HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Clinton News Record, 1940-01-11, Page 6'PAGE 6
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YOUR WORLD AND MINE
(Goprigm)
by JOHN C. KIRKWOOD
THE CLINTON_NEWS-RECORD
THURS., JAN .11, I94..
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in character, in the quality of his in-
dustry, in his heroism, in his loyalty.
to the lowland farm. I should like
to tell of Tillie, the widow, who lived
with the Morton's, and took Estie's
place when Estie was drowned —
brave, kind, gentle, wise Tillie; and
of Tim, the hired man of the Mort-
on's, whose wife had been taken from
]Hilt by she Oiler, seen • ars !were
Tillie's husband Mid their child -Tim.;
the faithful servant, who made his
bed' in the barn, near the cattle and
fowl. But my purpose is not to tell
the stony of Again, the River. My
desire is to refer my readers to it,
in the hope that they will secure the
book—perhaps via their local public
library. It is a book to be unre-
servedly praised.
Some novelist once said that novels
are intended -or should be intended
—to amuse their readers. But I
imagine that few of us who read
novels -will agree that the only, or the
main, purpose of the novel is that it
should amuse or entertain. Indeed, the
acclaimed novels of the world are
books which mirror life—which are
authenticpictures of individual lives,
or of the life' of a period, or the
life of a country. .
• Novels' can :be cla'ssifi'ed 'variously.
Thus, there are novels of tragedy, of
comedy, of drama, of humour, of ro-,
mance, of accusation, of satire, of
exposure and of ecure or injustice or.
sin. There are novels of self-revela-�
tions of character delineation. There
is the novel which is thinly -disguised'
biography or autobiography, the novel
o£ incident or adventure; the novel
whose avowed purpose is to right as
wrong; and the• navel which is the
picture of an industry or enterprise;
and there is the historical novel, Uncle
Tom's Cabin was a. novel intended to
inflame the public against the institu-
tion of slavery in North America. The
Cloister and the Heart is a novel de-
picting ' a period and the life of
Eramus. •Les Miserables is 'a novel
telling of -the development of a man's
character. The Scarlet Letter is a
period novel. The Jungle, by Upton
Sinclair, was intended to awaken the
public to alleged iniquities in the con-
duct of the food -packing industry. The
, Octopus was an aceusation of the rail-
roads, leagued to do injustice to the
wheat -growers of California.
The novel is essentially a book of
life, and so is as varied in its char-
acter and purpose as are individual
lives. There are novels for every
mood of the reader. There are but-
terfly. Some novels live on and on --
as do • the novels of Dickens.
Every year sees the publication of
several thousand novels, and amid
such a great company, only very,
very few, emerge boldly. In 1938
"Gone With the Wind" and in 1939
"The Grapes of Wrath" were two
novels that emerged boldly; yet one
is safe in saying that three years
hence—that is longest -these two
books will have receded from the
public's interest; they will not have
the continuity of life and appeal pos-
sessed by the novels of Dickens, of
Hawthorne, of Balzac and Victor
Hugo, of several other authors of a
past day.
Among 1939 novels worthy of a
long life is Against the River, by
Stella Morgan. I fear, however, that
in Canada this book has been read
by only a very few persons, probably
because so few know about.it. In my
own case I cane aoross it almost ac-
cidentally. I began reading it on my
way home in a crowded street car,
and was instantly captured by its
obvious merit. It had a delightful,
refreshing literary style, and had that
pleasing quality—distinction of set-
ting and treatment. One sensed in-
stantly that one was to have Com-
panionship with an author far remov-
ed from the crowd.
The story is that of a man — a
farmer — who lived on the lowlands
of West Virginia—land bordering on
a river. This river went its way
smoothly for years, when all was
peace for those living on its bank—
not banks, for on the farther side
the land rose high above the river
level, and so those on the high land
were always safe when the river be -I
came surly and furious — when its;
waters rose 50-60-70 feet in the
space of a few hours, and flooded
disastrously the low lands stretching
far back of it — where many had
their 'homes and farms and herds and
flocks.
