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THURSDAY, SEPT. 11, 1941
THE SEAFORTH NEWS
PAGE SEVEN
Women In
Uniform
By Adelaide M. Plumptre, National
Commandant, Canadian Red Cross
Corps,
Women in uniform have been much
In the public eye lately in Canada.
No sooner liad we begun to grow ac-
customed, through the pictorial
press, to the appearance of the wo-
men of Britain in every possible var-
iety of uniform than we began to
grow conscious of the appearance of
the sante phenomenon on the Cana-
dian scene,
At first, as always, women in uni-
form, other than nursing sisters,
both overseas and In Canada, were
regarded as a joke—and a floor one
at that.
But the disciplined heroism of the
women of Britain and their matter-
of-fact assumption that modern total
warfare is the concern of }women as
Much as the men of the nation soon
converted sneer's into cheers. It be-
came evident that in the grins real-
ism of war a uniform was not, a fad
to attractattention but: "an outward
and visible sign of en inward and
spiritual" strength: uniforms were
not being worn for show but 'rather
to show something about t110 wearer.
For the doing of diengreeable, (1ifl'i-
milt and daugernus duties, such as
fare,( the Woolen as well as the men
of beleaguered Britain, certain quali-
ties: were necessary: and some dis-
tinctive sign to show where the qual-
itie s might be looked for in the sud-
den onslaught of deadly peril: eteadi-
nese of nerve and strength of body:
familiarity with surety precautions:
quirk htstinetive response of mind
and body to commands or signals:
disciplined movement of manses: spe-
cial skill along some line of protec-
ti"u or escape—such are some of the
qualifications of which the mliferte
le a symbol,
AdOnt. it may be urged that all these
traeteristies may exist without a
uniform: why then insist on the
wearing of special clothes for the
performance of special (11111es?
The principle of uniform is a sign
of trained service. long accepted in
our social 11fe. Not only the fighting
forces but policemen, postmen, fire-
men, railway officials trained nurses,
religious orders, Salvation Army
lasses have found it advisable not
only to possess certain qualifications
for the performance of specified dot
los but also to wear the 'uniform
which denotes such preparedness.
In tinea of emergency when panic
threatens, there is an instinctive im-
pulse to turn to a matt or woman in
uniform for guidance and help.
Again, when it becomes necessary
to mobilize either men or women in
Large numbers for special purposes,
then. as T. E. Lawrence says. the
uniform turns a crowd into a solid,
dignified impersonal force, as ready
for action as an individual, disciplin-
ed upstanding man,
lit the Canadian Red Cross Corps
the uniform has stood for qualifica-
tions, training, discipline and service.
The conditions of entering the corps;
are strict and strictly enforced:
training within the Carps is arduous:
discipline is severe: voluntary ser-
vice is required from every member.
Each of the four sections—transport.
V.A.D. service: office administration
and food administration—has its own
distinctive uniform, showing in what
field it is prepared to give voluntary
service but all wear the insignia of
the lied Cross 014 a symbol of com-
mon faith and loyalty.
For fifteen mouths the Corps has
been giving service to the Red Cross
branches: to Government depart-
ments and to patriotic causes of all
kinds, always hoping that the day
would dawn when its preparedness
and desire for action might be
(Towne(' by a call to definite national
service.
Now the first call foe Canadian
10001011 10 tante an active part in the
war services has come.
The first call has c01110 from over-
seas, it is a call addressed only to
women transport drivers Who can
afford to finance themselves and. to
enlist with one or other of the volun-
tary organizations recognized by the
Iiritislh Government as providing
trained personnel in uniform and
under discipline who can be relied
upon to perform duties efficiently
and conscientiously. '
Miss Janet Carruthers of Winnipeg
has been authorized to enrol woolen
to 1401.00 in the Mechanized Transport
Corps and Mrs, W. D. Chambers of
Montreal to enlist recruits for the
British `''omen's. Transport Service.
widely known since the Boer War as
the "F,A N'.Y." 01: "First. Aid Nursing
Yeomanry."
Duplicate
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6141.
