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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1942-06-18, Page 2VOICE OF• THE PRESS WOMAN IN THE CHAIR Though it was accomplished qquuih tly and without ceremony,a` truly historic occasion took place Mum Mrs, Cora Caesarean, ALP. for Edmonton East, sat briefly as Chairman' of the Committee of the Whole House at Ottawa. It marked the first time a woman Tuts ever presided over a sitting of either House of Parliament in the Dominion Capital, This country has been compare, tively backward in putting wo lhen in Parliamentary office. ere are but four of them in e Commons and Senate today, But we are progressing. Mrs. Casselman's occupancy of the Chair, brief though it was, demon- strates how far we have gone along the road of finally admit, Bug that women are "persons." —Windsor Star —*— CORSET LORE Discussions as to the possibil- ity of a shortage of feminine form cdmpreasors such as corsets and &dlee due to the need of con- serving steel and rubber for war needs recalls the lines of Samuel lRoffensetin: Nothing from it straight line ewer vex So sharply as a woman's curves. These are indeed times that cpwt try the souls of stylish ute. Some time ego in Eng - corsets were rationed be - wane of the saute need of steel. It was then Louis Shaw wrote: Ithe whip of state for an even keel, Needs tons and tons of corset steel, The die is oast, the fates have written The ladies now must bulge for Britain. —Dunnville Chronicle --o— LESSON FOR FATTIES Ten co-eds of the University of Chicago went without sugar in their food and drink for two weeks by -way of experiment. At the end of that time they had lost an aggregate of over 25 pounds. This may teach some- thing to men, as well as women, b the fatty forties and fifties. —St. Thomas Times -Journal —o— WANTED TO KNOW Someone. has reported tate text of a telegram sent to railway headquarters in Nairobi, East Africa, by a. native telegrapher down the line. The telegram read: "Three Bona on platform. Station master in water tank. Please . wire in- structions." . —Boston Globe BRIGADIER IN IROQUOIS Brigadier 0. M. Martin, named to command a brigade in the 7th Canadian Division, is a full- blooded Iroquois. Tecumseh would he proud of him, especially as be fought overseas during the Great War with the Canadian infantry and the Royal Flying Corps. —Brockville Recorder and Times —0 -- TASTE OF BOTH It was Wordsworth's lament that "plain living and high think - bag are no more." But now the plain living is being enforced and we are beginning some tall think- ing. —Kansas City Star NO OIL; NO DUST Why worry? There won't be enough road oil to fay the dust that motorists won't raise anyway. —Kitchener Record Tank Fights Duel With Italian Sub What seems to be the first duel between a tank and a submarine et sea was fought just before the British campaign in Libya opened, Says London Calling. A British officer, telling the story in a BBC broadcast, explained how, in awaking our preparations for the offensive, we reinforced the To- bruk garrison with heavy infantry tanks Without the Germans suspect. lag, the tanks were taken up to Tobruk in shall barges- .shallow draft vessels with no great turn of speed. One barge was nosing gently along the coast bound for Tobruk when an Italian submar- ine surfaced near her and opened fire. The crew of the tank were abcard and fortunately in their machine when the attack began. I'jie turret of the tank was just protruding above the gunwale of the barge; it was rapidly swung around and a two -pounder with armor -piercing shot was turned on the Italian submarine The Italian got the shock of his life when a little flat bottom- ed tub of a boat suddenly un- leashed rapid and sustained fire that was altogether teo accurate. The epbm n ins eeased fire and dived. The barge and cargo went THE FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST SCIENTIST The great task now confronting a liberated America, which more than three-quarters of a century ago fought a four -years war to free the slaves, is to aid in work- ing out the freedom of the whole world from -slavery, The Christian Science Board of Directors told several thousand Christian Sci- entists gathered in annual meet- ing in Boston last week. Meeting in their Mother Church under the world -enveloping shad- ow of what is probably the gravest threat to political and religious freedom since the advent of Christianity, the visitors were re- minded in a report by The Chris- tian Science Board of Lecture- ship that the union of Britain and America was foreseen forty-four years ago by Mary Baker Eddy, Discoverer and Founder of Chr'a- • tian