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Zurich Herald, 1942-01-15, Page 2. . ' Canadian National Has ecord Year By R. C. Vaughan, President, Can. Nat, Railways During the year 1941 the man- agement of the Canadian National Railways has had as It primary objective the continual improve- ment of railway 'services to meet the needs of the ever increasing industrial output which has re- sulted from the turning over of Canada's whole productive eagle *my from a peacetime to a war- time basis. The upward. trend of railway traffic which. became manifest' immediately PG72 the outbreak of war has contieued and resulted he 1941 in a pheeical volume of train fic higher than any previously transpeated by the IVAt0211. Ale ready in this war period demands made upon redievny transportation in Canada home exceeded those of the last war len sixty percent. The dominant role which railways play ha the essential transportation needs of this country has beeu thoroughly established. To meet the. /unease of traffic handled by the National Railway; Which since the outbreak of war has risen ninety-five percent., has called for careful planning to make the best use of railway equipment and facilities. It has been necessary to improveand expand railway facilities in a number of districts. It has also been necessary to obtain addi- tonal equipment and this expane Ilion has required special efforts eu the part of all employees tlieroughout the system. War Effort First It has beea the policy of the management in all cases to place the interests of the war effort first and to maintain the capacity of the railway to meet these es- sential demands. War transport - ration needs consist not only in the movement of hundreds of thous- ands of military personnel and of vast quantities of munitions and supplies, but also in the carriage of raw material and of semi -fin - !shed products which are moved in all parts ref the country. This war traffic had of necessity to be added to the volume of normal business traffic. The measures which have been taken to enable the Canadian National Railways to deal with this constantly in- creasing volume of traffic have been effeetive. Traffic offered has been moyed to destination ex- •VeVer eervice- has been constant's.' -main- tained. Financial Results • The effect of the increased vol. lime of traffic is reflected in the financial results of the system. While the audited revenue and operating expense figures for the exonth of Deeember are not yet available, estimated results for that month added to the known figures for the first eleven months of the year indicate that 1941 operating revenues will total 5303,000,000. The net revenue for 1941, estimated. at $66,000,- 00, after meeting all expenses including equipment depreciation will be the largest in the system's history. Taxes and fixed charges Including interest amount to 00,000 for 1941, therefore, it is expected that operating revenues will yield a surplus over and -above . all operating expenses, taxes and interest. We are, how- ever, facing in 1942 many mile lions of uncontrollable increased expenditure for wages and mater- ials, and there has been no core responding. increase in the price of our services for transporting passengers and goods. The capital improvements made during the year nearly all arose from the necessity of improving facilities on various lines of the railway which have now become gitrategie routes for the handling of actual and prospective war traffic. This work consisted of Improving yards, terminals, shops, enginehouses, the construction of additional passing tracks and sid- ings and the installation of sig- • Undelivered Orders Orders had been placed for various types of -equipment, in. eluding, locomotives and freight tlars, but conditions imposed by war priorities presented. difficul- ties for the builders who thug were unable to complete these or- ders. However, during the year we received 10locomotives and v86 cars. There are on order undelivered '70 loeometives and 5,339 cars. In addition to :furnishing trans- portation service-, the railway has Aerated in Canada's war effort by making available to the Gaprii- raent the services of special de- partraents of the railway, and by foreishing trained personnel to especial Goeernment ,,riches. The menagement is proud to newt that nearly 4,000 employ- ees have been granted leave of ebse.nce to enlist for active sere eke in the navy, the army and the. oir • Production of Munitions is .aleo 5 ,metter of peirie te- state t1ui the Cenedian National FRENCH SEA QUEEN CHANGES HER NAME The luxury liner Normandie is losing her good name .for an even better one. 