HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1943-03-11, Page 7THE $EAFARTH NVIY.S
Britain's Underground
Movement
Underground! That word spells
illegal newspaper, freedom radio,
Sabotage and explosion in German-
occupied. Europe, all of them ealeul-
ated to bring an end to Hitler's mad
career of aggression.
In. Great Britain there is also an
underground movement, whose med-
ium of expression is somewhat dif-
ferent, but whose 'objective isthe
same,
Take a country road "somewhere'
in England," hedgerows and spinn-
eys ori either side. Gaze on the placid
scenery, the waving fields of ripen-
ing wheat, the scattered farm -steads,
land -girls pitching hay. It is a com-
mon enough sight. And yet under
that very road you travel, under
those rolling acres, lies one of Bri-
tain's super -equipped troglodyte
factories guaranteed by the best en-
gineering. brains to be absolutely
'bombproof.
You are allowed to pass the vari-
ous controls by showing a variety of
differently stamped and colored
passes. The factory security officer
takes you around, allows you to see
just what You may, and no more,
He's mighty proud of the establish-
ment he has to guard. "Let 'em send
a thousand Luftwaffes," he says,
with fine disregard of German noun -
endings. "Let 'em pepper us with the'
worst they've got. We'll just go on
turning out ." he panes—"well, just
whatever we go on turning out."
You descend by one of the eight
silent elevators which give access to
this factory. If you are quick enough
at estimating distance, you can count
perhaps a hundred feet. Then you
are in a Substrata basement 'cover-
ing nearly 2,600,000 square feet. It
may be months, more probably years
before the full story about this as-
tonishing development can be told.
But the little which has been releas-
ed is enough to whet your appetite.
There's an interesting financial'
consideration, important enough in
war when you are spending 860,000,-
000 a day. To convert this ancient
stonequarry cost about three dollars
to the four it would take to build a
surface factory. . '
Years ago when men decided to
raise for themselves fine stone cities
and build handsome sidewalks, they
relied onhandpicks•and hard muscles
to cut and cart the stone. Some of
the quarries which have now been
converted tato !eateries helped to
built[ Britain's cities of today. Many
of these quarries later fell'. into dis-
use, The coming of cement' and other
building materials supplanted We -
gent stone in public taste.
Experts, guided by old quarry-
men, were given the job of rediscov'
ening them, The extent of these und-
erground workings can be imagined
from the fact that when surveyors
came to plain the site, one of the
boys with the theodolites, who had
wandered away on his own, spent an.
uncomfortable two days trying to
find an exit)
In all, 8,500 amen were used on the
construction. Preliminary investiga-
tions found mountains of debris.
Soniething • like •a million tons of
stone rubble had to be clearer[ before
anyone could think of factory lay-
out,
Even today, as you wander along
the long boulevards of this stone
city, you can see the handiwork of
the quarriers of otehr days. They
had skillfully "eaten away" the best
stone and left queer angular -shaped
islands, of not -so -good stone to serve
as roof -supports.' The construction
engineers have left those fantastic.
shapes almost as they found them,
Despite primitive tools and block-
and pulley gadgets, the old quarriers
knew all about the intricate science
of "overburdens," that is, the
amount of roof these pillars would
support with safety.
The whole roof has been te-tested.
Men go round •periodically tapping it
with long steel rods. They know by
the quality of the sound the exact
"health" of the thousands upon
thousands of tons of rock which go
to make up the roof. Remarkably
few of the pillars need "corsetting,"
that is, building around with brick
and cement to give extra support to
the sides.
Both ceiling and pillars have been
sprayed. with a pale yellow paint to
prevent any particles of dust from
getting into the delicate parts of
precision machinery or the equally
delicate noses of the women opera-
tives.
There were many other things to
be done before the underground fac-
tory could be habitable for twenty-
four hours out of twenty-four. A
million tons of rubble were crushed
to cement mile's of corridors,, galler-
ies and broad roads in the factory,.
as well as to provide a base for the
'machines. Artesian wells were sunk
to give an independent water supply..,
m�
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Introductory Offer, 6 Saturday Issues 23 Cents.
