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The Clinton News Record, 1940-06-13, Page 2'"AG E 7. THE CLINTON NEWS -RECORD THURS., JUNE 13, 1940 .!i'UBLISHED BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT' COPYRIGHT SIR TIMOTHY WADE: dubbed "Tim the Teaman" by the irreverent. •Self-made millionaire, with hobby 'of growing orchids. Nearing sixty years of age, but wiry. He is the Victim of a kidnapping plot which later involves his niece. :FELICITE DELeBOS: Tall, slim and blonde;unexpectedly• English rs appearance and outlook, despite her French name. Sir Timothe 'sister married a Frenchman, but the daughter was orphaned at t ,early age and has been brought ue by her uncle. PRINCIPAL CHARACTERS • BELLAIR B1WOME Private sec- retary to Sir Timothy. Also tall, but dark. Precise in hishabits until aroused, when be becomes a man of, action. He ie in love with Felic!te, who returns his affection. MAJOR MOSSON: employed in the Legal Department of, New Scot- land Yard. A pleasant man with - cut mannerisms. is called upon by the C.I.D. because his experience is valuable, and. in it•: early stages, the case requires very tactful handling. CHAPTER II (Continued) I MIGHT HAVE DONE IT" After listening intently to Mos- sole's careful report, Caythers had rowned and given a typical shake ,of the head, "We can't do anything," • Che Clinton News -Record with which is incorporated TIIE NEW ERA TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION. ,C$1.50 per year in advance, to Can- adian addresses; $2.00 to the U.S. or 'other foreign countries. No paper ,discontinued until all arrears are :paid unless at the option of the pub - dishier. The date to which every sub- ecription is paid is denoted on the. babel. . DVERTISING RATES — Transient ,advertising 12c per count line for £first insertion. 8c. for each subse-, quent insertion. Heading counts 2' tines. Small advertisements not to -exceed one inch, such as "Wanted",! "Last, "Strayed", etc., inserted once 'for 85c., each subsequent insertion 11.6c. Rates for display advertising eaiede known on application. Communications intended for pub- tiication must, as a guarantee of good ‘faith, be accompanied by the name sof the writer, G. E. HALL - - Proprietor H. T. RANC.E Notary Public, Conveyancer dz`inancial, Real Estate and Fire In- •surance Agent. Representing 14 Fire .insurance Companies. Division Court Office. Clinton i.Fr•ank Fingland, B.A., LL.B. 611errister, Solicitor, Notary Public Successor to W. Brydone, S.C. e3loarZ. Bloc; — Clinton. Ont, D. II. McINNES CHIROPRACTOR Electro Therapist, Massage ;office: Huron Street. (Few Doors west of Royal Bank) Emirs—Wed: and Sat. and by appointment. FOOT CORRECTION ty manipulation Sun'Ray Treatment Phone 207 GEORGE ELLIOTT S$ceused Auctioneer for the County of Huron ti:,orrespondence promptly answered k?mtnediate arrangements can be made ler Sales Date at The News -Record Clinton, or by calling phone :203. Merges Moderate and Satisfaction Guaranteed, Gl'I3IC+ McKILLOP IWIUTI5AL :FUT Insurance Company. dead 'Office, Seaforth, Ont. Officers: "President, Thomas Moylan, Sea - forth; Vice President, William ICnox, Londesboro; Secretary -Treasurer, M. A. Reid, Seaforth. Directors, Alex. Ilroadfoot, Seaforth; James Sholdice, Walton; James Connolly, Goderich; W. R. Archibald, Seaforth; Chris. Leonhardt, Dublin; Alex. McEwing, ,B1-th; Frank McGregor, Clinton. List of Agents: E. A. Yeo, R.R. 1, Goderich, Phone 603r31, Clinton; Names Watt, Blyth; John E. Pepper, Brumfield, R. R. No. 1; R. F. McKer- echer, Dublin, R. R. No. 1; Chas. F. Hewitt, Kincardine; R. G. Jarmuth, !Bornholm, R. R. No. 1. Any money to be paid may be paid eo the Royal Bank, Clinton; Bank of Commerce, Seaforth, or ,at Calvin Cbtt'e Grocery, Goderich. Parties desiring to effect insur- ance or transact other business will 'be promptly attended to on applica- ton to any ,of the above • officers ad- dressed to their respective post offi- ces. Losses inspected by the director ..who lives nearest the scene. TIME TABLE 'ti?rains will arrive at and depart from 'Clinton as follows: r nlfelo and Goderich Pi Going East, depart 6.43 a.m. ening Fast, depart RAO p.m.l Going West, depart 1.1.45 a.m. Going West, depart 9.50 p.m.' London, Huron & Bruce Going North, 'ar 11.21, lye. 11.47 a.m. going South ar. 2.50. leave 3.08 p.m.I CAPTAIN CAYTHERS:. Scotland Yard Assistant Commissioner. Quiet, incisive, and efficient, but with a. sense of humour, and known on occasions to employ unorthodox methods. "Friendly .with Mosson, and knowing just how much. rope to allow his colleague. "The CHIEF," alias "Mr. BROWN": Was a high Arniy officer in. the war, but, after reverses