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Conditions In Great Britain
and Other Countries
As seen , and written by
Hugh Templin, Editor of the Fergus News-Record.
f41
NATIONAL WAR LABOUR BOARD
COST OF LIVING BONUS
Thee Dominion Bureau of Statistics has
found that the cost of living index number
for April 1, 1942, of 115.9 [adjusted index
115 j has not risen by one whole point or
more over the index number for October
1, 1941, of 115.5 [adjusted index 114.6
Accordingly, the National War Labour
Board, pursuant to the provisions of Sec-
tion 12 of Order in Council P. C. 8253,
determines and announces, for the period
May 15, 1942, to August 15, 1942, subject
to the right of employers or employees to
apply to a War Labour Board for authori-
zation of payment of such an amount of
cost of living bonus as a Board may
determine to be "fair Arid reasonable,"
under the provisions of the Order, that:
(a) There shall be no change in the
amount or percentage of cost of
living bonuses presently being paid;
(b) An employer who has not been
paying coat of living bonuses May not
begin to pay such bonuses.
By Order of the 'national War Labour Board,
HUMPHREY MITCHELL
Minister of Labour and Chairman
Ottawa, Catiadao
May 12, 1042
Thiursday,. May 14th, 1942. AM ADVANCE-VMS
Order PrsY Chicks now, and be
""lucky" when MG Pelee* climb
• next Van. See me, or phooe me,
right away. Pcsiond attention,
prompt delivery.
A. C. Adams, Wingham, pr
W. T. Siliie., Teeswater.
Clear telephone lines for
ALL-OUT PRODUCTION
Your telephone is part of. a vast 'interlocking system now
carrying an abnormal wartime load, Don't let needless delays
hold up messages on which production efficiency may depend.
colored marble laboriously laid by
hand into patterns.. Not only Are there
scrolls and flowers, but the history.
of Vortnal is written there for those
who can read the language,
Up and down the Avenida, there is
a steady stream of traffic. On the
roadways at the side, old-fashioned
street cars with open sides pass every
few seconds. I never saw so many;
street ears on one street anywhere.
The automobiles are, mostly tiny cars
and one could ride half a mile in A
taxi for six American cents. Most of
the people are on foot, many of them
with bare feet.
There is poverty everywhere in
Portugal and it intrudes even on to
the beautiful Avenida, Hundreds of
women pass in an hour ,with baskets
on their heads containing silvery fish
or grapes or flowers. Men carry cases
of wine or heavier loads, Many of
them have little fancy wicker baskets
with a lid and handle, I was curious
about them. One day I followed an •
old lady. She stopped occasionally to
pick things off the street. At last she
sat on a bench and I sat down beside
her. She opened her hamper, Inside
were little bits of metal. On the lid
of the basket, she had a horseshoe
magnet, she tested all the metal scraps,
The iron ones she put in one pile, the
non-ferrous in another. There's no
need for salvage campaigns in Lisbon,
Nothing goes to waste.
TOWNSHIP PLANNING
75th ANNIVERSARY
East Wawanosh Council Set July 1st
As Tentative Date For Celebration
Maybe you think your small change cannot help ..;
Maybe you're one of the thousands of housewives
who haven't yet started to put even 50¢ a week into
War Savings Stamps—just a neutral ...
There aren't any neutrals in this war! You're a help
or a hindrance to victory. You can't get out of it. If
you spend thoughtlessly you'll deny our fighting forces
the arms they need and imperil your own future.
If you—and 2,000,000 other housewives in Canada—
put only 500 a week into War Savings Stamps, it
means $1,000,000 a week to help win the war. Which
side are you on?
•
•
•
Buy War Savings Stamps from banks, post offices,
druggists, grocers and other retail stores.
Being Trailed By German
Gestapo In Lisbon Not
Pleasant Experience
This is the 16th in the series of
articles describing a trip to Britain
last September and October. The
-writer, Hugh Templin, editor of the
Fergus News-Record, represented
the Canadian Weekly Newspapers
Association and the stories are writ-
ten exclusively for the weekly news-
papers of Canada.
National War Finance Committee.