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The Seafor4h News
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The request. for Canadian women
to serve overseas has come from
Britain with the consent and approv-
al of the British Government and the
Canadian Government has, therefore,
consented to ]ssue an individual exit
permit to each woman who fulfils the
necessary conditions of service and.
is recommended by the recruiting
officer. Each recruit is required to
provide her own uniforms: pay for
her own ocean transportation and be
in a position to maintain herself over-
seas for her period of service, al-
though in certain conditions, a cash
allowance for pocket money or bit-
letting privileges are granted. It is
a fortunate circumstance thatsome
of the members of our Corps whose
financial position permits them to
volunteer for this overseas venture,
are also peculiarly well qualified to
give efficient service,
The second call for women to take
a direct share in the war comes from
the Canadian Government and ap-
peals to a far larger constituency,
The Government has decided that
the stage in its war effort has now
been reached in which it is neces-
sary to release hien front certain
duties in the Active Forces and to
recruit women to take the places
thus left vacant.
It must not be forgotten that for
many months past, in business. in
industry, in agriculture, this infiltra-
tion of women has been quietly going
on, with very little notice from the
public,
But now the direct call has gone
forth for the enlistment of women in
Isis Majesty's Forces,
The policy announced by the Gov-
ernment provides for action under
four Federal Departments.
a. The Department of National
War Services is to arrange for a
"Pool" of woman -power and from
this "pool" the Army, Navy and Air
Force are to draw the women needed
for each service, Certain conditions
as to health, age, skills, character
and education are to be imposed on
women desiring to enter the "pool"
bat the women will he permitted to
select the service and the line of
work for which they will consent to
be enlisted. All, however will rank
as privates on entering the "pool."
b, The Departments of the Army.
Navy and Air Force are each to be
Permitted to enlist their own per-
sonnel who, on being attested, be-
come members of His Majesty's
Forces, on pay and pension, with
cash allowance for uniforms, under-
wear and toilet accessories. The rate
of pay is to be "scaled" as in the
Army but the minimum established
will apparently be lower than that of
men.
Many members of the Canadian
Red Cross Corpa will be prevented
by family ties or other duties, or by
age or health from enlisting in the
Army Corps and will be available as
a permanent staff to carry on for the
Red Cross. Those members of the
Red Cross Corps who volunteer to
serve in the Forces will be "second-
ed" for active service for the period
of enlistment but w111 be welcomed
back into the permanent organiza-
tion of the Red Cross Cops when
they are "honorably discharged"
from the services.
Women in uniform are now recog-
nized as an integral part of His Ma-
jesty's Canadian Forces and will
have an opportunity of demonstrat-
ing their efficiency and determine.
tion to play their part in the total
war in which we are now engaged.
CORNED BEEF CARGO'S
ATLANTIC ADVENTURE
To Show It Need Go Black No More
Two lots of tins of corned beef
have just finished a trip across the
Atlantic for the benefit of stock rai-
sers, meat canners and the house-
wives of Britain.
Canned meat sometimes goes
black where it touches the tin. It
need go black no more; blackening
may now be stopped by a simple
process perfected by British scien-
tists in the laboratories of the Tin
Research Institute in Middlesex.
The cans, or the tinplates from
which they are made, are dipped for
a few moments in a boiling solution
which is both alkaline and oxidizing.
The bath leaves an invisible film at
oxide which has now been proved to
be even better than the older and
more costly method of lacquering.
Two batches of corned beef have
just arrived in England from South
America. The tins of one batch had
been oxidized by the new,process;
the others were untreated.
Both batches were filled fifteen
mouths ago and when all of them
were opened on their arrival 111
England the untreated tinplate had
developed black stains. The other
was still silvery and bright.
Willie—"Daddy, do lawyers ever
tell the truth?"
Daddy—."Yes, son, sometimes a
lawyer will do anything to win a
case."
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RE - GONSEGRATION WEEK
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•
They Stand on Guard for Us
TRANSCAUCAUSIA
The War Shifts Toward
Soviet Transcaucasia
From the Canadian Institute
International Affairs
of
The remote lands of the Trans
Caucasus are again in the headlines
From this land plass, which forms
the bridge between the Black Sea
and the Caspian Sea, Russian troops
lately marched across the border
into Iran. Through this region it is
expected that British and American
supplies will soon be moving into
Russia. And there seems reason to
believe that this rich country is a
major goal of the Nazis in their
push across the Ukraine,
Transcaucasia was formerly one
republic of the Soviet Union, but
since 1986 it has been divided into
three republics: Georgia, Azerbaidz-
han, and Armenia. Each of these is
now a constituent part of the Union
of Soviet Socialist Republics (which
we usually designate as "Russia,"
although Russia proper is only one
republic in the Union). This highly
important section of the USSR act-
ually occupies less than 1 per cent
of its total area and has a popula-
tion of only about 8,000,000, Its
chief cities are Baku, the great oil
centre with over 800,000 people, on
the Caspian Sea; and Tiflis (Tbilisi)
with ezer 500,000. Batum, the great
oil port of the USSR, is on the
Black Sea. The oil supplies from
Baku flow by two pipe lines to Bat -
um whence they were formerly
shipped by tanker to Odessa, to Ru-
mania, and to Bulgaria, or through
the Dardanelles. On the south-east is
the vital border with Iran, and on
the south-west is Russia's only bor-
der with Turkey. The southern bor-
der is wild and mountainous for the
most part,. and there are poor road
and rail connections with Turkey
and Iran. In fact, the communica-
tions within the republics themsel-
ves are not highly developed. There
is only one rail Line connecting the
republics with central Russia and
Moscow. They are cut off from the
Russian Soviet Republic by the
great range of the Caucasus moun-
tains, which should offer some de-
fence against a Nazi invader, al-
though they are cut through by two
military roads. Chief contact with
the north is by sea from Batum.
