The Cambria Daily Leader

"ARGUMENT" AND THE WAR. Silence is golden, says the old adage, and new the House of Lords has given us something new to think about—an acid silence! Vis- count Win) borne in a. strange spoeoh in "the Lords on Tuesday said "that we could, without fraud or chica-ne, have accepted the proposition put iorward by Count C'zernin at the time of the Brest-Litovsk negotia- tions, on a general peace. But we returned no answer to these proposals, and it was our sileneo that the military party were able to ride off to per- petuate the infamy with which the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk would always be connected." Tho Earl of Crawford, replying for the Gov- ernment, stated t-hab Lord Curzon had told Lord Wmiborne that the .Foreign Office was unwilling to have a discussion on the subject at the present juncture. "If it was sought to raise a discussion on peace' terms in general, the present moment, whilst a great offensive was being carried on, was singularly ill- chosen for tho purpose. That seems to be the only possible reply, 1 that could have been made. Vis- count Wimborne. remarked that in our handling—or Lack of it-of these peace offensives we had con- sistently played into the hands of the military party of Germany. What he was driving at was tbis- that the German people do nûtí know our war aims or peace terms; and that we should continue to bombard Germany with propaganda. as to our well known intentions. It is not the fault of the Allies if the German people are ignorant, if the German people a.re deluded, if the German people are not ready to love us. Are our war objects "indetermi- nate V' Is there ? mMi to-day who, if ho possesses ordinary intelli- gence, is ignorant of what we are hgbtmg for, or vho does not know  what the Germans are fighting for? How many speeches from our j leaders are neccs?a-ry to s'atis-fythe I undying hunger of ?ome folk iw formulae" ters(: and concrete "— or any other variety for that matter? President Wilson, for ex- ample, has spoken with unmistak- able clarity on several occasions. He is out to destroy "that Thing" with no capaciiv for covenanted! peace. All the Allies are fighting for the same object! H much moro convincing is he>oessa^? There really is a danger that we shall for- get, fln our preoccupation with aims and objects and purposes and ends and ideals, the huge tragedy of the fact of the war. We have got to get out of it--hom(-,urably, vic- toriously. lius is not tne time to ask why we wait into the war. We are fully conscious that we could not have kept out of it and at the same time preserve our national honour and integrity. Moderation is necessary even in propaganda, and a ■system of "inforrnation" that aims Qt converting every single man, Fontan and child in the German Empire to see. the justification for Our attitude is doomed to di-real failure.. It is true, as Lord Wimborne said, that we have two weapons- force and argument. He conten- ded for the application of both. But it seems ven clear indeed that be- fore Germaiy can recognise the validity of argument" she must prove for heiself the irrevocable de- cision of fce-mightier, stronger than any sto can ultimately sum* mon. Germany will listen when she is too weak to invade and violate. A strong, unbeaten enemy will not recognise Hat the other side, in the interest; of the world, ought to be allowed to win. The strength of the militarists must be broken and their leaders discredited be- fore we be4in to see daylight. There no solution of the Belgian question or any other question at issue between the Allies anct Germany so long as there remains in Berlin a militarist Government controlled by Prussian Chauvinisms. None of the formulae that we a;n devise for any terri- torial question will be worth the paper thy are written on if that citadel is unsubdued. If Germany wants peace, s he must make an end of her wardords and war- makers, and come into a civilised European system with a joint con- trol of arm;1rncnt: and a joint gus ranter of the rights of all nations, Ircftt and ^mall. It is be- coming more and more evident that, apart