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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Herald, 1942-05-21, Page 6THE WAR - WEEK -- Commentary on Current Events •,t" 0*I Jig IL VOICE O F T H E�! PRESS TO BE STOPPED From the standpoint of econ- omy in the use of gasoline, the warning of the Oil Controller against using trucks to carry groups of passengers on Sunday outings is well justified. Such vehicles are not subject to the strict rationing which applies to passenger cars, and loading them up with holiday-makers is a subtle way of getting around the spirit of the law. There will be scant sympathy for any truck owner who finds his licence can- eelled because of such practices. —Windsor Star MARRIAGE DETERRENT The rush of war weddings ap- parently may bring drastic meas. uses to Washington. There the office of price administration has suggested that bakers stop slicing bread. This proposal purportedly Is offered as a means of saving time, labor and paper. If the prospective bride is well aware that she may have to slice bread, she will think again about marrying that lad before he goes to war. Why, one of these days they might even ask her to bake it,,, —Guelph Mercury NO. FRIENDS LEFT Belgium, regarded as more or less complaisant since the Ger- man occupation, now is reported aflame with revolt, the people having become sickened with the behavior of their conquerors. There is not one corner of the occupied lands of Europe where the Nazis can count any real friends. —Niagara Falls Review "HOME ICE" FINALS Those in a position to do so, provided they measure up to the physical and age requirements, should join either the reserve or active army, or, as one soldier puts it bluntly, "the playoffs in this war may be on home ice." —Kitchener Record IT ISN'T REASONABLE Detroit woman has divorced her husband because he had a habit of getting home late—six months late in 1940 and five months late last year. After all, a woman can keep the plates in the oven fast so long. —Windsor Star TWO GOOD REASONS Lord Beaverbrook says that Russia may settle the war for us this year. Let's hope so, but in the meantime let us also work e blazes to help her settle it and also in case she doesn't. —Kingston Whig -Standard FIRST CONTRACT The coming of war to New Guinea brings to light interior isibes which had no previous con- tact with civilization. We hope they like it.. —Winnipeg Tribune Millions Of Bees Travel By Train One hundred million bees will travel by train during this year's bee -shipping season, according to officials of the Canadian National Express. The season extends Prom late April until early July, and the value of the bee -import- ing business this year promises to exceed that of last season. During the 1941 season, 2,594 aerates of bees passed through border points. Each crate has three hives, sometimes called pac- kages, each of which contains two and one-half pounds of bees. With five thousand bees to the pound, an estimated total of 97,- 275,000 bees were imported through the Montreal gateway. Of this number, almost ninety per cent were turned over to the Canadian National Express for re- shipment to Quebec Honey Pro- ducers farms. Shipments of certified bees come mostly from Georgia and. Mississippi, although occasional lots come from Neva le and Ala- bama. Message Of Good Cheer Given By Prime Minister Churchill Thar e echoed through Mr. O uuohill's grimly measured sen- tences yesterday all of the old determination, the old force and tire, backed by a new confidence and a new authority, says The New York Herald Tribune. It was the unanswerable authority of ev- ents. Not, perhaps, since his blast- ing address to the Italian people in the last days of 1940 has the Prime Minister spoken with quite this ring, Dealing with the long intervening succession of periods, defeats and anxieties, he has not been able to. Through the two long years *ince the collapse of France the British and their Prime Minister have had to speak out of dog- gedness, courage and little be- sides. But now at last the weapons are coming into their hands; .they are partners of a mighty alliance, and the authority with which Mr. Churchill again actresses the en- emy peoples is an authority which we may all begin to share. Less than ever eau one doubt that 1942 is. the crucial year, that we are already witnessing — from the thunders of the artillery over the Coral Sea all around to the crash of super -bombs on western Ger- many—the first stages of the greatest and perhaps the most de- cisive battle in history, and that the next few weeks and months will, as the Australian Premier has put it, shake the world. „ * * At this solemn moment, Mr. Churchill paints a picture of the actual stivation far better than any one, amid the shattering fall of the Western World two years ago, could have dreamed that it would be; far bettter than one could bave hoped a year ago, when we in the United Stales were still tangled in our confu- sions and experts were predicting the end of Russia in a space of weeks; better than one feared amid the defeats at Pearl Harbor and in the ensuing months; better even at some points than many today suppose. His promise of a bombing offensive by Americau as well as British planes is even more formidable than one had ex- pected; his statement that even yet there is no evidence that the Nazis have succeeded in massing for a new Russian offensive is sur- prising, and his statement that Hitler has "certainly" expended