1939-03-14 — Page 18

THE HONGKONG TELEGRAPHI, TUESDAY, MARCH 14, 1989.

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The

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Wyndham St., Hongkong 'Phone 26615 March 14, 1939 ·

Jew and Arab

One of the anomalies of the present conversations between Arab and Jew at St. James's

in London Paluce

is that, although they cannot agree on a basis for settlement them- selves, they expect Britain to wave the magic wand that will bring understanding and peace to the Holy Land.

Why Britain should be wor- ried by this problem is beyond understanding. Yet a solution is of as much importance to

WINGS

over

Suburbia

HE drone of warplanes sky became in the -loudor and louder. The

T

sun caught their wings

as they wheeled round, three fights of them, and made swiftly to where I stood, almost paralysed with fright, watching them.

They were beaded straight for me, but at the last moment they passed, with an appalling roar. just over my head, so low that. had I not been hunched up, with my eyes shut tight, I could doubtless have made out the pilots' faces.

When my cars had again be- come capable of normal ear- Ing the noise had faded into drone the low, continuous

the eternally. nied which, skles.

No, I was not anywhere in Spain, or China, but standing nt the front door of a pleasant trim suburban house with a garden and concrete paths, a couple of hundred yards from Northolt Aerodrome, in Middle- SCX.

"R

EALLY. It's quiet lo- day," said Mrs. Powell,

Lof Clyford-rond. "You should be here some days! In the course of one morning we saw sixty-nine machines and often as many as afty up together."

"I'm glad I didn't come when it was busy, then," I said, eyeing, anxiously, another fleet of bombers banking against the wind over the aerodrome. "I should think it would drive you mad this row going on all day long."

If it was only during the day- time it wouldn't bo so bad," said Mrs. Powell, keeping an eye on her fair, curly-headed two-year-old son, playing on the pavement, "but

Britain as it is to the Jews and PEACEFUL

Arabs, for the difficulties and

by FRANK TİLSLEY

famous novelist and

toriter, who lives there

they're often at it until one in the morning-and as often as not they wake me up again at four. Untor- tunately I'm a light sleeper. Still,”. she sald, "I duppose we've just got to get used to it,"

Elsewhere I found a householder who wasn't 80 philosophical. "Yes," he said, "I suppose you can get used to anything in a way, but I notice that all my neighbours seem to be damn bad-tempered lately."

黠

I looked, as well as listened, and counted eight soparate planes wandering slowly about various parts of the afternoon sky. seemed impossible that these tiny shining objects, so remote at the moment, were responsible for the continuous, nerve-racking drono which, by its very persistence. somehow got right under your skin. "You know," he said, "It's a bit thick for people like us who hap- pen to have chosen districts like this, where R.A.F. activity has so enormously Increased. The whole neighbourhood, here, has deterior- ated like magte. Originally every- body owned their houses and were proud of them.

"Now the noise has driven some of them out, and the houses are being rented to people who don't care twopence."

H

E had to stop for a three whic minute gigantic bombers, so low that I had to check myself from ducking, roared overbead, shaking a bleycle against a wall and, for a

PENETRATION.

trials of Palestine are a crisis,SOME years ago I wished to visit more or less, to the entire world.

more

than

He told me that the

Japanese

in

had

a small village called Iterary in colony had been established some the south of Brazil. The train ser- years before, and how he had been A solution would mean much for vice to it was very regular, and 1sent with the people to teach the The Jews in Germany, for decided to go by rond. This proved children. He took me round some a red earth of the houses, and I saw that the to be little instance.

track winding-along-the-coast, and people were living as Japanese through virgin

jungle, but after some every sense of the world

The Brazilian Government Can an accommodation behours of uncomfortable driving I

sighted a small village lying amongst been very anxious to evold the estab- lishment of States within States, and reached? Yes-on conditions.

cultivated elds in a small valley. How did the trouble arise?

I drove through fields of sweet the Japanese had shown their good to sing the Brazilian National During the war, Britain pro-peppers and past deids where rice intentions by teaching the children mised the Jews a national home was sprouting from the damp earth Anthem. But I am afraid that that nt the side of a river. Other Belds in Palestine. Britain also made were used for market gardening and was as far as the good intentions a treaty promising to set up an showed fine crops or cabbage, lettuce, went, for in the Japanese Itarary I 'The schoolmaster and other greens. Finally I drove saw no signs of the children becom

ing Brazilians. into the village and found myself, told me quite frankly that he was Arab State there.

it seemed from all saw around maintain a proper sense of nationa-

lity amongst the Japanese people.

