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Zurich Herald, 1942-04-30, Page 7VOICE bF THE PRESS WISHFUL THINKING Mussolini is a vain, fat, bald- headed man of 59, who also loves to go around thumping on bis bare chest in emulation of youth- ful virility. He, too, may well be flirting with the undertaker, but that does not prove that Italy ie about to break into 30,000 pieces. The more we refrain .from indulg- ence in wishful thinking about how soon the Axis countries aro going to fall apart, and the quick- er we get busy toaring them apart, the better It will be for us. —Quebec Chronicle Telegraph. —0— EMOTIONLESS To many oe us in the western world strong emotion of any kind its wholly unfamiliar; we do not hate, 'we do not love, we are not ,strongly patriotic and our laugh- ter is from the teeth outward. Our emotional range is pitiably limited; we are as cold and apath- etic as fish. We shall nevem win a war unless we are deeply stirred. —Peterborough Examiner. —o— .FEW CLOTHES CHANGES The Wartime Prices and Trade Board order restricting, hence- forth, the manufacture of men's suits to single-breasted, cuffless :models will save cloth but will not greatly upset even the Beau Brummels. After all, about the only thing the trouser .cuefs were good foe was to collect stray match ends and lawn mowings. —Brantford Expositor. —o—' ENOUGH FOR BOMBER Tillsonburg schoolboy, fishing in the Otter River, found 16 gallons of gasoline some chiseler had buried in the sand. Sixteen gal- lons? Not a great deal—but it might be sufficient to get a hard- pressed bomber balk to Britain after a raid on the Reich. —R. M. Harrison in Windsor Star. - 0— PATRIOTISM And then there is the steno- grapher in the front office who can't decide whether it is more patriotic to erase and save paper, or to use a clean sheet and save the eraser! —Stratford Beacon -Herald. — 0 --- UNANIMOUS WISH What we would like to see is one large appropriation to handle the Garman subs. Something in the nature of a sinking fund. —Victoria Times. — 0— NO SCARCITY THERE! National Research Council says dandelions can't be used to make rubber; not enough of them. Has the Council even seen our lawn? —Owen Sound Sun -Times, —o— Bomb The Truth Into Nazi Homes "Cast your minds back, you people, to the worst days of Cov- entry or Plymouth or Birmingham. Rejoice to hear that damage just as great has been done to Essen, with bigger bombs' and bombs not so big as they will be. For never forget that these bombs are drop- ped on an enemy that sat round a table at one time or other and said, 'Let's have a war.' They also said: 'All our German history shows that war never hurts us; it hurts the other fellow.' Germans pillage and ravage, with rape and rapine, generation after genera- tion in their neighbors' homes and gardens and emerge unscathed in their own homes. But never again. The bombing pilots and the work- ers in the bomb factories are teaching the German people that war hurts their own fireside. To knack some of the picture postcard stuff as well as the war factories off the face of Germany will do more for future 1iluropea' peace than dictating terns from the out - Ode in any other Versailles." — London Daily Express. Men Are Wanted 45 To* 98 Years On April 1, The Detroit News published a "Wanted—Male Help" advertisement which read; Wanted: A-1 toolmakers, ex- perienced jig and fixture in- spectors. Age limits, 45 to 98 years. But it was no April Fool joke. "That 98 years," said Albert F. Koepeke, personnel director for the United States Naval. Ordnance plant of the Hudson Motor Car Company, "is no misprint. It means what it says. If an eS-1 toolmaker or jig and fixture in-. Spector is still able to work or to instruct younger men, we want him for war work even if he is 100. We don't want men staying away because they may think they are too old." If a policy of employing older seen for all-important war work is sound, certainly blanket discrim- inations against workers over 90, or even over 60 or 70, in peacetime eecupatlons scene. to be unjust, if not unwise. W.