THE BRITISH EMPIRE EXHIBITION AND SOMEWHERE TO SLEEP.
IN spite of the genial and no doubt perfectly sin- cere optimism of the Exhibition authorities the problem of finding room for the thousands of visitors who are going to flock into London this - summer will be a very difficult one to solve. The Exhibition will, we arc sure, be one of the greatest and most memorable of modern times—the Exhibition which will hold up the mirror to our Imperial heritage—and unless the " housing problem " is studied very closely and in time we may see something in the nature of a repetition of the mistake of last spring at the Stadium, but on a much greater scale and not on one day but for weeks and months.
In fine we are deeply concerned as to whether even now enough attention is being given to the question of how to house our visitors. We all know that when there is a large influx of people into London for a football match, cricket match, or the Boat Race—that is, for three or four hours only, and only on one day—many people experi- ence a great difficulty in finding anywhere to sleep ; for the vacant beds in London are small in number. But in the case of the British Empire Exhibition practically all the visitors will want to spend a very long day here, and a very great number will want to stay three or four days. These people will come, in the first place, from every part of England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern and Southern Ireland. We venture to say that these home visitors alone will far more than fill all the accom- modation available in London. In addition there will be a vast number of people from every part of the British Empire pouring in not in a measured stream but in spurts. Next there will be, not only the usual number of American visitors, but a number greatly increased, for Americans love exhibitions, and the whole of the English-speaking races are naturally very much interested in the adventure at Wembley. In addition there happen to be this summer the great Anglo-American Advertisers' Conference and the Bar Conference of America, Britain and Canada. Finally, quite a considerable number of European visitors may be expected, both pleasure seekers and men who for commercial and political reasons want to learn about the products of the British Empire.
The more distinguished people from the Dominions will, no doubt, often be accommodated under the excellent scheme for getting Imperial-minded people to devote a bedroom to overseas guests, as people habitually do for the British Association or other Congresses. But this will be a drop in the ocean. Though much is planned, far more in our opinion must be done to meet the great popular demand. It is obvious that there is no time to build fresh hotels, or even to run up tem- porary hutments in or near Wembley, and we cannot face the disgrace of making our guests sleep on the Embankment or in Hyde Park. What, then, is to be done ? We have a suggestion to offer, which has probably occurred already to many people, though we have not yet seen it in print. It is that each Dominion should charter one or possibly two of the big passenger steamers that are now laid up because their speed is too slow or which for other reasons are not now running, and have these steamers moored in the Thames below London Bridge, but not too far away. • They will be excellent floating hotels. Many of the steamers now laid up are in every way appropriate. That is, they have got sleeping accommodatiim for many hundreds of persons. and they have their full equipment in many cases of blankets and beds, plate, linen, glass and china All, of course, have kitchens and refrigerating 'rooms' It seems to us that provision might easily be made in this way quickly and at a reasonable cost for some five or six thousand beds. If this provision were made, we believe that it would be made use of. No doubt -it is not very convenient to go down the river to sleep ; but it is better than walking the streets; and these floating hotels would, of course, have motor boats which would be running all day between the shore and each ship.
If our plan is adopted, we cannot help thinking that the people who will most bless us for this suggestion are the officials of the Dominion offices. We do not envy the staff at., say, Australia House, or at the offices of any of the High Commissioners, when some of their leading citizens turn up and ask to be told where they are to find accommodation. If men ask with indignation whether they are really to be told that their' wives and daughters are to sleep on the seats on the Embankment or in the Parks, what arc the polite and genial members of the staffs of the High Commissioners to answer ? We hope they will be able to answer : " Certainly you must not be left to tramp London all night. If you like, we have still got some very nice cabins vacant in the two liners we have chartered and which lie moored in the river. We can put you up there for three nights and then, having finished with Wembley, you can go off to Edinburgh, or Cornwall, or Derbyshire, or carry out any other plans you like for seeing the Old Country, and so make room for others."
Of course, there are hundreds of technical and financial Objections which can be made to our proposal. We admit them all ; but we repeat that our plan is better than the Embankment. If, of course, we are wrong and it can be proved that there is an ample supply of beds in London ready for all our guests, we shall be delighted to hear it and shall with thankfulness abandon our fears of a great scandal. But we wonder whether anyone will venture to say with confidence that we are getting frightened about nothing and that there is going to be plenty of room for everybody ? With the plea that it is sure to be " all right on the night ". and every night we cannot pretend to be satisfied.
J. ST: LOE STRACHEY.
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