The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Sogn: Te ia ig . RR ~THE DAILY TIMES-GAZETTE 8 > The 'Co-op: A Billion Dollar U.S. Business ES 4 \ till Growing 3 Avrouses Uneasy Cr itics. Knitting Health . " ; Border Patrol Fears Smuggling Boom If Northern Boundary Force Is Cut - , By Douglas Larsen w CONSUMER GROUPS HAVE 19 MILLION MEMBERS ALONE | NEW! YORK, April 19 -- The mon ~ scheduled air carriers, ope erating an average of two planes each, had been paying more than 30 cents a gallon for ne, Mechanical work on thelr craft had been costing $3 an hour, and everything else in proportion. The other day 64 of them got together and' formed a corpora- tion 'to do their buying. Now ey get gasoline for less than iB cents, mechanical work for $2.25 an hour, and other sup- plies at wholesale cost. That is an excellent illustration of how the co-operative move- ment, which is under' attack in some quarters, works. To some the term "Co-op" sug- gests the farmers' buying coe operatives through which they get grain, seed, fertilizer, gaso- line, tools and supplies. To oth-, it means marketing co-oper- atives, of which the California Fruit Growers and their "Sun- Xe brand are best known. e¢ mutual savings bank in which you leave spare money at interest, the mutual life insur~ ance company in which you have a policy, the credit. union to which you belong, -all are co- operatives, But the movement has much wider scope than that, and is spreading every year into new elds. . A farmer living near Elk City, Okla, had his son's appendix re- . moved. The. boy pital eight days. The father paid * * .Fashion Note From United Kingdom The salons of the big London dressmakers have been crowded by buyers and journalists, from Britain and overseas, who came to see the 1947 spring and sume mer collections of clothes. The evening gowns were more luxur- fous than any seen since before World War II. Norman Hartnell showed a gown in gold tissue with a skirt showing six separate drapings; the effect was some- thing like a harem skirt, The off- the-shoulder line' is less popular but near-crinoline skirts are shown in practically every house. Peter Russell's collection--small but technically perfect--included skirts with turned-up hems like (those on trousers and neo Mosca designed a melon skirt, its fullness accentuated by being pulled under at the hem, The woollen fabrics from United Kingdom mills attracted es est and every house reported or. ders that will keep them b until well into the spring. Fores most among the fabrics are the soft duvetyns, doeskins, cloth) \ suitings and tweeds on which the \ woollen mills have been working | hard since the war 'ended. * * Anti-Malarial Drug Gives Fine Results * Paludrin, the new antl-malarial drug first developed during the war was systematically tried out in the state of Victoria, in Aus- tralia. Treatment with the drug was given to 3,172 people suffer- ing from recurring bouts of malaria and in only 12 cases did the illness re-appear. This was only one-third per cent of the pa- tients. The remaining 99 8-3 per cent were completely cured by the I.C.L product. ually suc- cessful results were achieved in the other states. 91-octane ; Women Will Fly With the R.C.AF. In Postal Traffic TWO FORMS of the wide-spread co-operative are shown in action in these pictures, The couple at left watching a doctor examine their baby are members of a Washington, D. C., group which owns its own health service. The woman knitting stockings at right is one of 800 Philadelphians who banded together to form a self-sustaining, co-operative industry, $215 in all, Then he joined the co-operative Elk City Commun- ity Hospital, He had to buy one '$50 share, and for a family of four he pays $25 a year dues, When his daughter needed an appendectomy he = took her there. She spent ten days in hos- pital and the total bill was $42. The co-operative movement really began in 1844, whén 28 was ina _hos-iobless weaversin Rochdale, Eng- d, pooled one pound each of savings and started the first successful co-op store, It has spread now until last year it did more than a billion dollar business in this country alone. The latest figures avail- able, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, estimated that in 1945 there were 27,036 consumer co- * * Exciting new careers for wom- en are forecast in a' statement made in the United: Kingdom House of Commons by the Air Minister, Mr. Philip Noel-Baker. For the first time they will be enroled in the Royal Air Force in a non-combatant capacity as pilots, navigators, radio officers and flight engineers. . This revo- lutionary advance is part of a plan to integrate the Women's Auxiliary Air Force permanently into the R.AF. for service at home and abroad. The R.AF. Reserve Organization will also have a women's flying branch in which they. will fly their own planes in their own squadrons, Recruits will be mainly .women who already hold pilot licences, and those who flew in the ferry \ pool of the Air Transport Auxil- iary during the war, A * Heavy Speed-up To meet the demands