HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Herald, 1938-05-19, Page 6pommentary on the By El�abet�ldy
Highlights of the Week's News a
MOMENTOUS DAYS: So much AN ELECTION IN 1938?, Ot-
s happening in the world today, tawa insists that there is no valid
frvents .are moving so quickly on all reason for an appeal to the country
onts, that situations of momentous in 1938, no excuse for a Dominion
importance in this quarter or that election this fall, It is talking plaus-
-o practically unnoticed. Our atten- ibly, because a trip to . the polls is
on can sbe focussed only on so many not really due for another two years.'
ii
points,at once. Watching what Hitler Just the same the opinion is pre -
ie doing in Central Europe, what valent b some quarters that Parlia-
3Y7ussolini is planning in the Mediter- ment will be dissolved next year—
'anean, it is physically impossible the fourth year since the election—
also to keep our eyes on what is but not this fall, or anywhere near
]Happening in Indiain Palestine, in it.. Should, however, ructions occur
Morocco, in Syria, in in South between the provinces and the Fed-
A.meriea and Mexico (for World- oral Government that can't be
Stirring events are brewing in each patched up in the usual way, or
One of these corners of the earth), should a national "emergency"
We do well if we are able to watch arise, the government might decide
the progress of the war in China and to call an election this year.
in Spain.
And in our own dear Canada,
there's plenty going on. Whether we
Bad the newspapers or not, to find
cut.
:i: * * *
TEN -POWER PACT: Urged by
Winston Churchill last week in Lon-
don is a wide European alliance of
ten powers calculated to encircle
the German Reich and block further
aggression on the part of the Nazis.
If such a front were formed of the
Smaller nations of Europe and Rus-
sia behind France and Great Britain,
Using League of Nations machinery,
Mr. Churchill declared, the United
States would undoubtedly "signal
her encouragement and sympathy."
Said Mr. Churchill: "If we can
rally even ten well -armed States in
Europe, all banded together to attack
an aggressor, we would be so strong
that immediate danger might be
warded off and a breathing space
would be gained for building latex
still a broader structure of peace."
* * * *
MIXED BLESSING: With the soil
of the Prairies moistened by the best
rainfall in 17 years, and crop pros-
pects the most favorable since 1933,
Western farmers of the drought -
stricken areas are nevertheless rot
half as happy as we imagine them to
be. For two reasons: a good crop
means a much lower price will be
offered for wheat; a good crop means
also that the mortgage companies,
who for so long have neglected to
foreclose on farms that were seem-
ingly worth nothing, now are likely
to clamp down on the debt -ridden
farmers. 'Twilit the devil and the
deep, our Western neighbors are.
* * * *
CHINESE CHANCES: A special
cable to the Toronto Telegram from
John Gunther, internationally known
journalist, now in Hankow, outlines
the main advantages weighing on the
Chinese side in favor of their ulti-
niate victory over the Japanese in-
vaders:. First, the country is united
politically as never before, drawn
together by a genuine will to resist
Japan and to fight to the finish; sec-
ond, the facility of the Japanese in
guerrilla warfare; third, help front
German technical advisers and Rus-
sian pilots; fourth, the stupendously
difficult job the Japanese have set
themselves; fifth, the fact that Ja-
pan's standard of living is bound to
fall as the war goes on.
Mr. Gunther points to the reverse
side of the canvas, citing China's
disadvantages: first, the Japanese
have virtual command of the air;
second, the Chinese army is woeful-
ly" deficient in artillery; third, the
Japanese are better provisioned, bet-
ter armed; fourth, provincial feeling
is still strong among the Chinese,
and unification of the armies is yet
far from perfect.
:k * * *
EARLIER VEGETABLES: The
spring season in Ontario, advancing
apace, is now two weeks ahead of
previous years. Vegetables are com-
ing on the market away ahead of
schedule, and one dealer predicts
that we'll "have strawberries by the
first of June."
All very lovely, unless frosts
come along and nip our Ontario
fruits in the bud.