and dis- appointments, turns his organizing talents to crime. Ruthless, but not cruel, With ,him are three other disgruntled Army men,' each a sneciakist in his particular way he declared, "Did you suggest going to the local police?" "Waste of breath." "Nuisance! Naturally you couldn't take it up with them of your own account. Besides, there's no reason why they should swallow so• incred- ible a story. Don't get agitated, old man. I'm not saying it's pure imagin- ation, but we've got to 'admit that Wade may be acting on his own in- itiative." "Faking letters to look as if they'd cane through the post? What a hope!" "That does give a fishy smell. So doer the enormous cheque. Granting this, and your battered odontoglos- sum, there still remains the one thing we can't get over." "Which is?" "Whatever is happening — above board or not—doesn't give the police anything to grasp hold of. Espec- ially up at Scotland Yard. Go home and sleep on it. The next move ought to be more decisive." Then came the third note, offering nothing more tangible at which to grasp. "Like to have another run down to Epworth?" Caythers asked, with a slight grin, for he knew the an- swer before it was given. "Good man! While you're there, it would be a bright idea to institute one line of inquiry a regular detective would have opened up immediately." "What's that?" "My dear. fellow!" Major Mosson sounded suitably shocked. "It would be a good plan, wouldn't it. Set myself up in funds and fur- ther my marriage to Miss Delbos." ! "Thanks for the idea." "Hull! I expect you'd thought of it already. And your precious Assistant Commissioner." The Major chuckled. • "If I uttered a disclaimer you wouldn't believe me," he said. "Neither should you. It could be a pretty scheme, but you've got such an ingenious notion of how it would work that it almost automatically absolves you." For a moment Broome was not sure how to take this. Finally, he laughed in accompaniment and the. rest of the journey was made in high I good humour. As a natter of fact, Mosson had toyed with the thought of his com- panion's possible duplicity only to dismiss it as an unfounded flight of fancy. "You don't appear to have found out how these letters came to be among others delivered by the post- man in the ordinary way." Mosson flushed slightly. "By joke!" he retorted, "I certainly ought to have thought of that before. Might be important!" "Quite so! Indicating whether there is a confederate in the house:" "That's impossible," Broome inter- posed. "Really? Why are you 80 certain?" "All' the servants have been with Sir Timothy for years." "Devoted to him, eh?" "Well—er—almost. They're well treated and, for the most part, he is a good master." The Assistant Commissioner tap- ped his teeth with the point of a lead pencil, one of those habits which al- ways betrayed an awakened interest. "Almost?" he queried. "Almost de- voted? And for the most part he is a good master?" • "The best of employers have their off moments." • "Undoubtedly! We sent a man down for five years recently because he ran amok. All through a well- deserved censure. Another case in- volved a cook -of highest repute who started playing with enough arsenic to decimate a small town following a few words about lukewarm coffee." "No one at Fairclough would do such things." "H'm! Personally you get on very well with Sir Timothy?" "Look ;here . . . Caythers waved a gently dissuad- ing hand. "We ask the rudest ques- tions in this building," he said, ad- ding no further apology. Broome was still a trifle sulky as he climbed in beside Major Mosson. The two-seater had snaked out of the worst of the London traffic before he became talkative, and then it was to revile all unpleasant -minded police officials. "They get like that," the Major said soothingly. "No offence intend-, ed. The A.C. is one of the best." "No need to make a chap feel as if he's on trial." "Everybody is at such times, you know. On trial for his innocence. "I think I understand what you mean, and I shouldn't have let my- self get rattled." "You never really answered the chief's question," Mosson murmured. "What, you're including me among the suspects as well?" "Gracious, nol Why on earth should you insinuate phony letters among' the mails?" ' "Well, I didn't do anything of the kind, Next you'll be saying I had a hand in the icidnapping!" LUCK BRINGS A CLUE made long journeys for the, purpose." "I don't • see why not." "Mostly a matter of convenience. 