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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Herald, 1942-04-02, Page 2VOICE OF TH PRESS BRITISH HUMOR Canadians have often been puz- zled by what seemed the weighti- ness of British humor. But what of the roan looking at the one wall of a house still left standing: "Just as I told you, any one sitting on the mantelpiece would have been perfectly safe." Or the old pro- fessor saying to his servant girl: "I left a device for destroying the night bomber ou this table, and now the blessed things been swept away or something." Or the old lady: "I see the newspapers now confirm that it was bitterly cold down here six weeks ago, when our pipes burst." And the commonest Wings are now uncommon, as the little girl pointed out when sbe said: "Mum- my, do you remember bananas?" "Play you for an egg," says the golfer; and the woman writing her diary asks: "What else did we do yesterday besides having an egg for breakfast?" -Ottawa Journal, -o-- OLD RAILROAD TIES Writer of a Letter to the Editor in an Ontario paper draws atten- tion to the burning of old railroad ties that "would have provided tons of firewood for the poor." Perhaps, but did the writer know that the sawing of ties is hard on the saws because of the pebbles imbedded in them during years of pressure under rails and trains? The wood sawing hien refuse to work on them. They are much bet- ter for fence posts, as some set - tiers who didn't like to sea them being burned along the right of way either, will testify. -Port Arthur News -Chronicle, -0- BETTER FAR AWAY What if it is a bother to try ie, pronounce all the queer sounding place names that pop up in the war news? It would be much worse if the fighting was going on in places with names that are familiar to you. -Windsor Star• -0- HAS SAME ENDING A mother writes to a newspaper forum asking whether she should apank her small daughter or retie son with her. The lesson of his- tory, madam, is that appeasement always leads to a spanking in the end. -Peterborough Examiner. -o- ANSWER TO QUESTION At last we have the answer to that old one about why does a chicken cross the road. Because there are no cars coming either wary. ---Kitchener Record. -� LULL BEFORE THS STORM It's always good weather when good fellows get together --- but there's often a storm when their' get home. --(Chatham News). IN THE GARDEN By GORDON L. SMITH Layouts For flowers, lawns and shrubs about the average house, landscape ,gardeners strictly advise informal planting. This le especially desir- able where space is limited as it tends to soften the narrow, rigid fence lines and to add an air of spaciouness even to a 20 -foot lot. In an informal garden, the central. portion of the ground is entirely tri grass, Around the edges of this will be grouped beds of perennial and annual flowers, leading up to shrubs and vines along the walls or fence boundaries. Where the garden is larger, ex- perts advocate screening off a. por- tion by bringing forward the sur- rounding shrubbery at one point, or using a hedge, wall or trees so that the whole garden will not be entirely visible from any one point sef observation, This will add fur- ther to that air of spaciousness and also provide a secluded corner or two for a child's swing or sand- box or, possibly, a seat or trellis - covered table. Vegetable Groups Vegetables are roughly divided into three planting groups -hardy, semi -hardy and tender. Among the first are spinach, all sorts of let- tuce, radish and garden peas. A little frost will not hurt these. Second planted vegetables will be carrots, beans, cabbage, pota- toes and similar things. These will resist a fair amount of cold. Tender vegetables include corn, melons, cucumbers and tomatoes. Nothing ie to be gained by planting these before danger of frost is over. With. most vegetables it is ad- 'trisa111e to make at least three sow- ings a week or two apart in order to spread the harvest that snitch longer over the season. Further spreading of the season is secured by sowing three kinds of each vegetable an early, a medium and a late variety which will re- sult in a continuous supply of really fresh vegetables for weeks longer titan usual, Proper thinning, frequent; culti- Petion and an occasional applica- ttort of some good commercial fer- tilizes will keep vegetables growing quickly, and quick growing na•kee for tenderness, 1D1VIDU Yid LAN AtilliCE IaN Tilty A Weekly Column About This and That in The Canadian Army All you old soldiers know what "pozzy" is, but how rnanY of you can tell us where the word came from? And don't ask me. All I know about it is that "pozzy" ie jam in the Army. That is to say jam is "pozzy" in the Mess Room, but when you come to another Army phrase -one of