Science, as the 'instrument through which the rights of free peoples everywhere might be per- manently established and protect, ed. This welding together of the two great democracies, under the impact' of an international crisis, said the Lecture Board, is the consummation of the fond hopes of all Christian Scientists. The Board alluded specifieally to R poem written in 1898 by the Leader of this •world-wide religi- ous movement, Mrs. Eddy, which reads in part as follows: ' Brave Britain, blest America! Unite your battle -plan; Victorious, all who live it,— The love for God and man." 4 IIJY1DUAL eat' 1_ItVi',`n( A Weekly Column About This and That hi The Canadian Army National unity is a term that bas been loosely, often much too loosely, interpreted to mean the interrelation of. English and French speaking Canadians. So generally accepted has this inter- pretation become that most of us seem to have forgotten that na- tional unity is non-existent so long as the tribulations of Cann- dians in any of the provinces are not shared by Canadians in the other provinces. What prompts this sermonizing is the recent flurry over the re- duction of the gasoline rationing unit in the Maritime Provinces from five gallons to two due to a shortage which by the time this reaches print may have disappear- ed. There was a perfectly natural feeling down east that it wee not fair that Maritimers should be on "short commons" when drivers in the other six provinces still could obtain their full ration. Ottawa answered by pointing out reasons that fully justified the reduction. A11 of this is a preamble to the charge that we are failing to live up to ,our privilege of serving in the ranks of the Individual Citi- zen's Army. How? It should be obvious: Have we in the central and western parts of the country* any moral right to five gallons of gasoline when heceuse of trans- portation or any other difficul- ties, fellow privates in cut; behind the lines army — who ire mach closer to actual warfare and po- tential attack—have to be reduc- ed to two gallons? Why, if there ie 'true national unity, do we not spare the public embarrassment' of Ministers wo employ to govern us by voluntar- ily reducing our consumption of gasoline to the lowest level forced upon any geographical section of. the Dominion? Citizens of countries where "verboten" is a familiar word read garbled accounts of our pro- vincial differences, accounts that are magnified to the point of making some of us appear to be "oppressed minorities," when su.ch stories are published. But the fact thatsuch stories are pub-. lished is the fadlt of the citizens who fail to give the lead to those they have set in authority. 'We cheerfully and voluntarily ration ourselves in the use of tea, coffee and sugar. Why not ration ourselves in the use of gasoline? If we can drink our fewer cups of tea, and coffee unsweetened why can't we walk a mile or two and save the gasoline we would have used ,for war uses? Across this country from coast to coast business experts are de- voting their talents to the wonting' out of a system of price and sup- ply control that will spare us the horrors of inflation and maintain stocks of essential war goods for our fighting forces. Some' of these men serve without pay, tae- uthers—away from their norl>Ja1 occupations—sacrifice the normal advancements and promotions they could expect 11 they stayed in their own jobs, These men don't enjoy restrict- ing and controlling their neigh- bours—it takes' a. Nasi mentality to enjoy that sort of thing—land they welcome action on the part of Canadians that makes their work easier. Why can't we then, who are all out to win the war in the best way we can, make rationing :and control unnecessary.' Surely, we can stint ourselves for the com- mon good! -.. The soldier who leaves a 8150 a month job to volunteer to serve in uniform for (inthe ease of a single man) a little more than half of that amount has voluntar- ily rationed himself much more severely than we have been called ' upon. Sugar, tea; coffee, gasoline and tires, as this is written, are the only rationed cotuntodities. It's funny how son;:, of thein tie in with each other. The use of less sugar reduces the "spare tires" some of us carry around. The use of less gasoline increases the life_ of "spare tires" we cannot re- place. • IIave you joined the Reserve Army yet? Encouraging signs are visible in some parts of the coun try since this workable body was set up to give those ineligible for active service overseas a chance to train themselves for hone de- fence but I have not heard any commanding officer say yet that he can't handle any more recruits. That's another branch