0f course, we can't leave out of ac- count the possibilty that one of them is remaining in the vicinity to do this postal service stunt, but he would need to be in close' touch with Ms confederates all the time," "You speak of kidnappers in the plural!" "Decidedly. This couldn't be a one man plot. Far too elaborate. Some- how or other we'.ve got to keep a watch; so that if the messenger re- sorts to the same subterfuge again— as he almost certainly will—we shall be ready for him:" • "Do you think he'll talk if we get hold of him?", "Most unlikely, therefore he must- n't know we suspect. The best course, if it can be managed, willbe to fol- low him in another car.. Can you arrange to have•one ready? All we need do is to watch for the postman. The rest should ;be easy." For all that, it required a good Boal of patience. A pursuit car was held -in readiness for several days be- fore the next move eventuated. Mos- son had arranged a' signal so that as soon as the mysterious chauffeur put in an appearance they would be ready to drive after him without de- lay. By the time he had walked back down the drive to his own waiting vehicle•, the powerful limousine would be emerging from the Fairclough garage. The path from the entrance gate to the front door was in full view from One of the house windows, and they had had an uninterrupted view of the postman as he came and went at his set times. Still no sign of the wanted man. The major was beginning to know the road from the house to Scotland Yard blindfold, as he made several journeys to consult with the Assist- ant Commissioner. Gaythers approv- ed the scheme wholeheartedly at first. Yet, after a couple of days, he be- gan to have doubts, believing that it was 'dine to regularize the matter by taking the local police into their confidence. "That rests with Miss D,elbos and Broome," he added. "I think there are sufficient grounds for assuming a kidnapping has taken place. You might put it to them, and make the position clear." P.OLICE OFFICIALLY TOLD Monsen Mentioned the matter next Careful questioning of the house- morning, as a consequence of which hold staff threw little light on how an early call was made at Faverley the letters came to be among the Police Station, within whose area of ordinary correspondence. On the face control Epworth was situated. of it, they could not have been Broome introduced, Major Masson eroul;ut by the postman, as the sort- as a legal representative, and left ing system would undoubtedly take him to do the talking. note of any previously -cancelled The superintendent in charge was stamps. Letters so 'franked would courteous but sceptical. It was his bear excess postage labels, necessit- duty to take notice of such a report, ating personal delivery for the col- though his manner indiceeed that he Meting of the dues. Probably, too, regarded it as a waste of time. some action would be taken to find "From these letters Sir Timothy out why the • envelopes carried al- Wade is sending it seems that he ready used stamps. knows what he's up to," he observed. Moron was conscious that in spite "Mind you, it would be queer if those of the utmost discretion his invests- stamps were duds, as you say. They gations were beginning to make the look all right to me." servants uneasy. Before long they "Are you an authority on post - would be putting two and two to- marks?" Mosscn demanded, testily. g -ether. In the crcumstances it could "No, sir, I don't pretend to be. Are you?" hardly be avoided. Hickley, the butler, was the first There was no effective answer to to express alarm on behalf of the , this. A rsontise•to look into the mat - employees. "1 hope, sir, nothing has' tor was accepted for what it was happened to the master," he said out- worth, but there seemed no object in right. "Sonia gossip, you know, sir, pressing the local officials to join in and . , ." for the time being. Eventually they '"It's all right, Hieldey," Broome were almost certain to be drawn in. assured him. Nothing to worry In the circumstances Supt. Cranley about." was not to be blamed. From itis "Thank you, sir. Only we couldn't point of view the affair was too help wondering at Sir Timothy •going nebulous to warrant interference. away so suddenly and without any He was by no means a fool. Sir word to any of us. In all the years Timothy Wade was too important a S have been with him it hasn't hap- rersomage.for anything concerning ,pend before." his welfare to be -neglected. On think "He is keeping in touch with me. ing the matter out, Cranley decided Set the -servants' minds at rest as to consult his Chief Constable, and well as you can." that dignitary immediately telephon- The butler promised to do so, but ed to Scotland Yard, where Caythers he did not seem to be as satisfied quickly put him, in possession of all as they would have liked. the