de- rision, applied to someone who seems to be asking quite a lot, it remains "jam". The phrase: "What do you want, jam on it?" All this isn't so far beside the point as it may seem. By the time a man says, "shove the pozzy down here," he's a soldier. Mind. you, he didn't get to be a soldier by learning Army slang but by the time he is a soldier he has learned many a new name for commonplace objects. He doesn't know just when he becomes a soldier. I doubt if any of his officers could tell you ei- ther. But somewhere, suddenly or gradually, the civilian in battle - dress changes into a soldier in uniform. Of course, he takes the first step in the direction of becoming a soldier when ha enters the re• - cruiting office and volunteers to serve his King and Country. From that point on the metamorphosis is a steady progression. Enlisting is really quite a sim- ple procedure. At this time it is even better handled than when I was a young soldier. Nowadays, you can walk into a recruiting office, give particulars of Your- self, get a medical examination including X -Ray, that would cost you ten dollars in civilian life, and report right away to a Dia- triet Depot where you are outfit- ted with uniform and equipment. At the District Depot new re - units get their first introduction to Army life. They are taught how to wear their uniforms and equipment, how to conduct them- selves in a soldierly manner in public, who to salute and when, and the rudiments of military training. Their stay at the District Depot is made as short as possible -it is realized that a man who vol- unteers for service anywhere is anxious to get down to the busi- ness of learning to fight as soon as he can. By the same token it is real- ized that when he gets to a Basic Training Centre, the new recruit doesn't want to seem too awk- ward -hence the instruction in soldierly conduct and bearing and Canadian Army traditions. At the Basic Training Centre, training begins. Bach day the new recruit learns something. It is no longer a dreary round of; squad drill without arms; saint:- lug; alut=ing; the manual of arms; squad drill with arms; platoon drill; company drill - ad infinitum. There is a drill of course. There has to be if you are going to mold a group of men into a team. But drill is interspersed with instruction in the use of the rifle and bayonet, the light ma- chine gun, the two-inch mortars There are lectures and entertain- • ments. Competitions enliven Army life and put a zest into the work that must be done. Good food -and lots of it -- builds muscle in place of the fat worked off by good exercise - and lots of it -and by the time the recruit ends his basic train- ing he has become a soldier. There is still lots for him to learn -that comes when he goes on to an Advanced Training Cen- Centre, but by the.. -time he gets -there he is a soldier. He looks forward to the new things to be learned with interest and enthusi- asm -there are new tricks of the soldiering trade to be picked up. Civilian Iife is behind him. Ahead. there is a duty to be fulfilled and far ahead of that again that strange existence a soldier finds hard to understand -civilian life! Atlantic Convoy By LIEUT. E. H. BARTLETT, R.C.N.V.R. ANEW Canadian naval tradition is in the making. It is taking shape between the staggering plunges of small ahipe M sea; being written by men whose pride in the fob they are doing is as crystal clear and hard as the ion they see sheathing their craft. It is the corvette, tradition -of those corvettes whose crews boast, as they keep the seas, that there isn't a sea -their ships cannot take. There is full justification for this boast, as this writer saw when attached to a corvette on convoy duty. Through a North Atlantic gale - in -the -making, the small ship of war thrust her way, one of an escort fleet keeping watch and ward over a fleet of merchant ships. Her bows crashed into a heavy wave, dipped and shuddered and rose with a jerking uplift which sent the sea cascading over her deck. The wind picked up the white water, hurled it in buckets - full high over the bridge, sent the spray lashing back to the funnel. On the bridge the men on watch ducked from the thrashing spray. Ice formed rapidly, coating the entire ship with the exception of the hot funnel -and that grew white with salt. The men them- selves were not immune, their oil- skins and duffel-c..ats were soaked and frozen. Winter weather -but the corvette took it, as her sisters were taking it while' they maintained their guarding stations around the lum- bering merchantmen. There was work ahead of them which cpuld not wait for weather. Ahead and around the convoy they were plunging and rolling in a well-defined plan. They were "screening" for sub- marines, using the marvels of their