Name
Address
1y SAMPLE COPY ON REQUEST
Air-conditioning is all-important,
The health of men and machines de-
pends upon
e-pendsupon it. The health of the leen
and women workers has been main-
tained at a consistently high level.
The same can be said of the mach -
Ines.
Condensation is a serious menace
to fine machinery. 'When you are
working to one ten -thousandth part
Of an inch—or about one-third of a
Yuman hair—the slightest coating of
rust means scrap. To prevent this,
giant air -linos were eonstrueted,
three to suelc in air and four to ex-
pel it when used, The draught in
these wide air tunnels resembles a
hefty cyclone.
The intake shafts are consructed
on a curve so that a bomb is bound
to strike obliquely without penetrat-
ing to the factory proper. Enormous
lids of concrete, many feet thick,
cover the entrances to the shafts.
The air inside the factory is warm-
ed or cooled as the season demands,
Automatic thermostats keep an even
temperature of between, sixty 1 and'
sixty-five degrees Fahrenheit. Equal
temperature is vital in the special
jib and boring roobs, which houses
partieularly delicate instruments.
Variations of temperature make
these aristocrats of the mechanical
world temperamental.
Lighting is skillful. Eye -strain has
been obviated by fluorescent lamps
which throw an even, anti -dazzle,
shadowless light. There are no hid-
deous discolorations of faces to un-
nerve you in this perfect imitation
of daylight. Indeed,.' even after a
considerable number of hours under-
ground, the transition to natural
light is barely noticed. There is also
another important factor. Blackout
is unnecessary. There is no physical
or psychological transition from nat-
ural light to electricity.
Automatic control would bring the
factory's own electricity system into
play if the outside electrical grid
stopped working.
One of the most enduring impres-
sions of this underground factory is
its palatial spaciousness. Wide gang-'
ways run between the machines. The
old quarry walls seem to absorb
much of the traditional "murmur of
industry." Noisier machines have
"caverns" of their own.
Walking along one gallery nearly
three-quarters of a mile in length,
;you come to the control room. In
this high=ceilinged room, three of
whose walls arc covered with, prog-
r,ess charts reside the `super brains
of the organization Up on a bridge
sits the managing director. He or his
deputies can tontact any engineer,
shop supervisor, foreman or worker,
by means of telephones, loudspeak-
ers and microphones. There is some-
thing Wellsian in the low-pitched
voices which suddenly float over the
air in some part of the factory sum-
moning this or that manager to a
conference. Be it said, in all justice,
that there is nothing of Charlie
Chaplin's "Modern Times" about
this institution. The remote control
is very human. The organization is
run on trade union principles. Shop
stewards play an important role in
the discipline and well-being of the
factory.'
Sixty-one per cent of all the oper-
atives in this factory are women.
The machines they now handle with
ease would have greatly taxed the
ingenuity of their munition -leaking
or engine -turning mothers of the last
war.
Surface hostels and canteens have
been built. When all six of the hos-
tels have been completed,they will
house six thousand men and women
in each. These house the unmarried
workers. Each room is shared by two
people, but a partition is put up if
desired. Neat little bungalows, com-
plete with electric machines and
other labor-saving devices, are let at
extremely low rentals to married,
couples.
So on the face of Britain a new town
is rising, above and below ground.
Here in complete safety are being
turned out the latest instruments to
build ,up Britain's offensive power;
RETURN STEEL DRUMS
Farmers and others who have
empty steer drums and similar con-
tainers on hand are being asked by
the Administrator of 'Used Goods to
return them to the company whose
name they bear, or to dispose of
them to the appropriate Handlers
promptly. By cooperating fa this
way, farmers will assist in the con-
servation of steel for other essential
purposes,
The MOPS Come Marching On
Taking their cues Ervin the WAAOS
and WAVES, lioinemakees who are
doing their bit behind the frying pan,
washing machine and basinette, are
banding themselves together in the
"Maternal Order, of Patriots", <MOPS
to your Read about them in The
American Weekly with this Sunday's
(March 14) issue of The Detroit Sun-
day Times,
Want and For Sale Ads, 1 'week 25c.