fi-cn this, there is no lasting solution of any of the European question* now at issue, and our answer f) the Germans is what the world mist see t tc> be—the perma- nent patifio-ation of the world. It is uo iiorp, than that—there is no need fo' it to be more. It cannot be le3,-w8 dare not contemplate the greater horror of a whittled- down,' minimum" peace. The path tc peace lies through the blood streairi on the Western front—not througi the pious, platitudinous ambitions of the Pacifists. It is a feagic thoi-i.ght-but, it is true. We must face the truth if we are to build our future on it. If we do not iitend to build our future upon it wehacl better leave tho future to iho.se capable of preparing for it— and kave ourselves to die.1I

PLOUGHING UP PARKS i WHY SIR ALFRED MONO EM- I BARKED UPON EmR!fm 1I I ? I In an article in The Spectator of Ju)y fjtli appeared a criticism, under the I headrng indeienoible Waste," upon Sir Allied Mond's action in authorisiug the ploughing up of a. portion of Richmond Park and Bushy Park to meet, agricultural needju Whilst the writer admitted that in trfj pre.sent crisis a Government De- partment is justified in spending money to yt o. gcvd example to private indi- viduals," lia. states tha.t practically all the agriculturists whose opinion was worth having condemned the ploughing up of these two parks as an ucjustifi- II ablo experiment." In the course of a reply to "The Spec- I i&(or," Mr. Dun Thomas, prh-a? .<ecce- j t-ary to Sir AHred Mond, the Fir5t Com- missioner of AVor.ks, explains that. before any steps were taken, the whole question I ft utilising prk5 wa? submitted to one of tJM most eminent agriculturists iwthe country, Dr. E. J. Kusseil, F.R.S., Direc- tor of the Eothamstcd Experin?nt?? Station, who, after careful examination of the scheme, advised definitely that (if both Richmond Park and -Bushy Park were suitable for culti- vation, although ho pointed out that ♦here was considerable risk in starting the operation so late. As a further pre- caution, Sir Alfred consulted the Presi- dent of the Board of Agriculture, and tlbj ain ed his concurrence with all that I was proposed. THE FINANCIAL ASPECT. 1 la regard to the huancia.1 a-spect, Sir I Alfred Mond (.the reply elates) irom the j cutset insisted that this feust be of se- condary importance, although tlic-re was very good reason at the time for believing that the work could IKS clone without any material of money. Tho culti- vation of the crops was, however, carried out under the most adverse weather con- ditions. "It is also to be remembered," says Mr. Thomas, that the operation was undertaken with the view that it would be necessary to continue for a series of years, and it is quite unfair to condemn the action which was taken on the result of in r. At a time when the food scarcity was so imminent, when the problem was to pro- duce all the ff?d possible at home, at whatever sacrifice of ordinary agricul- tural conditions, the consideration of the financial result could not bo reasonably applied. i A VITAL PROBLEM. I The production of sufficient food was I even a mor. vital problem than the pro- i ductkm of mujutions of war: to cavil over He Urst not being an ?'onomic pro- position, aud to cpend hundreds of mil- lions on the second, augure a curious want of perspective of the national re- quircmcnts. ==============

I VLADIMIR ROSING. I I AN IMPRESSIONIST SINGER I I <?ood fortune put; in the way of the writer this week the chance of healing the Russian finger Vladimir Rosing, and' the Welsh people of Abertawe and the' we&t may be interested in the impression created, upon one of Celtic nature, by an artist who shares our chief Celtic charac- teristics, and lacks our most pointed Celtic weaknesses. The unspoiled Slav, like the unaffected Celt, is nature's child. ivith the child's haterof convention and sophisticated-ways. In his art, his liter- ature, and in Rosing—as representative of his people—tho Russian is intensely real and is not ashamed of expressing himself as he is. We in Wales are loyal to our ohild-like nature in poetry; in the ex- pression of music, as it