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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Herald, 1941-12-11, Page 7✓ OICE OF THE P RESS FRENCH HIT BOTTOM The shades of Marshal Foch, Lafayette, Zola and even Louis tlapoleon must be shrouded in even blacker garb today. The heroes who rushed in taxicabs to ave Paris at the first Battle of the Marne must feel their pride was in vain. Read this news Item: "Somewhere in Poland is a ,amp over which flew the German Beg, the swastika, and the French tri -color, French volunteers, clad in German uniforms, took the oath of allegiance to Adolf Hitler .as supreme head of the German arm- ies and made ready to join the Germans on the fighting front. The French commander of the vol- unteers said their force was a symbol of the unity of Europe." Seems to be a new low in de- gradation even for the Vichy French. ' —.Guelph Mercury. —o— RIDES FOR SOLDIER BOYS !'When driving along our high- ways give our soldier boys a• ride," says an Ontario Govern- ment advertisement, which also informs the people that 1942. motor vehicle permits and driv- .ers' licenses go on sale on De- eeneber 1. When .the boys have :48' hours .leave, they can travel long dis- tances without paying railroad fare, if people pick them up on. the . roads. The soldiers are grateful for every ride and it alsomakes them feel the people appreciate what the troops are doing for Can- ada. —Windsor DiailJ Star. _0_ HISTORIC MESSAGES "The eyes of all nations are upon you. All our hearts are with you. May God uphold the right." Winston Churchill's message to the Army of the Western Desert ought to go down in history as the equal to two other famous messages by great commanders to their troops. Napoleon's, to his army in Egypt: "Soldiers. Forty centuries are looking down on you," King Henry's, before Harfleur: "Cry 'God for Harry, England and Saint George: " —Toronto Telegram —0— NAZI HONOR-, .- One of the Nazi prisoners of war permitted recently to march through Bowmanille with a small police escort—because they had given their word they would not try to escape—later escaped from his internment quarters. Does anyone suppose naively that a mere 'word of honor would have stopped this fellow if the oppor- tunity had presented itself in that street parade? —Ottawa Journal. —0— CABINETS COMPARED There is something for Cana- dians to think about in the con- tenY9:, n of M. Grattan O'Leary, the experienced Ottawa Conserve- ' Live observer who has recently been in Britain, that the cabinet ministers he met there were cer- tainly not greater men than Messrs. Ralston, Howe, Power, Lapointe, Macdonald or Crerar and perhaps not their equals. When there is so much belittle- ment of Canadian cabinet minis- ters, this is indeed most encour- aging. —Brockville Recorder and Times. —o— MOVE OVER The three R's deserve an im- portant place in the schools, but it would seem like a good idea to have them move over a bit to make more room for the three C's —citizenship, courtesy and char- acter. Kitchener Record. —o— MIXING METAPHORS A good example of mixing metaphors up, by The New York Sun: If Hitler thinks he can beard the British lion by making a mouse out of the American Eagle, he is skating on thin ice. —St. Catharines Standard. —o— NOT EVEN WAR IN PEACE Russian women are fighting alongside their husbands in this war; which leads a paragrapher to Say that in these days a man can't have even a war in peace. -Chatham News. —0— HITLER CLASSIFIED An US. ambassador says Hitler looks as if he had a malignant disease. My dear sir, he is one. --Brandon Sun. Sailor Fish The great sailor fish (Histiop- horus) of the Indian Ocean and Mediterranean is a sword fish 25 or 30 feet long with an enormous dorsal fin often 10 feet high. This juts up erect out of the water, and is used as a' sail when the fish is attaeking or merely travelling -'quickly in the sea. THE WAR . WEEK Commentary on Current' Events Japan Makes Irnposs ble Demands • U. S. and Allies Prepare Defenses Fen years ago the United States protested Japanese aggression in Manchuria :and ever since that time the Japanese have been en- gaged in driving the United .States out of China. By slowly closing the "open door," the traditional basis of American policy in the Far Nast, Western economic in terests in China were threatened. The United States has sought many itmes to avoid trouble in the Pacific. Five years ago the United States Government urged Japan to consider the agreement by which the United States was bound not to extend fortifications in the Western Pacific in return for the maintenance of an agreed- upon naval ratio. Japan rejected that proposal. Again, four years ago, when the present war between Japan and China started, friendly efforts on the part of the United States to help in effecting a settlement were ' rejected. "Incidents" involving Western economic interests grew more numerous but diplomatic protest and pressure proved et small avail,. The Rift Widens On the part of the United States, says the New York Times, more vigorous steps began to be taken, starting, in July, 1939, with ` the' announcement that an existing trade treaty with Japan would be allowed to lapse. Greater aid be- gan