New Britain Herald Newspaper, December 24, 1917, Page 9

T ONDON YULETIOE FEASTS i & London, Dec. 24.—Christmas this | | year in London is Christmas shorn of f |'its trappings. With the war situation | &8 serious as it has ever been, with | Mot only the food controller calling for ! sconomy in consumption, but actual | reduction in the amount of food on |the market, with newspapers criticis- I ing every hotel or Winter resort which | advertises special Christmas attrac- tlons, there is little disposition to go in for the traditiorfal feasting. But there is no distress and, judg- . | ing by the marked falling off in traf- fic on London streets, which began Friday, hundreds of thousands are _idiotiday’ making. Shops have done | well, but there has been an interesting ?-nn in the character of goods sold. 5 “‘Purchases have beén generally of ¥ the more useful articles and the cus- tomary ‘Christmas specialties have | been notably rare. Supplies of candy, ‘| for example, have been very short, Iarge stores displaying preserved fruits Instead. Fancy calendars have largely dis- plgch Christmas cards, and expensive boxes for candies or other trifles sim- ply are not to be procured. Toys made by disabled soldiers have sold gr‘uy in place of German goods. olly and mistletoe can indeed be purchased, but in very much fewer places ‘than usual, the government . having refused to permit the custom- ! FOREGOES | | ' NEW BRITAIN DAILY HERALD, MONDAY, DECEMBER 24, 1017. ary train loads of greenery to be | ST eE———— T ——p——— oved over the heavily burdened es. Christmas trees also are few - &nd far between, while the shortage of 8spirits and the shortened hours at ‘which! saloons are open have had a arked effect of keeping crowds of oliday makers quiet and orderly. Soldiers have been even more in evidence than usual. Lately in Lon- don streets, cumbered with innumer- #ble packs, their shrapnel helmets and rifies_and perhaps a sheepskin coat, they crowd subway trains as they _ erosy town on their way home straight the trenehes, the - picture of iealth and sturdy manhood, despite heir hardships., They bring the war Ty near to home-keeping Britishers, hile their' quietness and utter ab- ice ‘of boisterousness show what a 8 10t théy are. to be 'in town on stmas ng possible has been done. THé Ragle Hut in the Strand, which Mas become a favorite rendevous for Idiers and sailors of all nations, has ‘& wpecial ' program. Men WE WISH ALL OUR MERRY XMAS HAPPY NEW YEAR 164 Main Street sleeping there will be awakened on Christmas morning instead of by a gong by a company of children who will go round the dormitories singing carols ahd hymns. On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day stockings with candy, nuts and other trifies will be 'presented from a Christmas tree to jevery fighting man who is present, and on Christmas afternoon Pfofes- |sor F. C. de Sumichrast, late of Har- : vard, will speak on ‘“Great Britain and ! America, Champions of Humanity.” In the evening carols will be sung i by the London Camp Choir, and they will be kept up by a concert, a song and an entertainment given by ! music hall artists on Boxing Day af- ternoom and evening. ] At the American Officers’ club a special luncheon will be served, but the .clud has so well performed that part of its program which deals with providing private hospitality for American officers that perhaps it will not be much crowded. A very large number of.officers, it is understood, have received invitations from Ameri E wish to thank all those who visited our , store during this Xmas time and wish to apologize to those whom we were unable to serve. pate such a rush and conse- quently were short of help. We did not PATRONS A and can residents or to English homes &0 that they will not have much need of club entertainment. American soldiers in British hos- | pitals' will be looked after by the | American Red Cross through its Care | committee, of which Mrs. Robert E. Skinner is chairman, and at the American Nurges’ club a special gathering is expected at Christmas Day dinner. The Overseas club, thou- sands of members of which are in America, also has written to the | American ambassador and army and | navy cheifs inviting apy American in uniform to make full use of its quar- ters. At various camps in England where Americans are in training and aboard American war vessels in British wa- ters as liberal Christmas entertain- ments as possible have been ‘ar- ranged. This is expected to decrease the number of Americans coming to town, as it