is interpreted to us by our singerR--for the younger com- posers are freeing themselves from alien cults—we have allowed our- selves to bo influenced, and limited, by the English fashion of reserve and respec- tability. Con we come back to that trust in ourselves, to that faith in our emotions which will mahe it a foolish business to efciile our feelings, to which Vladimir Hosing has attained, and thereby stormed the kingdom of true artistry. For tnie art is the completest expression of what we are. Rosing cannot be placed on the analyst's table. You cannot think of the timbre Of his voice, the richness of it, the flexibility ahd range. You accept thes-e things when you have heard him in one song, and think no more of them, for thereafter you aro under the spell of a maker of pictures, a weaver of intimate fancies, a revealer of the heart's eubtletia^. I cannot say what category the musician would place him in, whether tenor or baritone, or in what scale his notes are richest; one does not think of Rosing as a maker of notes, but as a teller of tales and a painter oi elemental nature. Ho is not dramatic. The scent of the •Steppes perfumes his songs and not the air of the theatre. He stand s on the platform easily and unaffectedly, his tingern curiously gripped, and sometimes his eyes closed. And he t, ran shirts you to his land of vast distances, interpreting the wind whistling and moaning over the plains, and the forest beasts howling, and the lean corn drooping in the cold. This through "The Song of the Poor Wan- derer," by Necrasoff, a great Rusimr poet, and the music of Xevstruoff. Or/Tie take's you to the battlefield and, in-the laá of Mou-BBorg-»ky's Cycle of Death," show:! I you the Reaper on his great battle horae 1 claiming the conquest over the conqueror. fit was like looking over the contorted land of the Mametr, Valley after the fury of the guns bad done their worst.] Or you are planted down in a. Russian village hut, and, ong of YeremouShka," look into Rem- brandt shadows and see the fttrorig-lined mother bending over the little one. It is like tho moving pictures with a liv- ing soid springing from the sheet. What would wo say, in the mass, if one like Rosing eaine, say to the K Bath Na- tional Eisteddfod, and poured biq he-a. sures at our {pM,? Are we 00 tied to tlio English fashion of nv-erwi and pretty- pretHnesa. to dinging with shackles on our emotion?, that we would laugh ?.t him aa at a fool who give« hi-s heart a sordid boon to those who dion't want itAre we so respectable and entirely conventional, liking our songs t.o he merely pleasant tickler# of the lighter feelings, that we would fadl to understand one such- as this Vladimir Rosing? :0, one has enough faith in the elemental sincerity and unswerving truth of his race to be- lieve that doop would call to deep, that we Welshmen who hare put the English rein upon our natures would hail ill it; child of the East as a bloed brother or kin, whose message to us is to. come back to faith in ourselves and those iifcodes of expression we now think it proper and orthodox to keep securely under. If only Rosing could be brought to Wales, to revive in our singers that confidence in gelt and the stirrings of nature whioh our poÐts have nevar !<?!! J. D. W. I

On five summonses for food hoarding J John Mackenzie, a company director, < f Goldhurs^-terrace, Hainp,vtead, was at Mnrylcbone on Thursday hoed a totpl A 110L100, witlt So 50, costflj

HEALTHY BABIES. NEW WELFARE CENTRE OPENED AT SW ANSEA PROVIDED BY U.S. RED GROSS The first Maternity and Infant Welfare Centre provide in Wales by the Ameri- can Red Croes Society, was opened on Thursday at Siloaxn Schoolman? Pv ntro, Swansea, by Mr. T. J. Williams (Maety- k'wernen Hall). The Duchess of Marl- ) borough, at ivhone suggestion,; these j tret; are beiog financed, wrote to Lady J Mond stating that the American lk.