to be given by the Unites States to the embattled Chinese. Japan continued on her course, and her statesmen spoke in loud tones of the "greater East Asia" they were seeking, an East Asia dom- inated by Japan politically, ex- ploited by Japan economically. What might have been only a Pacific dispute was widened to world dimensions a year ago last September when Japan signed n Berlin the Axis Tripartite Pact that seemed to make the 'empire of the Rising Sun a partner in the Hitler scheme for carving up the earth for the benefit of "have- not" nations, That fact has over- hung ever since every action of Japan, Always there has been the possibility that Japan might par- ticipate in a Hitler squeeze -play, might strike in East Asia as a means of involving the United States in the Pacific area and lessening American aid to the Bri- tish and their allies across Atlantic. Prizes of Conquest Tnere were, moreover, prizes in the Orient that the Nazis could dangle before the Japanese. The, Netherlands Indies, rich in the raw materials for which industrial''; nations thirst, loomed to the; south. Closer at hand was Inc1��i,,, China, virtually defenseless •afteri, the collapse of France, and into Indo --China the Japanese, did move, winning last 'August French agree- ment to control of the colony that had been building painfully since the days of Napoleon III.. For almost every action there • has been a. eciiinter-action. Japan- ese control of Indo-China brought American and British economic sanctions against their .empire. That was a blow felt in Tokyo, for, it shut oft Japan from sources of badly needed oil, tin, rubber, iron and copper. It raised 'for Japan the spectre of encirclement econ- omic, perhaps military. Defense preparations The military aspect assumed •steadily graver importance, Por the "British were openly strengthening Singapore. The new 35;ev0 ton Prince of Wales steamed into;this naval base last week ea. -the ;head CAPABLE SCOT GIVEN HEAVY WARTIM1; JOB. DONALD GORDON A six foot Highlander with a powerful personality anda knack of getting things done in the bewildering world of finance has' just been appointed to the heavy responsibility of guiding his country through an economic sea completely unmarked on the charts of demo- cracy. His name is Donald Gordon, and at the age of 40 he has been called from his job as Deputy Governor of the Bank of Canada to the chairmanship of the Wartime Pricds'end'Trade Board. It will be his task to put a ceiling over prices, to 'stop .tli : spiral of disastrous in- flation. Horatio Alger would have liked the story of Donald Gordon's rise to his present position of vital importance. He arrived here, a penniless Scottish immigrant, at the age of 13. At 15 lie started out in the field of finance as a clerk in the Bank of Nova Scotia. At 19 he was a bank inspector, the youngest in Canada. At 29 he was assistant manager of the Bank of Canada's main office in Toronto and at 34 was first secretary of the Bank of Canada. At 37 he was the Bank of Canada's Deputy Governor. Now, at 40, he faces a job that will require every ounce of training and financial ability he has acquired in the steep climb from immigrant boy to bank governor. He brings as a blessing to his new job the traditional solidness and sense of fair play of the Scot. He is a realist in a job where wild theories and a tendency to dabble with haphazard experiments might be disastrous. He makes no effort to gloss over the grief involved in the thing he is attempting. He believes it is unavoidable as the grief Canada's fighting men must bear in serving their country on the sea, the hind and in the air. But he is also convinced that it is a means of heading off a worse grief and to this end he has turned the energies whit have already made him an outstanding figure on Canada's economi scene. Summed up, Donald Gordon is proof that democracy can summon to its service the highest in brains and devotion; and proof also that fanaticism and cloistered bureaucracy are not necessary in a country . which still believes in freedom and the potency of free enterprise. Perhaps it is not without ;significance that this huge Highlander is first and last a human being, full of sympathy and understanding; one who can take his hair down among friends of an evening and sing and play Scotland's songs on an old accordeon — one who under, stands Chesterton's phrase about "laughter's gigantic inspiration." REG'LAR FELLERS—Not Much! • IT ALL DEPENDS ON MEI if we eaeh ;Hatt ail of us tl4ink this, and eaek and t,11 of ns do our utmost, our very utmost, on whatever work we are on, and do it With determination and -eheerfr,lneHs, t,lien WE SHALL WIN THIS WAR of a flotilla of advance units of the Royal Navy's newly created Eastern fleet, The Dutch in their Indies were girding against pos- sible attack, aided like the British and the Chinese by the increasing flow of American-made warplanes, munitions and other material. The United States was also making stionger its position in the Philip- pines. Giant bombers were report- ed. to have been flown there, bomb - ere able to take off, bomb Japan- ese cities, fly on to Vladivostok, refuel and fly back to repeat the bombing process. The United ;States marines were ordered out of China, so as to leave no hos- tages, if war comes. Great Britain has augmented' her garrison . at Hong Kong and has mined the•ap- preaches to Malaya and Burma. Conflicting Views .The American attitude could be summed up apparently as follows: (1) Japan must expand no farther south; • (2) she must cease active cooperation . with Germany; (3) she must not seek to acquire and maintain any special position in China: Japan, ` on- the other hand, ap- peared to be insisting: (1)' Ameri- can economic sanctions must be lifted; (2) Japan has a special position in East Asia and must be expected to expand farther to the south, possibly into Thailand, pos- sibly into the Netherlands Indies; (3); `Japanese hegemony in China mils E be accepted itt fact •=„China Will Get Help xbe a have been recent- indica- .tions. that ndica- tio 1s;.that Washington is prepared to be generous in the lifting of sanctions if Toyyo dissolves its par't'nership with Hitler and Mus- solini and abandons its policy of aggression. On one .issue the United States and Great Britain remain firm.. They will not alien - Ito the tender mercies of' a ruti4less invader by withhold- ing ' further • aid to that country which has given them invaluable. ' aid by holding Japan at bay while ;the Allies strengthened their posi- tion in the Pacific. The United States cannot. end its military and economic aid to China because America is novo fighting against the 'world-wide pattern of aggres- ,sion Which endangers the United States itself. ' .Japanese :Advantages •. An against the Allies' prepara- tion.. reparestion for defense the Japanese have certain advantages. They are seasoned in war and the United States is not. They are in desper- ate need of the loot .of expansion; their dominant war party is sworn to yield no "face" in the Far East and a Far Eastern war would be fought in the home and neighbor- ing areas of Japan. Tho Japanese Navy is rated very high, the army only fair and the air services only poor to fair, owing chiefly to in- terior equipment. It is reported that German agents are trying to work upon the morale of the' Chinese. Government in Chungking with promises of a rea- sonable settlement of China's war with Japan, but it is reasonable to believe that such a move is foredoomed to failure. Japan On Wrong Road Japan rides the dangerous road of conquest, ruthlessness •and faith• lessness as a nation. It is a path- way which has destroyed countless `other ambitious powers. Japan has tried to put Hitler's tactics into practice in the Pacific. Its troops have killed, burned and pillaged. Unless the practices of the sword are put aside Japan, which might have been a force for .progressive nese in the Far East, will make the fatal error of trying A.meriean,, and British patience too far: Beaker Emphasizes Obligations Which Maintenance of Democracy is Demanding Hurntly Drummond Says Bank is 'Working Half a Year For Governments Through Taxation—Urges Removal of Gov. ernment Controls After War "With AU Possible 'Speed" Jackson Dodds, Presenting General Managers' Report, Shows Bank's Assets Over Billion Mark—Warns .Against Specious Monetary Reforms in Solution of Post -War Problems "Democracy gives us great privileges, but every privilege has its corresponding duty; to keep the privileges we must be prepared to sacrifice everything except ultimate freedomitself," declared Huntly R. Drummond recently before Bank of Montreal shareholders in his presidential address, in which he emphasized in plain language the immensity of the task facing Canada and the Empire in bringing the present struggle to a successful conclusion. Pointing out that the war is costing Canada some two hundred million dollars a month, Mr. Drummond dwelt at length on the ways and means by which the money was -being raised. In discussing the tax situation, the president gave graphic illus- tration of its tremendous propor- tions when he said, "Your bank pays in ALL taxes as much as it does in dividends. In other words, for the first six months of the year we work for Governments, the last six for ourselves." Government Controls While recognizing the need for. Government controls and regula- tions in time of war, the president einphasized the vital importance of removing these restrictions after the war with all possible speed. "Nothing", he said, "can stifle individual effort -more effectively than excessive regulation and high taxation, and no one can under- take new -"ventures unless permit- ted. to retain the profit which arises from successful effort." General •Managers''•Report Shows' Assets Over Billion Mark Jackson Dodds, O.B.E., report- ing on behalf of himself and his fellow general manager, G. W. Spinney, presented a • financial statement which revealed opera- tions of the bank at the highest levels ria , its;.long history, reflect-. - ing the record activity of industry and.;: commerce.. arising from the war. Profits for the year, after the deduction of Dominion Govern- ment taxes of $2,243,000 were reported at $3,43'7,000 as com- pared with $3,436,000 in 1940. Total assets amounted to $1,- 046,000,000 compared with $961,- . 