- 'Chri,ttian Science MOnito: Black Days in the flay of Bengal Nagpur Cuttack Berhampurr' Neltore DISTANCES IN STATUTE MILES From Calcutta: From Ceylon: Akyab, 300 Andamons, 800 Andamans, 700 Singapore, 1700 Colombo, 1200 From Cocanada: Singapore, 1800 Andomans, 800. Massing of allied and. Jap battle fleets presages one of history's biggest naval encounters in the Bay of Bengal. Map shows prospec- tive battle arena and target towns along the eastern coast of India. A Weekly Column About This and That in The Canadian Army Not very much has been said yet about the Pacific Rangers, whose existence on the British Columbia coast was mentioned recently after a ministerial inspection of the coast defences was carried out. One reason is that not very much is yet known outside of B.C. But this much is certain. The organization of guerrilla bands, composed of hunters, trappers, loggers and other dead shots whose familiarity with the country coup- led with their prowess at wood- craft and hunting makes them for- midable adversaries is a forward move. Many of these bands have been in existence for some time now. They 'were formed by the men themselves and each an is armed with his own rifle—a friend he Inas had for years and a weapon he knows he can rely on. They are not military formatipns and consist mainly of old-timers, many of them old soldiers who know a few tricks they learned in the last war. They know every nook and cranny of the ground they are prepared to defend. In Montreal for the past two years, a somewhat similar branch of the Individual Citizen's Army has been in existence. This is known as the Mobile Force of the Civilian; Protection Committee. Its functions differ from those of the Rangers to the extent that em- phasis in training has been against the possibility of sabotage. This outfit, in adition to supply- ing its own rifles and ammunition, also supplies cars and gasoline. Its training is based on modifica- tion of Canadian Army Reconnais- sance unit training, training hand books of the German Panzer divi- sions, Toni Wintringham's useful little booklet on new methods of war and 7x liberal sprinkling of imagination. The men—mostly rotund middle aged citizens who have lost much of their rotundity since they start- ed training uniform themselves in khaki overalls and wear black berets and armlets. They have become expert in rapid mobiliza- tion, street fighting, industrial plant defence and open order skir- mishing around the outskirts of Montreal. Air Raid Precautions work, un- der various names in different parts of the Dominion, is another branch of the Individual Citizen's Army that provides scope for will- ing war workers. And many a pri- vate soldier serves in that army without belonging to any unit of any kind. The man or woman who is un- able to join the Canadian Army or LIFE'S LIKE THAT By Fred Neher 9: v, - lee ere. wonYrij;lit,2039, U Fred "Just an air-raid precaution, Mr. Smithers!" to as rve regularly in any .et Om) inser war orgaalisatious still haw an 4pportanity to be of value. BO- tweeu the age of 81 and 60 they are eligible to offer their blood to Blood Donor Clinics of the Canadian Red Cross Society. These clinics operate in a number O cities right across the country, They are staffed by volunteers. As a matter of fact the man or woman who cleans out the attic, removes luflammahles from the cellar, and generally takes every preoautioe against lire, is a good private soldier in the Individual Citizen's Army. If and when the day comes that incendiary bombs shower down on Canadian municipalities the house- holdea' who can handlo his own fires is doing a good job by leaving the firefighters clear to handle worse blazes elsewhere. Not much like soldiers? Well, I'm not sure, If you were to work out the actual percentage of his time a soldier spends in fighting you would hind that• other ordinary prosaic duties take up more of his time than they do of yours. Bating takes a fair amount of that time, for the Royal Canadian Army Service Corps sees to it that every soldier—no natter where he is—gets his food. And that's where we members of the individual Citizen's Army come in again. The soldier has to be fitter than we have to be. So we can "fall in" by being a little more careful how we "fall to" at the breakfast, lunch and dinner table. The soldier needs to be clothed and equipped. The Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps looks after that. Right! That's where we come in again. We can make a suit last longer to provide wool for a uni- farm; we can ohange from silk to lisle hose to make more bags for cordite; we can eat less sugar to provide more quick energy for the bays overseas. The individual Citizen's .Army? That's us! In The Garden By GORDON L. SMITH Don't Rush Planting Many more flowers and vege- tables are lost through planting too soon than too late, and in war time especially we cannot afford such waste. There are, it is true, a few things that are not hurt by sowing early, plants that natural- ly reproduce themselves in Can- ada. In this category will be onions, garden peas, parsnips, lettuce, rad- ish, etc., among