Between the farmer who is the hero
of the tale and the river there was
a feud. The man looked upon the
river as his abiding enemy even when
it ran smoothly year after year. Ile
respected this enemy. He was not
bitter against it. He was willing to
match his wit against the river, and
when the river won against him he
accepted defeat with a good grace,;
and determined anew to worst his
enemy—this by building a new hab-
itation for his family on higher land
and on stouter foundations. In the
end—after Jasper Morton had built
three houses, and after each had
been carried off by the river—Mor-
ton was worsted in the fight—yet
not by the river, but by fire. You;
feel that Jasper really did win his
fight; or, at any rate, that the river
was defeated—for the river's purpose
'was to drown Jasper Morton, as it
'had done his wife and a child in the
case of the first flood; as it did hr
the case of a daughter, when the
second flood came; and as it tried
to do to Jasper himself when the
third flood Dames Jasper's ho
use-
his third—was carried off bythe
river, and probably Jasper himself
would have been the river's victim
had not his house caught fire during
its capture by the flood, and it was
the flames of the burning house which
cheated the river's malevplence.
1should like to tell more of the
story of the Morton's—to tell much
about Jasper, the heroic fighter; of
Esther, his gentle wife, and :her tend-
er love for her husband and their
children; of "Sunny", Jasper's and
.Esther's -son, a replica of his father
This book is an:illustration of that
'quality in human beings which makes
them love to the 'very death—to the
very end—the place where they were
born and bred. After every flood the
dwellers in 'the high lands' adjacent to
the river besought the stricken dwel-
lers in the low lands to leave their
perilous place, but no pressure, no
offers of free land, no reasoning,
could detach these 'lowlanders from
their farms and villages. They knew
that someday—never very remote
the river would again:ruin them, and
rob them 'of their wives, their hus-
bands, their children, their neighbors,
their kin, and carry off their houses,
their live stock, and all their posses-
sions. - 1 1
I am not defending the action of
these people in refusing to be taken
from their lowland 'homes. All I see
is that age-old attachment of human
being to the place where they were
born and bred. This attachment, un-
derstandable if not always defensible,
has had abundant expression in
poetry—as witness these selections
from the writings of exiles:
An exile from home splendor dazzles
in vain.
Oh give me my lowly thatched cot-
tage again!
The birds singing gaily, that come at
my call!
Give me these -1— and the peace of
mind dearer than all!
Amid the city's constant din
A man who round the earth had been,
Who, 'mid the tumult and the throng,
Is thinking, thinking, all day long,
"0, could I only tread once more
The field path to the farmhouse door,
The old green meadows could I see,
Hoiv happy, ,happy, happy,
How happy I should be!
There's nae hate like our ain hate!
O I wish that I were there!
Ther's nae tame like our ain hate
To be met wi' onywhere!
And G that I were back again
To our farm and fields sae green,
And heard the tongue's o' niy air
folk,
And were what I hae been!
I myself know •this pull of one's
own land. Duing all the many years
that I lived in England, I would not
anchor myself to that country by the
purchase of a house. Always I knew
that I meant to return to Canada,
there to end my days. And often
and often, as I walked the streets
of London, I thought of my own land
and the friends who I knew would
welcome me: on my return. And in
the ripening of longing I did return,
and in my own land I am content;
and when I am garnered by the Great
Reaper, my last abode will be in the
country churchyard where my grand-
parents sleep, and other kin.
DOGS AT LARGE MENACE
TO SHEEP
Many sheep breeders in Canada are
of the opinion that it is practically
impossible to raise sheep profitably
on account of the large number of
dogs which are allowed to sun at
large. This they consider is serious
in a country that uses more wool per
capita than any other country and
which in war time finds itself under
the necessity of importing large
quantities of wool for war contracts
and for general use.
One farmer in Ontario reports los-
ing 16 head of sheep killed by dogs
in one night, another 11 head and
others smaller numbers. As a result
of the menace from dogs there has
been, a reduction of 75 per cent in
the number of sheep raised in one
district in which sheep are regarded
,as the best paying class of live stock.
