The Lucknow Sentinel, 1940-06-06, Page 7w
1
Do Leap Years
/<
Carry • A Jinx?
Records Compiled by Instils
seize Company Say They Are
Often. Years of Catastrophic
Accidents
According to records cot npil=
ed by The Travelers Insurance
Company, says the Brantford
Expositor, leap years seem to
Abe years of catastrophic acci-
dents. Going, back •to 1864. the
etatistieians show that in' that
dear 140 railway accidents re-
Milted in 400 killed and •1,486
jnjured. In, 1868, '1872; 1876
and so one down thee, line of.
lime, each of the leap years
chat ted •'' up ,A ' ghastly `and spee-
tacular. toll- of one sort or 'an-
other, with the - most tragicof
all the 'sinkingof the ."Titanic"
in 'the leap year: of. 1912e ,an
ocean disaster . in .which 1,617
people , perished.
"BE MORE CAREFUL"
Leap years ' thus appear to
carry a special :jinx—that is 'if
you are superstitious. The sound
motto, in any case, is ''Be more
careful." This; after all, is, the
surest accident preventive.
Britain Prepares For
Invasion,
With .German' forces .captar-
Ing channel ports, 'England ' is
preparing for any attempted in-
vasion by German forces. Pow-
erful Britishnaval units are pa-
trolling the .Channel and strong
detachments of -troops hav a tak-
en up strategic' positions on the
South' coast. Rtimbling tanks are
o thisbepho "
Ih wn in ca I to as
Pthey
passed throueh.'London to take
top their positions,
•
Go To Country
For The Week -end
Relaxation. Is Needed By All
of Us Get Away From
"War of, Nerves" for' A. Few
Hours
The New Yerk Sun last week ad-
1lsed Americans.-- and indirectly
Canadians -- to take "a tittle run
•
out into the country over the week-
. end-" •
Commenting editorially. upon the
'dark week -end 'facing ,the Allied
• peoples, "the.' side we faros:' the
Bun 'said Americans "shoul'd keep
their heads cool .and their feet on
the ground," and concluded:
•
"In the ineantime, .the more wor-
PIed among us would do .well to re-
. member. that France, with one, of
the finest armies of modern time?,
and the British 'Empire. with per-
haps' the finest nary of all times,
are not likely to be overrun and
smashed and demolished in a single
battle. It might be a good idea to
take a•tu4n or so around the block,
or maybe shoot a little golf, or take
a little run .out' into the cauntry
ever ,the week -end."
Not Living Up
'to Our Heritage
Ilrovincial Minister of Agri-
culture Dewan Talks to O.A.
C. Girls — We're Not Making
Worthy Individual Efforts
•
The Canadian people are not
proving themselves worthy of their
"splendid heritage." Hon. . P. M.
Dewan, Minister of agriculture told
the recent rural •girls' conference
at the Ontario Agricultural College.
"I am convinced that as a people
five are not making individual ef-
forts worthy bf the splendid heri-
tage which bas been passed on' -to
ns," said the minister. "We are
far too afraid of a little extra phy-
r!•ical and mental exertion."
•
"'�� FROM COUNTRY TO TOWN •
The standards of.a nation's civil-
ization depended on the rural pop-
ulation'and it was the constant mi-
gration from the country to- the I.
town that "assured the continued
existence of these urban centres."
"The plain answer to this is that
the birthrate is higher in rural
opmmunities."'the speaker declef
"With all reaped, to city life,
ft is not a bad ting° that stir a.
migration should gradually 1* 4a %
Ing place."