5.9
I'll never forget the night we left
Ireland behind and flew away toward
Portugal in the largest seaplane I ever
saw, the good ship "Berwick," which
later became famous when if carried
Winston Churchill back over the At-
lantic from Bermuda to Britain.
We left the peaceful little village
of Adare, in Southern Ireland, about
ten o'clock on Friday 'night, driving
by bus along the winding, walled
roads, through a couple more tiny,
hamlets, and down one last hill to the
seacoast. Once again, there was a
hurried session in the little customs
house, though no baggage was open-
ed for inspection. One more entry
was made in our-passports, and we
filed out on the pier, and down a shaky
gangplank to the launch.
It all seemed strange to me that
night. There I was in Ireland, where
I had 'never expected to be. Behind
us on the hills, lights shone in the
few houses, not. exactly what we had
become accustomed to during a month
in England, where everything would
have been black, On the pier a power-
ful searchlight swung around, picking
out at times the shape of the big
winged boat out on the estuary, throw-
ing its black shadow on the cliff be-
hind until it looked like two ships, one
grey and one black.
One launch had gone out with the
mail and I climbed into another with
a dozen fellow passengers. One or
• that "total war" means "somebody else."
Council held their monthly meeting
on May 5th with all the members
present. Minutes, of previous meeting
were read and approved on motion of
Couns. McDowell and Black. Com-
munications from Auburn Police Vil-
lage re subsidy due that village;. the
County Clerk and the Welfare Dept.,
London, re expenses of indigents, and
the Workmen's Compensation Board,
re Employees Insurance, received and
read.
Council decided to renew its policy
on Employees Insurance as formerly
with T. H. Wilson at a premium of
$50.00.
In. conjunction with the Board of
Health, Council approved of Dr. Weir,
M,O.H. being in Belgrave on Satur-
day, May 16th at 2 o'clock and the
same day in Auburn at 7 o'clock p.m.
for the purpose of administering toxoid
treatment for the prevention of diph-
theria to all children in the township
'who require this treatment.
The Collector was relieved. of any
further duties in connection with his
office. Approximately $1500.00 of last
years taxes being still outstanding. It
is expected that this amount will be
considerably reduced by June 1st when
after that date all unpaid amounts
will be forwarded the County Treasur-
er for collection.
The following accounts were paid:
The Municipal World, supplies $9.04;
C. 0. F. Hall, rent $40.00; A NIC-
Burney, bal. salary as collector $15.00;
S. McBurncy, road stmt. $61.65; F.
Toll, work on road $1.00; W. Dobie,
work on road 50c; J. McGee, dis-
mantling snow fence $6.00; J. H. Ir-
win, dismantling snow fence and
checking gravel $24.62; C, Walsh
checking gravel $7.00; E, Mason,
checking gravel $11.50; Joe Kerr,
crushing and trucking gravel $2513,00;
G. Mcl3urney, 2040 yards gravel $102.-
00; W. Mason, 1635 yards gravel
$71.75; W. Kechnie, 1955 yards gravel
$97.75; The Canadian Oil Co., 155 gal-
lons gasoline $47.28,
Ratepayers and all other interested
parties will please note, that July 1st
has been set as the tentative date of
the holding of the Diamond Jubilee
celebration in commemoration of 75
years as a municipality.
Council adjourned to meet again at
the call of the Reeve.
A. Porterfield, Clerk.
that the tender of Simon Bork to pur-
chase lots 2 and 3 on the South side
of Adelaide Street, in the Village of
Fordwich, be accepted. Carried,
Moved by Strong and Weir that the
Reeve be hereby authorized to issue
a Proclamation, naming a week for
salvage to be delivered at Fordwich,
Gorrie and Wroxeter rinks, said week
to be named by Howick Legion No:
307. B.E.S.L. Carried.
Moved by McCallum and Winter
that the Road Accounts, as approved,
be paid. Carried.
Moved by Strong and Winter that
the following accounts be paid. Car-
ried.
Isaac Gamble, part salary as clerk
$35.00; County Registrar, returning
Deed, King property $2.55; M. D.
