The Carmarthen Journal and South Wales Weekly Advertiser

THE MESSAGE THAT MATTERED. Private William Henry Brown, runner for C Company of the Crimson Crushers, turned sharply to his left at the blasted it was an elm, really, but in tilusi,t,ti-v a; 1 broken trees are blasted oaks —slid incontinently down a dark bank into the railway cutting below, and ran slap bang into the arms of a Prussian patrol, The Crimson Crushers had only that morning won half a mile of ground from the Boche, and had dug in an outpost line. It was strange territory, and it was quite in the nature of things that a hostile patrol should be prowling about just on the edge of our lines. The outposts of loth side?, in fact, in No Man's Land. Private Brown's first sensation was an unpleasant- one—that perhaps he should "have turned to the right at- the blasted oak instead of the left. Then he remem- bered that, anyway, the railway cutting came into his scheme, and so was slightly reassured. He did something to his mouth with his right hand, and then, in his best Ccekney, asked his captors" wot in 'ell they was a-playing at." But his captors cither could or would speak no English, and he was hauled with all the gentleness of a she-bear deprived of her young to a little dug-out half a mile down the cutting, -1 91 where Private Brown saw an officer eating a sausage and black bread by the light of a carefully shaded slush-lamp. The N.C.O. in charge stated what afterwards appeared to be an explanation of the rapture; but, as Private Brown said, at Itie time he thought he was simply going to be sick at the sight of the sausage. When he had hetJrd what- the N.C.O. &-i(i to sav, the officer came out, and started to bully Brown in pret-tv perfect English. You have a i-tie-Rsa e he said. Give t to me a.t once 1 I alil"t, got no bloomin" message," Kini B-roAvn. Yon lie, pig" And tle Boche hit lJÍm full in the mouth with a heavy hand. You have a message. Give it to me at. once Private Brown spat the Wood out of his WoOU t h. I ain't got no message, you blarsted 'Tin he repeated. The Boche hit him .again, twice- heavier Wows still. Search him" he cried.. While two held him., a third wen-t through all his pockets very diligently. They tore the jacket from his back. They left, no part of his clothing or person un- explored. They even opened his mouth, and one slid a grimy finger between the cheeks and the gums. But ihey found no message. Tie him up," said the officer, when lie was satisfied that there wjce nothing to be found. Tie him up tight, and leave him out in the cold. He has destroyed the message, but be knows what, was in it. To-morrow he will talk They tied him up so tightly ihsA he had toO hite his lip to keep back the cries of pain. They laid him across the rails, ■which bit into his back and sides. There they left him. Presently it began to rain, and. as the cords got wet, they lightened. The pain was unbearable. It was then that an idea came to Private Brown, He looked towards the sentry, arid saw that be was asleep. He turned over cautiously, got his wrist-ropes against the edge of a rail, and began to saw back- wards and forwards. It was slow work. The first tinge of dawn was already in the sky when the last strand parted, and his arms were free. Feverishly he untied the ropes about his ankles and knees, and rubbed his legs to restore the circulation. The sentry still slept.. Brown got to his feet and made off down the cutting as hard as his throbbing legs would carry him. Each step was torture. His wrists were bleed- ing where the rope had rasped them in the sawing. He was wet through and frozen to the bone; and, moreover, he was faint with hunger. r- it was more a dead man than a live one who staggered int.o Battalion Head- quarters and weakly mumbled something that the sentry eventually took to be; Take, me to the Colonel." The C.O. was just having breakfast before his morning tour of the line, and, be *ig an understanding man. he gave "Private Brown coffee and rum before he 1 him sav a word. Now," he said. when the runner had sorrii-what recovered. "Tell me all about it. rnv lad." And Private William Henrv Brown tr-V. "Well said the C.O. "And iii-nw. what was the message? I suppose yen had it off bv heart- before you swallowed the r'<!n2r? Yes. sir. C Companv relief com- rlf.1n." sir." « Good Lord Do vou mean to sav V01.1 went through all that lor such, a message ? Why, it wouldn't have mattered if you I■ told them "I ennno, sir." said Private William Henry Brown, sieepiiy. Seemed to me ?.. ,,Iw it wos my message, no marrer wot it wcs, an' I wosir t- ter give- it ter no bk- min' Boche. arsvwav •■Then he swaved. i. Catch him." said the Colonel: and Private Wiiiiam Brown was carried away to sleep off the -effect of his night in Hun- !.a

