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a NOTES ON NEWS. I I Whtn compulsory service first cast its I <ha? °? before statements were made in JABORN AND IMPULSION. the House of Commons and elsewhere as to what would be the attitude of organised labour in the en.. of- Parliament passing a measure 'compel},? men to enter the Army, Labour I ?", a were told, would never stand  great bodies of workers would go on .stnke, and the industries of the country  be brought to a standstill. Men talked about revolution, and many even of -t h t, least nervous people anticipated if compulsory service were adopted. The event has confounded the prophets and the timorous. Organised lalV)in- has shown that in a time of natio- nal emergency it is one with the nation. Of course, there was never any real reason for doubting the patriotism of the workers fcflr their willingness to shoulder any bunlen provided only they were convinced of the need. Labour, as is well known, docs not like compulsion, but accepts it been use it must. Its attitude is expressed by the resolution passed at the miners' I conference, expressing opposition to the spirit of conscription and determination to «*?rc-ise a vigilant scrutiny of any pro- posad extension of the Military Service Act. Labour, though it dislikes the prin- ciple, recognises that cumpulsion has be- come inevitable. Local tribunals are to be directed to give special consideration to cases where, TRIBUNALS AND TRADESMEN. if a man with wife and family dependent upon him were called up. his business would probably have to close down. A here is a great number of cases of this kind, of small businesses where in ordinary times two or three assistants are em- ployed, but where, 4be assistants having joined the Army, the proprietor has re- mained to carry on, earning a fair living for himself and his dependents. If the proprietor has to go the business has to go> and in the majority of cases it can never be recovered which would mean that the man, his military service con- cluded, would have to take any employ- ment he could get. It is, of course, in- evitable that there should be hard cases in the working of compulsory service, but I certainly there is good ground for treating applicants of this class with special con- sideration. At the moment of writing the concession made by the Government J goes no further than the promise of in- struction to local tribunals, but there is a possibility that exemption may be pro- vided by the Bill in certain cases. It seems to be generally understood now J that the British blockade is a veritable t STKANGMNG GERMANY. strangle-hold, and that the pressure exerted upon Germany is increasing and must eventually be- I •icome overwhelming. Jrrom many quar- ters comes news of the growing serious- ness of matters in Germany, of the short- age of food, and the "war-weariness" and the discontent of the people which has found expression in food riots and an ardent longing for peace. This is the work of the British Fleet. "It may now be accepted," says the Rotterdam corres- pondent of the" Daily Telegraph," ''that the blockade of Germany is the paramount factor in the world war. This is not to imply that the food resources of the Cen- tral Powers are exhausted, that anyone has died of starvation, or is in immediate danger of that fate. But it is to imply that the shortage is already great, and that if existing conditions continue even- tual famine is inevitable." Tfee corres- pondent declares that he has received re- liable information that the next harvest is botnd to be a failure. "It is not so much the immediate present, but the hope- 1. 1'1 \J"'pcd: for tho future—next winter at the latest—which has put fear into the hearts of the Government. It is that which impelled them to their desperate peace venture through the medium of the negotiations with the United States. Not from any unfavourable climatic conditions, or from shortage of labour, is it that the next harvest is doomed to compara- tive failure. The reason is to be found solely and simply in the block- ade. German crops will be poor be- cause the German ground is impoverished because the British Navy has cut off from Germany all its oversea supplier—first, of cattle feeding stuffs; secondly, of artificial manures. In all parts of the German ■eni]!farmers have reporte d that their land will not this year bear its full yield. "With this fact now before them, the Government know that, even if it is staved off in the meantime, famine next winter is inevitable." There is no danger at this time of day ,of the Home Secretary's references to CHILDREN AND CINEMAS. cinematograph films as one of the causes of the increase of juvenile crime leading to a general con- demnation of the picture I ? 1 theatre. There can be no doubt tnat tne -cinciiia has abundantly established its claim as a cheap, popular, and harmless form oi amusement and recreation, so far as the adults are concerned. Whether the ordinary cinematograph entertainment is good for young children is another matter. Most people who have any care for their children desire that they shall remain as long as possible without even a nodding acquaintance with tragedy and ■crime, and there is no denying that these undesirable features bulk too largely in the film plays. In spite of all that has been said on this matter from time to time, however, many parents continue to -take children of tender years with them to these performances, in many cases be- cause, there being nobody else to take -care of the children, the parents are un- able to go without taking them along.  that is a poor excuse for allowing the ilriVttii le ones to see things which may be, and M the opinion of the police authorities ;are harmful to them. A censorship of films in the interests of children can do -nothing but good, and if those who control the picture palaces are wise, they will wel- ■come it. Such a censorship is under con- sideration, and in the meantime the cine- matograph licensing authorities are ad- vised to give special attention to the nature of the films proposed to be shown at children's performances. It is pretty certain that the German official list of casualties are no more trutli- THE GERMAN CASUALTIES. ful than the other items of news connected with the war which comes from German sources. The latest published in- I formation, which gives the total German losses in killed, wounded, and missing; at some-thing over 2,800,000 since the begin- Ding of the war, does not agree at all with any of the estimates made by capable ob- servers, whether they be neutrals or Germany's enemies. As it happens, we are able I to apply a test to the latest Ger- man figures, which should include the lossas for. at any rate, the opening of the great offensive at Verdun, which began in February, and has been terribly costly to the enemv. Yet the total losses givcn in this neturn for the last completed month are only 91,000—a figure which purports to represent the losses on the whole of the wostern front and the eastern as well. This figure is considerably less than the average in the previous months of the war, and clearly cannot be correct. The natural inference is t,hat the German Gov- P.rn -vi.,nt, is, afraid to let the people of Ger- rr-it., know at what terrible sacrifice of n\ bile offensive at Verdun is being car- 'ne« Ul.

ALL WHO SIGNED "REPUBLIC"…

THE NATIONS WAR BILL. I

AUSTRALIAN COINS. I

!BOATING TRAGEDY.I

IGALLANT SCOTS FUSILIERS.…

I SEDGLEY MANS PENSION.I

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PORTION REGAINED IN NIGHT…

I0NE HAN SHOPS..

ICLOSING THE PRISONS.

TRUTH UNDER CHLOROFORM.

SOLDIERS BURIED IN THEIR BLANKETS.

-PRINCE ALBERT -PROMOTED.

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OUR _CHILDREN'S CORNER.

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