A similar statement might be, made
by groups of farmers in many see-
tions or districts of the Dominion.
Unless something is done to lessen.
the danger from dogs it is certain
less sheep will be raised. Such a con
dition might not be regarded as ser-
ious in normal peace time but with a
War on, when wool is one of the
most important agricultural commod-
ities used exclusively for soldiers?
clothing, it is very dangerous. Then
there are possibilities of lamb being
required much more extensively in
Canada to replace either bacon. or
beef.
Sheep raisers. throughout Canada
are urging that legislation to deal
with the menace be considered -as a
wan time necessity by the Provincial
Legislatures, so that more sheep and
more wool may be produced.
ef
.d.
BROLLY v. SWASTIKA
Newsy Notes -from England
BY AN OVERSEAS CORRESPONDENT
Mr. Chamberlain's Umbrella Opening
Up New Markets
Even Mr. C'hamberlain's umbrella,
honoured representative of the 200,-
000,000 "gimps" which exist in Great
Britain, is helping to fight the 'Nazis
on the front where the economic
warfare is being Used.
A large increase during the past
year in orders for "Chamberlains",,
ae umbrellas have now been nick-
named, has beep attributed by man-
ufacturers to the Prime Minister's in-
fluence.
Now the umbrella's increased pop-
ularity is bringing. Material .as well
as moral support to Britain and at
the expense of the Nazis.
The disappearance from the British
market of rayon umbrella cloths
made in Germany, under subsidy
from the German Government, has
given Lancashire a- chance which is
being eagerly taken. Already Lan-
cashire — produced coloured woven
umbrella cloths are on the market
and selling in quantity for the first
time for several years. •
A North of England textile expert
says: "The British cloth is vastly
superior to that recently obtained
from the Continent, and as 'value for
money' it is much ahead of the Ger-
man goods.
"There is a parallel case with cer-
tain high-class novelty furnishing
fabrics made in vat -dyed rayon!
yarns; they are not only better in
design and general appearance than
the goods formerly imported, but they
have an excellent degree of fastness
to light. German goods fade in more
than one sense of the term."
.eetol .tete ee f ? teieeese a et iotel et oft to :
BATTLE BOWLERS MADE OF
POWDER
"Tin Hat" Triumph of British
Plastic Industry
The familiar Army helmets, nick-
named "battle bowlers", may soon be
'made of " moulded powder, instead of
steel.
This is only one of the war uses
for plastic material's, those versatile
products of synthetic resin which
have become jack-of-all-trades its
modern life by providing thousands
of articles for commerce and the
home—from electric .switches and un-
breakable crockery' to truck wheels
andbilliard balls.
Experiments with plastic materials
to replace "tin hats" are showing that
the helmets can not only be cheaper,
more quickly produced' and lighter in
weight, but also stronger than the
steel helmet.
More than 120 different articles are
now being made far the war by the
British plastics industry: They in-
clude bomb -release equipment, cart-
ridge cases, certain types of bomb
cases, rifle butts, mine -finding equip-
ment, Army badges, searchlight con-
trol insulation, stocks- for Bren guns,
aircraft propeller blades and trans-
parent hooding for gin turrets in
aeroplane's.
Britain's plastics trade is busy in
other directions. "Certain firms have
already reported that their exports
of mouldingmaterials and products
were doubled during the first two
months of the war," said an official
of the British Plastics Federation,
"nor is there any danger of its con-
tinuance
ontinuance being imperilled because
plenty of skilled labour has been
specially 'reserved'."
"ANY OLD IRON"
Britain Collecting Scrap from 180,000
Factory Owners
The British steel trade is a very
long way from having to tear up
railings round cemeteries and public
parks for raw material. Neverthe-
less, it is now combing the whole
country for otherwise negleeted
dumps of scrap iron and steel.
The campaign has already started
by official notifications to about
180,000 factory owners and manufac-
turers, covering more than 4,000 dif-
ferent trades. They are asked to
clear out all their scrap material,
odds and ends of old iron, broken
tools and machinery.