It is not surprising that the Brazi- Planking the one and only street were houses completely unlike the Ban Government is now anxious

the Brazilian about

colonies red clay huts beloved

these large lond worker. They were of wooden This condition cannot

cun-frames covered with straw matting foreigners who have no intention of tinue, and Britain must realise and thick paper panels. The panels, becoming nationals of the country

I discovered later, were composed of they inhabit. it. The Jews must realise, also, many inyers of cheap wallpaper glued that the Arabs are the native together. The outer walls were in people of the country.

Ever since then, Britain has much to my surprise, in Japan! Or paid by the Japanese Government to!

been trying to keep both prom-me. mises at once. Hence the con- fusion.

Government

them

some cases decorated with typleal Japanese painting, and open doors showed rooms apparently devold of furniture.

NAKED AND UNASHAMED

Numerous naked children played in

The fact that the Jews settled in Palestine thousands of years ago should not give priority now. The Romans set-the street, their warm yellow skins tled in Britain two thousand glowing in the bright sunlight. At years ago. But that does not one door squatted an old Japanese woman dressed in an ancient slik a curiously mean that the Italian restaur-robe while she puffed atours in London can claim to shoped pipe. A another an old man white beard was with a straggly control the

in laboriously writing on a sheet of paper with a small brush. He show- Whitehall.

ed absolutely no curiosity when I On the other hand, the Arabe stopped my car and alighted.

Among the naked children I noticed must remember that the Jews

both boys and girls, of at least settled in Palestine with the twelve years of age, and could not help contrasting this with Brazilian assistance and protection of the children of the same age. Brazilians British Government, aud that learn modesty (false or otherwise) protection' cannot be revoked very early in life, and would nover now.

The immediate solution of the problem scoms to depend on the prohibition of any more Jewish Immigration into Palestine.

What is the ultimate solution to be?

some,

dream of going about unclothed. The Japanese children, however, were not in the least embarrassed by their nakedness, and they crowd- ed round me as I walked along the street.

At one part I found the village school, a small buliding in a large open space. The children were all out in the open, seated on the ground as they chanted some lesson after the There seemed to be no teacher. Iack of discipline, and the children Some suggest a plan for a not so much as glance in my Federation including Syria and direction until the lesson was over, Trans-Jordan (to where rioting STATE WITHIN STÁTE spread yesterday with heavy After that I spoke to the school- loss of fo), in which the fp-master and explained that I had been terest of the Jows could be safe going to Tarary, but had seemingly arrived in Japan. He laughed and guarded. This may be one way explained in good English that tile out: But there are many dife was Itarary-the Japanese part of it. Maskavastuunan The older Brazilian village was a ficulties fa tho way.

milasós özalon the road

·Miller Watson.

of

brief frightening moment, blot ting out the sun.

"Seventy-Ave tons of there," he grinned. **

on.

metal

Take my case, though," he went "I paid £625 for my house nearly three years ago, I still owe £450 on mortgage. But if I cleared off from here, as I'd like to do, would I be able to get my mones back? Some people have just run for it, in the night, leaving the houses without notice; but why should respectable folk like us have to alink away like that, like so many criminals? It isn't good enough."

As 1 was talking to a young mother nearby, we were interrup- ted by the most frightful sound I have ever heard. It was like the highest note of a shrieking woman caught and patrined. It just went on and on and on; the one high unbelievable note, coming, appa- rently, from curious-looking

a

plarie which hardly seemed to be moving.

I

FOUND myself taut,

walting for it to stop, gripping my pencil as though it was a last straw, saving me from. drowning. At last, it moved out of hearing, and we both sighed together.

That's the thing I can't stand." sho sald." "It's controlled by wire- leas or something. Though, really. It's my children I'm frightened for most. I'm terrified of crash.

"You know there was one a few miles away some weeks ago? The pilot was buried forty feet, they say. It took hours to dig him out. I keep on at my husband to move, but he's I got to be near his job, you

sce.

you ask me anything, a war could almost be a rellef, more than anything clec, It will end this awful tension, anyway. If it's go ing to keep on much longer, then I say the sooner we have a war and get it over and done with the bet- ter. It wasn't for the children

sure I'd I'm sure

maa. Bo

Two neigh- bours of mine are under the doctor

with nerves-do you wonder?

I called on a local doctor, who told me he had nerve cases, yes, but the astonishing thing to him was that he hadn't got consider- ably more.. It's wonderful the way people somehow keep control Sim- over themselves," he said, ply wonderful.. You might almost call it herole."