of the Individual Citizen's. Army! Dutch Httrba! Dutch harbor is situated on tiny Amaknak Island in a deep inlotof the northern shore of much larger Unalaska Island, one of the, long chain of Aleutians which string out in a sweeping arc toward Japan. It is about $,885 air miles from Tokyo on the Southwest, and 2,345 miles from San Franoisco on the South- east, It thus forms the apex for a roughly triangular line which might be' drawn on the map be- tween .the three points, From Seattle, Wash,, to Dutch Harbor is about 1,900 air miles. The United States has been building, fortifications there. aline 1940. Their extent has been kept secret. Dutch Harbor, • which until re- eently was only a tillage with a trading post, a fuel oil depot, and a naval radio station, receiv- ed its flame because of the -tradi- tion that a Dutch ship Drat en- tered its bay, a bulletin from the National Geographic So die t y points out, Russian navigators, howeyer, early came this way. They knew the then -busy 'fur- sealing centre by its native Es- kimo name of Udakta. Later, the harbor became a way station for vessels making for the gold rush regions of the Yukon and Nome, Alaska, Dutch Harbor is 13'4 miles long by half a' mile in width. Water is deep near the shores and in most parts of the harbor; violent gales occasionally, sweep these waters, when mariners are warned to look out for williwaws, sudden gusts of cold land air, common along mountainous coasts of high. latitudes. SCOUTING a a Scoutmasters, Cubmasters and Commissioners of -India last year contributed 10,000 rupees, or 750 pounds, to Britain's War Dis- tressed Scouts Fund for Scout air raid sufferers. • Toronto Boy Scout Leaders have been giving cooking instruc- tion to a detachment of fifty girls of the Food Administration Ser- vice of the Canadian Red Cross Corps. The course is being given at the Crooked Creek Boy Scout campsite, and is a feature of pre- parations being made by the Red Cross against any war eventuality which may call for the emergency feeding of large numbers of per- sons. One war • service job of Bethnel Green (London) Boy Scouts was the erection recently of 4,000 bunks in local Tube shelters. • * * War Savings Stamps were the admission tickets sold at the door for a Boy Scout and Girl Guide entertainment at the Noranda High School. * 5 5 Discussing the previous spare time training of young recruits • for. the Imperial ' Forces, Brig. i General Clark, for over $0 years a training officer of Regular Atmy and Territorial units, was recently quoted as giving first place to former Boy Scouts. Said General Clark: "A batch of First Class Scouts or King's Scouts would prove more acceptable to a Commanding Officer or a Ser- geant Major as recruits than a similar number of lade with any other form of spare -time occupa- tion in their past."* 5 The newest Canadian Boy Scout war service project is the sending of good. used Scout uniforms to British Boy Scouts now unable to secure them. A growing: proportion, of the men of •II. M. Forces who have distinguished a themselves in im- portant actions with, the enemy are being discovered as . former Boy Scouts or Scout ''leaders. Among the Swordfiaih pilots who attacked the' warships,' Gneisenau and Scharnhorst and gave their lives, was Lieut. Bligh, a mem- ber of the 159th North Loddon Boy Scout Troop. Lieut. David L. Davies, who took a prominent part in the St Nazaire raid, also was a Scout, and the complete sob of "quartermastering" • for tin - other commando raid was handled by a former Seoutmaster. Lord Levet, leader •of tho :Boulogne Commando raid, is President of the Inverness-shire Boy Scoots Association. REG'LAR FELLERS—What's in a, Name? SEE HERE, YOU YOUNG SCALAWAG! STOP BOUNCING THAT BASEBALL AGAINST THIS WALL! AVJ, BE A SPORT, MISTER! IT'S THE BEST WALL IN TOWN THE WAR - WEEK Commentary on Current Events Six Months After Pearn Harbor Japan Strikes In North Pacific The Japanese Military leaders are presented by the New York. Tints* AS advantageously eating In the' centre of a circle, Their opponents have had the task of deciding at just what point on that otrole they would atr'ilte. After the preliminary move ag'aitiet Pearl Haber they moved south, Tiler° they strengthened themselves cat the rubber and, tin of Malys, the. 011 and rubber and foodstuffs of the Indies. Then it was west into Burma, the gateway 10 Soiltbern China anti India, While their arta fes last^t{leek marched toward le- ft andhammered at the vital central 'and coastal regions of Ohina thgig navy again fought in 'the North' Paretic. Still tlheir.leacl- ere could choose which of all these moves would be the main blow. Midway Attack The Japanese had done little in the north Pacific slice Pearl Hai'- bor. Her ships anti Zero fighter planes' were busy in the south. Ship -plane teams won control of the Macassar Strait from. 