Irvin, funeral expenses for Abram
baby $19.00; Gorrie Cemetery Ed.,
Opening and closing grave, Abram
baby $3.00; J. G. Underwood, trip and
work $3.00; R. H. Carson and Son;
hardware account $2.70; County Treas-
urer, hospital expenses for Lloyd Web-
er $12,25; Municipal World, Collectors
Rolls and supplies $15.71; T, A. Rob-
erts, 1000 envelopes $5.00; T. A. Sin-
clair, M,D,, Anaesthetic for Lloyd
Weber $5.00; Ontario Hospital Wood-
stock, hospital expenses for E.. Doug-
las $45.50; United Church, rent of
room $1,50; Relief, for April $82.70,
Moved by Winter and Weir that
this Council do now adjourn to meet
in the Township Hall, Wroxeter, on
the fifth day of June, or at the call of
the Reeve. Carried.
Isaac Gamble, Clerk.
the faint glimmer of a tiny flashlight
1 which is another of the numerous ac-
cessories in a pilots kit.
It was an accident, not "Jerry", that
brought Gridley down. His squadron,
flying in formation, was providing an.
"umbrella" for a sea rescue operation.
in the Channel—circling to fend off:
any Messerschmidt which might
chance that way while Naval units
were operating. Gridley's Spitfire
grazed that of his commanding officer,
Squadron Leader R. 13. Newton, Grid-,
ley's airscrew slashed the cockpit of
the squadron ieader's aircraft and sev-
ered one,rudder wire. Newton barely
managed to nurse his 'craft back to
the aerodrome where he made a crash
landing. Gridley, with a smashed.
airscrew, had no time to bail out. He
belly-landed, unfastening his straps as
the aircraft started to sink. As she
went down nose first Gridley shoved
clown the handle of the carbon dioxide
bottle attached to his "Mae West" and
the inflated jacket sent him bobbing.
to the surface,
Fastened to his harness was his rub-
ber dinghy with its carbon dioxide
bottle and in a moment,,it too was in-
flated. Shedding his parachute -pack
he climbed aboard, dug out his flash-
light and began blinking it steadily.
It was dusk when the collision had
taken place and light was fast fading
when Flight Lieut, Ken Boomer of
Ottawa led in a search over the area
in an effort to guide sea rescue craft.
For three quarters of an hour they
hovered overhead but never spotted
him and Gridley later said that they
came tantalizingly close.
Visibility had closed in to 40 yards
when, Finally, the sea rescue craft
found him.
"His 'Mae West' jacket must have
bobbed him out of the submerged
cockpit like a cork" Flight Lieut.
Boomer said afterward. They had re-
ported Gridley as missing, but after
five days in the station hospital he.
had recovered from exposure and
shock and was hack on the job,
FLYING GADGETS
SAVED HIS LIFE
The accoutrements, appendages and
gadgets which make a fighter pilot
look like something from another
world, saved the life of Flight Serg-
eant R, H, Gridley of Scollard, Al-
berta, recently, when his Spitfire
crashed in the British Channel.
His "Mae West" life jacket brought
hint bobbing to the surface from the
cockpit of his rapidly sinking aircraft.
His rubber dinghy kept him afloat
in the darkness for More than two
hours while he listened to the drone
of his comrades overhead trying to
locAa ttie' d IfliititiaLlly a sea rescue boat spotted
OGD
FINE
CUT
ere.4,07 mimeo()
HO WICK COUNCIL
The Council met in the United
Church Hall according to adjourn-
ment, the members were all present,
the Reeve, 5, W. Gamble, in the chair.
The minutes of last regular meeting
were read and on motion of Winter
and McCallum, were adopted.
Moved by Weir and Winter, Be it
resolved, that in compliance with the
request of the 'Deparment of High-
ways, the following explanation be
submitted—Whereas the tender of Roy
Vogafi was the only one received at
the stipulated hour, and whereas the
tender. appeared high in the opinion
of the Council, and the said Roy Vog-
an, being present, agreed to reduce his
tender to sixty cents per yard, and
the machine was set lit the township,
and he had previously given .satisfac-
torey service, Therefore the Council
accepted the tender of Roy Vogan at
sixty cents per cubit yard. Carried'.