-d Cross Society decided on favouring Swan- j eea because of the important wovk done here by (he Mothers' and .Babies' Wei- COIilO. In a class room at Siloam there was an exhibition of picture warnings, fire guard, model babies' woollen dodu ug made by Lady Mond herself, babies' cots made of a banana, crate, stretchers, examples of storage and pasteurisation of milk, etc. There was a largo attendance, of mothers and babies, aDd of those inter- ested in child welfare, among the ladies being Mr-. J. R. Davies, Mrs. Aeron Thoroa*. Mrs. Jeremiah, Mrs. Arthur Jones, Mrs. M*>ovhead, Mri). I]owell, Mrs. Walters (The Hut), Mrs. Dr. Powell, Miss Harris, Mrs. AY. J. Mat- thews. Mrs. Rev. J. R Jones, and Mrs. Dr. Hubert Thomas. Dr. Arbour Stephens I was also present, and Dr. and Mrs. Trevor Evans.. ONLY U.S. CENTRE IN WALES. Dr. Harrington, president of the com- mittee, in tho chair, said they were be- ginning something that would be of great influence in the locality. They Ifad to thank the American Red ,Cross Society ior £ 500. Mr", Williams, in declaring the Centre opened, said this was the only American I Red Cross Centre in Waies, and there were only about five in England. She trusted the mothers would get all help possible for it. The Mayor congratulated rc-r,,tr," Mrs. Hubert and Dr. Hubert Thomas, and Mrs- Dr. Trevur lvaii. on their work. He hoped the centre would be a great success, if only to show our appre- ciation of what America had done. He thought they would agree that at this time we owe (I urexistetnce to America. THE AMERICAN CONSUL. Mr. Moorn:ad Consal) recalled j that every one of those who signed the Declaration of Independence was a Bri- tisher, and wo a" them Welshmen. Dr. Evans, M.O.H., said that waa but an oxtm??on to th? period 'oelom sauool age of a Uiuvem?nt that h?d b&?n in exist- ence for 10 yean. J hen object was to maintain th babies in a ?t?to of health. The physical fitness of the race was de- cided by the first ye/i r of life. Mr. T J. Williams, NI.P., &aid that! however thankful they were for private j funds, tho real source uf supply for work wis the State, and be advocated tlie J ?bt?bhahment of cne Cov?rmafu.t Health I' Department. At present there Wê Din, or ten Departments supposed to be in- terested in the health of the country. This Ii hMt been one of iftio things urged by Vis- count Rhondda, one of Britain's greatest- I men. Last week, said Mr. Williams, they dUcu.ssed i? the House of Commons  most important Bill introduce during the la5t 25 ye-ai*—to provide f,* nursing and expectant mothers. NEED FOR BETTER ENVFRONMENT. Dr. Hubert Thomas thought the conduct oi Hafod mothers had been jolly good," and, consideri ug their surroundings, ex- cellent. There iatise be a better environ- ment for the people. Other speakers were the Rev. Fenar Gritliths, the Rev. W. J. E. Jones, and Councillor T. W. Howeils. At the conclusion of the tpeeches, an educational playlet was convinciti-gly given by a. party Of girls from the Haiod School, trained by Miss Coptis, head- mistress. Tea. Avaa after v. aj-ds served.

TANK TOTALS.i? Swansea's 23,890,715 in 41 Weeks. I In the following table of National War I Boiid purchases it will be seen tliaji Swan- sea's total last week was £ 1,162,720, bringing the total for the 41 weeks comprised in the table to £ 3,890,715.. 9 Week ending Total to I Quota. July 15. 41 weeks. £ £ 471.305 Carmarthen 5.110 4,220 420.160 Ll,i,elly 16.030 22.275 1,284.760 Neath 8.790 1.505 696.445 Pew-I)i-oko 7.830 350 253.765 Swansea 63.050 1.162.720 3,896,715 .Haverfordwest. 15,000 120,200

LIVING AT SWANSEA. I Wife Who Was Fond of I Amusement. On Thursday in the Divorce Court, be- f.ore Mr. Justice Horridge and a common jury, John Edgar Elkington petitioned for a divorce from his wife, Agnes Iris Elkington, on the ground of her miscon- duct with John Mpir, cited as ce-respon- dent. Mr. Bayford appeared for the petitioner, and stated there was no defence, and that respondent and co- respondent were now Living together in Swansea. Petitioner gave evidence that ho married respondent in 1912, and they lived at Edgba.ston. They were not very happy because his wife wanted a great deal more amusement than he could afford. Witness lip4d to complain of her association with Muir, who was a married man employed by an optician. Even- tually his wife left him, and after she had gone he discovered