the vegetables, and in the flowers — cosmos, batchelor's buttons, sweet peas, alyssum. All of these and some more will stand moderate frost and throughout most of Canada can be sown just as soon as the soil can be worked. But there are a great many more flowers and vegetables that will not survive frost. These must not be sown outside until the weather really turns warm. Actually they will not make any growth until the soil is warm, usually 1n mid-May or later. There is nothing to be gained by rushing them in too soon. Cultivation One can hardly over -emphasize the importance of early cultiva- tion, once of course the soil is fit to work. A little digging in the garden then is worth a whole burst of feverish energy later on. At this time. when the soil is moist it is a simple matter to get out twitch and other weeds, to stir the ground deeply. By doing so we help ptnsh growth of vegetables and flowers and conserve moisture and plant food. If this essential Job is left for a few weeks then weeds have developed tougher roots and are hard to remove and much valuable moisture is lost. In the dryer sections of Canada, fre- quent cultivation is depended upon to conserve the scant rainfall and it will keep vegetables growing steadily which they must do if they are to be tender. Robot Device Used As Blackout Warden Perfection of a "robot blackout warden" which douses store win- dow lights and illuminated bill- board signs automatically just as soon as street lights are turned off in a blackout was reported by a Cambridge industry which has installed the devices in vari- ous east and west coast cities. The apparatus is based on the THE WAR - WEEK — Commentary on Current Events Allies Launch Aerial Offensives Support Russia United Nations Raids by American bombers on enemy -held bases in the Philip- pines and on four great cities in Japan would appear to be a sign of a gathering Allied aerial offen- sive in the Far East. Last week a formation of Fly-. ing Fortresses, protected by fight- ers, flew 2,000 miles from Aus- tralia and blasted a Japanese sea base in the Philippines and other important strategical objectives. Japan Attacked A little more than four months after Japan's treacherous attack on Pearl Harbor the forces of the United States carried the war to the heart of Japan in an air as- sault on her major cities. The ex- tent of the damage has not yet been disclosed by the United Nations but public alarm in Japan appealed to be widespread. The Japanese dread a visitation of high explosives and incendiary bombs over their match -box cities of flimsy, wood -and -paper homes. Effect. On Morale The four cities attacked were: Tokyo, capital of Japan, the world's third largest city and a great industrial centre; Yoko- hama, the seaport of Tokyo, a great naval base and home of Japan's largest motor car factory now producing war vehicles; Kobe, naval and shipbuilding centre; Nagaya, third largest city in Japan, which is the chief centre for the manufacture- of military aircraft. Whatever the effect on Japan's war industries and population centres there is no doubt that the attack has stimulated Allied ' morale and conversely will have considerably dampened the spir- its of the Japanese people. 3,300 planes a month are flow- ing off American assembly lines and their weight is being felt on the battlefront. It is reasonable to hope that they will in increas- ing strength and power of destruc- tion carry defeat to the Japanese homeland. British Naval Losses Recent British naval losses in the Far East have caused great concern and much criticiser of Allied naval strategy These losses may be due, in part, to the dilution of navy personnel. It has been necessary to take into the service many men who were not perfectly trained. In contrast, the Japanese navy for several years has been carry- ing full crews, with new trainees taking the places of the regulars when on furlough. It is granted that there are no better trained seamen anywhere. Japanese mer- chant seamen have also been ex- traordinarily well trained. The enemy is apparently able to con- centrate enough power at the right time and in the right place. Great Britain has been sorely lacking in dive -bombers and efficient torpedo - carrying air- craft, but it must be remembered, in criticising British naval strat- egy, that the Allied navies have not at any time yet met the Jap- anese navy on anything like equal terms. Strength of Russia The prime aim of the United Nations is to help Russia at all costs and the prime aim of Hitler is to knock out Russia this sum- mer. Some factors in