facts at his disposal. Luck stepped in when Major Mas- Even then the net outcome was son was beginning to get discourag- negative. What was achieved was a ed A younster employed as an un- recognition of Major Mosson''s status, dergardener gave an indication point- and an understanding that the local ing to the manner of delivering the police would be prepared for even - message. He had been weeding near tualities. the front of the house at the time This activity behind the scenes was the postman called on the second oc- unknown to the annoyed trio at Fair- casion. Following close on his heels clough, the .general feeling being that came a chauffeur in livery, who put they had eotne up against a brick something in the letter box almost wall of official stupidity,. in which immediately afterwards. they greatly wronged a conscientious No, he did net know this man.. Soon and thoroughly efficient police sup - afterwards there was the sound. of a erintondent. car being driven away. Broome had not .been idle in other "Simple enough when you know directions. For the safeguarding of how," Mosson commented when the his own interests,as well as those boy had gone. "Nobody would look of his employer, he had presented the twice at a chauffeur. No doubt they cheque to a startled bank cashier who often do similar errands." was unaccustomed to demands for "Oh, yes, it is quite customary," ready money to the tune of 125,000. Broome confirmed. So was the manager. After consul - "Splendid! The most helpful item tation he insisted on confirmation we've had so far. The main thing from Sir Timothy. The accompanying is that it gives weight to your sus- letter modified his views, although he picions. By the way, there weren't still delayed payment. any unstamped envelopes at all Finally it became necessary to take among those received at the thine, I him into their 'confide nee. This was presume?" • another of Mosson's strange tasks. "No, I particularly noticed they all Mr. Vasey heard the surprising appeared to. have been delivered story without . any visible emotion, through the post, including of course, "The ch•cumstaiices are extraordin- the faked envelope." ary," he said gravely. "Admitting Mosson nodded. "It suggests some- our customer's signature and the thing,else to me. That the']cidnappees , danger in which he appears to be, we aren't so very far away. Evidently, shall have to honourthe theft. To the man had been waiting outside in I a certain extent this means personal the car until the suitable moment responsibility on my part, for the arrived for him to slip his comniwii- question arises of liability in the case cation in with the others. And it's of a cheque made out under duress." hardly likely that he should have 1 "Sir Timothy Wade would not con; • test it, whatever the legal position," Broome argued. "His safety is more important than the money.'. "That may be so, sir. Major Mes- ser', however, will no doubt agree that few bankers would act on these' iiietruetions as they stand," "That, Mr. Vasey, is why we have told you as much of the truth as is desirable." "Very well. I will make arrange-' mento to meet 'the cheque. Will to- morrow afternoon suit you?" "Admirably. Needless to say, all this is, strictly' between ourselves at this stage." "Asa bar* manager I have a code no less strict than a doctor or a priest, gentlemen. You will be well advised to take special precautions to safeguard the cash when it comes in- to your possession. Twenty-five thousand notes will be rather eum- be'r oma, but portable enough to tempt any enterprising thief who happens to know what you are carry- ing." "An unlikely contingency, surely?" Mr, Vasey smiled, "It is wonderful how things do leak out," he replied. "Sometimes .I think a especial watch is kept on banks on the off -chance of a consignment of ready money like yours being available for easy pick- ing. ,A roan with an ordinary money, bag is almost asking for trouble in these daya, let alone anyone with stilt cases crammed full of it." The warning was not unheeded, nor was the hint to provide suitable receptacles. Caythers was persuaded to arrange for a couple of plain- clothes officers to attend at the bank and accompany them back to Ep- worth with the consignment. As a matter of fact he was rather disappointed to find that the notes did not bulk nearly so much as he had imagined. Two large cases had been taken up to London to accom- modate them, but the whole sum fit- ted snugly into one. SHOTS IN THE NIGHT It was rather a thrill to march in- to the street carrying a considerable fortune, but no notice seemed to be taken of the impressive little proces- sion The