As far as possible this will be col-
lected through the normal scrap mer-
chant system, which includes some
500 specialist firms "fed" by thous-
ands of dealers in general waste
materials.
A special organisation is being de-
veloped to gather small deposits of
scrap which may be held by farmers
and householders, but there is aro
chance of precipitate moves in this
direction.
Under normal steel making prac-
tice, the industry requires about
7,500,000 tons of scrap each year. The
great bulk is obtained from home
h
Britis h metal working
• as the
trades are among -the best organised
in the world.
Imports can be replaced by a great-
er use of home produced pig iron and
by an even more efficient salvage of
domestic scrap. This will reduce
ocean transport necessities .and will
conserve foreign. exchange.
QUEEN GREETS FACTORY BRIDE
25 Years of Army Greatcoats Now
Supplied in Six Months
The Queen had a happyglimpse of
the ever-present human side of
Britain's mass -production war effort
when Her Majesty recently Visited
three military clothing factories
where the industry's average weekly
output is now equivalent to what
formerly took a whole year.
More than 3,500 workers, mostly,
women, are employed in the factories
visited by the Queen, and Her Maj-
;
esty was specially interested in seeing
a bride-to,be (they 'average one a'
week) with v)redding bells decorating
her machine, white ribbons in, her
hair, a display of gifts nearby, and
even a flower in the foreman's but-
tonhole: The Queen asked many ques-
tions about the custom and wished
the bride the best of luck as she
shook hands with her.
A bride of other days was the
woman who told the Queen that she
had made Army clothing for three
wars—the South African, the Great
War, and the present war in her 40
years of factory life.
Among the mass -production mar-
vels the Queen saw was the machine
which cuts to pattern 120 thicknesses
of khaki in one operation, and a cur-
ious device like a baby's chair for
rolling material,
The Minister of Supply, Mr. Leslie
Burgin, was able to tell the Queen
that a 25 -years peacetime supply of
Army greatcoats now takes six
months, a 14 year supply of shirts is
made in four months, and an 18
months output of boots can now be
completed in 30 days.
•
FIFTY THOUSAND MORE
MINERS
Are Helping Britain to Pay in
Coal for the War
"Old King Coal" is helping Britain
to pay for the war by providing a
valuable export to set against im-
ports of war materials.
The coal industry is capturing the
trade which the Allied sea blockade
has forced Germany to relinquish, and
to meet the demands of overseas
customers as well as Britain's own
increased requirements, seams and
collieries which have been idle for
years are being opened again, re-
absorbing about 50,000 miners in an
effort to increase the annual output
of 230,000,000 tons by a further
30,000,000 tons.
"Publication of the amount now
being shipped to the Mediterranean
would create astonishment in some
quarters and alarm in others," said
an official of the industry. "The
Italians, with heavy bookings, are
in the market for still, more, and
their total purchases for 1939 will be
well over 2,000,000 tons."
Spain will soon be taking British
coal again, for the first time since
the civil war; Greek buyers are en-
quiring for Welsh coal, and big ship-
ments are being made to Egypt and
the Near East generally.
Qther markets coming into, the pic-
ture include Portugal and South Am-
erican countries, where British and
U.S.A. coals are taking the place of
German supplies..
Priority is, of course, given to
French orders, and early in October
the French State Railways bought
about 100,000 tons of Durham and
Northumberland coals.
ACTIVITY NEAR PORT ALBERT
BELIEVED TO BE SIGNIFICANT
There is much conjecture over the
continued activity of engineers and.
surveyors of the Federal Department
of Defence on property in Ashfield
township, located on concession 4 (the
Dungannon road), one and a -quarter
miles east of Port Albert. The sec-
ond contiigent of engineers is now
on the ground.
Reports areinsistent that a big air
field of one thousand acres, to be used
in connection with the Empire avia-
tion training scheme, is to be located
on the light, sandy plains of Ash-
field, now used as grass farms.