a letter written hy Muir to her whieh had been left in her bedroom. It; began: "My own beloved darling Asses,—I want you to have this letter when you are quite alone, because I want to open my heart to you and show you how 1 crave for you. Agnes, I love every part of you. I would give my life for you. I worship you. Xo man ever did love or worship a woman no much. My whol e beinu is for you. You cam* into my lif*\ Agnes, and, my Ood, yon will always remain, Agnes. Good-bye till we meet again. All these kh-sea are for you." Mrs. Davies, of Carltonterraee, Swan- sea. gave evidence aa to respondent and co-respondent, living together there. The jury awarded the petitioner STO. and his lordship granted a decree nisi with costs

APAMANFORD J.P.Is WIFE. I: Death of Mrs. Rachel Richards. 1, The death occurred at Tirydail House, Ammanford, on Thursday afternoon, of Mrs. Rachel Anne Richards, wife of Mr. IM. Richards, J.P., owner of the Dynevor Tinplate Works, Pantyffynnon. -The cause of cjeith was peritonitis, and the deceased lady was 68 years of age. She wa.s closely identified with all good causes in the town, and organised every year throughout the Amman Valley the Alex- andTa Rose Days in aid of the Swansea H'o&pital. There are five daughters—Mrs. Davies, Tirydail House; Mrs. Morris, | widow of the Isba Mr. Glyn Morri. cleptity, cor.mer for Swansea; Mrs. Morgan, wife IOf Mr. C. E. Morgan, Capital and Coun- ties Bank, Ammanford Mrs. Fisher, wife I of Cap. F !sher, R.E.; and Misa Gwen Richard# The funeral (private) is at i ? H?d?bM Qiiurg^ pja Monday? 1

TOWN TALK. i Even the flu has its compensations, Neath schools are closed for six wee'j'-a I — -jo •— Cheero! Tho world somehow seems a more pleasant place to live in bo-day. o; "We hear a growl. from workers in news- paper stereo foundries that they also work in heat, and should therefore have extra eugor for making pop. U Doctors write IN or&e than lawyers, I'm afraid sir," said Mr. Thompson nt the Appeals Tribunal. Why not a flag day to give tb-cm typewriters? 0; V isitors to Neath during the National Eisteddfod week are advised to book re- turn tickets. Tins has nothing to do with the charms of Neath, of course I — :0 :— Yesterday's glorious news was delight- fully refreshing and invigorating. Its cheeri# ng influence was manifested in all walks of life, even in the Assize courts. :0 An Ammanford military absentee, who had been bailed out, was unable to put in an appearance at tho Court on account of influenza. It 1:m't the German mea&tefl, I hope," was the Clerk's comment. —. ty — It is a working; class district. I live there myself, so I know, observed a, solicitor at the BOl"ou'Zh Tribunal. Yes, and we know vou are a hardworking man, Mr. — responded the chairman. -4 0: A well-known Port Talbot vocalist he- fore the Medical Board frightened one of tho doctors v. -heii expanding his The medico had to shout "that will do" long before the man had filled his lungs. -:0:- The Prime Minister will be praented with the Freedom of the Borough of Neath at the GWVll Hall, on Friday morning, August 9th. And at-the closo he will perform a very interesting cere- mony. Cl. Perhaps our tip-line contemporary will accept the inevitable now, in view of the Premier's letter to the Mayor of Swansea, and realise that Mr. Lloyd George is in- deed going to visit the biggest town in Wales. -:0:- An American was going through I-A- dore, bound for the troubled island, an8* a Tommy, returning from the war, w-ent up to his carriage. Stranger." he eaid, shake! I've seen your fellows over there. They're some fighters." — x>:— Apropos the paragraph that in London the grocers have big announcements in the windows: "Bacon without coupons," a correspondent says that in Swansea dealers exhibit something mor6 substan- tial than announcements-ho16 solid sides of bacon. --4 O: — One of the funny Atories brought home- by the Welsh from the front concerns a battalion which was asked to volunteer for farm With virions of a period in England many voiuntf-ered-fo find that the work WM to be done in Friinct). and at a particular draughty place. -'0-- Newspapers