detection apparatus to keep constant ,listening watch beneath' the water while their lookouts kept steady vigil over the surface. Taking rough shelter near the breach of their gun, a gun's crew was "closed up" ready for action. Oocasionally, as course was changed to take our corvette at another tangent, the captain gave his brusque orders to those on watch. He is a veteran of the corvette convoy service, has taken his ship through submarine waters and through airpane blitzes; knows the ports on Engaud's side of the At- lantic as well as he knows the Canadian bases from which he now operates. Submarine screening is an old tale to him, now, but it is a tale whose familiarity has not bred contempt. He was as untir- ingly alert on this voyage as he had been on his first. The senior escort ship sent a flutter of signal flags to her yard. Our signalmen translated the order they gave. Astern of us two of the merchant ships were straggling from the convoy's course, showing signs of becoming separated from the main fleet, and we were order- ed to their vicinity. We spun around sharply --these corvettes seem to be able to turn in their own wake or on the crest of a wave -and started backwards toward the stragglers. While they slowly made their way again to their convoy station, our ship gave them her undivided protection. Another triumph for the corvette service, the fact that they have overcome the difficulties of early convoys when escort ships were not numerous enough to spare one from her station to take care of possible stragglers, Today the escorts are strong enough to per- mit detaching individual ships for special duties. The captain in the wing of the bridge, ducked as freezing spray slashed back at him. His oilskin THE WAR - WEEK Commentary on Current Events Australia Building Up Defenses: Need For All -Out Aid To Russia The dramatic appointment of General MacArthur to the Su- preme Command of the Southwest Pacific shows clearly that there is no intent to abandon that Contin- ent. On the contrary, its main dependence on the United States is recognized. Even with the as- sistance that the United States can send, the Australians now face a grim test. The enemy may at any time effect landings on the northeast coast with the object of reaching the big centres of population. Also there is a possibility that they will extend their sea opera- tions towards the Fiji Islands with the object of attacking convoys and reinforcements coming from the United States. The contin- ued success of Australian bomb- ing raids on Japanese bases in New Guinea will, however, snake the plan more difficult of accom- plishment. To hold Australia, or those parts of it worth strategic hold- ing, is one thing and to develop it as a base from which to recover lost ground is another. Allied Preparations There is an increased demand for offensive action in this theatre of war. Are the Allies prepared to launch a major offensive? It would be necessary first to trans- port to Australia troops and equipment and more and more planes. The distance is great - twelve thousand miles -and the time is long -forty days. Australia's task is to hold, to defend and to steadily amass more fighting power until the position of the warring nations in the Southwest Pacific is reversed and Japan is on the defensive. MacArthur's Objective General MacArthur in his first public statement as Supreme Commander said: "The President of the United States ordered me to break through the Japanese lines and proceed to Australia for the purpose, as I understand it, of organizing an American offen- sive against Japan. A primary purpose of this is the relief of the. Philippines. I came through and I shall return." Japan's Weakness Whatever plan General Mac- Arthur may employ must depend to a great extent on air power. This war is proving that.air power has so successfully modified sea power that island fortresses are no longer impregnable. True, the Japanese give maximum attention to the air; but defence of a vast number of island outposts against a strong air enemy would be ex- tremely difficult for Japan be- cause of the extended lines of communication between Japan proper and her newly acquired territory. Another Struggle At a moment when American attention is naturally and properly focused on the defense of Aus- tralia, says the Christian Science Monitor, the news contains hints that a far larger struggle is about to begin at the other end of the Axis, From Iceland to the Black Sea, from Africa to the Arctic coarse reports of uneasy prepara- tions to meet Hitler's plans for an all-out attempt to break out of the prison he has made of Eur- ope. In two months American eyes may be fixed even more in- tently on Suez or Baku than they are now on Port Darwin. Nazi Activity New Nazi