drive down, toe, proved uneventful, though they did feel a sense of relief when -the money had been neatly tucked away in the huge safe in Sir Timothy's study. This was a sturdy affair, massively old- fashioned and fitted with inner anti outer locks. "Too heavy to move for ripping off the back," Mosson commented appreciatively. "And, by the look of it, tough enough to withstand ordin- ary burgling methods. Nevertheless, I'm staying on here for the night, just in case." "Sleeping on the hearthrug?" Broome asked with a grin. "Wouldn't be a bad idea. No, scar- cely necessary. An intruder would hardly get in without being heard." "You're right there, sir. Alarms on every window and stout doors which are ceremoniously locked and barred every night" With this assurance the Major retsed at ease and fell asleep soon after retiring for the night. Normally he was a heavy sleeper, but probably his nerves were more tightly tuned than usual, for he awoke about an hour later disturbed by a sound he could not place. It seemed to be a sustained hiss. Listening intently, he thought he heard stealthy footsteps, and the his- sing stopped as he 'clambered out of bed and slipped into a dressing -gown. Without bothering about slippers, he crept from the room and down the stairs. Before he was half -down, the need for caution no longer existed. Pande- monium broke loose. A confused shouting, hoarse curses in a man's voice, and then, more ominous, the bark of a firearm. One -two -three- four shots in rapid succession. Mosson took the remaining stairs in a series of jumps, and sprinted along the passage. Then he added to the din as his bare foot was plant- ed heavily on a small hard object, which hurt fiendishly. Kicking out instinctively, he stubbed his toe on the lintel of a door—but it was the entrance to the study. A dark shadow at the window attracted his attention. Another shot rang out, and as he ducked the shad- ow vanished. To follow in bare feet was out of the question. To his further chagrin be was suddenly grabbed from behind by someone he immediately concluded to be a member of the now thorough- ly aroused household. "Leave the alone!" he gasped. "The burglar's got away. Try and head 'him off in the grounds," The lights went on with a click. Nobody had made an effort to obey the order, though most of the ser- vants seemed to be trying to crowd into the room. Broome came pushing his way through from the rear de- manding to know what was wrong. Near the safe, struggling to regain his feet, was all Hickley, the butler, block streaming from a woturd on his forehead. "Don't let him get away," he ex- claimed feebly, and collapsed as Mas- son stooped to his assistance. ( CONTINUED NEXT WEEK) rt; - Ap u -a ■ E ENT i�rd:d1 i'i€E FAMOUS -VALUE TIRE ' •t � • DI4AWND TREAD f e. Tire -wise motorists get more for their money when they b,ty this great new Goodyear. Marathon has all the sturdy, long -wearing qualities that have made Goodyears Canada's most popular tires. It has the famous non-skid diamond tread at the lowest price ever! Drive in for new Goodyear tires today .. our low prices save you money. THE TUBE 15 THE HEART OF ANY TIRE When you buy new tires equip them with new low-cost Goodyear tubes . - . they help you get top mileage, save you money. Browth's Service Station Chhnt077 Ontario TORON tO MAPLE LEAF BASEBALL NEWS The Leafs are headed for the In- ternational League's first division and that's the best news baseball fans in Toronto and vicinity have heard in six long years. For there has been nothing but grief arouncl. Maple Leaf Stadium since 1934, the year the club last got into the play- offs. All spring Manager Tony Laz,peri has kept insisting, "We're a better club than most folks think. We've got the pitchers and we've got the hitters; we just haven't been getting the breaks. Tho pitchers have been doing their part but the hitters haven't had any luck. They've been bitting the ball right on the pick, but it always seems to go right to a fielder. The law of averages will look after that in time." So now the law of averages is at last operating in favor of the Leafs' !hitters and the team has started to I roll, The only thing that can stop it is injuries. Jim Walkup, the curve- bailer who was counted on to win twelve or fifteen games this season has come down with a muscle injury , in his shoulder and the doctors say he will be out for another three weeks. On top of this big Jim Reis- inger, who has already won four games and was one of the club's leading pitchers, pulled a muscle in itis arm, an injury which will keep him on the sidelines for at least a couple of weeks. But to counteract these