300,000 a year ago. Commercial loans in Canada were reported at $253,500,000, an increase of $36,- 000,000. Liquid assets at $706, - 000,000. were equal to 72.78 per cent. of public liabilities. Government and public deposits both showed substantial increases during the year; the former at $76,200,000 rose $19,000,000, while the latter had increased by $64,000,000 and stood at $814,- 100,000. Warns Against Specious Monetary Reforms in Solution of Post -War Problems Commenting on the operations of the bank since the outbreak of war, Mr. Dodds told shareholders that the most conspicuous feature was the provision of additional credit. While recognizing the impor- tance of making credit available, those administering the affairs of the bank were, he said, bound to attach even greater importance to more fundamental banking funs- tions. "It is our business, first of all, always to make sure that we keep faith with our note -holders and depositors," said Mr. Dodds. "The plain fact is that our very ability to provide credit rests directly upon the knowledge of every one of our depositors that a deposit in this bank is as good as cash in his pocket." The general manager said it was well to recall such elementary facts at this time, when the banks are faced with unusually heavy responsibilities, and when there are already signs that the more :specious.brands of so-called mone- tary reform are being relabelled with a view to the time when they will be advertised as remedies for Canada's post -wax problems. "It will be clear from what has been said," he observed, "that -people who formulate theories concern- ing the use of bank credit but who ignore the underlying fact that banks have to pay cash to their depositors when they ask for it, are simply building castles in the air upon non-existent founda- tions." Saving -Ontario's Natural Resources G. C. Toner (Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters" No. 67 DEER" 'IN ARIZONA In northern Arizona there is an area, more or less isolated by mountains and rivers, known as the Kaibab Plateau. In Indian days it was famous as a hunting ground and until a few years ago it supported great numbers of deer. It also was the range of a number of cattle ranches and much domestic stock roamed over it. The cattlemen were bothered by mountain lions, wolves and bears killing off their stock so they started a campaign, aided by the Government, to eliminate these predatory animals. The control of the predators was very successful. It was re- ported shortly after the end of the campaign that only one or two mountain lions were Left on the whole plateau. For a time the cattle were left alone and the deer herd increased. This in- crease did not stop within a rea- sonable period, it went right on even when the deer became so abundant, despite hunting, that the plant food became insuffici- ent. Deer browse, and as they increased they browsed on the bark and even the wood of all the trees. Finally starvation hit the herd and dead deer were found everywhere, they had eaten them- selves out of the country. The eattlmen found that killing the predators was a costly method of control. Formerly they had Iost a few cattle annually, now they lost them all in a bunch. Of late years, the vegetation has come back, the deer have increas- YOU DON'T KNOW HALF HOW MUCH I LIKE YOU, AGGIE i IF I HAD THE MONEY I'D BUY YOU TEN YACHTS —THREE I4UN�ERD AUTOMOBILES— TEN THQUSAN' BOXES OF CANDY --A MILLIONill....,....._ DOLLARS' WORTHA DOLLS -TWENTY MILLION DOLLARS' WORTHA FLOWERS --A HUNERD MILLION FOR YOUR MOTHER AN' FIVE HUNERD SKILLION BILLION FOR YOURSELF.' HONES' AN' TRULY I WOULD! s10 �p�; ry� �•-)' , Wye^- �°o '• . �® _ •" �r� / !. '�"' ry -: %311, Rt§ t.1..,,...'.!._4?!.12L* All thAti ,fGW.d 11-0 ed somewhat and I am told the cattlemen have learned their les- son; Lions, bears 'and wolves are actually protected so that the deer herd will have enough enemies to prevent too great a population. The Book Shelf MUNICH PLAYGROUND by Ernest R. Pope Much has been written, partic- ularly by war •correspondents, of Germany's political life, of Nazi- ism's domestic and foreign policy and of the machinery of war. Mr. Pope, however, chooses to deal in great detail with the leisure hours of the New Order leaders in i4lun- ich, a gay and carefree city in. contrast to the grim war -dominat- ed city of Berlin. It is not a pretty picture. though a revealing one. It tears to pious the myth of Hitler's asceticism and lays bare the pagan sordiuess of his followers. Mr. Pope, though incand:ring much along the byways of Ger- many's social life, travels extens- ively the broad highway of pol- itical intrigue. As a keen and competent observer he deals with many political matters and par- ticularly with Bavaria's war re- lationship with Nazi Germiny. Munich, Playground . . Thomas Alien, Toronto ... Price $$.50. Trurnueter SWP r s Trumpeter swans, in Yellow- stone Park, were threatened with the same fate as the passenger pigeon and the dodo, ate making a comeback. A census of the magnificent water -fowl showed 208, compared with 190 in 1940. An old law unearthed in Lon- don permits the shooting of rab- bits on Sunday, but not of hares. By GENE BYRN :S • WELL THEN, GIVE 1 ME YOUR SKATE KEY 'CAUSEI' I LOST MINE