Llangollen Advertiser Denbighshire Merionethshire and North Wales Journal

Cabbages—and a moral. I The Trade Union Congress, last week, talked of many things, including by a curious coincidence reminiscent of Lewis Caroll's famoua line, both "cabbages and kings." On the whole the cabbage proved the more suggestive theme, for it was made the basis of an attack upon farmer's alleged profiteering ■which calls for a little examination. A dele- gate from the Vehicle Workers, in seconding a resolution moved by the Agricultural Labourers' Union, in favour of the Govern- I ment resum ing control of th? nation's agri- e?{?ttg? !?s? and ? ?king m hand of thej production, distribution and control of all agricultural produce, pretested that cabbages which used to cost id. a lb. in w cost 3d. a lb-, and he suggested that the increase was due to the farmers recouping themselves for the higher wages of farm labourers. We do not I think that is entirely the explanation. There are a good many complex economic influences affecting the price of food stuffs, for some of which the Ministry of Food must accept responsibilitv., Still the increased fates of agricultural wages very likely has something to do with it, and we are glad that aspect of the question was mentioned because, we think, it is not yet even realised in some quarters that the continued increase in the cost of production, due largely though not altogether to advancing wages, is bound in the long run to come out of the consumer's pockets. If the farmer or the manufacturer finds it costs him more to produce a given article, in order to adjust his profits he must necessarily pass on at any rate a proportion of that increase to his customer. But wage-earners themselves are among his customers, and as they find the cost going up they apply for still further advances in wages to meet the increased expense of living, and so the wheel goes round i and round the vicious circle. How such an economic danger is to be I checked by the nationalisation of the agri. cultural industry, we confess, is by no means I clear to us. The experience of the official control ot distribution of fruit and vegetables, so far as it, has been practised already, as I Lord Powis pointed out in a speech at Welsli- pool, to which we briefly alluded last week, is by no means encouraging as an example of businesslike efficiency, and we fail to follow the logic by which it is concluded that cost of production would be decreased by the enormous multiplication of officiali; w, hich any such national organisation would inevitably involve. But those are points which we cannot pursue further now. Our more immediate purpose is, by taking this concrete case of the cabbage, to emphasize as fully as we can the unalterable economic law, too often forgotten, we fear, when one wage 8 4 movement" after another is set afloat, that, however justified they may appear to be by the existing circumstances, they cannot, in themselves, carry the wage-earner outside the influence of his own acts. The wheel con- tinues to revolve. Higher wages: higher prices. Higher prices still higher wages and, the worst of it all, no-one relatively any better-off, but those unfortunate folks who have to live on fixed iucomes and unable, like the manufacturer or the wage-earner, to counterbalance the decreasing purchasing- power of money at the other end of the scale, very much the poorer off for it all I Into such perplexing paths does this question of the cost of cabbages lead us, from which we shall not escape by any ex-parte criticism of one particular cog in a very complicated economic machine.

