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TUESDAY, MAY 27, 1947 wu THE DAILY TIMES-GAZETTE" PAGE FIVE Today's Short Story MITZI By Lillisce M. Mitchell WHAT was the flashlight, ¥ Marna?" asked Jim Painter, his voice scarcely above a whis- per. : Marna moved restlessly in her. seat. "C--I don't know. -May- be someon taking a moonlight stroll." : : : "Moonlight stroll," rtepeated Jim. "There's 'no moon tonight. I'm going to get going, Marna. It's rather. chilly anyhow." Marna opened her 'lips and . then closed them again firmly. She said nothing while the car sped along the highway and into the gates of Hillcrest. Jim locked his car carefully and followed her up the broad steps. "There's a fire in the music v --I1llustrated by Nicolet room, Jim," Marna said. 'Let's go in there." She flung wor Tat and gloves on the phonograph in the corner, fumbled an instant at the stand beside it and then dropped into the davenport standing before the leaning flames. "You weren't a bit afraid, back there i) the woods. were you?" Jim asked, his voice jerky with emotion. "Oh," she evaded, "it was kind of eerie, seeing that light moving along. bodilessly as you might say--" ; He shook his head. His tones were heavy now. "I don't know what's the matter with me, Marna. Scared of everything, that's me. But I figured that four or five fellows might slink at us out of that blackness, snatgh you be off. I might fight #ne or two and make a good job of it but a bunch of fellows--I guess" I'm just a plain coward. But wealthy girls are kidnapped," he continued defensively. She laughed lightly. "They can hardly kidnap a grown person. Maybe you feel that way because you're imaginative. I'm not, you see. 'It's no virtue of mine that Im, wnalraid of things, Jimmie, Jimmie stood up. "I think I'll go. to the coast, Marna, They've offered me the manager's post there at the branch office. There's no use beating about the bush with you," he went on harshly, as she rose and put her hand on his arm. "You know well enough how I feel about things. But marriage is out of the question with everything topsy-turvy. If you weren't so doggoned wealthy in your own right, .it might be different. But me, I'm only mak- ing three hundred a month and you couldn't live like this on three hundred. And the man ought to be the big, strong he-man and the girl ought to be the timid . . . what in heaven's name is the mat- ter?" he broke off. Her scream had suddenly pierced the air. Her slim fingers covered her lips to stop the sound but nothing covered those horror- tricken [ . Jimmie grabbed Marna. What is it?" he de- manded. Her eyes dropped to the floor for a moment before the lids squeezed themselves tightly shut as if to close out some sight too horrible to be named. She moan- sd =n fell back into the daven- port. Jimmie leaned over and shook pen. -- Marna!" he shouted.®"What For answer she nestled into his arms and then with a sudden stiffening shrieked again. "There -- it's in the -- c-c-c-c- corner," she wept, sobs shaking her slender body. : "ed. "There's no use beating about the bush with you," he said harshly Jimmie looked into the corner and patted her reassuringly. "There's nothing in the corner, Marna darling," he told her "There's no one in the room ex- cept you and me. Look. There's nothing there--" he broke off. "Well, I'll be darned! You don't mean that poor little mouse, do you?" . The mouse scampered across the thick Sarouk. "Y.y-y-yes. Mouse," she whis- pered, affrightedly. For answer he laughed loudly, leaning closer to her scented hair, petting her gently. "A mouse won't hurt you, Honey-girl. It's probably just hunting the hole: They make a hdle to come in and out. Maybe if I open the hall door it'll run out that way--" "No, no, no!" she yelled. "Don't leave me. I'm afraid, Jimmie." "Well, I will be--!" exclaimed Jimmie. "Here I thought all the time you were so fearless, un- afraid of anything and everything and then when a little mouse crosses the room--say, Marna." - "Mm?" "T saw a swell ring ip a "win. dow today. What do you say we look at it tomorrow?" urs car was at the gates now. The tail lights flashed through the opening and Marna turned as the door of the room opened. "lI want my quarter, Marna." "All right, Buddy." by I want my Mitzi, too. You've had her five days now--" 'I'm paying you a nickle a day to rent her," said Marna. "What are you yelling about?" The boy reached for Marna's half-closed hand. "You went and blackened my white mouse, you did! Look at her fur! k at it!" "Stop that yelling," she order "I just put on a little