C.P.R. FORCES WIN BATT
E OF ELEMENTS
•
Tinge snowdrifts lining the
Canadian Pacific Railway's
right-of-way from one end of
Canada to the other stood as vic-
torious monuments to the com-
pany's courageous maintenance
forces, train crews and other
ranks, who for the better part of
a month battled one of the most
sustained and severe blizzards
that ever played havoc with Cana-
dian transportation. And they
kept the lines clear.
The storm attacked the com-
pany's transportation facilities
with blitz -like fury, piling tons of
snow over its vital steel highways,
sheathing its telegraph wires with
ice to the thickness of a man's
wrist, snapping poles, and hurling
an ivy challenge to Canadian
P9cific forces who literally "dared
The situation would have been
bad enough under normal traffic
conditions, The Canadian Pacific,
however, was engaged in handling
the heaviest volume of traffic in
its history—more than double the
amount carried by the railway in
1939, This, coupled with limita-
tions on manpoyer, placed an add-
ed burden on the company's re-'
sources.
Snow -plows powered by three,
sometimes four, powerful locomo-
tives made almost continuous as-
saults at the mountainous snow-
drifts that reached particularly
appalling dimensions in Ontario
and Quebec where the above
scenes were photographed. Other
blizzard -borne "gremlins" attack-
ed the railway in the form of ice
that sheathed engines, coaches,
.arhy.s and retie: driving snow
that reduced visibility to zero
stymied turn -tables, hampered
yard operations and even froze
coal in the chutes.
Time and again rails would be
cleared only to have the track
again blocked by the driving snow.
With few exceptions the trains
were kept moving. Passengers
accepted the situation in file
spirit and were full of praise for
the company's tireless personnel
and their efforts to keep the lines
clear.
Above scenes show how the
railway's powerful plows bucked
the immense drifts and how the
snow was loaded onto cars for
disposal. Engine crews attend loco-
motive's ice -sheathed mechanism
(lower left) while scene at lower
right shows plow emerging vic-
toriously from newly cleared cut.
SENSATIONAL :READING bARGSINS _
, =
THIS NEWSPAPER
(1 YEAR) and
THREE GREAT
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and Magazines
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[]Canadian Home Journal 1 Yr
[]
Chatelaine 1 Yr
[] National Home Monthly 1Yr
(] Family Herald &
Weekly Star 1 Yr,
[] New World (Illustrated) 1 Yr
[] *Farmer's Magazine 2 Yrs.
[] Canadian Horticulture
& Home 1 Yr,
[] Click (Picture Mthly.).., 1 Yr.
[] Canadian Poultry Rev1 Yr
[] Rod & Gun in Canada 1 Yr
[]'American Girl 6 Mos.
(],American FrUit Grower 1 Yr
SAVE MONEY!
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while saving tires and gas.
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paper can you get such
big reading bargains.
Pick your favorites and
mail coupon tows TODAY.
THIS NEWSPAPER
(1 Year) and Your Choice .
THREE POPULAR
MAGAZINES
For Both
Newspaper
and Magazines
$2.00
(1 Maclean's (24 issues) 1 Yr
U Canadian Home Journl 1 Yr.
iI Chatelaine 1 Yr
(l National Home Monthly 1 Yr
[1 Family Herald &
Weekly Star 1 Yr.
[1 New World (Illustrated) 1 Yr
(] *Farmer's Magazine 2 Yrs
[l Canadian Horticulture
& Home .. 1 Yr
i] Click (Picture Monthly) 1 Yr
(] Amerlaan Fruit Grower 1 Yr.
[] Canadian Poultry Rev1 Yr
[I Rod & Gun in Canada •, 1 Yr.