'Workmen remove lettering from side of French vessel taken over by the 'EL S. Navy and renamed Lafayette. •e Railways has directly participated in the mobilization of Canadian industry for war purposes. We have constructed, ;under a finan- cial arrangement with the Gov- ernment, a building measuring 511 feet by 516 feet with an area of over 263,600 square feet for the National Railways Munitions Limited and this plant has been in operation for some time. At that plant and elsewhere in ear and locomotive shops part of the company's working force, num- bering mere than a thousand men, has been actively engaged in the manufacture of several types of munition; including gun car- riages, naval guns and gun mount- ings. At its drydock and ship- building: yard the company has been and is yet constructing mine sweepers and these Rune facili- ties are also being used in build- ing large cargo vessels for War- time Merchant Shipping Limited. Steamship Companies The steamship companies which form a part of the Canadian Na- tional organization have also played their part in the Battle of the Atlantic and elsewhere. An additional wartime responsibility gladly accepted by the company was the management of the Can- adian Government Merchant Mar- ine which had been re-established atitt15 operating Danish, French, Finnish, German and Itakan ves- sels seized by: the Canadian Gov- ernment. Canadian Nat ional Steamships eraft have been trad- ing in dietant waters as well as to ports closer to Canadian shores, so that in addition to our em- ployees who have enlisted in the fighting forces, a large number of 011r men are actively engaged in war work. Labor Relations A feature of the company's labour relations during the year was the etabilization of wages and salaries in accordance with the Order -in -Council issued by the Government. The majority oi the organized labour groups repre- sented on the Canadian National Railways entered into agreements stabilizing wages at the pre-war basis with provision for a cost of living bonus adjusted to the index of the cost of living. Subsequent- ly the voluntary basis agreed to in the transportation industry be- came a compulsory one applicable, generally speaking, to all Cana- dian industry. It is noteworthy that the railway industry pion. eered this development, which is one of the essential elements in a plan for preventing the evil ef- fects of inflation. Other Services Of other services operated by the Company the group of hotels records a satisfactory year. These.. hotels well serve the communities in which they are situated. All of them .have been busy; indeed, at times, some of the hotels have been hard Pressed to furnish ac- commodation for the number of guests offering. This would in- dicate that the hotels have been properly establishedto provide service for the travelling public. The Canadian National Tele- graphs have had an exceptionally busy year, handling an apprecie able increase in the number of messages despatched, especially for industrial and connnercial purposes. The Telegraphs pro- vide an essential service of cone munications within Canada and through their connections provide important and extensive services in the United States and overseas. Largest in North America During 1941 the Canadian Na- tional Railways maintained 23,- 560 road miles, operating between the two oceans practically two transcontinental lines. The com- pany serves all provinces of the Dominion, some of the neighbor- ing states, and, so far as mileage is concerned, forms the largest railway on the North American continent and in the British Em- pire. The staff of employees now approaches 100,000 in number. Sales Of ViL Dip 5 Per Cent Profits Will Be Down Due to Heavier Costs Constructive progress was made in 1941 by the -Ontario wine in- dustry, according to E. A. Thomas, President of the Wino Producereee Assoeiatron: - • "Formation of the Wine Pro- ducers' Association," he states, "to which all companies licensed to make wine in Ontario belong, was a forward step for the twen- ty-three wineries in operation throughout the year. A number of tho wineries made important improvements in plant and equip- ment. About four million gallons of wine was processed. There was a falling off in sales during 1941 due entirely to the increase in price necessitated by increased taxation, welch amount- ed to 27 cents per gallon. The total tonnage of wines sold was less by approximately 5 per cent. The profits, before income tax was