that {the border between Northern Ireland and Eirz cuts the town in half so that while Northern Treland ig at war with Germany, the portion [within Eire is strictly neutral, and judging! from the pictures the border line seems to run down the main street. Imagine the contrasts While Northern Treland, strictly plunged into the business of war with black-outs, dug-outs and gas masks part of compulsory' defence measures, ths other part of the town within Eire, being strictly neutral, can display flashing Hights, refuse to" wear gis masks or, live in dug-outs. The conditions and. restrictions oth administrations are observed. A. photo-rapher "may photograph a dug-out from cross the street on the Eire side, but cannot it on the other side. Two complete sets of Toeal governments, school systenss, customs lofiecrs and. police forces are in existence and fas each differs in the oMeial attitude towards the hostilities now being waged against, Germany there are bound to be "incidents." As bombing aeroplanes cannot be described as! Fespectors of persons of property, and no bomb equipment has yet. been devised which can differentiate between one side of the street and the other, it Is only natural that some sort compromise should bs reached between. the belligerent and neutral residents of the town, with its 400 inhabitants. One compromise arrangement has been reached and. that is, {the belligerent inhabitants have prevailed upon the neutrals the nec: ssity of a complete blackful if defence measures are to continue, and this arrangement is now in existences, But with that Independence so, typically Irish, Pettigo Ig both at pence and at war with Germany Jand'a fow inches across the main road decide the issue.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.