UTSIDE; two boys, four or five years old, sat on pavement playing

Othe

with a pile of gravel left thera for road surfacing. Five flights of heavy planes, hurtling a couple of hundred feet above them, didn't make them look up.

They were big ones," I said. "m, Gloucester Gladiators," raid the bigger boy.

Go on," said the other, "you Bristol anything: don't know Bulldogs, those were."

Bristol Bulldogs?" jeered the frat boy, gripping his spade pug- naciously. they're fighting ma- chines. Those there are bombers.

I left them to it.

GRIN AND BEAR IT

ICE SKATING crery NITE

By Lichty

"Oh, come on, there's plenty

rink hos & seating

THIRD OF A SERIES OF ABSORBING

ARTICLES FROM LONDON ON

Britain Prepares For War

EDITOR'S. NOTE: In the next war Britain, for the first time in 900 years, will be in grave danger of armed Invasion, In the past the navy kept her shores intact. The dangar now is from the air. To meet this modern peril, Britain is organising her civil population. Every able-bodied man and woman will have a job to do, This series of articles tells the story of Britain's army of "passive defence", and of the hundred-and-one other ways In which Britain is preparing for war at home.

By H. L. PERCY United Press Staff Correspondent

ACTUAL, visible evidence of

Britain's preparation for the next war is practically non-· existent. Most of the plans, possibly 90 per cent., are still on paper.

England

A stranger arriving in would have a hard job reconciling any ideas he might have that Britain is punic-strickenly throwing up the barricades with the actual facta.

The normal life of the country is scarcely ruffled. Defence is seldom a topic of conversation,

Almost the only concrete evidence the stranger would sco to-day are the trenches, relies of the September crisis. And they are not much lo look at. Just long banks of upfung earth, marring the symmetry of the parks, and often as not half-full of water.

PROTECTION FOR 1,000,000 THEY were crude, hastily contrived affairs, and the government has now more or less abandoned them It has as a means of protection. ordered that those already dug hre to be reinforced with steel and kept in good condition, but no more are to be built. The banks of earth are They to be made into flower-beda, can, if necessary, provide protection for about 1,000,000 people.

The stranger might also see a few men and women wearing little silver badges of various shapes in their button-holes. These are the insignia of the qualified air-raid precautions workers, or the auxiliary pollee, or one of the

defence Forvi of other volunteer But the stranger would be un- usually fortunate if he were lo meet one of these workers. In my own quite vide circle of acquaintances, I know of barely half-a-dozen who have taken up A.R.P. work. There is definitely no sign as yet of that nation-wide response to the govern- ment's call to national service, for which it hopes.

NEWSPAPER CRITICISM THE STRANGER would gather

most of his information from the newspapers. Not a day passes with- out some story in all the papers. Sometimes just a paragraph record- ing the initiative of some local coun cil. Sometimes a front-page story

government

Q

announcement, More often than not, a criticism of Existing conditions,

And always there are adveruse- ments for air-raid protection, from two-line "classifieds" to full-page spreads. They offer shelters, shovels, palls, asbestos sulis, wardrobes for keeping air-rald kit, sand-bags, and a hundred and one articles that might be useful in a dug-out.

The

shelters range from crude affairs of corrugated iron over a hole in the back-yard, which cost about £1, to de-luxe concrete, pill-boxes, fully equipped, from £20 upwards,

The shovels and pails are for handling Incendiary bombs. They followed the government's statement that every household should be equip. ped with a long-handled shovel and a large Un pall. The Idea is that if on incendiary bomb drops in your parlour you can scoop it into a pall ful of sand and rush it out of harm's

way.

em-

Continuing the stranger's adven- tures; he would undoubtedly barrass nine people out of ten if he naked them what they had done with their gas-maske,

Forty million of them were distri- buted in crisis week. Previously the Kovernment had said that they would be stored to prevent deterioration. But after the crisis, it was decided to let the public take care of them, and cardboard boxes were to be prom vided for them.

Most people threw them into a cupboard, out of sight and mind. Others gave them to the children to play with. A few found them a satisfactory means of committing suicide.

destroyed

his.

One man, at least, He was summoned for damaging government property, but the magi strate ruled that it was his own pro- perty, the gift of the government,

There was an order that local A.RE, organisations should visit every household and check up on their masks replacing faulty ones, of which there were many in the September rush But this is - pro-

(Continued on Page 111) 44.