deducted, were generally maintained at close to the 1940 levels. The net income will, of course, be lower due to increased taxation. The increased cost of the in- ventories added during 1941, re- sulting from increased cost of ma- terials, has not yet materially af- fected profits. However, flame in- creased costs will show up in lower operating profits in future years. The 1941 grape crop was of unusually fine quality, the sugar content being up by approximat- ely 20 per cent over the previous year. Grape growers of the Niagara Peninsula enjoyed, an excellent market both in demand and price. There were. about 16,000 acres of vineyards. The minimum, price paid by the wineries was $50 per ton, an increase of $10 per ton over 1040. Total commercial re- turns to the grape growers was approximately $1,0-00,000, about $250,000 more than 1940. Imports of foreign wines are almost entirely shut off due to the war. VOICE OF T HE PRESS MS ALL. HYPOTHETICAL In Rome, the Colonial Agency is holding civil service examine - tions for jobs in the administra- tion of Italian .Africa. Of course those jobs will have to wait for Hitler to win Italy's ) victory and restore the empire, which doesn't exist today. That's dandy. Now the hypothetical jobholders can pile into hypothe- tical Voiksautos (the people's ear which Hitler collected for but never manufactured) and go rambling inerrily off (hypotheti- cally) into a purely hypothetical faun. How'll they trade the whole thing, we wonder for a good plate of real spaghetti? —Eitchener Record. GROW RICE IN THE U.S. The war in the Pacific and shipping difficulties there do not mean that this continent is cut off from supplies of rice. It is not geneeelli known that rice is grown extensively in the United States. This year's production indeed, included 21,074,000 bush- els in Louisiana, 15,520,000 bush- els in Texas, 11,128,000 bushels in Arkansas and 9,10,000 bush- els 'n California. --Brockville Recorder and Times. UP TO DATE One of the month's best same pies of war humor was given last week by the Cobalt reporter for the Northern News. He tells of a Cobalt friend of his who saw on the bill of fare in a Chinese restaurant in Toronto recently this patriotic item: — "Free French -Fried Potatoes." —Timmies Advance. THOSE WELSH AGAIN Marshal Simyon Timoshenko, wording to an English school teacher, is of Welsh extraction. That will explain many things to the Germans. They will recall all the trouble a Welshman caused them in the last war. --Windeor Star. HINT TO JAPANESE The neatest crack of the week on the Japanese attack came from the barbed tongue of Ellen Wil- kinson, British Labor M.P. and Home Office official: "People who live in :wooden houses shouldn's throw bombs." —Stratford Beacon-HeTald. PERHAPS A BUGGY RIDE If the automobile is eventually banned for pleasure in this was, many people will be no worse off than they were during the First Great War when they didn't own one. —St. Thomas Timee-Journal. NEWS FOR THE DOCTOR The average family pays $75 a year for doctor bills, says a government riport. This prob- ably will be news to most doc- tors. . Chneniele. Summary Reveals Ceiling Effective Bank of Montreal Intsiness many for the year 1941 reports that the new Dominion price ceil- ing system "so far has been work- ing with as much efficiency as could be expected in its initial stages." The summary says that "the advance in commodity prices has been checked and the trend has been slightly downward." Discussing Canada's war pro- duction the summary states that 'it is mounting steadily and in- creasing in variety. Hero has also been a inuch haulm: demana for Canadian Nickel, United States consumption having riser to more than two-thirds oil the total output as against a normal consumption of about .one-thied. Plans are under way for increas- ing the output by some fifty mil- lion pounds annually. , ------- The glass snare — which is not a snake but a Heard -- snaps it-, self to pieces ellen touched. REG'LAR FELLERS—Efficiency Expert 74:41==uuu....3 YOU CANT LEAVE YOUR DESK PINHEAD, MOVE IT OVER 'THERE/ NDIVIDUAL 4.0 .M MAtif4ICE ERWIN A We4ly Column About This and That in The Canadian Ams wr.••••••••.