is natural that soldiers and sailors should prefer to spend the day with comrades to wandering around a big. strange city. antici= | cylinders, or Hglifax Sufferers Benefit can_} HE Children of the Methodist Church will L repeat the beautiful Cantata “Santa’s Sur= prise,” which they gave Friday night for the benefit of the Halifax Sufferers. Free will offering taken. UNCLE SAM QUICK TO TAKE T0 AIR Marvelous Strides Made by Amer- ica in Developing Aircrait | | This is the fifth of a series of | articles on America’s war prep- | arations secured from official | government sources by the Con- | necticut State Council of De- | fenmse. These articles, two of | which are given out each week, | are as complete and informative | as military requirements will | permit. [ American aviation units have moved up to stations immediately behind the front in France. The van- guard of the now army of the air for ‘which Congress voted $640,00,000 last summer is about to join the forces of land and sea in action against the Germans. The Navy has tripled in size since the war hegan and the Army has mul- tiplied itself by thirteen. These are rapid increases. But the first year plaps for the Air Service call for an increase of more than a hundredfold. Last spring the Awviation Corps had less than 200 airplanes of all degrees ! of serviceability. Now a fleet of 22,- 000 planes is being built. When war | began there were 75 aviators. A force ! of 10,000 aviators is being trained. The | total personnel of the old flying corps, ! ground workers as well as fliers, was 2,000. The total personnel of the new flying corps is 100,000. Before any real fighting planes ! could be turned out a new American industry had to be created. This is the great task that has been quietly accomplished in the last five months. When the Aircraft Production board started its work only two companies ' manufacturing airplanes were in op- eration in America, and the machines they had been making for the Allie: were of a type serviceable only fo: practice flights. stop negotiations for the use of exist- ing patents, and to set men at woik designing a new airplane engine which should comprise as many of the good points of the different patents o these men cared to use. In a weck twenty experts working together had evolved the Liberty Motor, which Secretary Baker has called the great- est achievement of the war so far. The Liberty Motor is a model of standardization. It is built with four with eight, or with twelve, and the same parts are intev | changeable for all three of the dif- ferent sizes. The greatest automobilc factories in the world have been pro- vided with”the machinery necessary for turning out these motors—the fac- topics that have supplied the United States with its 4,000,000 automobiles when all the rest of the world gets along with only 700,000. It has been necessary all along not to interfere with the supply of raw materials particularly spruce, and of certain completed aeroplanc parts, to the flying forces of qQur Allies. In return for these materials the | Allies are giving us the rich benefit of their experience. For months young Americans have been in training for our Air Corps on the flying flelds of England and France. On a dozen | and more of new flying flelds in Amer- ica”veteran fllers from the weéstern front are helping in the preliminary | training of our new aviators. As to whether the war can be won "in the air there seem to bé two opin- jons. At any rate the'Aviation sec- tion is not leaving any stone unturned The first move of the board was tc OVERSTOCKEI SALE OF FURS | Time is short before Xmas and my Stock is very\ large. I would rather sell now at very low prices than have all these Furs on my hands after Xmas. Do not wait for cheaper prices. I will give People the best Bargain they ever had right now. 'MESHKI - 139 MAIN ST. Leather Goods A Fine Assortment of Leather Specialties That Are Very Desirable ‘™ POCKET BOOKS, ' WALLETS, CARD CASES A large variety of choice patterns. Useful Gifts that prolong their value as a remembrance. - s | Leather Correspondence : Portfolios With paper and envelopes. Pockets for stamps, cards, calendars, etc. A boon to traveler, and convenience to all. All prices. PHOTO ALBUMS Especiasllggsfi\l;e E(za(r) t&es for sav- ‘ Both bound and loose leaf styles. ing clippings, pictures and other data. t Christmas Cards, Package Trimmings, White Wrapping Paper, Tinsel Cord, | ’ Coin Boxes. ; e " | Qiarles, Address Books, Memorandums. ADKINS PRINTING CO. 66 CHURCH STREET.