A Journey Through France in War TimeButler, Joseph G. (Joseph Green)
History
A Journey Through France in War Time
Butler, Joseph G. (Joseph Green)
France -- Description and travel; World War, 1914-1918
Saturday, October 21st, was the day of sailing from Liverpool. We left
London at 10:20 A.M. on the London & Northwestern Railroad for Liverpool
and arrived at the latter place at 2:30 P.M. We boarded the steamer
Philadelphia, of the American line, and noticed on the side of the boat
an immense American flag painted in colors, as well as the words
"American Line". There was also a row of electric lights, visible
several miles distant, surrounding the flag and the name of the boat.
There were five lights on each side of the boat and each light had five
incandescent bulbs, making fifty lights in all. The flag painted on the
side of the steamer was 8 x 15 feet.
The Philadelphia left the dock at Liverpool at 4 P.M. on a rough sea.
Mr. E. A. Warren, a member of the Commission, stopped over a day in
Manchester and was in close communication with friends in that city.
Manchester has a population of half a million people. It is the center
of the cotton manufacture of the world. Mr. Warren is a manufacturer of
textile machinery and represented the textile industry on the
Commission. He reported that all the manufacturers of textile machinery
in England are running on war munitions. The entire steel industry in
England is under the control of the government, and the sale of steel
for any purpose cannot be made without governmental consent. Mr. Warren
reported also, as coming from friends, that England was at that time
growing uneasy over the fact that the United States government requested
that British war vessels keep away from our coast and then allowed the
U-boat 53 to land at Newport and obtain information in regard to the
sailing of vessels, which it then proceeded to torpedo. This occurred
about the time of the blowing up of vessels off Nantucket.
The Manchester stock exchange has a membership of ten thousand and is
open every day except Sunday. There are no auction sales, no excitement
or loud talk, no gesticulating, as is the case in New York, particularly
on the curb. The business is all done in a quiet, conversational tone.
Cotton is the principal commodity traded in.
A feeling is growing in England that the United States should have
entered the war, which the English believe they are fighting for the
cause of civilization and for the preservation of the liberty of the
United States as well as of England. The feeling is also somewhat
prevalent that the United States is only interested so far as making
money is concerned. This feeling was apparently very bitter.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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