The King and Queen recently went to Clydeside, They visited a factory where] women are weaving blankets for the Army the rate of 33,000 a week. Among the workers was one woman who has been weaving for the same firm for 51 years and another who has been there for 32, and who helped make the carpet for Westminster Abbey for the Coronation, to which she was afterwards invited. 'The' King and Queen alked'to them both and as their Majesties were moving on, the older woman called the Queen back and said "I'd just like to say that Pin sure of victory for Britain," with which good sentiment the Queen smilingly agreed.
'There was a Royal luncheon party, at which among their Majesties' guests were three artisans, a woman weaver, a shipwright and a turner. Their host and hostess were described in the invitation as "a prominent young couple" and they had no idea till they arrived whom they were {o meet. As a homely detail of the lunch it may be mentioned that the Queen found the Scotch broth so much to her taste that she asked for the recipe for Buckingham Palace.
'A major part of the tour was a visit to) the shipyards where the King had a talk with one of the shop stewards. As a class shop stewards are popularly associated with everything that ix Bolshic, But. this particular specimen got on very amicably with the King, and when asked about his dealings with the directors of the firm, he said "Oh we have our little tiffs, but the management fave very good." From shop stewards the King went on ie the dockers and his questions went straight to the point of a good deal of recent agitation. "Are you clearing the ships and turning them round quickly?" he asked, And on being assured that the dockers were the Kin expressed his ples sure, "That is of vital importance now,' he said, And if there was any trouble with the' dockers before, one may be sure that the King's interest in the men and his way of talking to them will have proved a good In fact shipping has been the centre of considerable storm latterly, in which floods ink have' been poured out on the alleged misdoings of dockers, managements, government, the Minister of Shipping and every Yovernment department that gets its Angers into the pie, And there's the worst of the double. For there are six or seven depart ments which ave able to interfere with the movement of ships. Ronald Cross, the Minister of Shipping, is by common accord very able and hardworking man, but he is not a shipping expert, though he has the constant advice of four of five of the best, On the other hand, it is said on good authority, that the shipping fraternity were asked to put forward a man to be Minister of Shipping, and were utterly unable to agree as to whom they should select. So the Government had to find its own man. Yet another cause of delay I am told is that] the railways cannot cope with the quantity of goods that have to be carried, the result!
some points being almost hopeless con gestion. If this is true, one hopes that the debate on the whole shipping question which the House of Commons is to hold will produce some remedy before the misses of] material we shall be yetting from America under: the Lease and Lend Aet comes along.
But here particularly is the ease for the yesuseitation of the canals, to which Mr. Frank Pick, formerly the energetic manager te London Passenger Transport Board, has been appointed, It is rather surprising that there are actually over 3,600 miles of workable canals in Great Britain. It is, and always has been still more surprising that s0 little use has been made of them in recent times. Obviously they are much slower than -vallways,"but they are of course far cheaper ind speed, even in war time, is not a vital consideration if the stream of goods once started can be kept moving without interrupt tion. But so much have canals become the poor relation, that now, it seems, there is heavy shortage of men to work them and a school for the training of bargees is to be opened in Hertfordshire. Will. the teachers, tone wonders, include a professor of the Dangees' classical methods of elocution?
The announcement by Captain Lyttelton, President of the Board of Trade, that hun-iveds of thousands of men and women are {o be taken for war work from about 90 nonessential industries, which will be closed or {eleseoped into one another, is more startling than any innovation produced in the last war. But the only comment one hears on it is "Why was it not done months ago?" How the scheme will work is not yet clear. From alist of the industries, affected, the following fire typical: gloves, knitted clothing, lace, lass, metal furniture, leather work "(from trunks to boots) cash registers, lawn mowers and vacuum cleaners, gold and silver ware, and toilet preparations.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.