Show horse and buggy customs return H A As s britain feels pressure of war jy by G RANT GRANT buckingham released e eased by western newspaper union ENDON one year ago the average would have scoff scoffed ed at the suggestion that he would soon discard his automo automobile bile for a horse drawn dogcart equally outlandish would be the suggestion that hed return to the simple evenings before the fireside which characterized an earlier generation today after seven months of war the is doing both blackouts gasoline rationing and other restrictions have shaken the 4 f av rs irs from En glands shoulders and 11 ived the national customs of two or three decades ago more england is not complaining th the e blackouts which descend at dizh nightfall t fall over london and other principal cities have created an entirely new technique of living working and playing in which the gods of war have dictated almost every feature of the national existence many have lost by it yet paradoxically others have profited moving picture theaters in metropolitan london are suffering the leanest period in their history because movie goers hesitate to grope their way very tar far through inky blackness conversely suburban theaters near the residential sections are booming how to spend time at home is an acute social problem for the english who like americans are accustomed to venturing abroad during the evening hours many old customs have been revived and the radio once merely an idle hour instrument has become an essential feature of the evenings entertainment shutters must be closed long discarded games like cards and dartboard have been resurrected from the attic and are enjoyed behind carefully sealed windows should light penetrate into the tre street t and up to the sky the british fear german air raiders might drop their deadly bombs music especially the home variety has enjoyed a marked rebirth englishmen who can afford it are buying small pianos and not the least to profit by this trend are the correspondence school piano teachers on the other hand regular personal music instructors are suffering because children have been evacuated from the major cities many family orchestras have been organized and small groups gather each evening for family and community song bests another old custom revived is that of taking turns reading aloud before a group gathered around the fireside blackouts have boomed astronomy because there is no longer any 7 i 1 I 1 f V 4 BLACKOUT protection A british cyclist with a homemade warning crisscross criss cross of white adhesive tape on his coat korv ing as a protective warning during blackouts fortunately there arent so many automobiles on the highways as before the war tear distraction from the shimmering glow of lights from nearby cities d if theres a moon aloon only when the moon is bright do the english travel about at night and many evening invitations are accepted with the proviso that the guest will come it if theres a moon so great is the night travel problem that most london business firms sent sen t their employees home two hours earlier during the short win R BLACKOUT CRISIS AVERTED war or no war tear the nose must be pote powdered dered this british young woman carries a compact which supplies its own light from an ordinary flashlight battery ter days getting them home before the blackout fell though the blackout has apparently segregated and isolated family groups other war measures have added to the community spirit many families whose children and grandparents were evacuated to the country have joined their remnants under a single roof cutting their living expenses and enjoying each others company during the long and cheerless evening autos stay in garage no more thorough example of british retrenchment can be found than the tremendous decrease in motor traffic officials estimate private motor car use has decreased to one fifth its prewar pre war volume last november new car sales were 85 per cent under the same month a year earlier and in the same 30 day period only new cars were licensed in the whole country the reason is obvious and a good one motorists must pay a tax of 25 shillings a horsepower a year for the privilege of using 10 gallons of gasoline a month to overcome the handicap automobile owners are trying desperately to dispose of their vehicles and buy the same kind of horse and buggy combinations used by their grandparents so great is the demand that automobiles are valued a at t less than a good horse and buggy it is reported that one lady was offered only 10 pounds for the most expensive of all english cars while the L h e same price was placed on an almost new american car accepting their fate as a good joke Britis hers opine that the horse and buggy age here to stay but they are enjoying the experience narrow country roads built originally to accommodate such vehicles and never since widened to meet the demands of automobilists are being frequented once more by that large body of refugees who fled the big cities when war started last september most familiar of the horse carriages is the two wheeled dogcart with cross seats back to back for the most part these had long since disappeared from the british scene before the war started but many old dogcarts dog carts were repaired refurbished and placed in service again britaina Brit ains small horse supply has been another problem for the most part available horses are draft animals saddle horses or hunters most of them either could not be used for hauling dogcarts dog doa I 1 carts or would be insulted over the task |