activity is reported from Norway, Sweden, Morocco, Turkey, and the Crimea. The most common prediction of the military men is that the Germans will concentrate their summer campaign in the region stretching from Egypt to the Caspian. Ter- rific diplomatic pressures have al- ready been applied to Turkey. It is subjected not only to the threat of a frontal attack through Bul- garia, but of encirclement should the Nazis succeed in driving farther into the Caucasus or to Suez either by way of Libya or via Rhodes, Cyprus, and Syria. Eyes On Russia While public attention is cone tered on Australia it is probable+ that Allied leaders have been rush- ing support into the Middle East and to Russia. For three reasons Russia deserves particular atten- tion: 1. It is absorbing far more of Nazi energies than any other front. 2. It is the one place where the United Nations now enjoy the advantage of the offensive. 3. It is the one front where both Hit- ler's promises and military neces- sity force the Germans to new efforts. Need For Offensive To measure the importance of the Russian front one needs only to think what the picture would be were the Nazis free to use all their power elsewhere. Suppose it coat was brittle with ice, the broad peak of his oil -skin cap bore ice almost an ineh thick, Through eyes well used to peer- ing through such weather he watched his two charges claw up into their positions with the re- mainder of the convoy. "They'll do," he said briefly to his First Lieutenant, as he gave the order which brought his own ship back into station, "but we'll keep a close eye on them tonight." There was no comfort on the bridge, where the ice was already inches thick, but the captain stay- ed there through the weary hours. Occasionally he gained a little re- spite when his duties took him for a few minutes into the small chartroom, already well filled with the men on duty. His stays there, however, were short -the open bridge drew him irresistibly, The changing of the watch saw him still on duty. Below decks, in the steam -heated quarters apportioned to the sea- men, men whose spell of duty had ended, were thawing out from the biting cold. Sweaters and scarves were peeled off -the thick, wool- len sweaters of which seamen can never get enough. They take a long time to dry, once they get wet, and spare ones are vitally necessary, Despite the wild cavortings of the corvette, the cook had turned out a hot meal. Corvette :cooks have their pride, too, in their ser- vice. In the mess deck, rising dizzily and swaying crazily to the seas, the seamen ate, as only hun- gry men can eat. Then they slept, so they should cone refreshed to their next turn on duty. All was clear above, so the cap- tain decided to seek his rest as well. From the bridge he came to the tiny ward -room which boasts but two chairs and a leather -cov- ered bench. Comfort in a corvette? It's not expected by their crews, who find compensation _or its lack in the fact they are doing a hard job well. The captain wasted little time over his meal. •It was the pur- poseful eating of a man whose in- terest was elsewhere -in the job he was doing. His meal finished, he went to his cabin to sleep. The comfortable bunk there does not mean much to him at sea. Rather he prefers to sleep, partially dres- sed, upon a leather settee, ready for any emergent call. The coming of darkness saw him on the bridge again. The ships forged through the night, barely seen shadows on an ink -black sea, and the breaking dawn saw them safe. So, if the corvettes could make it so, subsequent dawns were to see them equally safe, until the day came when they would arrive With their precious cargoes, in the ports to which they were bound. It's a hard service, the corvette fleet, but a proud one. One, too, which has scored its successes against the enemy. The Admiralty has released one report which told how two Canadian corvettes sank a U•boat and captured most of her crew, and hints have been dropped that this is not the only submarine which has fallen victim to the Canadian ships.