1i. conium ITIES
hand that rock the cradle /tad
l ie •world," and told his rudience
they 'might "bold a• key place in the
+iteering of .tier tutt'i.e national
course '
T J E WAR -WEE K—Commentary on Current Events
SURRENDER OF LEOPOLD
BRINGS BLACKE,ST DAYS
' The -,Allied army of the north,
consisting chiefly of the British Ex
peditionary Force, Was placed in
position .of sinereme danger by
the capitulation. last week of the
Belgian forces under King Leopold'
and was forced to retreat yard . by
yard towards the. coast under a re-
lentless German , attack. With the
Channel ports from,Ostend to Bou -
theme strongly compromised; a, Ger-
men bid for final. victory: seepning-
ly'entered the decisive stage. Peo-
ple` of . British,' . French, Belgian
,blood girded themselves -ton'. the
bitterest days. they 'had ever had to
"'Til. .Facts Are Known"
Branded • as •treachery,° little was.
known regarding the actual circum-
etances. surrounding King Leopold's
unconditional surrender of the Bel-
gian army to Germany, Admiral of
the British Fleet, Sir Roger Keyes,
special British liaison officer to
Belgiumsince the German •inva-
sion .of the Low Count ies, made a
dramatic appeal for s4spension of
jtidgmen.t on King Leo id III - "a
very gallant soldier" — until all the
facts were known: The 'London 'E'- .,
ening News recalled the recent
words of the Belgian • minister of
the interior, M. van der . Poorten,
that. King Leol old was "filled with
deep ' concern. for. the fate of his
troops" who were taking a 'feroc
ions battering from . the Germans.
The, News suggested, this sentence
provided a key to the King's deci-
sion.
• French Consolidate
Separated from the .army on -the
Flanders front by a wide German
corridor, the main body of the. Al-
lied forces, retaining the ' initiative,
was consolidating itself on the en-
tire course of the Somme in prepar-
ation of a great, offensive. Ger- ...
man :losses :were reported to be ter- .
rific on All fronts, the Allies claim=
ing that casualties during ten days'
fighting totalled half a million - s .
On' the Aisne all was quiet; near
the Meuse the -Germans remained
aggressive, but were be: i, held'.
evens where; nothing was occurring
on the Maginot. Line.
a * * "}'
BRITAIN: Civilian .. morale in
Great Britain was bolstered by the
heroic: exploits of IR_A.F. bombing
'and fighting pilots who did double
m
and triple duty in the fierce bat-
tles
atties raging on • the Continent. The
Ail Force went after targets in the
Rhineland industrial area, bombing
rallways junctions, troop trains,
yentls and bridges.
Over the week=end. a shake -pp in
the British army high command
was made, replacing General Iron
side by General Sir John Dill .. as '
Commander of the Imperial Staff;
General Ironside was put in charge
,of British home forces who' were
being, prepared against the threat.
of an imminent Nazi invasion,
Sweeping powers were -granted
Britain's new wartime government
including: establishment of pro-
duction councils to control the man-
ufacture of munitions, ships and
aircraft and to regulate mining and
agriculture; authority to impose.
100 per cent. &cess profits tax to
prevent profiteering; authority .to'
take' oxer munitions factories; au-
thority to regulate other industry
to prevent overlapping of labor;.
the right to control banks and the','
right to regulate wages and hours
of labor. •
Invasion Seen As Iievitable
Prime Minister Churchill warnMe,
that "bard and heavy tidings" may
be . expected from a situation of
"grievous peril''; Information Min-
ister Duff Cooper said that although• -
British must withdraw in Flanders;
"we have not lost the war, assured-
ly Swe shall not.
The early possibility was fore-
seen in Britain that. with Germans
in control of channel ports, Lon-
don -might become but a salient of
the western front ...• that big Ger-
• man land guns commanding the
Straits of Dover, aided by German
panes, could .rain merchant traf-
fic in the Channel and pave the
way for the Nazi invasion of Bri-
tain!' regarded as . al'inost ine r it
able.
Through ,Ireland?
• Apprehension increased during
the week that Germany might at-
tempt to use Ireland as a base of
operations against the United King-
dom.
ingdom. Reported activity of the Irish
Republic Army gave rise to seriout
misgivings and prompted the Eire
'government to take drastic milit-
ary
iliaany measures, bringing,tbe army to
war strength.
* * r •
RUSSIA: Signs were plentiful
that the Sooviet Union was becom-
g increasingly perturbed about
(lermany minter% aims in eastern
i;urope, in particular about the pos-
siiailit' of a. Met Gentian -Italian
4rlve in the Balkans. ' Friendliness
With the AtliPs w'as• therefore not
excluded from the So ': program.