mas- cara to darken her. It'll wash off." . "You'll pay me a dime extra for that or I'll tell Jim, I will," he threatened. "Oh, all right," she laughed. "You chiseler! You only paid forty cents for Mitzi at the start. I'll buy her from you--" she stroked the mouse and held it up near her eyes. "Nice little Mitzi," she murmured. But with a wild grab, Marna's brother . snatched his property. "Thirty-five cents--now!" he ine sisted. And Marna, mounting the wide stairs to her room a few mo- ments later, paused to look at her Jfourth finger which tomorrow would have a ring on it. Then she laughed softly. (Copyright _ a A One of the Circus Attractions Coming This Week-End Here's good news for young and old, the great Sparks Ratiroad Circus, | Mexico; Captain John White and his Leaping Greyhounds; Liberty the first "big top" to hit Oshawa in years, will arrive this week-end. horses, dogs, ponies and Swiss Goats; Cecil's ballet of beautiful girls; the Above is shown the group of elephants which will be a part of the big | Flying Batons; the CafMillo Sisters -- a quartet of South American attraction. There will be the Joe Hodgenie troup of Bare Back Riders | Acrobats; Sparks' Herd of Performing Elephants and a host of other and Equestrians; the Ace Vedo troup of 5 wire and juggling artists from | novelties among the attractions. ; By CLYDE BACKBURN Canadian Press Staff Writer Washington, May 27. -- (CP) -- Hard times have Befallen 80 many of Uncle Sam's neighbors that to- day the wealthy whiskered tl "The All-Mighty Dollar And Its Significance Every Canadian knows that dur- ing the war it took $1.10 in Cana- dian money to buy an American dollor. * The situation with respect to most other countries is vastly worse | their reserves long man can hardly walk down any in- ternational street. without being touched for a loan, That, in the simplest terms, is of American dollars in the hands of countries desperately in need of what only the United States can sell them. Its details as to countries and conditions provide a most complex problem and baffled financial wiz- ards themselves are for the headache powders, The crisis, which to Canada is but an ominous cloud on the hori- zon, is real to the United King- dom and to wide areas of the world outside the Russian sphere of influence. It is not bothering the Soviet countries because the vast major- ity of their people subsist on a level which to those of the Western democracies would be adject pov- erty. And these people look to Russia for their salvation--to the Communist regime in Ww. But the hope for the United Kingdom, wide areas of Europe and Asia and for the Latin American British Civil Service Sees Few 'Liberties' in Offing By JAMES McCOOK Canadian Press Staff Writer London, May 27--(CP)--The tra- dition-laden British Civil Service is restless under the code which bars its members from participation in major elections, but few expec! will soon enjoy liberties as as those granted under recent Saskat- chewan legislation. With nearly 750,000 civil servants , discussions have opened seeking greater freedom in political activities. But 30 days' leave for civil servants--to fight elections -- possibly as opponents to the min- isters in charge of their depart- ments--seems a long way off to gov- ernment employees here although it may be permitted in Saskatchewan. ; Must Resign First If a British Civil Servant decides to run for any senior Parilamentary office, such as the House of Com- mons, he must resign before, not after, his campaign begins. Civil servants are active in mun- icipal politics, but they walk caut- jously. A postman, for instance, may | find no barrier placed in his 'way when he has ambitions to be an alderman; but an administrative assistant to the postmaster-general, in a position to embarras his su- perior throtigh stirring up local post- al issues, might find that tradition and official scowls forced him to choose between his office and his aspirations. ' "One of the Civil Service tradi- tions is that the Cjvil Servant is the government of day," said A. J. Broom, general secretary, Society of Civil Servants. _ "This means that he does not commit himself in any way to pub- lic agreement or dissent with that government and its policies." Want Code Released Broom said the feeling among many civil servants was that some parts of the present code might be relaxed without embarrassment to government or damage to the Ser- vice. Although a civil servant did not carry his politics ato hig work he could not be divorced entirely from political or political opinions fn