Moved' by Strong and Winter that
the Collectors be instructed to return
the Rolls at the neat regular meeting
to be held on June 5th of the present
year. Carried.
loved by Strong and McCallum
to shore was over a long pier that
ended in the Customs office. There
the British Embassy people picked us
up, supplied us with plenty of escu-
dos (the Fortugese money) and gave
the taxi driver directions tvhere to
take us.
There followed a wild taxi ride
through the narrow streets of Lisbon
and out to Estoril. It was far more
exciting and , undoubtedly more dan-
gerous than the Clipper trip across
the broad Atlantic, but we arrived
breathless at the Estoril Placia, the
finest hotel iri Portugal. (It is this
hotel you see in some of the movies).
There was a midnight dinner in the
magnificent dining room, along with
the crew of the Clipper, then a few
hours' sleep, and away again in the
early morning darkness to Cintra, the
airport that is used by British, Dutch,
German and Italian planes, And so
to England.
Seven Days in Portugal
On the return trip, I spent seven
days in Lisbon, which was about five
too many. It was mid-October when
autumn storms were interfering with
the clipper schedules. At first, it
seemed, I might have to wait ten days
for a place on a Clipper: then it was
more indefinite. It might be three
weeks, As it has since turned out, it
might be never, A prominent Can-
adian who returned a few weeks later
had to go by way of Africa, Brazil
and Trinidad to get out of Lisbon.
The city is full of people trying to
get out. For some of them, it is a
matter of life and death. They must
leave before. the [Germans get them.
A place on the Clipper was not to
be measured in mere dollars then
(though it cost over $500, westbound).
So I stayed in Lisbon with seven
other Canadians, and as the days pas-
sed slowly, our plight became so des-
perate that we returned at last on a
refugee ship, "part of a cargo of cork,"
as Bishop Renison puts it.
As I have said, Lisbon is beautiful
from the air. So is the rest of Portu-
gal that I had seen from the plane.
Front the ground, parts of the capital
city are beautiful and everything is
interesting. But under its picturesque
exterior, there lurk dangers, even in
peace time, Now the whole city is
full of danger and intrigue.
For the first time, the question of
money began to bother us, when we
learned we might be in Lisbon indef-
initely. We could bring only $40 each
in American money out of England
under the strict wartime rules. Out
of that, we had_ to pay our fares home
from New York, Other expenses be-
gan to come up, We held a confer-
ence and pooled our resources at last,
finding that we had just enough to
stay one week at our hotel in Lisbon.
We knew nothing of the language.
For two days, we lived like paupers,
hoarding every escudo, till the British
Embassy came to our aid and guaran-
teed our hotel bill.'
Headquarters of the Gestapo
We stayed at the Hotel Victoria in
Lisbon, not at the expensive Palacia.
It had been recommended to me by an
American foreign correspondent in
London. "It's new and clean," he
said, "so long as you don't mind stay-
ing in the same hotel as the head of
the German. Gestapo in Portugal."
I laughed that off, In London, that
sounded like an added adventure. So
on my recommendation, we stayed at
the Victoria. It was new, and clean,
and cheap, and the meals were good.
And we saw the head of the Gestapo,
not just once, but too often. His men
kept a close watch on the eight Can-
adians. It gets on your nerves in a
few days.
The Avenida da Liberdade is the
main street of Lisbon. The name, as
you may guess, means "Avenue of
Liberty." It stretches north and south
up a broad valley between Lisbon's
ten hills, The avenue is reputed to
be one of the most beautiful in all
the world. I don't doubt it. It is
wide. Down each side is a broad
roadway, In the centre, is a four-lane
highway, In between the outer strips.
arid the centre, are gardens with palm
trees and edible chestnuts and benches
to sit on under the palms arid on the
grass. Here and there are sidewalk
cafes, where everything can be had to
drink from ice cream sodas and strong
coffee to much stronger things, T,he
roadway circles around many monu-
ments or fountains with goldfish swim-
ming in the waters, And all the .Side-
walks are of mosaic little pieces of
two loads had already gone Ahear4,
The bay vV.a.s rough and our launch .
lt:erit cut beyond the seaplane, drifting
back past it. The crew missed the
rope thrown from the plane and tried
again. The second time they had bet.•
ter luck and we climbed aboard the
big float which is a part of the body
of the plane and down through the
narrow door.