• eToposaii for a." r de- -a e
showed that Russia had toy no
Means closed • the door to further
talks: and last week When Sir Staf-
ford
tatford 'Cripps. 'Laborite metnber of
the British House, . journeyed to
Moscow on an economic mission, :
Chances were seen as "not unfavor-
able" for improved relationsbe-.
tween Britain and the U.S.S.R.
* Y Y
ITALY: Foreigners prepared to '
leave Italy as further classes of
army reserveswere called for duty.
Italy's entranen finio the war on
the side of. Germany appeared only
a matter of days distant, although
it was seen that Mussolini might be
fobbed off ate the last' minute by the
relaxation of the Allied blockade;
in the Mediterranean, or,by sweep-
ing territorial eoncessione en the
part of France.. t All' the :Italian'
Schools were ordered closed, and
civilian motor traffic suspended to
conserve .fuel. (the ultra -Fascist ,
newspaper Conquiste. D'Impero said
that in Italy 'entered the war the
° decisive battle would be in Egypt:
the Italian' plan would be to smash
the Allies' • east fleet and block the
Suez canal).
* •*
°UNITED STATES: While Con-
gress, considered immediate action
to finance the U. S.' new $1,000,-
000,000 defense program, President.,
Roosevelt set up a seven -man cont-
mission to superviseits carrying -
out; announced a scheme to train
50,000•yearlyfor the U.S. air force;
and made a fervent appeal for aid.
for war refugees.
The war has brought a, substan-
tial reduction in trade for the Unit-
ed
nited States, and deterioration in cer-
tain phases of the nation's 'business
and industrial life, . but the 13. S. •
steel industry expects the busiest
year, since the 1914-18 boom . . , .
'leaders: of industry conferring on -
speed-up plans estimated, that the
Allied aircraft • orders in . ,the U.S..
have reached $725,00,000 a recent
increase of $100,000,000.
As a part of the American de-
fense program, mass production of
new popular -priced (under $2.50)
gas masks for civilians was con-
templated:
•.*
CANADA Spur`recl by the fast -
developing crisis abroad, events at
home in Canada happened thick and
'fast. The ' Dominion Government
announced immediate expansion of .
the military and air forces of Can-
ada as a emergency step tai meet ,
the critical situation in Europe;
and Prince Minister Mackenzie King
intimated at 'Ottawa 'that the •ad-
ministration had given 'considera-
tion" to "measures that may . be ne-
cessary" , . in Other •words, Con-
scription .. - the 'formation of a
fourth divisiionof the C-A.S.F. was
outlined !n Parliament,raising the
total of Canadian troops in 'active
service by 64 per cent .. in addi-
tion a veterans' home guard was
authorized by the Defense Depart-
ment - . Air Minicter C. G. Power
told the House of Commons that.
every single air field ,under the
Commonwealth Air Training • Plan
would be rush- ! to completion this
summer, and that three additional
44/04 BEE HiVE
elementary flying schools would be
established, one of them at Goder-
ick, Ontario . .
The bringing down of the Federal
Budget was expected within ten
days, at which time ' Finance Min- " .
later Ralston would reveal the tax-
es and othermeasures by . which,
the governmeifi hopes to obtain
money to carry on the nation's war
activity and keep up curtailed
• peacatime services ...
The appointment was announced
during tha week of J. Piernepont
Moffat as " the new United States
Minister to Canada, succeeding Jas. '
If. R. Cromwell.. Apropos, the New
York Herald -'Tribune editorialized:
"No one can foresee the outcome of
the war, but no matter how it'ends,,
no one can overlook the fateful im-
por Lane, today and hereafter, of
the relations between tise United
States and Canada,"
Runless flew .during the week,
contributing to the national slate
at mind which was bordering en
hysteria_ We heard that parehut
lets might land in Toronto; that
spies m non's clothing had been ap-
prehended near Port Stanley; that
our next-door neighbor was a • " 5th,
columnist". and that we ought to
tell the pollee about him ... Bet-
ter
etter substantiated report crowded'
on the heels of these rumors: that
Queen Mary- mlght,shortly tome •to ,
&nada accompanied by the Prin- '
eesses Elizabeth and _Margaret
Rose; that' other 'European royalty
might seek refuge here - . Dow-
ages Queen 'Marie of Yugoslavia,
with two children and two grand,
children; Prince -es Jitlieuta tett the
Netherlands and her'two :betties -
Most 'cheerful
be ties-
Most'cheerful news of the week:
Allied and Norwegian forces captur-
ed the iron ore port of Narvik -
Radio System!
