A SPECTATOR 'S NOTEBOOK a
* * At all events, the noisy exhibitions in the last days of the modern Long Parliament have made it clear that, once Mr. Churchill's pro- posal had been rejected, the date of the election could hardly have been postponed until October. A quarrel over dates; however, does not seem to me to be enough to explain the intensity of denuncia- tion from one section of the Left. I have the feeling that the success of " resistance movements " abroad has gone to the heads of a good many. people in this country, and that such people, almost un- consciously, are behaving as though since 1940 they had themselves kept alive the torch of " non-colaboration " somewhere under- ground in political territory occupied by a Coalition Government. Indeed, even Ministers who took part in the COalitiori are now walking around, or rather talking around, like characters in search of a Quisling against whom they can stand out spotless and un-
corrupted. •
* * * It may be that I have put myself out of court because I am writing these paragraphs partly out of the shameful motive of private profit : a motive of which it appears that every decent man should be ashamed because private profit has been shown to be irrecon- cilable with the public good. However, if I may be allowed to say so for gain, I think that the issues at this election are being dis- torted even more than usual by over-simplification. Confused thinkers are being congratulated more strongly than ever for their downright way of saying things.
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" What I like about X is that he calls a spade a spade." Maybe so, but what does he mean by it? Am I a pedant if I go for an answer to my dictionary and discover that a spade may be a tool for digging ; a tool for seal-engraving ; an attachment to increase the grip of a wheel or to check the recoil of a guncarriage ; one of the four suits of ordinary playing cards (where it represents, not a stylised digging spade, but a cut and thrust sword); a eunuch ; wax in the corner of the eye. These are not all the accepted meanings of spade, and anyhow the first man in English to speak of " calling a spade a spade "'appears to have followed blindly a mistake made by Erasmus in Latinising a Greek proverb which talked of " calling a trough (or a basin, bowl or boat) a trough (or a basin, bowl or
boat)." * As I join the unending stream of passengers walking down the long stairway from Paddington (G.W.R.) to the Bakerloo tube I w rider at the L.P.T.B. and at the patience of the English. Some- time about last Christmas there was a fire at the top of the escalator. For two or three months both the up and do escalators were out of action. The down staircase is not working. I can hardly bring myself to believe that there neither workmen nor spare parts for putting this moving stair in order. Thousands of travellers, including wounded soldiers, people, invalids, women with heavy packages use this staircase are given just that extra little fatigue which means so much on journey. Furthermore the automatic ticket machines at the bookie office reappeared for a time but are now no longer functiomn Hence, after the arrival of a long distance train at the main stati there are enormous queues at the two guichets. Once more, I can easily believe that it would be impossible to find a ticket clerk a third guichet. * *
Letters have appeared in the press about the unfairness of allow' scholars in the faculties of arts at the universities to come op October for a full course,, while other scholars, who have had o six months of university life before their absorption into the fort will have to wait a year or two years before demobilisation. Th are, of course, great practical difficulties in the way of any oth plan, and, on the whole; questions of this kind are best settled discussion between the accredited representatives of the universit: and the civilian and military authorities. A Press or parliament campaign for the early demobilisation of any one category of per
must be unsatisfactory and maybe dangerous. * •*
Nonetheless it can be said that the general treatment of studen in the faculties of arts has been more than a little hard in cornparis with the treatment of students of medicine or chemistry. We has not yet reached in England the stage of giving to the teachers students of technical and non-pOlitical subjects higher scales of rati than those received by their colleagues in subjects liable to slimulat criticism of Divine-Emperors and such like; but a good deal of o policy has been based upon the assumption that the humanities c well take second place in our educational and practical needs. thit assumption should gain ground, we shall ultimately get th goVernment and administrative services deserved by a nation
efficient and functionally agile ants. * * * *
It would be interesting to know how many million people has now ceased to listen to the news on the wireless. Without blare" the B.B.C., who must take what news they can get, I incline think that the number of listeners would be greater if the ne service were better. The B.B.C. must be aware that they are no putting out very much news of the war in the Far East ; it is sue prising that such facts as they can produce about this major should so often be tucked away after domestic affairs of very littl importance. The same thing is true of many daily newspapers. seems almost fantastic to say so, but one does not get the impress' from the headlines that naval, military and air operations are con tinuing on the largest scale and that thousands upon thousand, yoting men are still risking their lives for us. From many conversa tions I am sure that in this matter the British 'people has a bet sense of proportion than the London press. The ordinary man wou like to know much more about what is happening, and would we' come information of a kind which betrays no military secrets gives details about the daily existence of these sailors, soldiers, airmen of the Allied Nations. NUMA POMPILIC s.
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