Teaching Local History. We are glad to note the prominence which is being given in some of our element- ary schools to the teaching of local history. By this means school children can be encouraged not only to take a deeper interest in the Jinks with a, romantic past which lie about them, some- times ignored to an astonishing degree, but to find, through its local application, a larger pleasure in the more comprehensive story of our own country and other lands. In this welcome development of the curriculum some of our local historians can Tender some timely- aid, and we are pleased to learn that there is a probability of an early publication of what we may call a "School Edition" of I Mrs. Mahler's fascinating and informative volume on Chirk Castle and Chirklands," which is, by the way, already being used in  at least one Welsh border school as a basis for local history lessons that are greatly ap preciated by the children. Preb. Auden's equally delightful "Memonah of old Shrop- shire," we would venture to suggest, lends it- self to similar treatment in the county of Salop, while such a volume as M. A. Hoyer and M. L. Heppel's "Weish Border," though rather wider in geographical scope, follow- ing the course of Offa's Dyke from the sea- board of Flintshire, through Denbighshire, a I corner )f Shropshire? and Montgomeryshire into Radnorshire, and consequently IeM pro- line of purely local detail, is perhaps worth i commendation to those teachers who desire II to gi.ve lessons on more comprehensive lines. But these are only three exwntple6 of the work of local historians in various parts of the border counties which form the nucleus of- a rich store of material that might very ruefully be put to account in connection with tb" teaching of local history, and we hope to hear that several of them may soon be adapted as text books in our local schools. Work for the Churches. We agree with Major David I Davies, M.P., in his address to the National Free Church Council Conference at Llan- drindod Wells last week, that ventilation of the subject of the The League of Nations" is one in which the Churches can render much useful aid. But it must be on sound practical lines. The idea is an exoel. lent one, but it will be carried only verv slightly forward by any mere vague senti- mental talk. We have to realise, as Mr. J, H. Thomas, M.P., and others so fully did at1 the Trade Union Congress the other day, thai the spirit of Prussian militarism must be exor- cised from the world before we can hope for a real establishment of such a League to include all nations, and even then its decrees must be enforced, if necessary, by force. We men- tion this point particularly because it is idle to dream of a Utopia which does not accord with -the conditions of human and national nature as they exist; but we believe that much can be done by educating public opinion to the realisation of at any rate reasonable possibilities in this direction, and this is a, work" as we have just said, in which the I Chnrehes can ta.ke a very valuable hand. We I invite them to consider the sort of spade work which Major Davies suggests they might- undertake.

PERSONAL. Viscount Windsor has retired from the posi- tion of prospective Unionist candidate for Wolverhampton East. Mr. R. F. O. Bridgeman, C.M.G., M.V.O., is gazetted First Secretary in the Diplomatic Service.. It is stated that Combermere Abbey Park and Park View Farm have been sold to Sir Victor Crossley. General J. R. Minshall Ford was at Wrex- ham on Friday, home on short leave from the front. Sir John Leslie, who was recently in com- ma,nd of a battalion in Park Ha,1fl Camp, is among those who are engaged in recruiting n Ulster. The death has occurred, at the age of 88, at The Broadgate, Ludlow, of Mrs. Louisa Lewis, widow of the Rev. David Philips Lewis, formerly Rector of Llandrinio. Sir Charles Longmore, revising the Hert- ford Parliamentary voters' lists la-öt week, struck off the name of Lord Gladstone, hold- ing that he was not entitled to the vote. Among the contributors to the King's Fund for Disabled Officers and Men, for which Mr. John Hodge is making an appeal, is Air. Ber- nard Oppenheimer, who has given part of the Acton Park estate, Wrexham, to the Ministry of Pensions. Mr. Oppenheimer has given ieb,ooo. The Hon. Mrs. John Heywood-Lonsdale, Mrs. Thursby-Peiham, Miss Rhona. Lloyd Mostyn, and Miss Margaret and Miss 1,1a Heoer-Percy were among the guests at the maxriage of Lord Leven and Melville and Lady Rosamond Foljambe, youngest daughter of the Earl of Liverpool, at St. George's, Hanover Square, last week. Mr. Alfred Seymour-Jones, of Pendower, Wrexham, has been appointed a member