this struggle are favorable to Russia and emelt to Germany. Russian representatii es state that their production is almost as great as it was before the German attack. This is important because the Russian losses in the early part of the war were extremely heavy. Russia's strength is further bolstered by the increasing volume of war material reaching her from Great Britain and the United States. The Russian armies have been tried and have proved themselves; they are no seasoned veteran troops. While losses in manpower on both sides have been tremen- dous it is considered that Russia has a larger reserve of fresh troops than Hitler has, and there can be no doubt that Stalin's soldiers weathered the winter campaign much better than did the poorly clad soldiers of Hitler. Strength of Germany The Russians have failed to break the Leningrad blockade and even with the help of General Winter they have not been able to reduce the German strategic strongholds. The Germans still retain vital positions from which. they can threaten Moscow and the main lateral railway supplying the Russian front. Success in the expected German offensive in Russia will depend largely on air superiority. The feeling is that it cannot be step- ped up to its 1940 peak of effici- ency. The cream of German air- men has been used up and though Germany may be able to replace lost planes, she cannot replace first -rank personnel. The loss of German officers, in the air and on land, has been a significant feature of the campaign. The Red Army had to face at the start of the war in Russia a huge, well-trained air armada ten thousand strong, which was Iater increased to fifteen thous- and. At the end of March, 1942, it is estimated the Luftwaffe's losses totalled 38,000 airmen. Consequently it is now manned chiefly by 19 to 21 year old youths, many of whom have only had from three to six months training. R.A.F. Strength The growing might of the Royal Air Force is shown in the power- ful and continuous sweeps over occupied France. British bombers have flown one thousand miles inside enemy territory, in day- light, to attack factories. So continuous have been the Royal Air Force assaults on the continent lately that they keep one and a half million German soldiers, airmen, ground staff observers, firemen and other civilian defense workers tied down. Thus none of then, says the London Times, can be with- drawn for service on the Russian front where the Nazis are sending every available man. The best German pilots are beint, kept in the West to meet the British, and anti-aircraft ships also have to remain off the German coasts in- stead of being sent elsewhere. . Thus the power of the Royal Air Force in diverting the Luft- waffe is a measure of Britain's aid to Russia. well-known principle of light con- trol by the electric eye, and the arrangement is such that a small box containing the mechanism is pointed directly at a street light. When the street lights are doused, the breaking of the light beam activates a photo -switch in the "robot warden", causing signs or store windows with which it is connected to be darkened immediately. Good Nazi Scheme For Repair Work Under the nota -committal title of "War Trade Business Front", a remarkable army repair organ- ization has been established in Germany. Its purpose is to get all worn army clothing and equipment "made new" by work- ers in occupied countries, thus saving German workers for home tasks. Thousands of uniforms from the Russian front have already been distributed among Belgian factories, 20,000 pairs of worn boots have been sent to the fam- ous Bata factories at Zlin. Czecho- slovakia, leather equipment to Holland and the Balkans, Widow's Treasure One of the acts of the Ger- mans in Paris ha.s been the open- ing of the safety deposit boxes in the various banks. In one hank was a safe belonging to an old lady in black. The officer in charge said, "May I beg of you, Madame, to be good enough to , "Certainly, sir." replied t he lady, and when the safe was op- en.cd the officer was amazed to see nothing whatever but a pin- ing sword. He turned to the lady, who' simply said; "That is my late husband's sword. I am the widow of Mar- shal Foch." The officer turned pale, saluted and withdrew. I 01111.106 REG'LAR FELLERS•—Not Mercenary feinesiossmaloweineamme By GENE BYRNES LAWRENCE M°eiC1Ni LE3 THE CHAMPS N WIMMIER) J05' $K NED ,A CONTRACT FOR. A NUNERD THOUSAN' DOI..LARS TO givE Sw!MMtN' €$HiB!TIONS ALL ARCUt4 T4E Close-�' NO 1 CANT, .BUT ALBERT HERE CAN, ON5Y HE DOES IT FOR PiItd9?'ft)P@e1I are; 0,11.W.. WI e. At: rijAts raeervzd