Another report has it that three
airports, including Sky Harbor, are
to be located in Huron. county, to be
used for specialized training, bombing
being mentioned. One- official of Sky
Harbor airport referred to the two
Proposed landing fields as auxiliaries
Ito Sky Harbor in the particular spec-
lahzed training course
the Depart-
ment
rt-
ment has in mind. The closeness of
Lake Huron is, of course, the import-
' ant factor. But the fact that already
three survey parties have been sent
There is. taken as •significant.
Nobody knows what is what, and
the officials of the Department are
not talking. Local airport officers
profess to know nothing and that is
probably right. The ,same suspense
and conjecture exist in Waterloo and
other counties, where surveyors are
(busy. Goderieh Signal -Star.
Poultry In Literature and Daily Life
Fowl Quoted Often in Daily Conversation
., 1r -i d.cna L.
Reference in Scripture
There is an artist, an artist in wade Britain, and then there is a
words, in the Department of Agri -whistling maid and a crowing hen.
culture who has been sending out are neither fit for gods nor men."
appeals not only to farmers but to; The goose also comes in for its lit -
all and sundry to do everything pop- erary share, in cooking your goose;.
Bible to raise food in time of war.I kill the goose that lays golden eggs;
His latest call is to get busy . with 1 old mother goose, and in Egyptian
the egg basket. hieroglyphics, the goose was the' em
People generally are fond of pool- I thein for a silly fellow, 'while the food product at any time of the year.
try. It "must be because of " their rooster among his many references To get the bast value it should be..
y bought by, grade.. The
beauty and the very real contribution' has a cock -a -whoop; cock and bullane.
they make to the domestic commie- story; cocksure; don't crow before you
,sary, for nature ha's not endowed are out of the- woods, and many other
them with very much in the way of references.
brains, and of 'affection they never Reversing modern customs, in an -
betray very much either. Most af, us clenttimes it was a' superstition' that.
at any rate those brought up in if a milk -maid at cockcrow did not PAY-AS-YOU-GO POLICY.
the country—have had quite an ex -
wash with poultry.Just plain hens, wash her hands after milking, her
p cows would go dry. Canadian fawners must avoid mist.< -
we used to call them. In olden times, poultry figured takes made in the last war: by re --
prominently in oaths, sacred and pro- fusing to contract heavy debt_ oblige -
living creature from, sleep ei:..ept..
man. The Meslema doctors say .aat.
Allah, lends 'a willing' ear to hie. who.
reads the' Koran, to him who prays -
for pardon, and to the rooster whose
chant is divine melody. When this.,
rooster ceases to crow the Judgment,
Day will be at hand.
Before Christian times, the rooster.
was the war emblem of the Goths,
and, later in Christian times was plae-
ed on church steeples to remind man,
not to deny his Lord.
In poetry, various odes have been
addressed to farm birds.
The chief interest in poultry in;,
these daysis that it an excellent.
Special, Grade A, Grade B and -Grade.
0, each indicated by a distinctive. tag..;,
The numberof poultry on. Canadian.,
farms this summer was 62,405,200..
TELLS FARMERS TO FOLLOW'.
How guilty we felt as we sat down
to breakfast and the maternal in- fine. In Henry IV, Shakespeare
1tions when the turn to lower p;lees
quiry came; "Have you' fed the bens writes "By Cock and Pie, Sire, you comes again, and buying more land.
yet?" With a chip on the shoulder shall not away tonight". Ip: the days unless they are able to pay cash, Herr..:
and visioning the porridge bowl grow- of chittidry, it was the practice' to I P. M. Dewar, Ontario Minister of Ag-,-
ingcold meanwhile, we made for the make solemn vows for the perform -
back door to feedthose blessed hens. once of a certain enterprise. This
Yet hens are a valuable adjunct ;was usually done at a festival, when
of the :human scheme of things and 1 roasted poultry was served in a dish
the writer we speak of makes :such, an of gold and silver and presented to
irresistible appeal in this time of war
that 'surely we shall have to do some-
thing about it. Evidently he knows
his Bible; read what he says:
the knight who then made his vow
with great solemnity.