BY THE WAY. Randooi Jtttlegs about Men and Things. —,— A Wafntftg. A li.it Je over -a fort Might now remains for hotiisehokle.rs to •send in 1heir application forms coal ration. Those who have -not done so before Thursday, October 31st., will be unable to obtain coal in quantities of mora .than 1 -cwt. per week. It is estimated that already 75 per cent. of the application forms have been dealt with by Local Fuel Overseers throughout the country, and the Coal Controller appeals to the ieiri.aiD.ing 25 per -cent, to help him by making immediate application to their local coal merckasnt, or 1.0 the gas compasv or to the electric light eOJllllan;" if they do not use coal. Failure to do this means that explana- tions, causing serious to the consumer, will be demanded of them as to why they .delayed a simple public dut.T. In Short. The vicar of has 1- -snmmary of the War in his parish magazine, H p r, it a-s folicWF TANKS YANKS SPANKS THANKS." Canada's Record. October 14th, was the fourth Anniversary of the landing ií1! England, of the first Canadian contingent sent over for war service. Here is Canada's record:—Number of first contingent, 33.000 to-tal number sent over up to end cf August last, 400.000; Canadians killed in action. 50.000 casualties, over 175.000; wounded returned to the front, 40.000; returned to Canada. 50.000: f'an.a I dians who have received decorations, 10.000; Canadian 40. Raid on Metal Fittings. There is. reason 10 believe that German y is reduced to desperate straits to,obtaiii certain metals, i For instance, the "Berliner Tasreblatt reports, in its issue of September 20th. that, the seizure of metal fittings had been extended to the Parliament building 11 [Continued at foot of r.txl column.]

PLAYING THE GAME. The Way of the R.A.F. Bv Iteo&KSAIfcSANCI.. (5eTmf.ii prisoners, shaken., and pater than the chalk of the country, crowded j together in the clearing cages. They were not a nice sight. But, 'Ti>e Blighterrs deserve it," rxight have beet; the coK-ment of the Britidsi Tommies who. looked into the cages as they passed back to binets. It might have been only it was not. On the contrary, it is on record in every correspondent's story that the Tommies called heartening things to their prisoners, and did what sportsmanship, not bateed, would suggest—In the matter of cigar^bes, for instance. Perhtipsthere are still people in England who de not understand, as there certainly were people who did Qt. under- stand whesi the Royal Air Yo-a*, brought down setae raiding German aira^en over England siird promptly gave tthe-m ;a good breakfast- The Germans were down, zjici it m not. the British way to kick a man when he is down; or to jee-r at the losing side. The

FOOD TOPICS. Items about Production and Rationing. [By SMALLHOLDER. "] Hay-box Cooking. Hay-box cooking is being tried in a few London hospitals with satisfactory results demonstrating the efficiency of the method alike for institutions and the home. By this means very considerable quantities of coal and gas are being saved, and patients and staff who eat the food express themselves as highly pleased with the cooking. The experi- ence of the matron of a London hospital is typical. She made a hay-box from a tea- chest, a stout and well made piece of wood- work First, all the crevices were carefully stopped with paper; then the inside was care- fully lined with several layers of brown paper. Hay was firmly pressed down into the box, covering the bottom to a depth of four or five inches. Then a nest was made among more hay, which three-quarters filled the box—for