A SPECTATOR'S NOTEBOOK
THIS astonishing war that refuses to begin (in spite of the Athenia ' and ' Courageous ' disasters, and others like them) may well be on the point of beginning, now that Herr Hitler's peace move has been tried and failed. But the prevalent question, why so little has happened so far, is not so difficult to answer as some puzzled querists seem to think. Germany, of course, might have forced the pace. So might we. But Germany had good reasons for going slow. She was fully engaged in Poland, and up to a day or two ago Herr Hitler evidently still believed he could get away with murder in the east without war in the west. But why have France and Britain done so little on the Western Front? I claim no special knowledge on that, but certain considerations are fairly obvious. General Gamelin has no more tempta- tion to attack the Siegfried Line than General von Brauchitsch the Maginot Line. All our interest, indeed, lies in going slow. The lull of the past five weeks has been invaluable. We have transported x6o,000 men, and an un- specified strength in aeroplanes, to France without a single casualty ; we are increasing our aeroplane production every day, and it is already said to be well ahead of the German ; time has been given for our Dominions to get their war organisations on foot, and for America to set about amending the Neutrality Act. And meanwhile our blockade has been doing its steady work. All this is of immense importance. Time—unless it is believed that Russian economic support of Germany will be swift and substantial, which is most unlikely—still tells in our favour. We can well afford to wait.
I have been studying with all the care it deserves the list of the staff of the Ministry of Information circulated by Sir Edward Grigg last Monday. Like most journalists I was interested mainly in seeing what journalists remained on the staff after the recent axing (or talk of axing). They seem a scanty and singular band. There is Mr. H. V. Hodson, editor of the Round Table, Mr. C. H. Jeffs, editor of the Christian World, and Mr. G. Spry, who is " Editor " pure and simple, which opens a fertile field to the imagination. Similarly there is one gentleman who is just " writer "- whether of signs or of articles—and also a chief copywriter. Apart from them the journalists, so labelled, number eight, and the names of few of the eight would be familiar in places where journalists resort. But there are four " publicists," and another two (one hitherto more familiar as an Oxford don) who are journalists and publicists combined. This style and title provokes interest. What, in fact, is a pub- licist? Does he attain publicism or have publicism thrust upon him? Is it a profession for which one qualifies, or an honorific, self-assumed or conferred by one's admirers? The dictionary is hardly helpful. It says " writer on, or person skilled in, international law ; writer on current public topics, e.g., journalist." I almost begin to think I must be a publicist myself, sans le savoir, for I undeniably write, how- ever badly, on current public topics, however trivial. But I trust I shall never be called one. Perhaps it is because we are getting so little news about the present war that there is a distinct run on books on the last war. But there clearly is. So at least I am told at one of the chief libraries in the country. Many daily papers, too, publish regularly summaries of what was happening on the different fronts twenty-five years ago—a superfluous and unwelcome reminder of the recurrent crime and folly of some of humanity. Consultation of books of reference is natural enough. When a raider is reported in the Southern Atlantic it is very relevant to know what such raiders accomplished in what it may be convenient to call the Kaiser's war, to distinguish it from Hitler's war. But for that you only need a good war-history. The demand for one volume, in some ways the best of all war-books of its kind—Captain von Rintelen's The Dark Invader—is by no means surprising. Fortunately it can be got for sixpence.
Among all the rights or privileges we have been deprived of—inevitably, no doubt, in many cases—by the Govern- ment in the past six months, one, surely, might be restored. Cannot the Postmaster-General give us back the pre-war telephone-rates? The abolition of the shilling evening rate for trunk calls, and of all other rates less than the maximum day-figure, was intelligible enough in the first week or fort- night of war, when it was essential to check private calls in view of the volume of public needs. But that is the case no longer. The high telephone-rates represent a real hardship, for families and communities are much more broken up than at normal times, and communication between their members ought not to be taxed unless the public interest imperatively demands it. There is no reason to think it does now.
I am glad to record a different type of evacuation ex- perience from some I have quoted. Here are some passages from a private letter from an L.C.C. school-mistress, in charge of evacuated children: " People here are marvellously kind. I've never met any- thing like their resource and helpfulness in the hundred and one difficulties that come along, and they are wonderfully generous with money, gifts of clothing, toys, books and cars to run us about. The chief billeting officer seems to me to work night and day tackling all sorts of problems, never losing patience or his sense of humour, and his hand is always in his pocket after money to solve immediate difficul- ties. I don't know how long he will last at this pressure, but I expect his enthusiasm will keep him going. The Vicar and his wife are helping splendidly. The latter has collected clothing for the children and mothers and superintends dis- tribution. The ladies are running a centre for cheap dinners —but I can't tell you one half of all that is being done to make us happy and comfortable. I for one shall be ever- lastingly grateful to them. I've never been to the billeting officials in vain when requiring help for children or mother I see no reason why the name of a reception-centre th.it is comporting itself so admirably should be suppressed. It
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