[] American Girl 6 Mos:
'Farmer's Magazine sent only
to farm addresses itt Eastern
Canada.
THIS NEWSPAPER
(1 YEAR) and
ANY MAGAZINES
LISTED Both for
Price Shown
All Magazines Ata For 1 Year
U Maclean's (24 issues) . 61.50
(1 Canadian Home Journal 1,59
[i Chatelaine 1.50
[] National Home Monthly, 1.50
[) Family Herald &
Weekly Star 1.50
[] New World (Illustrated), 1.50
[]'*Farmer's Mag. (2 yrs.)..,, 1.25
r] Canadian Horticulture
& Home 1.25.
] Click (Picture Monthly) 1.50
[] Canadian Poultry Rev1.50
1] Rod & Gun in Canada 1.50
(1 Better Homes & Gardens 2.00
(1 True Story ' 2.00
[] Woman's Home Comp, 2.00
[] Sports Afield - 2.00
[] Liberty (Weekly) 2.50
[] Magazine Digest 3.50
(3 Silver Screen 2.50
[] Screeniand 2.50
[] Look 3.50
[] American Home 2.00
(] Parent's Magazine 3.00
[]Christian Herald 3.00
[1 Open Road for Boys, 2.00
(] American Girl 2.50,.
(] Red Book 3.50
[] American Magazine 3,50
(] Cplliers Weekly 3.50
(] Child Life 3.25
U N
PILL IN ANS MAIL, TO
LAW r \ THIS NEWSPAPER TODAY
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Gentlemen: 1 enclose $ Please send nie the.
offer checked, With e year's subscription to your paper.
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Clonal Post Binders and Index
The Seaforth News
PHONE 84
Air-conditioning is all-important,
The health of men and machines de-
pends upon
e-pendsupon it. The health of the leen
and women workers has been main-
tained at a consistently high level.
The same can be said of the mach -
Ines.
Condensation is a serious menace
to fine machinery. 'When you are
working to one ten -thousandth part
Of an inch—or about one-third of a
Yuman hair—the slightest coating of
rust means scrap. To prevent this,
giant air -linos were eonstrueted,
three to suelc in air and four to ex-
pel it when used, The draught in
these wide air tunnels resembles a
hefty cyclone.
The intake shafts are consructed
on a curve so that a bomb is bound
to strike obliquely without penetrat-
ing to the factory proper. Enormous
lids of concrete, many feet thick,
cover the entrances to the shafts.
The air inside the factory is warm-
ed or cooled as the season demands,
Automatic thermostats keep an even
temperature of between, sixty 1 and'
sixty-five degrees Fahrenheit. Equal
temperature is vital in the special
jib and boring roobs, which houses
partieularly delicate instruments.
Variations of temperature make
these aristocrats of the mechanical
world temperamental.
Lighting is skillful. Eye -strain has
been obviated by fluorescent lamps
which throw an even, anti -dazzle,
shadowless light. There are no hid-
deous discolorations of faces to un-
nerve you in this perfect imitation
of daylight. Indeed,.' even after a
considerable number of hours under-
ground, the transition to natural
light is barely noticed. There is also
another important factor. Blackout
is unnecessary. There is no physical
or psychological transition from nat-
ural light to electricity.
Automatic control would bring the
factory's own electricity system into
play if the outside electrical grid
stopped working.
One of the most enduring impres-
sions of this underground factory is
its palatial spaciousness. Wide gang-'
ways run between the machines. The
old quarry walls seem to absorb
much of the traditional "murmur of
industry." Noisier machines have
"caverns" of their own.