more lives in Russia already than Germany lost in the whole course of the first war is startling. * * When these hints are' seen against such momentary good Howe as the initial success in the Coral Sea or the astonishing re- surgence of General Stillwell's "lost" Chinese army in Burma, it is difficult to doubt that events are at last upon their remorse- less march toward a tremendous climax. One may never for a mo- ment forget that the issue of that climax is as yet undecided, and can be decided only by the utmost effort and at heavy cost. But the long, long retreat, at least, is ending. Slowly crime, murder and aggression are calling up against themselves the terrible logia of history, ae they have done so often in the past. It was that fact which Mr Churchill announced to the world, and announced in particu- lar to the German and the Jap- anese people. He showed them that they are already far on the road to a frightful . catastrophe, of which they are the only au- thors and which can be averted ouly if they change their course, And he spoke with the authority of events. * * * Prophecy in the midst of a world struggle of such titanic d1• mensions as this, according to the New York Times, is necessarily perilous, but it may well be that historians, looking back, will place the definite turning point of the war in the spring of this year. We are too close to such events of recent days as the British seiz- ure of Madaga.scaa•, the dramatic reversal hi the Battle of Burma, or the stunning blow dealt to the Japanese naval forces in the Battle of the Coral Sea, to be able to estimate clearly their longer significance. Indeed the full score on both sides in Burma or the Coral Sea has yet to be counted, and in neither case Is the epi- sode definitely closed. Yet so far as we can judge now the naval action northeast of Australia was a setback to Japan of the first dimensions. Such a rate of losses, certainly, could not be long sus- tained, . . * With each day that passes, Mr. Churchill seems to be more and more correct in calling Hitler's. attack upon. Russia last June a "fatal blunder." The blood bath through which the Nazi tyrant has already taken the German people is appalling and the end is not in sight. It is not too muoh to say that Mr. Churchill's radio speech was the most confident he has made since he assumed office. He has been confident, it is true, before; but previously his confi- dence was that of a man who knew only that England never could be conquered; today it is the positive confidence of a man convinced that Germany can be and perhaps even now is being de- feated. Mr. Churchill, for example, would never have talked as he did of aerial bombings; he would nev- er have taunted Hitler for his failiu•es, as he did, or warned him so bluntly against resort to poison gets, unless he were convinced that the United Nations now held at least air equality and would soon hold a growing air mastery. * * * Not least among the grounds for hope in Mr. Churchill's speech was -his reference to the time ele- ment. Democratic statesmen in LIFE'S LIKE THAT By Fred Neher. %�. ` ✓- r r ly _� PIP,'4,t4RY,:�-j-..-; ✓ fir`./•>'. , f ... „. '�.�-'; (Co •right, ozs, by Fred Nebo ) "1 didn't like the sudden way it ended. . .. 1 hardly had time to put my shoes on." DRASTIC NEW. REGULATIONS restricting sales of new, retreaded, and used tires, new and used tubes, and retreading services ARE NOW IN EFFECT Only a limited few, the owners of essential eligible vehicles, may now obtain usable tires or tubes, or retreading services. Apart from sales permitted by the new regulations, no person may buy or sell, borrow or lend, barter, give away, mortgage, burn, cut, destroy or otherwise dispose of any such tire or tube. Eligible vehicle owners are divided into three classes, on this basis: Class: Who may buy: "A" Physicians, Visiting nurses, Firefighters, Police, Certain trucks, etc. dICH War Technicians War supply inspectors, Taxi owners, etc. Food inspectors, Scrap buyers, Travelling repairmen, Rural school teachers, etc. What may be bought New, retreaded, or used tires; new or used tubes; retreading services. Retreaded or used tires; used tubes; retreading services. Used tires, used tubes. How purchases may be made: To buy new tire or tube, retreaded tire or retreading service, purchaser must apply for Ration Permit to the nearest office of Wartime Prices and Trade Board: (For used tire or used tube, see Class "C"). To buy retreaded tire or retreading ser- vices, purchaser must apply for Ration Permit to the nearest office of War- time Prices and Trade Board: (For used tire Or used tube see below). A vehicle owner in this class may buy only used tires or used tubes. He must prove necessity to any authorizd dealer end fill out with the dealer a Purchase Certificate. Classes "A" and "B" may also buy used tires and tubes under the same conditions. FULL DETAILS OF THE NEW ORDER ARE OBTAINABLE FROM ANY TIRE DEALER Very severe penalties will be imposed for any infractions of the new regulations. The tire dealers of Canada are co-operating with the Government in the efficient operation of the order, and in its enforcement. It is their patriotic duty to repair and legally resell all usable tires in their possession, and turn over at once to the nearest salvage agency any scrap rubber they have on hand or receive in the future, including all tires and tubes no longer serviceable. Every person, whether a dealer or not, must report