the reception of the cooking-pot. Above the hot pot, loose hay was strewn, and on the top of that a tightly-fitting cushion was placed, the whole being weighted down with a couple of bricks wrapped in brown paper, so as just to permit of the closing of a tightly-fitting lid. In this case, only a single cooking vessel, a large pot, is used. In it. porridge is cooked for oi,t.? persons. The porridge brought to the boil and quite boiling is put into the box at 8 p.m. and served piping hot at half-past six on the following morning. Meat and vegetables, stews, stewed fruits, and stewed rice also have been successfully cooked in the box. The matron is very proud of her handiwork, alike for its convenience in the hospital routine and because of the resulting fuel- saving. Dried Fruit for Christmas. The most recent developments of the war have naturally led many people to wonder whether the coming Christmas will really be a merry one for the Allies, in contrast to the war-weary ones of the past four years. Con- sequently, an enquiry has sprung up for the dried fruits, figs, dates, raisins, currants, candied peels, and so on, which go to furnish forth our usual seasonable festivities. Of all these tempting foodstuffs, there is at present an unprecedented shortage in the United Kingdom. Provision has been made for the Navy and Army. but of any general public distribution there seems to be but little chance. As usual, the whole question boils it-self down into one of tonnage. The fruit is available if we can fetch it. Dates, for instance, can be easily bought in Persia, Egypt, Algiers, and Tunis, but, in every case. sJiips must be found to convey them. The inhabitants of Great Britain will readily resign themselves to the absence of dried fruits from their Christmas tables if they reflect that preference in cargo space is being given to American troops and munitions of war. A little self-denial now may mean abundance in 1919, and, in the meantime, no one will begrudge the sailors and the soldiers their legitimate first call upon such luxuries as are available. It is well to know. more- over, with regard to such shipments of dried fruits as may be obtainable, tha- the Ministry of Food has taken steps to preclude the pos- sibility of profiteering. It will take over all imports and will supervise their distribution at equitable prices. Our Position and the- Enemy's. The position of affairs may be favourably compared with the position in the Central Empires, where the food shortage brought about by the Allied blockade is playing a very warlike part in producing the peace man- oeuvres which are so conspicuous a feature of the Huns' strategy in this interesting stage of the hostilities. At the back of the guns there has always been this formidable weapon of starvation. The Germans, by their U-boats, have attempted to starve Great Britain out of the war. They have signally failed. On the other hand, Great Britain, by the might of its great Fleet, seconded by the smaller Fleets of its brave Allies, has clearcd the seas of German and Austrian shipping and has created, by the introduction of hunger among the enemy peoples, a state of exhaustion bordering upon collapse- Nations as well as armies fight upon their stomachs, and the stomach of the Hun is to-day suffering from the lack of necessary foodstuffs, while delicacies, such as dried fruits, are far beyond his dreams. Cows and Pigs. The rationing of animals has had to be taken seriously in hand by the Ministry of Food, owing to the shortage of concentrated feeding-stuffs in the country, and the almost, insuperable difficulties attending the importa- tion of more. Preference in rationing is to be given to milch cows, on account of the value of their product for human food pur- poses. There is no absolute certainty of a supply of concentrated foodstuffs after Christ- mas, and it is, therefore, desirable that pigs should be killed before that time. What is lost in the swings may be made up in the for the necessity of slaughter thus created should afford us, at any rate temporarily, a satisfactory supply of pork* and the various other delicacies into which piggy is capable of conversion.