News In Re.view
Approve Irish Agreement
LONDON.—The House of Commons
last week approved Prime Minister
Chamberlain's "peace with Eire"
agreement on third. and final reading
without a vote. It now goes to the
House of Lords.
Conqueror Welcomed Home
BERLIN. Chancellor Adolf Hitler
was received in his capital this week,
on his return from Italy, with a turbu-
lence of almost hysterical enthusiasm
and a splendour surpassing his recep-
tion after his bloodless conquest of
Austria.
Fierce Bombardment
HONG KONG.—A Japanese landing
party of probably at least 1,000 men
occupied the eastern part of Amoy
Island, in Fukien Province, in South-
eastern China over the week -end, af-
ter clay -long fighting resulting in nu-
merous casualties, particularly among
the Chinese defenders.
Reports from witnesses in the treaty
port tell of a concentrated attack,
commencing at daylight, by twelve
Japanese warships and twenty planes,
raining shells and bombs that started
fires which are still raging tonight.
—0-
79 Killed In Mine Exxplosion
DUCKMANTON, Derbyshire, i+3ng-
land.—An official death list of seventy-
nine was counted last week after two
explosions rocked the Markham Col-
liery here. More than fifty miners
were injured. Grief-stricken villagers
said almost every home lost at least
one worker,
Desperate day -long efforts of rescu-
ers to reach forty-five miners trapped
nearly half a mile below the surface
failed,
—o—
More Air Crashes
LONDON.—Four airplane crashes,
in which eight filers died this week,
raised the total of deaths in the Royal
Air Force's preparedness program to
76 in' 45 accidents since last Jan. 1,
Two R.A.F. accidents involved fliers
at Wyton Field, Huntingdonshire,
where three were killed in one acci-
dent and two in another,
--0—
Income Tax Act Invalid
CALGARY,—The Alberta Income
Tax Act, passed by the Provincial
Legislature in 1932, was declared ul-
tra vires, in part, in a judgment of
Mr. Justice A. 11'. Ewing this week.
He held that income derived from
Pu.tsirle Alberta when not need in the
rovince is not taxable,
Ontario Has Most
Accredited Herds
Leads In Cattle Free of T.B., says
Agricultural Minister Gardiner
Empire Flying In Two' Years
OTTAWA.—Within eighteen months
or two years Empire flying boats will
span the world in regular passenger
and mail flights, using Trans -Canada
Airlines as the .ain link between
Europe and Asia, according to infor-
mation released here.
Negotiation for the transatlantic
flights have been completed, and the
huge flying boats are now under con-
struction, four in Great Britain and
four in the United States. Test flights
will start in July or August this year
about the time the Trans -Canada Air-
lines will link Halifax with Vancouver
in regular service.
---o—
Spanish War Deadlocked
HENDAYE, France.—Spanish insur-
gents and Gov,rnment armies battled
to a deadlock this week ou the vital
central fronts.
Along the coast road to Alcala de
C'eiver` where insurgents have been
attem aing to widen their wedge to-
wards Valenc.a and Castellon de la
'lana, a'avernment troops blocked the
adv- nc a from hilltop entrenchments.
The fighting centred on that ap-
proach to the sea where insurgents
attempted to widen their seaboard
strip by foldin' the Government right
flank back to the ;est.
Milk May Make
New Car Finish
Agriculture Miulster Gradinor last
week informed the House of Commons
939 herds of pure-bred beef cattle its
Canada are accredited for tuberculosis
—f ited and found free of the •disease
—and 112 bards are i process of ac
creditation. The information was
sought by Harry Leader (Lib., Portage
la Prairie).
Seven rrovinces have tuberculosis -
free areas --Prince Edward Island,
New Brunswic]-, Quebec, Ontario, Ma-
nitoba, Saskatchewan ani British Co-
lumbia.