Is Simplified
IC simplified. systema .of ship- to -
shore radio telephone service with
oneworking frequent's' for an the
GreatLakes instead of one for each
of the five lakes as heretofore, has
been inaugurated- ;
Effective since May let, adoption
of the system followed an i;afornnal
agreement between the,hunted
States, and Canada.and ws pieced
stn operation with the co-operation
of the federal tommudaieatioaas eons
mission of the United States.
AGREEMT WITH 'U. S.
Actually the regent agreement,
brings up to date an agreement be
tween Canada and the United -
States in 1936 when certain fie.
gttency bands • were set aside, fee
ship-to-ebore radio telephone .seas
rices on the Atlantic and Pae1f1
eoasts as • well es on. "the Great
.L akes.
1
The tank complement of e . !British Division is at least one battalion
and one regiment of 45 scout tanks
I under the collar and :ends' hint running' for a rifle - .
The ultiiinate weapon 'which wins the waris a
bayonet • on a rifle carried by an infantryman
through the mud.,
of, 45 infantry co-operation tanks
' Sept.. 1C7-
Canada entered the war: "
Sept. 31--- .1
•
• First Division with three tank units mobilized.
Oct. 15—..
' Major-General McNauglhton in. Command, called for
survey of Canada's armoured troops, tank training and
production possibilities.
Oct. 31—
Coir E J. Carter, Britisi4 tank.. expert, subrritted lily
.report, recommending
Immediate 'creation centralised Armoured Corps;
unit and combined training at Camp Borden; tank
production in Canada '
to `,`start now."
Nov. 13,--
Ottawa
3°-
Ottawa announced
British experts .to Or-
ganize our -war effort
Nov. 14—, .
Toronto Commitee
wired and wrote De-
fense Minister urging
Coir Carter be retained
as adviser` on tank
training and produc-
tion_ •
Noy. 15-- I
Minister of Defense
Rogers wired: "Our
' t a n k' organization
oes not' . warrant
appointment addi-
tional senior officers
at present."
Nov. 20—
Toronto Globe & Maif
published first of four
articles on . "Armour-
ed Troops in the
Present War" by Col. E. J. Carter_ From the article's
corse these statements:
Hardened steel is the only thing that will brang a mats
alive .through a zone of 'machine-gun fire and carry bins,
and his retaliatory fire into the hostile • line. Tanks
are the answer ... September, 1918, when we were ad-
vancing with the Canadians, was .the • Germans' first
lesson in !co -Operative attack ,with armoured troops
and airplanes. It would not be wise to discount the
skillwith which they applied it in Poland ... Of the
1939 war . . : this mucin can certainly', be foretold:
If and when the attack does come it will be made
in the greatest numbers and at the highest speed
with both . land and au craft. For its aim will be
to penetrate the battle• ground and reach the con -
trot and supply areas before reserves can' be
brought up to meet, it - .. , '
If Canada can undertake na.ore her besi contrib:t:ion,
in, my humble judgment; would be in the 'recruiting;
Training and eouippinfr cif tank units_ There is no
technical problem in the production of tanks which
Canada's skirted industries should not be able
quickly to overcame ,
Nov, 22—
. Brigadier E. T. C. Sc?in3dlrn, Director of Engineering
See ices at Canadian Ilea&;uarters. technical .adviser
' to the Minister of Defense, visited Toronto to speak
of taroks. 'From the speech come these pearls: '
Nobody knows how .useful tasks will be in actual
"ding -dung" warfare -... . The Polish campaitgn'
was no true indication of the power of . mechanized
armies. The Poles failed to provide the .opposition .
expected of them -' - .