which he was interested. A man's participation in politics did not ne- cessarily identify the civil service with these politics. No indication has been given whether the government plans changes and opinions of all Civil Service organizations probably will be canvassed first. The five Civil Service unions affiliated with the Trades Union Congress have more than 400,000 members. Mercury Hits 97 In Fraseir Canyon Vanco{ver, May 27. (CP)-- British Columbia residents yester- day continued to swelter in unac- customed May heat. Victoria rec- orded an 85, a new high, and Na- naimo passed its 1901 high May temperature of 85 by four de- grees. ottest spots, however, were Hope and Lytton, Fraser Canyon towns, with 97, countries, is the ability to do busi- ness with the United States. To get essential goods from the US. the needy countries must have something to offer in exchange. Obviously - they have no goods to exchange because their productive capacity was ruined by the war. They cannot yet produce enough food for themselves. They have no security for a pri- vate loan. And they have no re- serve of United States dollars. They cannot buy dollars with their own currency because there is nothing the American ' people themselves could buy with that currency. The only alternative is to plead with the United States government to lend money with little hope of repayment. That is what they have been doing and the United States has responded with billions but over the objections of a growing flood of American pro- test. Canada Also Affected Cariada is a comparatively rich country. It is prosperous and has 'unlimited prospects for continued prosperity, Yet it, too is worried by the dollar situation. At the present trade balance lev- el Canada fs buying from the United States about $300,000,000 a year more than she sells to this country. That difference must be made up with hard American mon- ey or gold. In a year or two, at that rate, Canada will be out of American dollars. the world crisis 'caused by the lack] since disappeared. \ In a nutshell "the situation is is: Countries representing hundreds of millions of 'people must have the farm and industrial machinery and the food the United States can provide. They have no American money to pay for it and no goods or ser- vices to offer in exchange. They cannot accumulate goods for ex- change until they get back on their feet, wig hd cannot make tat recovery out the things 8 | United States can provide, It is a vicious circle that, at the moment, | can be broken only by continued United States credits. U.S, Subsidizes Exports Already -the United States, like Canada, is financing a great pro- portion of its exports to other countries. The governments es- tablish credits or loang from which the recipient countries pay the American and Canadian producers for what they send. This year the United States ex- pects to export about $16,000,000, 000 worth of goods and get back about $8,000,000,000 worth of im- ports. The other $8,000,000,00 must be covered by American dol- lars or credit. It is not a happy position for the United States, There is a growing protest against this pouring out of credit to foreign countries. But there also is the hard fact that if the United States cannot export, its home markets will quickly become saturated and mil- lions of workers will be idle. The one hope is essentially in Russia. If that country would wholeheartedly enter into the co- operative efforts to the other pow- ers to get Germany and Japan, and all other war-torn countries, back into production, the pressure would be eased. And if Russia would so conduct her foreign and domestic affairs that the world could be given a reasonable hope for a long period of tranquillity, private capital would flow into the devastated ar- eas to transform them into pros- perous centres for world trade. IIKE A TRAM? North Vancouver, B.C.--(CP) ~--J. E. Ingram bought an ancient street car. on a sudden impulse and now has a white elephant. His plan for turning it into a highway lunchroom was vetoed by zoning officials. 'They told me I can't put it herve, I can't put it there, I' can't put it anywhere-- | now I'd like to unload it." === AND WHAT DO. YOU CONSIDER /. THE BEST : GASOLENE ON THE MARKET A © = ELEMENTARY- ITs CITIES SERVICE . = ETNVL / 'Toothless' U.N. Council Is. Rapped Ottawa, May 27 (CP).