- Corvettes, too, have saved scores of lives, bringing safely to port the sur- vivors of merchant ships which have been torpedoed. They have fought off aeroplanes and taken their merchant ship charges safely through the danger areas. Their tasks are many and var- ied, but the corvettes tackle them all. It is part of the corvette tra- dition, which rules that they keep the seas, in fair weather or foul, so long as there is a job to, be done. were concentrated en Turkey end the Near East, in a new assault on Britain, or a drive toward Dakar and South America! But it cannot be while, the Eussiau front exists, Does not this i;aet snake it plain that Britain and America should either furnish the Russians important help on their front or establish an active front elsewhere which \vil1 prevent Nazi concentration on Eussia? For anoeths we hale been read- ing comparisons between Berman reverses in the Russian campaign and Napoleoai's catastrophic re- treat irons lVlosco W. in March, 1813, Napoleon's armies had been shattered, routed and driven from Russian soil. In &arch, 1942, Hitler's forces still hold more than three-fourths of the Russian ter- ritory gained in the summer and fall of 1941. The (german armies are not yet in a Napoleonic re- treat --that is something to re- member. Di':PAATISENT Ira' HIGHWAYS, MAIM etttz ONTARIO NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS Separate sealed tender marked "Ten- der for Contract No. ' will be received by the undersigned until twelve o'clock noon, Wednesday, April 29th, 1942, for the following work on the King's Highways: CIIUSHED GRAVEL 3lnntsrillo Division ,Contract No...;Tomo42.342 Highway • No, , Bala to Parry Sound Boundary -.12,000 .543 Road No. 207, Essonville to Hastings County Boundary and Rd. No. 209, Gooder- ham to Wilberforce 15,000 -844 Road No. 208, Minden to Klnmount and Road No. 209, Kinmount to Gooder- ham 15,000 -345 Road No. 206, Hallburton to Redstone and Road No. 207, Halihurton to Es- sonville 12,500 .346 Road No. 401, Port Severn to Honey Harbour and Port Severn to Go -Home Bay.. 4, -847 Minden to Haliirurton22, Parry Sound Division -348 Hy. No. 69, Hayes Corner to South Boundary of Parry Sound Div. and Hayes Corner to Rosseau.20,000 -349 Emsdate to Sprucedale10,000 -350 Golden Valley to Loring -10,000 North Bay Division -351 Highway No. 17. North Bay easterly, 7 miles7,000 -862' Highway No. 63, Little Tocko River to Timis - kerning, and Hy. No. 63, Feronia to northeast, 6 miles 13,000 -553 Highway No. 64, Sturgeon Falls to Field; Field north, and Field to River Va11ey.13,000 -304 Hagar to Melville; War- ren to River Valley; and Verner to Lavigne .26,000 New Liskeard Division -355 Kenogami to Remora 30 -356 Timmins Back Road 10, -357 Kirkland Lake to Quebec Bdry. (Alternative Crushed Ston20,000 !u'8 Englehart to Charlton; Charlton north; and Charl- ton west towards Elk Lake 37,000 Sudbury DIvision -369 Sudbury-Capreel Road 16,000 Blind River Division -360 Highway No. 68, Whitefish Falls 5 miles north to 7 miles south .10,000 -361 Highway No. 17, Webb - wood west to pavement..20,000 -862 Highway No. 17, Thessalon to Bruce Mines 7,000 -365 Highway No. 17, Sault Ste Marla, 12 miles north to 50 miles north 15, -364 Searchmont Road 1, -965 Manitoulin Island, Mani- towaning to Sheguiandah12,500 -366 Manitoulin Island, Gore Bay, 5 miles east to 12 miles west 7,000 -567 Manitoulin Island, Kaga- wong west 4,000 -368 Manitoulin Island• Provi- dence Bay to Tehkummah 5,000 Fort William Division -969 Highway No. 17, Niplgon15,000 to Rossport - -370 Secondary Roads, Pearson and Scoble Townships20,000 'tenors Division .371 Kenora to Reddttt 25,E Fort Frances Division -372 Highway No. 71. Emo to Slemin -373 Secondary Road No. 205, Secondary Road No. 206, and Secondary Road No 207 25,000 Specifications, information to bidders, tender forms and tender envelopes may be obtained on and after April 2nd, 1942, from the office of the undersigned or from the office of the following Division Engineers: -Mr. C. K. S. Mac- donell, Huntsville; Mr. R. E. Richard- son, Parry Sound; Mr. C. Tackaberry, North Bay; Mr. V, H. Longstaffe, New •Liskeard; Mr. C. F. Szammers, Sud- bury; Mr. A. L. McDougall, Blind River; Mr. E. Smith, Fort William; E. A. Kelly, Kenora; and Mr. G. H. Lowry, Fort Frances. A marked cheque for the sum of 15 per furnishe the byalthe oc ntractorer when submitting tender. Cheque should be enclosed in separate red envelope ad- dressed to the Chief Accountant. A Contract Bond for 100% of the amount of the tender furnished by a Guaranty Company satisfactory to the Depart- mentwwill be signed, or 50operncent in cash or acceptable collateral. All bonds must be made out on De- partmental Forms. The lowest or any tender not neces- sarily ace',W . R. M. SMITH, Deputy Minister of Highways. Toronto. Ontario. March 26th. 1942. Itt. I I err err III FELLERS -Happy �.�..�. Birthday _. r ... V..,HAVE MY PET By GENE BYRNES A CANDY SE AR,e lE lit A L CfAL. ED ISEven. \,�\.. �.\�;�\ ,1 ^ ,, R •a +d /Y ee r � t � "` a t tiv ereesea.. -• i ?1, ✓ .. ! ....�.».... .,...... �rne� awse :. I HAVEN'S 6.00KEla. AT f+y81FID140OZS,,,,:‘\\\\\\ FOR MOREN A, WEEK ! E ry \ ; > �.. t. � � I ! 1. \� :, `1 A 41 \� �� \\\\, « ... it ® ` �, ,, ,z•Q \\\j�, f �'" v.W \\� � \���\\\ N\\\\ w MB72RI CANDIE 3NOPPL" 2 om`. re"° by L" 4 '''.1''''' \� \,. ,v,,, wr\\\we . 14. M OilQV. � may C P e." ; t; Tka ,0.!icd. Ali:,. �tareaoroad e i e tip , n A:. * r '` ... - ��......; le 14j .,.,. r am' tT' , , _