misfortunes, 48 -year-old, "Sad Sam" Jones, who joined the club in the role of coach, has come out of retirement and surprised everybody with his expert relief pitching. The big improvement, of course, has been in the hitting. Erie Tipton and Dario Lodigiani are in the charmed circle with marks of .345 and .309 respectively, and Fred Chapman, Buddy Bates, Johnny Ty- ler and Fern Bell have picked up many points in the last couple of weeks. As this is being written the Leafs have won eight of their last twelve games, most of them away from home, and are now conceded to be one' of the league's "hottest" tennis. Manager Tony Lazzeri has con-' tributed no little to this splendid showing by the skill and ingenuity with which he has handled the club. ' "Ball players who can't fivin for you are 00 much deadwood," he declares. "You might as well get rid of them first as last." Putting this theory into practice, 1 he got rid of John Berly and Earl Caldwell, two veteran pitchers, and replaced them with ,hies McCrabb and Pat McLaughlin. Both MoGrabb and McLaughlin have been able to win' right from the first go -off. He gave! Mel Mazzera, an outfielder secured from the St. Louis Browns a year ago for $10,000 his outright release,' and farmed young Billy Southworth out to Wilmington. Then he purchas- ed young Bob Latshaw from Indian- apolis as a replacement. Still Lazzeri wasn't satisfied. "You need a couple of .300 hitters and three or lour more who will bit be- tween .280 and .290 before you've got a winning ball club," he said. "I need another of those .280 to .290 letters in my infield." So, in an ef- f font to get that extra batting punch, into theline-up, he benched the pop- ular Flea. Clifton and assigned Carl , Fairly to the third base spot, I Fairly had gained most of his ex- perience in the Class B Sally League and Tony was taking a decided chance with him. But it seems now that the move was the right one. Fairly has been smacking the ball at a ,546 clip and is currently ant:ng the league's leading hitters. If the Leafs can maintain a .500 pace for the next few weeks, a play- off spot seems almost a certainty for them. By that time their injured players will again be back on the active list, and they will be corning into a softer part of the schedule where they encounter the league's weaker clubs. The club will play most of it, Erne games at night for the balance of the season with Syracuse on June 13, 14 and 15. The Leafs then go on the road for a week but return with Bal- timore on June 24, 25 and 26. It's Jersey City on June 27, 28 and 29. and Buffalo on July 1, 2 and 3. All night games start at 8.30 P.M. ex- cept the twilight-fiogdlight double- headers, usually played on Wednes- day nights, which begin at 0.30 o'clock. Saturday and holiday double- headers are afternoon games com- mencing at 2 o'clock. District Meeting Held At St. Helens West Huron Institute Name Officers at Annual Meeting. The District annual meeting of the West Huron Women's Institute was held at St. Helens on Friday. The morning, session opened with the singing of the Institute Ode and Scripture reading by Mrs. Ball, of St. fIelens, The morning session was confined to business, with reports from secre- taries and convenors of standing committees as follows: Canadianiza.- tion, by Mrs. C. Young, Goderich; Legislation, Miss Brigham, Clinton; Education, Mrs. D. Phillips, St. iHelens; Home Economics, Mrs. C. Coultes, Belgrave; Health and Child Welfare, Mrs. P. Manning, Londes- boro; Agriculture, Mrs. B. Hall, Blyth; Historical Research, Miss Mc- Allister; Peace, Education. and Inter- national Relationship, Mrs. T. Bower; Community Activities and Relief, Mrs. B. Roach; Publicity, Mrs. R. J. Philips, Auburn; Convenor of War Work, Mrs. McGregor, Kintail. Mrs. Menzies, Londesboro, favored with a solo. The St. Helens Branch served din- ner to around 150 ladies. Mrs. Barn- ard of St. Helens, welcomed the Iad- ies and Mrs. W. H. Henderson, of Wingham, gave the reply. After din- ner, Mrs. Menzies of Londesboro, led in community singing, after which Miss V. Bainbridge conducted the el- ection of officers. Officers Elected President, Mrs. Fred Oster, Blyth 1st Vice Pres., Mrs.. W. J. Henderson, Wingham; 2nd Vice Pres., Mrs, N. Keating, Belgrave; Sec.-Treas., Mrs., W. H. Fraser, Wingham; Federations Rep., Mrs. J. Bisset, Goderich; Dis- trict Delegate, Mrs. R. Davidson, Dungannon: Auditors, Mrs, E. Web- ster and Mrs. J. West, Wingham. CONTRACTS TOTAL 14,359 Contracts awarded to date by the Department of Munitions and Supply and its predecessor, the, War Supply Board, total approximately ,14,359, accounting for an approximate total, of $194,000,000.