--Gordon Graydon (PC-Peel) yesterday in the Commons expressed the "great- est kind of grave dilsappointment" that the United Nations was to have only a "kind' of toothless" Security Council to impose sanc- tions." ' He said it was apparent that the Council would constitute only a few "truant" officers to deal with the wrongdoing of "little boys" and asked when had "little boys" dome wrong without having "big boys" behind them. Mr. Graydon spoke as the House began study of a bill to enable the government to make it obligatory for Canadian citizens to carry out the responsibilities assumed*by the government in the field of non- military sanctions. . He said the question of world disarmament hinged on the Secur- ity Council and expressed fear that another great armament race may break out in the world. There never would be a maximum disarm- ament "if we are only going to have a few truant officers to see that it is carried out." He said the veto would result in every little power cultivating a big power for a friend"'and the world again would return to the days of "power blocs." Sterling Convertible At July 15 By JOHN DAUPHINEE Canadian Press Staff Writer London, May 27. -- (CP) -- The sterling which foreign cduntries earn from their trade with Britain must 'be convertible after July 16 into any currency in the world and the result may be more "austerity for 'the British people. The desire of most countries will be to whatever sterling they 'get into ddllars, so they can buy more food, raw materials and manufactured goods from the Unit- ed States and Canada. But every pound so used means a up a year ago, which Britain her- self must use to buy necessities. Already the American and Cana- dian loans are half spent and if dollars are used to pay for other ;| cost this country £200,000,000 abroad, ~ $4 drain on the lines of credit, set | loans of the February fuel crisis t in shipments Even. without the problem of currency conversion, -the man-in-. the-street faced the prospect of less .semi-luxury and luxury buy- ing. M: , food and raw ma- terials are the first requirement from North Am . Everything Sise Will nave 10 be trimmed to the ne. + Government spokesmen. say no one knows exactly what burden the convertibility of sterling by foreign countries will place on Britain's dollar resources. Some officials predict .it will be neglibible, No foreign country will be able to convert nto dollars all the sterle ing it earns by sales to Britain, Actually Britain has a favorable balance of trade with most non- dollar countries. In other words, more countries need more sterling to from Britain than they can earn from sales to this country. Even if a particular country --- say, Switzerland -- earns extra sterling, that sum may never be converted into dollars. France may ' take payment in sterling for goods shipped to Switzerland, because 90 § 2 DS Bigger DECISIONS France needs extra pounds to pay for British imports. But Britain's aim everywhere will be to buy as little as possible and sell as' much as possible. countries' purchases, British buy- ing must be reduced. : More e from Britain to the dollar area are the only alterna- tive to heavy withdrawals on the THE THOMPSONS a busy as bees, getting their place in shape for the tourist season. This year, with three more cabins, electricity and a modernized kitchen, they hope to do even better J SoMETIMES a. young lady decides to take matters into her own pretty hands--rather than sit around and wait for what's coming next. For example she might decide to turn on full power in her business career; or to make something out of her special musical or dramatic talents. And when a lady makes up her mind to Do Something about those dreams--stand by for action, One step towards personal independence is to have a chat with a North American Life representative. Programs beginning as low as $5 a month can guarantee those dreamea of trips abroad, those winters in the sun. You'll discover current decisions are more easily and more wisely made when your future independence is abuilding, And should Cupid throw his beflowered monkey wrench into your personal plans, your North American Life investment will be very, very useful indeed. Suggestion: write or' call your North American Life man. His advice is AISEHED 6 backed by a . 66-year-old mutual Company, B. G. HAWKINS -- District Manager Ce 173 KING ST. EAST ALL PROFITS FO R POLICYHOLDERS than before. They: were able to make these ade ditions because last fall Mr. Thompson drove to town to see his bank manager. He knew about. the nice little business the Thonpeoiis had built up; a bank loan was quickly arranged. Now the Thompsons can handle more tourists and increase their income. At) the same time Canada will benefit from the extra tourist dollars they take in,