In the temples of the oracles of the
riculture, said in an address before•
750 short -course students at a dinner
at the O.A.C., Guelph.
Pointing out that during the last,
war many farmers did not keep up,
quality, and in some instances went.
heavily into debt during a period off -
inflated values, Mr. Dewan advised al.
pay-as-you-go policy if prices con -
Greeks and Romans, chickens were tinue to advance.
"In the social 4rstoms, religion, sacred buds There is an old Roman He urged development of a spirit:
and literature of all nations from time story that when the soothsayers, or of self-reliance, declaring the farm.
immemorial, poultry has played an augurs, told Publius, Claudius Pincer life must be made self-sustaining and!
important part, particularly nn liter- er, the Roman, Consul, who was about' remunerative without too muck fin-
ature. 'Among the best known refer- to engage the •Carthaginian fleet in; ancial assistance from gevjernments.•,
ences is that to the hen and the battle, that the sacred chickens at
gathering of the chickens under her the temple would not eat and that
wings in Matthew, Chapter 23, verse he ;had better not start the battle,
37, and the stark drama of the cock -1 he replied in breezy, sailor -like fash-
Chapter 26, verses 74 and 75.
CANADA WILL NOT RECRUIT'
NURSES
crow also referred to in Matthew, ran "Then toss them into the sea that Officials of the Canadian Red.Cross;
they may drink." Society announced that various or-. •
ganizations concerned with war mel-.
"In the English language poultry
e rooster was a revered be. in
real work have reconunended against
references and phrases are numerous. ancient times. Because it gave notice training a Voluntary Aid Department.
For example, there are birds of a of the rising sun, it was dedicated of nurses at present.
feather, in full feather, showing the to Apollo, the sun god, and because) Col. A. E. Snell, of Ottawa, rep -,-
white feather (from the assumption the rooster also summoned mess to resentating the St. John Ambulance .
that no game cock has a white feath-I business by his crow, it was also Association, reported to the joint com-
er); feather an oar (from the motion dedicated to Mercury. "Never sae-'
of a bird's wing); feather his nest; i rifice a white rooster" was one of mittee of the organizations that the
department of national defence had
fine feathers make fine buds; feather the doctrines of Pythagoras, because declared V.A.D. workers could not be
M your cap (from the old custom of I it was sacred to the moon. The used in Canada or abroad now and
adding a feather to headdress for Greeks said "Nourish a rooster and there was no immediate prospect that
every enemy slain.; cut a feather; saerifice it not", for all roosters were they could be used during the war.
(said when a boat travels fast); sacred either to the sun or the moon, Col. Snell said a cable front the
chicken hearted; she's no chicken;i because the birds announced the V.A.D. council in England disclosed
don't count your chickens before they1hours. The rooster was also sacred to there would be no need for Canadian .
are hatched; fussy as a hen with one,the Goddess of Wisdom and to V.A.D. service until the number of the
chicken; a hen party; hen-pecked, Esculapius, the god of health. Thera- war's sick and wounded is 230,000.
(from the fact that a rooster is a fore, the rooster reppresented time,
brave bird at large but is frequently / wisdom and health, none of which
under hen government, and well peck- was ever sacrificed.
ed at that in the coop); hen ands In Mahometan lore, Mehemet found
chickens, a very old name from the in the first heaven a rooster of such
Pleiades, the "Seven Sisters", bye enormous proportions that its crest
which the Romans were said to have touched the second heaven. The crow -
steered on their first voyage to in- ing of this celestial bird arouses every
CAPORAL
CI G A J
"The ports' term in which
iob,cco sen b• ,rooked"
Neat - Attractive
JOB PRINTING
Anything from
a Visiting Card
to the Big'
Sale Poster.
FOR MERCHANTS, MANUFACTURERS,
PROFESSIONAL MEN, FARMERS,
CHURCH OFFICERS, AND ALL
USERS OF PRINTING.
Moderate Peaces Neatness
Tho Clilltoll Nowsiecord
1