SPORTS FOR OUR TROOPS IN ITALY. —. j IBritiih Official. I A general view ol a horse ahow and athletic sport? gathering arranged for a British Dlviaion in Italy. I I

THE WOMAN'S PART. Our Winter Rations. [By MARGARET OSBORNE.] The Food Controller's regulations have varied from week to week, as though his object were, as the Americans say, "to keep us guessing," but, in spite of that-, this winter's rations are much the same as last winter's. To begin with meat. the value of coupons has gone up and down again, and is once more at- Is. 4d. for the week. But this winter we have the advantage of coupon-free hams and bacon, and. although grumblers complain that the price is high and the quality inferior to what it was before the war, the chance of getting more meat than the ration, Oil is well worth having. Fats. The iat ration is distinctly better than last year, being six ounces of butter and mar- garin.e as against four ounces last winter; with the two ounce ration of lard. it makes a full half-pound fat ration for the week. -11 tt is pretty well established that it was the shortage of fats in last winter's rations. rather than the small quantity of meat obtainable, that caused inconvenience. Fat is necessary to everyone in cold weather, and a suitable vegetarian diet for Winter requires even more of it than do.the ordinary meat- eater's meals. The amateur and professional- cooks who have found their pre-war cookery books useless for so long may now return to them with caution, although no one can take a pound of as our grandmothers' cooks were advised to do. Sugar. The sugar ration, despite threats to the contrary, is so far unchanged. But it will seem very small now that jam is difficult to come by, and chocolates are a memorv of the past. The housekeeper will lament the disappearance of jam puddings, of the bread and jam which made up for lack of cakes. and the shortage of butter at tea. In this' respect, however, country people who had fruit of their own, and obtained an allot- ment of sugar for jam-making, are much mone fortunate than the rest of the world. Jam Rattoo6. The jam rations are to be. it appears, four ounce's weekly for adults and six ounces for children. In this case, the ternl "children" is applied to persons of the age of from six to eighteen. These ration allovances are, it i,s qatis-L-teto)-y to hear, not jikely to be reduced. Food that is not rationed. Coming to non-rationed foods, we rind that. bread is becoming constantly whiter, and more palatable. The supply of vegetables y promisee to be good. We are promised more cheese, much more than was available even in 1916. The price of fish, moreover, is to be somewhat lower. All this is to the good, but, on the other side of the balance, is the lack of fruit. This is a very real deprivation, and will be keenly felt. Lad year there were few oranges, and fewer bananas, while the supply of apples gave out with the new year, but this scarcity followed on a summer when fruit had been within the reach of everyone. Still, although a scarcity of fruit is unpleasant, it will not be harmful to the national health. Summing-up. What dees the whole situation come to when it is summed up? I think we may say that in all essentials we are infinitely better off than last winter, but that. on the other hand. we shall feel our deprivations more. Last year we were in great danger of a real scarcity of food; this year there is no such ■ phantom of disaster in the background. Great Briiain has become almost self-sufficing in the matter of food, and this very safety has to be paid for by the sacrifice of luxury. We have been accustomed to have the whole world for our larder and store-room, and to choose what we wished from a bill of fare supplied from the five continents. Now that our ships are needed for the bringing of soldiers from the United States, and for the carrying of our own men and stores to the Balkans and Egypt and Mesopotamia, we must make shift with what we can -grow in our own chilly island. When we are asked to do without the butter and the cream, the spices and the tropical fruits, the meat and the wine that used to come to our tables from the ends of the earth, we #>hall. perhaps, be inclined to feel a little ill-treated. We are being asked to pay the bill, and few people like paying bills. But just think what we have bought with this price! We have bought safety from famine by growing our food at home. Weelhall help to buy victory by doing without luxuries from abroad. Now that we are certain to have enough, it would be shameful to ask for super- fluit ies. Our dinner tables this winter will be dull enough. Mr. Clynes leaves us in no doubt about, that. But we shall be eonteii'