of the War Office Committee, recently formed by the Raw Materials Department to consider the means of eradicating the warble fly. Mr. Seymour-Jones is well-known in scientific circles as an expert on the question to be considered by the Committee. The funeral took place at St. Asaph Cathe- j dral on Saturday of Mrs. Wynne Jones, widow I of the late Canon Wynne Jones, for many years rector of Llanymynech, and mother of the Dean of St. Asaph. Mrs, Wynne J ones i had lived at Maesteg, Rhyl, since her husband, who died about a year later, resigned the liv- ing of Llanymynech in 1910. Mrs. Wynne Jones was in her 91st year. The Rev. Rees Pryce, vicar of Machynlleth, was one of the officiating clergy at the mar- riage of Capt. Duncan Norman, M.C., R.E., son of Mr. Alfred Norman, of Heath House, Runcorn, to Miss Eira Dilys Owen Owen, younger daughter of the late Mr. Owen Owen, of Liverpool, and of Mrs. Owen Owen, of Tanyfoel, Pjenmaenmawr, and 1, Thorney Court, Londo-, at St. Seircol's, Penmaen- mawr, last week. Col. and Mrs. Sladen, who are well known in Montgomeryshire, continue in their new home at Tunbridge Wells to be active sup- porters of good causes. Recently Col. Sladen invited an American baseball team to play a j" Canadian team at Tunbridge Wells for the benefit of the Red Cross, and the event was a great sucacess. Col. Sladen entertained the teams to dinner after the match, when refer- ence was made to his and Mrs. Sladen's con- stant willingness to help in every good cause, and to the town's indebtedness to them. Col. Sladen also took an active.part in arranging Old English Sports on August Bank Holiday, when Mrs. Sladen presented the prizes, given out of a fund to which she was a generous contributor. Lord Berners died in London on Thursday, aged 63. Raymond Robert Tyrwhitt-Wilson, eighth Baron Berners, was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, succeeded his father, as fourth baronet in 1894, and succeeded as eighth baron in 1917, on his mother's death. He was High Sheriff of Shropshire in 1910, and was latterly attached to the Inland Water Transport as a second lieutenant. He was a brother of Lady Knotty* and of the v. the Hon. L. F. Tyrwhitt, Canon of Windsor and a Chaplain in Ordinary to the King. The ad- ditional name of Wilson was assumed by royal licence in 1892. Lord Bernefs was unmarried, and both titles descend to his nephew, Gerald Hugh Tyrwhitt, born in 1883, the son of the I Hon. Hugh Tyrwhitt, C.V.O. (who died in 1907), and Julia Mary, daughter of William O. Foster. The heir presumptive is the Hon. Clement Tyrwhitt, who was born in 1857. Under the title of Days Gone By Mrs. Wills Harper, a well-known Liverpool lady, has contributed to the "Liverpool Echo" some recoll-L-otions of Dr. Damer Harris- son, the famous canoer. The members of the Mersey Canoe Club took many trips up neigh- bouring water ways, and Mrs. Harper recals how One evening, while capping on the banks of the D" at beouVifW Qterton, supper having, lo?.e served and the members about to retire to their tents, "they. were surprised 1 by number of ladies and gentlemen in even- ing dress, who stood and stared at the camperd. as if they had been wild beasts. In W. usual nonchalant way the doctor raised his meta drinking-cup of coffee, saying, Won't youi ¡ join us?' and one of the strangers murmured to another, Why, they're gentlefolks In 31 few minutes the party were the best of friends, and the following morning the canoe- ists were breakfasting with their nocturnal1 visitors in a beautiful old rambling country house. At the Savoy Hotel, London, on Thursday* i the Zionist Organisation gave a dinner in r honour of the Hon. W. Ormsby-Gore, M.P., political officer of the Zionist Commission ill ,I Palestine, who has recently returned London. Major Ormsby-Gore, in replying td, the toast of his health, said he had just come from a land where the guns and the rifles were .freeing the land from a rule which had rendered a beautiful country barren, and had ruined its economic resources, and had effect-4 ed the moral degradation of its inhabitants I say to you frankly that I see no hope for Zionism, as you understand it, unless the Turk and the German are both decisively, beaten in this war." Zionism had once and for all to get rid of the Turk and the German! influence, which came in with the Turk an through the Turk. The Jew, the Armenian, and Arab were all in the same boat. It meant that Palestine, Syria, Armenia, and Arabia had got to be realised at the end of the* wag as separate and independent countries. This was laid down in the British war aims, and unless those aims were fulfilled Zionism would have worked, in vain.