The usefulness of the airplane"_ _ _ remains to be seen..:
T'ie damage from bombing "will be considerably less
than expected _ ; . Booting a civilian makes him hot
1
Nov. 24 '..
Major Everett Bristol; for. the .Toronto Committee,
wrote Mr; 'Rogers asking reconsideration of his deci-
sion :to do without_ CGL Caa"te?s expert advice: l.Iis.
letter enclosed an offer, of co-operation by the mining
industry in "anacre ambitious tank prograrn,' and.
asked permission: to bring a delegation to meet the
Minister - and discuss '•`*bat .steps' can be taken to
3asobilize the resources of the leaders in the s throng
industry . behind a
major war effort."
it-"
Nov. 27—
Mr. ' Rogers ackno a l
edged this letter with-
out re 1 .
Nov. 30—
.
Col. Carter. Of the
Royal Tardy Corp= left
Canada ''dor Englland_
Dec_ (2
Dec.(?)—.
il.7nder the .Command
of 'Ma nor -G Ciera l ' Mc-
N'Naughfon the 'First •
Division. 'C ASF. sail-
ed for Eranland. ttninus.
its three talik 'Mits.
Dec..
nits -
•'Dec. to Feb.—
The Toronto 'Corn rn it -
,.'tee sought away s. and
means of obtaining
Canadian - made tank
training etldipntient_ l','
Results: A c&ieap.
easily assembled train -
hag• vehicle was plan-
ned' with the co -opera-.
lion of the Dominion's Motor industry. An offer to
make test machine without e- mmse or obligation to
'the Department of Defense was submitted. • Renard -
less of the efforts of staff officers directly co3nce:rned-
the offer was ignored. •,
Feb. 12—
Major Bristolopened a new offensive, writing the
Prime Minister, the :Minister of. Defense and a high
ranking officer on the Headquarters Staff nnrging action
on tails. He enclosed specially markee copies of
• Col_ Carter's prophetic articles_
Feb. ' 14—
Rogers acknowledged receipt of the article'.
;Feb. 16-- '
The Prime :Minister's office also: ackison ledged r e• -e -t Y_
This was countered. Tith 2 :est anneal Mr. icing
-through the offices_ o(: a friend.
March 8— •
The Toronto Con:a;itaee receia ed a proiceenrl
originating with the Department of .Defense. It ad-
c'ised that there was ¢nd program for unit or coil-' ,
bined tank training at Camp Borden and no likeli-
hood th6x—at one would. be adopted.
!i�')'arch 1 _
Ottawa repulsed last assault : "i� e are working on a
\very comprehensive pr,cgrariattf decklopnent in, wheel-
ed vehicles which has great potential training : r.3tae
Somewhere -in -April, -
Brigadier Sell-Enidiin. Director of Engineering St ra ice. at
Defense Headquarters: technical adriser to the Minister
of Defense, raised to Acing fla_2rae ranaster General.
Mav lg '
First Division tank units still in Canada. ,still
tankless. Prime +litii_ter'King `pronnised a' F'oneth
Division of nine RIFLE B ATTALIOXS—pre-nrnably
complete •with bayonets and mud.
Press : the iia •
..Sept. 1, 1939— -
Hitler orders invasiOn of
Poland. '
Sept 27_
Warsaw surrenders to
German tanks_ .
' April 9, 1940—
Hitler sends tank trcops
Norway, into A on'v; a+y, inecha>aized
forces overrun 'Denrnarh.
May 3-
Allies withdraw from
;Central Norway, lacking
armoured troops..
May 10-- .
Hitler's tanks-, invade
Holland , and Belgium
f_nextinboiarg \overr.un:
*nets, Please!
May lri-
Netherland's surredder.a.11
' but Zeeland Province_ -
May 17—
Brussels -vacated,
May 19-`
Nazi tanks pierce Scilpine
at St. Oitentin_
May 20--
Gerrnan light tanks reach
Channel at Abbeville.
May 26—
Frejsch command an-
ne tances withra :a;al from
Boulogne_,
May 27—
General 1,i-eo rand• pro -
miles armoured counter-
2ttack. .
CALLING CiATAL PAL
Written and paid for - by "Calling Canada"
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