The interior looked familiar. This
was another Boeing plane, similar to
the clippers by which I bad crossed
the Atlantic some weeks before. Even
the pattern on the tapestry that cov-
ered the walls was the same, But this
was 4' later model and larger..
There were no berths for the pas-
sengers that night. There wasn't room
for them: We were packed in too
closely, and we sat up all night in the
comfortable seats, After we rose from
the water, there were no lights either,
The plane was to fly down opposite
the unfriendly coast of France, always
in danger from enemy raiders, and the
only safe .way to go was in the dark.
And even that wasn't too safe, as we
all ' realized, So we sat sprawled
around in all sorts of queer shapes,
trying to sleep—and having some suc-
cess at that.
Aboard the Berwick
I don't think Pan American Air-
ways would have tried to fly a Clip-
per on a night like that. The waves
were high and the wind was off-shore.
That made it necessary' to go away
out into the estuary and taxi toward
the land, with the ship gaining height
fast enough to clear the range of low
hills. Besides, the plane had a heavy
load. Three times, the Captain tried
before he finally lifted off the waves
and into the air. Each time, he went
farther out into the open ocean.
I sat at the little window and look-
ed out at the waves, thrilled beyond
anything I had known on the trip be-
fore. I could see two of,the four huge
motors and the long wing with a green
light out near 'the tip. The waves
splashed up over the window when
the motors speeded up. Twice the
waves were so high they came up over
the wing-tip, obscuring the green light.
Then we turned towards land, and
there was a louder roar, and I could
feel the slap-slap of the wave on the
bottom. of the ship, growing less vio-
lent and finally disappearing, and we
were in the air,
The great ship circled towards the
south. The wing-tip light and all in-
terior lights went out. Down below
little' Irish villages and the City of
Limerick showed through the clouds,
for Ireland has no blackout. Minutes
later, there were two or three light-
houses,, and the moon shining on the
open sea, :then nothing more but
clouds for hours and hour.
Lisbon From the Air
Lisbon, as seen from the air, is one
of the most beautiful of cities. The
Berwick arrived over the mouth of the
Tagus River just before the sun. came
up over the hills behind Lisbon. (The
interior of Portugal is quite mountain-
ous in spots). Down below, a large
fleet of fishing boats could be seen
on the Atlantic, mostly little sailing
ships, but a few steam trawlers. Then
there was Estoril, the health resort at
the mouth of the river, and then Lis-
bon set on several hills. A new air-
port was being built outside the city,
with broad modern roads leading to
it, in contrast to the narrow lanes of
the city itself. An Oriental cemetery
with little tombs inside a high wall
provided an odd touch.
Twice the ship circled the city, los-
ing height, and came clown on the river
beside a Pan American Clipper, pre-
paring to leave in a few hours. "How
nice it would be," I thought, "to .trans-
fer from one plane to the other, with-
out even bothering to go ashore." But
wartime travel isn't that easy in Eur-
ope,
Lisbon is one . of the most romantic
cities in the world at piesent. It's a
poor magazine that hasn't had some
story dealing with Lisbon and its re-
fugees, its spies, the German Gestapo
and such like. There has been a
whole series of moving pictures about
Lisbon, such as "One Night in Lis-
bon," "The Lady Has Plans," and
"Affectionately Yours." The general
idea seems to be that anything can
happen in' Lisbon. I believe that is
true: anything can happen there, and
most of it does happen. Some of the
things that have happened are prob-
ably more exciting, than anything the
fiction writers have produced, But
alas! Some of the true stories must
4 kept secret until after the war.
T didn't see much of Lisbon the first
time I was there, bat on the return
trip, T saw far too much; and I do
tot care if I never see Portugal again.
Even when peace comes again. 1
think I would decline an Invitation,
Lisbon After mark
On the eastward trip, the short Stay
in Lisbon and suburbs held some ex-
citement,- but it was pleasant, My first
impression of the Tagus River vas
that it consisted of acres of mud flats.
The tide must have been low that
night and the bright searchlights on
the plane anti an the shore shone on
the Mud as the Clipper 'circled around
in search of its anchorage, The trip