Totalling 518
Ontario, with 518, p s th.t most ac-
credited herds. Manitoba has 183,
Saskatchewan 96, Quebec 82, Albe}'ta
48, Prince eldward Island and Nova
Scotia, 4 each; New Brunswick 3 and
British Columbia 1.
There were 8,840,500 cattle in Can-
ada in 1937 and 9,610 were exported
to Great Britain. Irish exports to
Great Britain last year totalled 850,-
032.
50;032.
Bulk of the beef cattle exported to
the United Kingdom -recently has been
feeders or stores.
Strong Biceps
For Drivers
ISTANBUL.—Applicants for driv-
ers' licenses in Turkey's capital must
have more than mere skill. The mu-
nicipality has tightened its require-
ments for candidates, who must have
"strong biceps, physical endurance,
good height and weight."
Gigantic Loss
Through Weeds
$1$0,000,000 Every Year in Can.
ada, Inspectors Are Tod
PETR•OLIA, Ont. "The annual
loss in the Province of Ontario due
to the infestation of weeds amount-
ed to between $15,200,000 and $22,-
500,000, and the loss. throughout the
Dominion is approximately $150,
000,000," stated J. D, McLeod of
the Department of Agriculture, To-
ronto, when addressing the annual
meeting of the Lambton County
week inspectors here last week.
"The, cause of the present weed
problem is clue to the neglect in
sowing seeds in the past," he con-
tinued. He said this year consider-
able effort will be made to clean up
cemeteries.
The speaker also advocated clean-
ing of threshing machines and all
equipment before moving as provided
for in the Weed Control Act and
stated this will assist greatly in
controlling the spread of weed seeds
onto the roadsides and on the neigh-
boring farms, It was pointed out
threshers should be vitally interested
in weed control as their business and
revenue is governed by the condition
of the crop.
W. P. MacDonald, agricultural
representative for Lambton County,
said that because of the untiring en-
ergy of the 30 county weed inspec-
tors, Lambton is not considered a
"weedy" county.
Twenty years ago somebody in-
vented a make of car in a story. It
had a dashboard device which flash-
ed a white light at 15 m.p.h., a green
light at 25 m.p.h., a red light at 40
m.p.h., and played "Nearer, My God,
to Thee," at 60 miles an hour.
Dairymen Hear of New Byproduct
Which Can Give Auto Bodies
A Glossy Surface
Possibility of converting surplus
milk into a finishing material for
automobile bodies was envisioned by
dairymen meeting at Utica, N.Y.,
last Week, as the result of a process
patented by William S. Murray, re-
search chemist and Republican State
chairman.
Henry H. Rathbun, of New Hart-
ford, local director of the Dairy-
men's League Co-operative Associa-
tion, said Murray had obtained a
patent for a method of converting
milk solids into a plastic and had
assigned rights of use to the Co-op-
erative.
Mixture o1' Milk Solids
The process, Rathbun said, would
permit the use of milk solids as a
finish on automobiles and for other
purposes for which a hard, glossy
surface is desired.
The process, he said, involves the
mixture of milk solids, including
casein and lactose, with a weak acid,
a tanning agent and an alkaline ma-
terial. The mixture is treated with
water at a temperature of 100 to devil," he says, "the principal piece
120 degrees centigrade, and then is of machinery was a hand press on
dried. which the four gages were printed
Our Small To
u- Ink 1
Writes R. C. Reade In Toronto
Star Weekly—Canadian News-
paperman Is Often. Editor, Re-
porter, Pressman, Typesetter,
Delivery Boy Rolled Into One.
Editors
eir ¥iJ.od
a
The thrill and the skill of news-
paper work are no monopoly of the
large centres. A survey of Canada's
small weeklies from coast to coast
shows that they do not need roto-
gravure to give them color. They
have it in the editorial chair.
"What A Man !"