Montgomery Man Honoured PRESENTATION TO SEGT. WILLIAMS M.M. An interesting event took place at the Town Hall, Montgomery, on Tuesday week, when Sergt. CharJes Bryan Williams, M.M., R.F.A.. was presented with a case of Treasury notes in recognition of his services and the winning of the Militiary Medal. Ser t. Williams, who is a son of Councillor C. B. Williams, of Bod Llwyd, Montgomery, came home from South Africa to join the colours, and has been out in France for over twelve months. He was awarded the Military Medal for gallant con- duct in bringing in wounded under shell fire, and on his return home on leave it was de- cided to give the same recognition as in the case of the two other local men who Lave gained similar distinction. The Mayor, Aid. Henry Jones, presided, and said they were! all pleased to see another fellow townsman win the same honour as Corpl. Turnbull and Pte. Bayson. He thanked the collectors for their services and all who had contributed so willingly to the cause, and it must be a. pleasure to these young men to know that their services were appreciated by their tnwns- men. Sergt. Williams was a native of the town, the son of a. native, and, like his father, he was a real sportsman. It showed his spirit to come home from South Africa to join up voluntarily, and he had certainly, as shown by the distinction he had gained, served his country well. He had won that distinction by going out in front of the firing line to rescue wounded comrades, and had earned it most brilliantly. They wished him ?ood luck in the future and a safe return. He then XLad. .the presentation to Sergt. Williams in appic- priate terms. The Rector (Rev. T. S. Dunn) said the | townspeople were proud of the honour the t.07n conferred on Sergt. Williams and proud of what he had done. He mentioned ?that one-sixth of the whole population of Montgomery was serving in the Army, and he doubted if any other town or community could boast of such a proportion. Sergt. Williams* deed was one of the highest acts of bravery as he had risked and was willing to give his life on behalf of his comrades, the most-that any man could do.. Mr. C. S. Pryce (town clerk) expressed their recognition of the distinguished services of their young friend. They had known Sergt. Williams from boyhood and owed him a special welcome on that ground, but still mor6 because he had come, like so many brave men from the Colonies, thousands of miles across the ocean to fight for freedom and the mother. country. Whilst paying a worthy tribute ttJ men who had distinguished themselves, there was no reason to feel that they ignored or were unmindful of the thousands who bad fought for them, and not been fortunate enough to win such recognition. Mr. J. E. Tomley endorsed the remarkv of the previous speakers. He could not 1 elp envying the members of a family one of wLora had won a distinction of this kind. He agreed with Mr. Pryce's remarks as to tnose who had been less fortunate, and felt that later on they would have to show their appre- ciation of them, and he hoped something sub- stantial would be done for the lads who would be sent back wounded and crippled after their efforts in France and elsewhere. He expressed the hope that the Mayor would form a fund for the local men who were prisoners of war. It was not long since they were celebrating a similar occasion. One of the men then honoured had a brother who had been missing for many months, and & brother of Corpl. Turnbull was now a priuon- er, and so was a brother of Sergt. W miami whom they were honouring that evening. werh, om the'?y 'U!ia.m$ returned thank from th« bottom of his heart for the kindness they had done him. At the request of the M?yor he gave a modest account of the exploit for which his decoration was awarded. There had been heavy shelling and some wounded were left lying out. He, as senior N.C.O., organised t party and brought. them in under heavy fire. (Applause). Continuing, Sergt. Williams said he was impressed during the retirement by the poor old people who had to leave their homes, some of them old women of 90, cull- ling their few belongings in a wheelbarrow. The boys helped them all they could. He often thanked God this war was not in Eng- land. A hearty vote of thanks was accorded to the Mayor on the motion of the Rector, seconded by Mr. Pryce. Mr. Jones, in responding, said the question of a Prisoners of War Fund, which had been mentioned, had been in his mind for some time.' He should be glad if they could do something to relieve the eon- finement and misery of their prisoners, and he would give the matter careful consider- ation and see if anything could be done. (AP. ¡m.u.).