Presumably the Germans would
count on some sort of attack by sea.
The population is about equally
divided among Georgians, Armeni-
ans, and Azerbaidzhani, and in-
cludes many other races and tribes.
Only about ti per cent of the popul-
ation is Russian, the Russians being
chiefly skilled workmen about Baku.
Besides Stalin, who is a Gr'orgian,
there is a small group of G,•oe:ians
and Armenians who are highly plac-
ed in Moscow. Both the state admin•
istration anti the Communist Party
of the three republics are rely
largely in the hands of native Cau-
casians. However, the distinctive na-
tional and cultural characteristics
of these people have not been easily
adjusted to the Stalin nationalist
policy with its emphasis on central-
ization, The pulses of 1986-7 made
a pretty clean sweep of Caucasian
officials, particularly to Georgia.
It is the richness of its resources.
even more than its strategic situa-
tion, which makes 'i ranscauscasia
important in this war, And its re-
sources include some of which Hit-
ler is greatly in n0'd. Foremost of
those is oil. In suite of the develop-
ment of new oil regions in the USSR
Azerbaidzhan probably still provides
more than 80 per cent of the Union's
total supply and is its chief refining
centre. Much of the equipment for
the oil industry is manufactured
here, and there are important chem-
ical plants based on by-products of
the oil industry. In spite of great in-
dustrial expansion, most of the peo-
ple still work on the land where
they produce fruit and wine and in-
dustrial crops. Azerbaidzhan now
ranks as the second cotton base in
the Union, having produced 189,24d
tons in 1988, The Axis badly needs
cotton. Georgia is one of the world's
greatest producers of manganese for
making steel, and Germany is defic-
ient in this important alloy. In Arm-
enia is a newly developed synthetic
rubber industry, and this republic
has also a fair production of copper:
There are in these regions also tea
and citrus fruits and tobacco and
many as yet undeveloped resources,
all of which would make very good
pickings for a blockaded region like
German Europe.
WAR MYSTERY OF
45,000,000 PEOPLE
Why is Britain Healthier Than in
Peace Time?
The United States are sending to
Lritain a eolnnlittee of American
medical men to try and find out why
the people have come through the
winter's "blitz" with better health
than in the years of peace,
Medical men generally are comp-
letely baffled by the nation's fitness,
They feared that, after nights of
crowding in air-raid shelters and ex-
posure to all weathers on A. R. P.
and fire -watching, epidemics would
sweep the country like a prairie
fire. In fact, there have been fewer
eases of scarlet fever, diphtheria,
pneumonia and typhoid fever, and
only half the number of deaths from
'.nriuenza. Whooping cough and men-
ingitis have alone been rather more
prevalent than usual.
Britann's own doctors offer vari-
ous explanations of the mystery,
among them the dispersal of dense-
ly populated areas, the improved
system of health supervision, the
spread of education in preventive
measures, fewer people at "the pic-
tures" and in other public places.
All, however, are agreed that the
busy, hazardous life led by 45,000,-
000 people leaves thein neither the
time nor the inclination to brood
over minor ailments. The war has
taken them "out of themselves."
Notice to Creditors, 3 wks. for $2.50
TRAIN IN HARVARDS
Success of the British Commonwealth Air Training Scheme which is now turning out hundreds of trained.
airmen, engineers, navigators an observers each month has surpassed even the dreams of those who advocated
its inception. The pilots undergo advanced fighter training fa the speedy Harvard craft pictlired above,