••••••1•1•*=.41 Here are some more Army nicknames since last week's few remarks on that subject, "Daisy" Bell and "Grog" Anderson. If you 'mow any more drop me a line. Hava you any idea of the size of your Canadian Army? The best way to get the picture is to xnake a comparison in terms with which we are all familiar. The Army employs nearly eight times the entire staff of the Can- adia i Pacific Railway. The Army's requirements in gasoline -propelled vehicles, compared with the Do- mainion Bureau of Statistics' most recent report on civilian trucks owned in. Canada shows that as a "fleet owner" your Army not only outranks, many times over, the biggest individual commercial "fleet" but that according to re- cent figures for every eight coin menial vehicles in Canada there is tine for the Army. • It may seem unusual to use industrial figures' ti:irlitistrate the size of an army. Perhaps it is unusual, but the analogy is a good one. Let's carry it further. The Individual Citizen's Army is a big business run iu a busi- ness -like way: The set-up is that of a huge industrial empire with a chairman of the board end di- rectors of a holding company which operates a group of affilie ated companies, each with its president, vice - presidents in charge of various operations, gen- eral managers, branch managers, purchasing and store -keeping or- ganizations, junior executives, foremen and skilled tradesmen. "Skilled Tradesmen." That has two meanings. Strictly applied in Army phraseology it refers to a long list of experts --either al- ready trained- in civil life or given an intensive course in Army Trade Schools—but actually it ap- plies to every soldier. The "Pa.3.I."—don't ask me to ela- borate ,on the "B"—as the poor — shall we say "blinking" — hie fan:hymen. was called last time is no longer just a rifle -toter on whom you hang "everything but the kitchen stove." This time every one in the Army, from Lieut. -Gen. A. G. L. McNaughton down to the last - joined vounteer, is—or will be -- a specialist By the time the new private soldier has completed his train- ing he is far more than just a "foot -slogger." He is a trained soldier who has passed tests in First Aid, Rifle, Anti -Tank Rifle, Light Machine Gun, Pistol, Bay- onet Fighting, Anti-aircraft De- fence, Field -craft, Map Reading Mortar, Hand and Rifle Grenade, "Tommy" gun and Field Engle, eering and he can march 20 miles a day, Now that's a very thief deg- eription of the accomplishments at the disposal of an infantreenten not what the Canadian Army efelie a "Specialist." Tho infantrymen of 25 years ago would have Of, like a full Colonel with about bait of that knowledge this (ma would, anyhow' just by way of a diegeselore have you any idea how much title ded leisure today's volunteer hag, compared with the private soldier of my generation? Here are two reasons. Before the days of ;!.BattJet• Rompers," as many of You re. member, we had brass leuttortn, metal cap badges, and shouldee badges, all of which had to be kept bright. In. addition web. equipment had to be cleaned with. a preparation named."Brance" and its innumerable brass Wei had to be polished. All of whieh took up a lot of leisure time, fie the young volunteer can ehucirle, at the old soldier — thsre' no brass on battle -dress 1 Today's infantryman, scot mention other specialist; bait plenty to study in his spare time. And he does study. 1.1dley rot? Every soldier today has a ehaeee to gain his commission ae an effa- cer. How does he do that? He. atlf:it it the way Major -Genera G, Pearkes, V.C., D,S.O., and Major-General C. B. Price, D.C.M., did in the Greet War) 1914-19, step by step—ladvate tr Lance -Corporal, and on nee By the way, can any old eoldice, tell me why a Lance-Cmmoraf la sometimes nick -named Lae ee. jack?" Strike At Hearts Of German Peopl.(t Even now we do not reaShie the full importance of pit emi.randa. We fought our way int.: inia with printing presses well as machine guns. Pamphiete Orme ped en enemy positions 1).rattitit thousands of natives and lealians over to us. But there are bigger eargeie than Iran and Italy. The R essiesm have shown us the way 1.7 straits, at the hearts of the Gerinee peci- ple. They tell eorrowiere vosci how their husbands and semi. died That is the way to break mor- ale. But propaganda ere: Mtn make morale. LIFE'S LIKE THAT By Fred Neh /geae //see. i;eiNsKI/7,7 442, //m4:„Iski t: -Siete eteenke ,eneeteneene. (mai 5 10 Oonclliilarcd 4'4'10 COOL‘to slt back and wait but my partner is a go •geLte,r ...4....041.6,44........,oesm.ammiare.,............66monsommarmirwaleasranisolonrwortmviorommimem........,..wommovesourelvemoanonossaresem... By GENE BYRNES GUESS THAT wom'r ro iITI-lER# MOVE IT OVER. HERE NO, WAIT JUST A MINUTE WHILE 1 THINK/ 7.4 1 REALLY CANt MAKE (JP MY MIND NOW LET ME SEE ••• tatariat=tEMIZrzi.. V./14M4 hipoi% IN A MOOD Like mIS,'LL. SAYE A LOT OF TIME BY BORROW/NG THEtiE WHEELS OF MY V/AgON eti t<4 s , eieeeeen, 111,, S hot: tt.