Looking them over from coast to
coast, from James Edward Patrick
Butler, editor of the Newcastle Un-
ion. Advocate in New Brunswick,
who was not afraid to tell his town
that it was "a sink -hole of vice,
drunkenness and poverty," to Hugh
Savage, who calls himself "govern-
ing director" of the Cowichan Leader
in Duncan, a small town 40 miles
north of Victoria on Vancouver Is-
land, and has lived a score of lives
as soldier and sailor, farmer, gold
miner, storekeeper, Shakespearean
researcher, flour miller and M.P.P.
as well as editor, I am forced to ex-
claim again and again, "What a
manl"
Veterans of the Game
The real veterans of the weekly
game are in Ontario. The dean of
them all is W. H. Thurston, editor
of the Flesherton Advance, now in
his 79th year but still reporting the
news of the Flesherton district in
which he was born. He is one of
the many who are printers as well
as editors. He began newspaper life
60 years ago as a compositor. His
brother edits the Bobcaygeon Inde-
pendent.
Arthur H. Wright, editor of the
Mount Forest Confederate, is older
in years though younger in weekly
service. He is 83, but did not enter
journalism until 1901, when he re-
tired from the teaching profession.
He was for 15 years English master
in Galt collegiate. His paper, he is
confident, is the only one in the
world that is called "Confederate".
Its first issue appeared one week af-
ter the British North America Act
established the Dominion of Canada,
Helped Mould Politics
Another colorful old-timer is Jas.
A. Evoy, editor o. the Carp Review,
Carp, Ont., one of those universal
men for whom weekly journalism is
famous. He is linotype operator,
pressman and reporter as well as
editor and publisher. And he still
finds time to catch more large bass
than any other fisherman inthe dis-
trict.
It is half a century since he got
his first job with a weekly newspa-
per and, unlike the majority of his
confreres in the weekly field, he has
never tried his hand at anything
else. He has played an important
part in the political history of the
province. He established the Kempf, -
vine Telegram to launch G. Howard
Ferguson into public life. He sold
the paper to Mr. Ferguson but con-
tinued to manage it until, a few
years ago, he founded the Carp Re-
view.
"Whet, I began ue .a printer's'
after the paper had been dampened
and left weighted down for several
hours. The type was all set by hand.
We used to adjust it in the forms
with a piece of paper here and there
or a whittled -down match."
That Printer's Error
Ed. Stacey, editor of the weekly
Teeswater News, gives as his ,most
.amusing case of printer's "pi", a
•combii,ation of sport and society
news. He wrote about a former Kin-
x-dine.hockey player who was going
to England. Startled subscribers
i o
kept ringing the phone for daysin
order to tell him that the joke was
on him. His article read "Murray
Munro is starting on the forward
line in a black coat with Persian
lamb trimmings and black hat with
matching accessories."
Say Greenland Was
Linked With N t may
Polar Expedition Suspects Land
Exists In Arctic That Once
Linked the Two Continents
COPENHAGEN.—Dr. Lauge Koch,
Danish explorer, departed by sea-
plane last week for the Spitzbergen
group of Norwegian Arctic islands,
to start a polar expedition to ascer-
tain whether firm land exists be-
tween Spitzbergen and North Green-
land.
Dr. Koch, who has observed the
area from the air, contends that,
from a 'geographical viewpoint, there
probably is land there, because .the
northern and eastern Alp -chains
would intersect between Spitzbergen
and North Greenland.
Saw It Once Far Off
Dr. Koch's ancle, -Captain 3. P.
Koch, reported in 1907 he had
sighted land. Members of another
expedition in 1912 said they had
seen it but only at a distance. Last
winter, Soviet explorers drifting
down front the North Pole on an ice
floe thought they sighted land-
through the Arctic darkness.
The Danish government has placed
the vessel Gustav Holm at Dr, Dock's
disposal to make sure. The vessel
will serve as a base of operations
which Dr. Koch flies front Spitzber-
gen to Peary Land and back, passing
over the area where the existence
of land is suspected.
Photographic Survey
If Dr. Koch sights no land from
the air a complete photographic sur-
vey will be undertaken front Peary
Land.