gftf, more kicks than ha'pence as a rule, but the appreciation, of the N.fJ.T., both in South Wales and at headquarters, over the etand of the "Leader" 1 or the Carmarthenshire teachers, makes us believe that after all there is a real fund of gratitude in the world. -0 :— it is all very "well for some people to folk of the lack of enthusiasm for the cultivation of instrumental music among; the Welsh people. A brass band con- test down the line brought out no Ies;) than sixteen entries, though the first prize was only £1- -:0- They were ^glfiing in the train aboufi cur dependea^e upon rewspapers. It we had none," eaid one, the country would be ) greatly in the gTip of ri.mour that the Government would have to puh- lish or-e of its own. And we would stili- be suspicious of a Government-controlled iournui." -:0:- At least one Swansea boy in France is eagerly looking forward to the time whim leave will be granted. His wife's first- bora. baby girl is nearly six weeks old, and you may imagine his anxiety to Beet it and take it in his a.rms! In a lette Itoino he says his chest has expanded ar couple of inches. -4 oc The declaration of war against Ger- ma.ny by the Republic of Haiti brings the total number of belligerent Powers- counting in Rus-sia and rumanit-b-y twenty- five, exactly one-half of the world's total of fifty Sovereign States. But fail- more than one-half of the world's popula- I tion—which Ü; estimated at 1,600,000,000- is in a state of war. — :oj— The Welsh clans" are gathering" around the Premiet. to do hiru honour. It is interesting to note that the follow- ing borough (not to mention the newest addition to the list-Uandoery) are to offer Mr. Lloyd George the "freedom"?: Carmarthen, Llanelly, Aberavon, Neath, and Swansea. Work out the initials and you will find they spell "clans." The recent departure of Mr. Richard Boynon, late chief warder of Swansea Prison for a similar position in Shepton Mallet wM tho occasion of a compliment being paid by a popular member of the Bar to Chief* Warder Hitchcock, of Car- diff Prison. Co You look very lonely in the dock without your old Swansea 00-1- league Beynon;" he said. Mind you leave us. The tendency of young Nonconformist ministers and students to enter the Church of England inspires naturally j much misgiving. "Seren Cyniru," which I has consistently championed better pay. ment for dissenting ministers, repeat-* its warnings. After mentioning the names of two brilliant scholars who have been ordained recently, it states:—"This with- out doubt is one of the signs of the new times we live iii. and unless a greater assurance of a lining wage is given the Nonconformist ministers of Walee, we fear there will be a large and sudden exodus before long to the arms of the Hen Faro." —; 0: In a kindly note to the editor, Mr. L. J. Roberta. At.,A. our genial and echolarly Inspector of Schools, suggests that if the Eisteddfod i* to l* designated by tho vaguo a-nd meaninglesK term thp h Natio- nal," we might strengthen the adjective with another and thus let Neath have tho Grand National." I bad al ways understood ho proceeds,- that the t, National was a pcTipatetic agfuuHural show. I/et. us not grudge the National to this bucolic show, or the two hi?n- isounding adjectives d Grand National to the Liverpool Steeplechase, while we adhere to this distinctive Welsh word (he Eisteddfod,' for our peculiar and hon- oured institution. -'0- All Swause? will join in offering it? congratulations to Major Dyaon Williams upon his promotion to the rank of lieu- tenant-colonel and the command off a Welsh battalion. The Major is now a -n-ar-scarred etran-w3 s he not. in the van at Mametz and at Pilkem—and what his men think of him those with SODS in the Swansea Battalicirt will know. No man ha.s earned more thoroughly such a distinction. The Williameee have a war record—mother and sons-which reflects- honour on Swansea. The sons have ktJown the front at its worst, and Mrs. Williams has worked without cessation at home for the com- forts of the soldiers. By the way, how many colonels ha? SH?n?a now in the war? Quite an tmJ>œi number, W8 l believe.