by May 31 to the Tire Rationing Representative at his nearest Wartime Prices and Trade Board office, all tires and tubes in his possession on May 15, which are not scrap, and which are not on the running wheels and one spare rim of each vehicle he owns. Department of Munitions and Supply HONOURABLE C. D. HOWE, MINISTER, OTTAWA CONSERVE YOUR TIRES --THEY ARE PROBABLY THE LAST YOU WILL HAVE UNTIL THE WAR IS OVER f recent years, and perhaps Mr. Churchill most of all, have had to warn their counta•ynaen that it was getting late. But when Mr. Churchill said, "It is now the tenth of May, and the days are passing," he meant for the first time that it was getting late for Hitler. Hitler may strike still, at any moment, and terrifically; but with each day that passes there is rea- son for growing confidence that what holds him back is not the desire to choose his moment, but the taut that he nos at last lost e pawea- to choose his moment. * * * In commenting on Mr. Churc- hill's warning to Germany against the use of poison gas, The Lon- don Daily Express said: "The last thing in the world the British people want to see is the use of poison gas again. They would sooner their victory cost them 20 years of hard fighting than win in one year by the use of gas. "But 1f the Germans start the use of gas then Britain is equip- ped to respond. Churchill many times has been right in his warn- ings of events at hand in the war. No one will ignore his solemn warnings of gas warfare. "The gangsters who rule Ger- many are desperate, Maybe they will not heed this warning from Britain. Let the German people heed it," To Ration Candies In Great Britain Food Minister Lord Woolton announced that chocolates 'and other . candies will be rationed, starting July 27. A new per- sonal ration book will be issued to facilitate distribution, Lord Woolton said the decision was the result of appeals by the public and dealers for more equit- able distribution of available sup- plies. Candy nation.: rfor the armed services will be dealt with separately and there will be a special book for children. More Women In War Work Make Delicate Instruments After Few Weeks of Training Canada's army of women dir- ectly engaged in war industry now numbers tens of thousands. The proportion of women to men in the various branches of muni- tions varies widely according to the nature of the work; in some instances it is as low as three per cent, in others as high as GO per cent. In aircraft factories women's work is growiugly essential and significant. Once, in the early days of the big expansion, they were used on "woman's work only", such as sewing of fabric on airplane wings and fuselages. Now, they do much of the elec- trical wiring, the rivetting and welding, and the fitting of `sub- assembly work. 1'7omen are making intricate and delicate instruments after only a few weeks of intensive training, More are combining head and hand work in making parachutes, on which the lives of airmen often depend. For cer- tain kinds of work, requiring del- icacy of touch, the hands of wo- men are defter than men's. They exhibit greater patience, too, in operations that demand accurate and repetitive movements. As an example of the opportun- ities for women in war work, one of the largest automatic guu plants in the world, situated in Ontario, employs women to op- erate lathes, milling machines, and barrel turning machines, Al another factory, established with Government capital and owned by the people, a high percentage of women are Working in the ma- chine shop making Lee -Enfield - rifles. In the Dominion Arsenals thousands of women and girls are turning out millions of rounds of small arms ammunition. REG'LAR FELLERS—Mighty Casey, .Tit. signed Shell -,filling, explosives, a n d chemical plants also are drawing increasingly on female labour. In one of the most interesting of the publicly -owned enterprises, manly, women are working .on parts 1t* and the assembly of tank ?erf• scopes, range finders, and fire control devices. And marriage is no bar ;IOW to temporary Civil Service positions. In one month alone the Civil Service Commission took slit al• most equal numbers -32,2 sail 311 respectively of typists and steno- graphers for employment in and outside of Ottawa. There is developing a kewu de- mand for university women who bave had advanced training in mathematics, chemistry, or radio, to fill vacancies with the Inspec- tion Board of the United Ring- dom and Canada, Several h'znd.recl women already are employed with this board to inspect gun barrels, gun carriage parts, fire control instruments, explosives, and reelio parts, And the demand for women with technical education and training is steadily increasing.t Citizens oil U.S. Get Ration Books Ration books were issue:: to individuals last week for tho first time in the history of the United States when registration for sugar allotments began. Made necessary by a war - caused shortage, War Ration Book No. 1 insures every man, wounin and child an equal ameont of sugar. The book also has been designed for possible ration- ing of other products•. The basic ration for the un - mediate period is half -pound. a week for each person, although actually each person will be al- lowed slightly more than that amount in the initial period frons May (i to 16 when stamp No 1 will be. good for a pound. Sugar sales to individuals have boen prohibited since April 28. By GENE B lI R N E r l�h STEE- Ri KE THU-REE yP SUP dei e. AlltiRhta