The Spitzbergen group lies about
400 miles off the extreme northern
coast of Norway and about the same
distance west of Peary Land, which
is the northernmost tip of North
Greenland, 450 miles frori the North
Pole.
CANADA
Not To Be Sneezed At
Ontario is planning a drive against
hay fever and that is a movement
that is not to be sneezed at.—Peter-
borough Examiner.
•strengths of various nations, The re-
sult is interesting,
Soviet Russia, it appears, has the
most submarines, with something like
150 of then'. Italy comes second, with
84 ships built and 14 building. France
has 92, Britain 70, Germany 61 and
Japan 60, Altogether there aro more
under -sea craft in the world today
Or Go To Grandma's Funeral than during the height of submarine
The provincial comptroller of fin- warfare in 1917.—Ottawa Journal.
ance reveals that every citizen of On-
tario works 54 days a year to support
the government. if we knew which
days of the year they were, we might
be tempted to stay home ou some of
them.—E. J. P., in Stratford Beacon-
Herald.
—0—
The Good Old Days
Someone suggests that when we be-
gin pining for the "good old days" we
should run the automobile into the
lake, throw the radio into the garbage
can, tear the telephone off the wall
and throw the electric light switch
out of the window. Yes, and take the
airplane dovvn, out of the sky while
we hitch up the ox team.—Lethbridge
Herald.
— o—
"Take care of the pence," goes the
old saying. Ono young American
undergraduate has just taken a
European holiday on the savings of
12 years—all in coppers and nickles.
"I saved for a sunny day --hot a
rainy ane," was her comment.
Canadians Ate Less Meat
The Canadian people consumed
more,pork in 1937 than beef and veal.
This was the experience in 1936, but
in 1935 and 1934 they consumed more
beef than pork. in 1937 the consump-
tion of pork was 62.35 pounds per cap-
ita as against 58.89 pounds of beef and
veal, The consumption of pork in
1936 was 67.08 pounds'per capita and
of beef and veal 60.48 pounds. On the
whole, therefore, the Canadian people
ate less meat last year than they did
in the previous year.—St. Catharines
Standard.
— 0—
The Hitch -Hiking Nuisance
As Spring opens up and motoring
for pleasure or business becomes more
intensive, the hitch -hiking nuisance
increases. Few people object to giv-
ing a "lift" to some needy person, but
the galling part (with emphasis on
the gall) is that most of the would-be
riders aro people who can well afford
to pay their way. They use simply
this means of transportation that they
may be spared the purchase of a ticket
on recognized carriers.—St. Thomas
Times -Journal
—0_..
Arris and the Nations
In Washington, where there is more
talk than usual about armaments, they
have been compiling data on the naval
—0—
Pull for the Prairies
Faith in the prairies is not eoiriined
to those who dwell on these once fer-
tile grain lands, for Senator Iva C.
Fallis, who knows the prairies from
former residence until 1920 in the
West, voices the opinion that, given
rain in June and July, the prairies
can raise the finest wheat in the
world.
In that opinion she is simply ex-
pressing the general view held by far-
mers in the West, They know that,
given reasonable weather conditions
during the growing season, the land
will yield an abundant crop, but they
also are aware, from bitter experi-
ence, that under drought conditions
little or nothing can be expected from
the land.—Moose Jaw Times -Journal.
THE EMPIRE
- --
Australia's Warning
In every democracy the public must
now address itself to the realities of
the menace thus disclosed. Whether
another great war may yet be averted
is problematical; but this much may
be proclaimed as certain, that unless
the opponents—wherever they may be
found—of brigs'•"age in internati r °l
danger, the chances of averting ulti-
mate war must be counted negligible.