'Ameri- can forces operating with the Dutch and British, defeated a Un- ited Nations •fleet, in the Java Sea. Not until Japan reached the Coral. Sea did her string of vic tones end. There, supported by land-based aircraft, a United Na- tions fleet drove' a strong Japan- ese task force north into her newly conquered islands* though there was no thought that that victory for the United Nations was final. Last week exactly six months atter the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Japan again tried her luck in the north. Raiding parties of Japanese aircraft hit at Dutch Harbor in Alaska's Aleutian Is- lands. Southward 1,900 miles, an- other heavier attack was directed against Midway Island, American outpost between Pearl Hatter and Tokyo. This time the Japanese did not find American planes lined up on the ground, so many easy targets for Japanese bombers. They were in the air and fighting. Japanese airplane carriers, battle- ships; cruisers and transports suffered heavy dainage, damage farout of proportion, it is report- ed, to that suffered by the defend- ers. The Midway area not only remained in American hands but the Japanese force appeared to limp off after a bad mauling by Almy, Navy and Marine Corps Biers. Keystone Of Pacific Both polnts attacked by the Jap- anese were shrewdly chosen to draw the concerned attention of American lot liter y chieftains. Their military value. to America • was great. Dutoh Harbor, a small island of matted grass and five - trees, stands near the base of the Aleutians that are out 1,500 miles toward Japan. It is a place of rain and snow and fog and hard winds, and there the United States • has a baeo which may one daay; be the springboard for an atiaak att^aigbt at the heart of Japan, De fenaively it stands guard over the Akn territory wlticlt sonic tolashaays increased strategichas ` value withs tine inereasod military V(eltha of airplanes, Irrotn Alaska the wide reaches of the Peeitie.grow small, come within the operating range of aircraft: the .0,135 Mlles from Tokyo to. San Francisco he - mite 2,345 from Dutch Harbor- As long ago as 1920 Alaska WAS palled "'rhe keystone of .the Pao - 1110 earth". Effect, Uhdeterm!ited Millway Island, the second ob. loctive of the Jaip uie se , fortis, la an atoll of two tiny islands ear- rounded by• shoals anti. reefs, Guarded heavily by Army, Navy, and Marine farces, it constitutes almost an outer defense for. Pearl Raabe**, 1,300 miles away, Amori- ea'sbastion in the mid -Pacific•, LIL Japanese hands it could be the base for, harrying attacks against the big ships berthed at Poarl' Harbor. The •Japanese have pant it constant attention, attacking 11 at least once each montb.—eat eeptitlg for April—since the start of the' war. But the attacks have been light, by occasional, airplanes or subinarines, Carriers and battle- ships operating near 'Midway last week were attacking forcesofa different. order. . It seems quite conclusive now that the Japanese ran into a treat at Midway Island and that they were badly stung. But the full ex- tent o•1 the damage they have cud. fered and its effect upon po,aslhle future Japanese operations re- males to be determined. U. S. Strategic Success Other operations, perhaps even andther attack on Hawaii or an offensive against Resale, may have been depeudent upon the success of the. Midway attack and the mysterious happenings 000e Dutch Harbr. And in repulsing the Japanese. The Pacific Float s may well have dealt the enemy a severe blow in the .East. 1301 it: would seem too early to conclude that .the Japanese defeat its a (HS- ."Ir ne all probability, the Japanese possess sufficient sea and air • strength, even after the Midway - .losses are subtracted, to attempt either new offensive. actions -sr to put upstrong resistance against any operations undertaken by tiro • United Nations, Nevertheless, in preventing the Japanese from gaining poseesaion of Midway, American forces have achieved a strategic success of. no mean importance. From Mid- way, the Japanese could ,.have raided. Pearl Harbor and possibip •# could have launched a major Pa- cific offensive with the Watt Coast and the' Panama Canal RA ultimate objectives, LIFE'S LIKE THAT By Fred Neher "Why do you always avoid me?!!" CONFOUND IT, BOY! HOW CAN A PERSON REST WITH THAT ETERNAL THUMPING GOING ON? NOW, fad AWAY! U i 01+4.wwvcwoo14 By GENE BYRNES ATHLETES, PHOOEY! 'atoo �'-'''tom.. rt - it,. ,. Po0111, ASI ,,,hIf: uF,) ,,,, (.: AVE. AVIALI!'I'lt (LUL G'`"e.Y.N