Walking along one gallery nearly
three-quarters of a mile in length,
;you come to the control room. In
this high=ceilinged room, three of
whose walls arc covered with, prog-
r,ess charts reside the `super brains
of the organization Up on a bridge
sits the managing director. He or his
deputies can tontact any engineer,
shop supervisor, foreman or worker,
by means of telephones, loudspeak-
ers and microphones. There is some-
thing Wellsian in the low-pitched
voices which suddenly float over the
air in some part of the factory sum-
moning this or that manager to a
conference. Be it said, in all justice,
that there is nothing of Charlie
Chaplin's "Modern Times" about
this institution. The remote control
is very human. The organization is
run on trade union principles. Shop
stewards play an important role in
the discipline and well-being of the
factory.'
Sixty-one per cent of all the oper-
atives in this factory are women.
The machines they now handle with
ease would have greatly taxed the
ingenuity of their munition -leaking
or engine -turning mothers of the last
war.
Surface hostels and canteens have
been built. When all six of the hos-
tels have been completed,they will
house six thousand men and women
in each. These house the unmarried
workers. Each room is shared by two
people, but a partition is put up if
desired. Neat little bungalows, com-
plete with electric machines and
other labor-saving devices, are let at
extremely low rentals to married,
couples.
So on the face of Britain a new town
is rising, above and below ground.
Here in complete safety are being
turned out the latest instruments to
build ,up Britain's offensive power;
RETURN STEEL DRUMS
Farmers and others who have
empty steer drums and similar con-
tainers on hand are being asked by
the Administrator of 'Used Goods to
return them to the company whose
name they bear, or to dispose of
them to the appropriate Handlers
promptly. By cooperating fa this
way, farmers will assist in the con-
servation of steel for other essential
purposes,
The MOPS Come Marching On
Taking their cues Ervin the WAAOS
and WAVES, lioinemakees who are
doing their bit behind the frying pan,
washing machine and basinette, are
banding themselves together in the
"Maternal Order, of Patriots", <MOPS
to your Read about them in The
American Weekly with this Sunday's
(March 14) issue of The Detroit Sun-
day Times,
Want and For Sale Ads, 1 'week 25c.
C.P.R. FORCES WIN BATT
E OF ELEMENTS
•
Tinge snowdrifts lining the
Canadian Pacific Railway's
right-of-way from one end of
Canada to the other stood as vic-
torious monuments to the com-
pany's courageous maintenance
forces, train crews and other
ranks, who for the better part of
a month battled one of the most
sustained and severe blizzards
that ever played havoc with Cana-
dian transportation. And they
kept the lines clear.
The storm attacked the com-
pany's transportation facilities
with blitz -like fury, piling tons of
snow over its vital steel highways,
sheathing its telegraph wires with
ice to the thickness of a man's
wrist, snapping poles, and hurling
an ivy challenge to Canadian
P9cific forces who literally "dared
The situation would have been
bad enough under normal traffic
conditions, The Canadian Pacific,
however, was engaged in handling
the heaviest volume of traffic in
its history—more than double the
amount carried by the railway in
1939, This, coupled with limita-
tions on manpoyer, placed an add-
ed burden on the company's re-'
sources.
Snow -plows powered by three,
sometimes four, powerful locomo-
tives made almost continuous as-
saults at the mountainous snow-
drifts that reached particularly
appalling dimensions in Ontario
and Quebec where the above
scenes were photographed. Other
blizzard -borne "gremlins" attack-
ed the railway in the form of ice
that sheathed engines, coaches,
.arhy.s and retie: driving snow
that reduced visibility to zero
stymied turn -tables, hampered
yard operations and even froze
coal in the chutes.
Time and again rails would be
cleared only to have the track
again blocked by the driving snow.
With few exceptions the trains
were kept moving. Passengers
accepted the situation in file
spirit and were full of praise for
the company's tireless personnel
and their efforts to keep the lines
clear.
Above scenes show how the
railway's powerful plows bucked
the immense drifts and how the
snow was loaded onto cars for
disposal. Engine crews attend loco-
motive's ice -sheathed mechanism
(lower left) while scene at lower
right shows plow emerging vic-
toriously from newly cleared cut.