CUT THIS OUT. MISCELLANEOUS RECIPES. Success Pie.—INGREDIENTS.—2 lb. potatoes, i 1-b. cooked macaroni, 2 oz. sausage, i pt. tici-k white aauoe, 1 teaspoonful made mustard, pepper, salt, oz. margarine. METHOD.—Boil and slice the potatoes. Make tire -white sauce carefully (remember that war- time flour takes longer to cook than white flour), and then stir in the mustard whe>i the sauce = just off the boil. If mustard is added to hoiking sauce, it, WilH curdle. Cut the sausage, which should be previously cooked, into rings. Lay the macaroni and potatoes in a grease.d dish, pour the sauce over, lay the sausage ring- neatly on t'he top, and put a few crumbs of mar- garine between them. Bake till brown, or heat under a gas griller, or, if the Kitchen fire is out. and gas must be saved, heat and brown in front of tlH: Slithng-rool11 fire. If the poker i- itta,cle, red-tiot and held over the top of the dish for a minute, the potatoes will be crisp. Fuel restrictions will lead us to provide many boiled and stewed dishes, but where food can be quickly and easily browned, this should De done for the sake of variety. If tew must be the order of the day, fingers of loast or brown crumbs, such as are served with game. or cubes of fried bivad, like those served with clear soup, may be eaten with it. Rock Buns, TNC. LiE])l F, ii). flour, 2 oz. fat. 1 oz. candied peel, 1 teaspoonful baking powder, pinch of salt, oz. sugar, 2oz. currants, dates or finely chopped nuts. £ teaspoonful mil meg or ginger, 1 dried egg, 2 tablespoonfuis milk. METHOD.- Prepare the egg hccoidin? to direct ions on packet. Mix the flour, salt, ginger, and' baking powder, rub in the fat. add the sugar and currants or dates or nuts. Add the beaten egg with a. teaspoonful of milk, and mix well to a stiff dough, using the second tab-Ie- spoonful of milk, if necessary. Grease a frying pan well, put the mixture on it in rough heaps, place the pan on a gas ring turned low, put a saucepan lid over the pan, and cook the cakes, turning them once. These cakes can be equaMy well cooked in a pan on the hot plate of a range, or even over a low red fire in an open grata. They cost very little mere than and mar- garine for afternoon tea. are quickly made, and do rH't need an oven for cooking. KO do not need an oven for cooking. we

[Continutd from previous coicimn..) itself. It saYS;" In the Reichstag, the door handles and latches, towel rails, radiator screens, staircase reds, clothes-pegs, lavatory chains, umbrella and cloakroom stands, and roofing copper liave been removed. In a similar fashion all public buildings in the Empire are being systematically dismantled." Father Christmas. Father Christmas is helping I in the Feed the Guns cam- paign. His familiar face appears in three of the paper I bags supplied to shopkeepers by the War- Savings Committee. These bags are old at usual prices to retail shops, and they serve a double purpose—firstly, as receptacles for purchases, and, secondly, as a form of pro- paganda, Half-a-dozen firms are engaged in manufacturing these bags. Apart from the pictures, the bags bear important hints on how to economise. German aii-iten cited were not only down, but very nastily down in a sudden dive to earth, after many hours at a height where the cold was Arctic; and the R.A.F. men who promptly treated them to a good, hot breakfast were doing a very British thing which harmonises with tiae whole British tradition. And if there had ever been any danger of tSaose boys forgetting the British tradition (which is unlikely) they were reminded of it by the sportsmanlike train- ing which they had received in the R.A.F. (Cadet Brigade. We Germans will never iJoe gentlemen. fi'ní.il you English will always he fools," is the often quoted remark of a German officer captured early in the war. And the English quoted it with pride. They were so incurably 'prou of the English quality which the German called foolishness, and they call sportsmanship, that when the training of a British pilot was under con- sideration, it was positively decided to include training in the British foolishness known otherwise as sportsmanship. Which is only to say that by playing games, under expert coaches, the R.A.F. Cadet Brigade learns never to forget to play the The English fools are winning the game. war. and by their foolishness, bv their habit. of playing the game, by having decent thoughts and by acting decently upon them. To play the game may be a sentiment, but it is also a policy, even though to Britain it is a natural and uncalculated poliey. It is a policy which is winning the war. and in the youngest, as in the older Services, they play the game in the British way. Britons can be efficient and gentlemen. Germans can only be efficient —up to a point. Then comes Kamerad