Yours very faithfully,
W. B. Wollen, R.I.
CHESTNUTTY—BUT GOOD.
To the Editors of The Friend,—Sirs,—Is this a chestnut? Johannes Paulus Kruger sent a commissioner home to England to find out if there were any more men left there. The commissioner wired from London to say that there were 4,000,000 men and woman "knocking about the town," that there was no excitement, and that men were begging to be sent to fight the Boers. Kruger wired back "Go North." The commissioner found himself in Newcastle eventually and wired to Kruger, "For God's sake, stop the war! England is bringing up men from hell, eight at a time, in cages!"
He had seen a coal mine.
Circulation, April 11, 5,500.
The circulation of The Friend is as large as that of all the Bloemfontein papers combined.[18]