We must face the vital fact that Ger-
many, Italy, and Japan are today mo-
bilized for war. In the Mediterranean
(Spain), in China, in Austria, without
declaration of hostilities, defying trea-
ties and careless in excuses, they are
simply ravaging defenceless neighbors
for their own gain. In each of these
ventures no limit is set to the objec-
tives; and no spectator can propound
a formula for diplomatic bargaining,
in che'k to this process, which will
not leave the marauder ,,lth at least
a part of his loot. This we regard as
the gravest aspect of the world situ-
ation in its challenge—now unmistak-
able—to every people that possesses
anything worth coveting. The moral
to us here in Australia is inescapable.
—Sydney Herald.
Selling Our Wheat
b Many Countries
Canada Is Again Worrying About
the Problem of World i'ri'skets
With prospects for the best Cana-
dian wheat crop in many years, eyes
of the growers turn again to the prob-
lem of world markets. So quickly does
the picture shift that nations once re-
garded as formidable competitors in
export may be forced by a bad season
to look for imports. And some of the
competitors which the Dominion fear-
ed most not long ago, notably Itussia,
have been forced by internal conditi-
ons to slacken pressure in selling
-broad. --'s the Hamilton Spectator
United Y ngclorn Best Customer
In this connection the figures issued
ty the Canadian Board of Grain Com-
missioners covering exports for 'the
crop year 1936-37 are revealing. It is
shown that the United rringdom is
still our best wheat customer, a fact
which is frequently overlooked. The
"self-sufficiency" drive which has led
France and Germany to grow—even
at ,great cost—the wheat they need,
has cut down these once substantial
customers of the Dominion's grain to
relatively small buyers.
For our total exports of 145,886,172
b..iihels chief destinations were as fol-
lows:
United Kingdom
Belgium
Holland
France
1•nly
Irish Free State
Denmark
Norway
Germany
Switzerland
Greece
Morocco
Japan
Finland
Canada shipped her wheat direct to
"untries in Alt, a csinmentary
on the extent anti variety gin" our*for-
commerce.
81,901,064 •
15,094,766
6,900,035
6,"55,301
4,887,132
4,507,684
4,491,399
3,800,611
3,764.610
2,355,092
2,137,226
1,813,870
1,762,400
1,117,132
Sued For ; ithtg Dog
A man who bit his neighbor's dog
has been used by the owner for 090
damages against probably loss of the
animal, at Gargh, India, 'Defendant
I declared that the dog attacked hini,
so he seized it by the scruff of the
neck and bit it, to teach it a lessen.
The
BOOK SHELF
By ELIZABETH EEDY
e asaoes s+oa oI ess-ew-o.---o-s-oO
"LITTLE LAMB"
By Dahris Martin
In large and winsome pictures and
with one of those chiming little
stories that repeat, the plight of a
small lamb whose woolly coat came
off in patches• is unfolded here for
very small people. Baba did not like
the idea at all; he had been all
white, all over. He was now begin-
ning to show pink spots where the
skin had no wool at all. It did not
look right to hint, and he did not
think it looked right to anybody. So
he went to the merchant for a new
coat, and this worthy sent him to the
tailor, and he to the weaver, entil
at last the shepherd, melted by the
tears of Baba—and anything more
moving than this picture` of Baba in
tears it would be hard for a oaby
to find --sent him to Black Sheep,
That wise animal laughed and laugh-
ed. Baba's new coat was coming in;
this was why the old one was coming
out its spots, and the story ends with
a skipping lamb singing about his
brand-new coat white as milk, soft
as silk and warm as a quilt.
Although the story is for very lit-
tle listeners; the pictures will be ap-
pealing to almost any child up to aid
including the age when first teeth
begin to work loose.
"Little Lamb," by Dahris Martin.
Pictures in. color by Lilly Sonrppi.
36 pp. Toronto: Musson Book Co.
$1.75.
Spanish Silver Paves
Old Mexican Streets
Streets of several Mexican min-
ing
ining towns literally are paved with
silver, the National Geographic So-
ciety reports.
"Early Spanish processes of, sep-
arating silver from the ore were
crude and left much silver in the
tailings," the society said, "The
tailings often were used for road sine
facing, When the silver content is
particularly 'high, the tailings are
dug up and re -worked."