SENSATIONAL :READING bARGSINS _
, =
THIS NEWSPAPER
(1 YEAR) and
THREE GREAT
MAGAZINES
For Both $2e50
Newspaper
and Magazines
GROUP "A"—Select One
(l Better Homes & Gardens 1 Yr
[;.True Story Magazine .... 1 Yr
[3 Photoplay—Movie Mirror 1 Yr
[I Woman's Home Comp 1 Yr
[l Sports. Afield 1 Yr
[] Magazine Digest 6 Mos,
ii Fact Digest 1 Yr
(]American Home 1 Yr
(] Parent's Magazine ' 6 Mos
(l Open Road for Boys 1 Yr
[] The Woman 1 Yr
[1 Science & Discovery 1 Yr
• GROUP "B"—Select Two
(] Maclean's (24 issues) 1 Yr.
[]Canadian Home Journal 1 Yr
[]
Chatelaine 1 Yr
[] National Home Monthly 1Yr
(] Family Herald &
Weekly Star 1 Yr,
[] New World (Illustrated) 1 Yr
[] *Farmer's Magazine 2 Yrs.
[] Canadian Horticulture
& Home 1 Yr,
[] Click (Picture Mthly.).., 1 Yr.
[] Canadian Poultry Rev1 Yr
[] Rod & Gun in Canada 1 Yr
[]'American Girl 6 Mos.
(],American FrUit Grower 1 Yr
SAVE MONEY!
Enioy the finest magazines
while saving tires and gas.
Only through this news-
paper can you get such
big reading bargains.
Pick your favorites and
mail coupon tows TODAY.
THIS NEWSPAPER
(1 Year) and Your Choice .
THREE POPULAR
MAGAZINES
For Both
Newspaper
and Magazines
$2.00
(1 Maclean's (24 issues) 1 Yr
U Canadian Home Journl 1 Yr.
iI Chatelaine 1 Yr
(l National Home Monthly 1 Yr
[1 Family Herald &
Weekly Star 1 Yr.
[1 New World (Illustrated) 1 Yr
(] *Farmer's Magazine 2 Yrs
[l Canadian Horticulture
& Home .. 1 Yr
i] Click (Picture Monthly) 1 Yr
(] Amerlaan Fruit Grower 1 Yr.
[] Canadian Poultry Rev1 Yr
[I Rod & Gun in Canada •, 1 Yr.
[] American Girl 6 Mos:
'Farmer's Magazine sent only
to farm addresses itt Eastern
Canada.
THIS NEWSPAPER
(1 YEAR) and
ANY MAGAZINES
LISTED Both for
Price Shown
All Magazines Ata For 1 Year
U Maclean's (24 issues) . 61.50
(1 Canadian Home Journal 1,59
[i Chatelaine 1.50
[] National Home Monthly, 1.50
[) Family Herald &
Weekly Star 1.50
[] New World (Illustrated), 1.50
[]'*Farmer's Mag. (2 yrs.)..,, 1.25
r] Canadian Horticulture
& Home 1.25.
] Click (Picture Monthly) 1.50
[] Canadian Poultry Rev1.50
1] Rod & Gun in Canada 1.50
(1 Better Homes & Gardens 2.00
(1 True Story ' 2.00
[] Woman's Home Comp, 2.00
[] Sports Afield - 2.00
[] Liberty (Weekly) 2.50
[] Magazine Digest 3.50
(3 Silver Screen 2.50
[] Screeniand 2.50
[] Look 3.50
[] American Home 2.00
(] Parent's Magazine 3.00
[]Christian Herald 3.00
[1 Open Road for Boys, 2.00
(] American Girl 2.50,.
(] Red Book 3.50
[] American Magazine 3,50
(] Cplliers Weekly 3.50
(] Child Life 3.25
U N
PILL IN ANS MAIL, TO
LAW r \ THIS NEWSPAPER TODAY
Check magazines desired and enclose with Coupon.
Gentlemen: 1 enclose $ Please send nie the.
offer checked, With e year's subscription to your paper.
NAME
POST OFFICE «.
STREET OR R.R. PROV,