of ever increasing postal traffic in Brit- ain--a reflection of its industrial activity--ordinary manpower is insufficient. Britain's Post Of- fice is \now using electrically- driven stamp cancelling machines, which can deal with over 600 letters and postcards a minute, or over 10 a second. Were one of those machines allowed to run without interruption, it would stamp nearly 900,000 letters in any 24-hour) period. u In Reindeer Country LONDON, Apri 19--Lieuten ant Commander Douglas Dixon told recently about his life in Lapland. Commander Dixon used to sall in trawle.. round the North Cape befor the war and he wanted to see "What was on the othe. side." During the war, he rejoined the navy but now he and his wife and six-year-old | daughter, Astrid, live at Jokk- mokk, just ebove the Arctic Circle and in the heart of the 'reindeer country, with the port of Narvik about 107 miles to the north. "Although it's on the fringe of the wildes: place in Europe," sald Commander Dixon, "I've a comfortable stuga -- that's a house, you know, in the woods. And it's so warm In summer that I use a converted fishing smack and cruise all over the & Depth of Water waters of the Baltic. We're re- building her now ready for sea in! May." ; . This winter he has been busy working with the reindeer. "Mind you," he warned, "I've no intention of shopting © line, but the Swedes say tha. I'm the only Englishman who's lived with the Lapps, shared their life and herded their/ reindeer. And this year, for-the first time in his- tory, the Lapps are selling rein- deer skins communally. . . . "Last Christmas my dog wond- ered off and dug himself a hole in the middle of the reindeer herd. Normally the Lapps would have knocked him on the head just as they would a wolf, But I recovered -him--and they were sd delightes that at their samon-, or committee meeting, trade, they rewarded me by asking me { to market all reindeer skins out- side Lapland, . « "Now my Intention Is to make , about 50 British schoolboys as fa- miliar with Lapland as I am, I've chartered the uninhabited island of Manno for three months, in- cluding its solitary house that was used by Swedish troops in 1940, and the Commander of the Pangbourne Nautical College will be my Number One. My wife will do the catering and the boys will enjoy . \sailing and cruising. They'll knock about in shorts-- it's so warm--and the big thrill will be when they do the trek right across Lapland from Lulea to Narvik-living in Lapp kata or tents among the nomad peo- le." \ ops, with more than 19 million members. There are co-ops : stores, restaurants, recreational facilities, hos, ftals « There are co-ops th ine and sell coal, refine sell\gasoline, make and sell many products. There are co-op banks,' insurance compan- les, credit Institutions, public utilities, There are. co-ops that 'market cotton, wool, tobacco, that run , honey, prunes, wine, mushrooms, nuts, vegetables, beef, poultry, dairy products, grain, There are housinz co-ops. Some are small, but others blanket their field: Almost all cranberries, 90 per cent of all lemons, a third of all dairy pro- ducts, Fortune Magazine esti mates, 'are handled by co-ops, though you and your friends buy them from privately - owned stores. These operations explain why the co-operative movement has come under heavy fire by busi- ness interests that feel they are being deprived of customers and revenue, Most criticisms seem to boil down to these: The co-op movement is tending toward socialism. To this co-operatives point to the very small proportion of most business that they do, and con- tend that any group-has a right to get together and do things for itself, 2. The co-op movement is given unfair assistance through tax exemptions. The fact is that co- operatives are subject to every tax imposed on any corporation or business, in similar fields, -ex- cept the corporate income tax. Their exemption from this is shared by every individually owned business and every part- nership. = The "dividends" that they pay are taxed, or not, according to the same rules as for a privately- owned business. If "dividends" are in fact price cuts on goods purchased, they are not taxed. Neither are trade discounts given by. private sellers, or the "divi. dends" given by some depart- ment stores which are actually percentage refunds on the cost of the year's purchases. But "dividends" that are really additional payments for goods sold are subject to income tax. So are genuine dividends on the capital 'stock of co-operatives. The profit made by co-opera-, tives on sales to non-members is subject to tax, just like the profit made by stores on sales to customers. 'The meat of genuine contro- versy is "savings" or "profit" which, instead of being distribut- ed to buyers or sellers is held for re-investment in the busi- ness. The National Tax Equality Association believes these should be taxed. The Courts say they should not. 3. Co-ops are aided by govern- ment banks. The 13 Banks for Co-operatives lend at four per cent, up to 60 per cent of value. for the purchase of facilities. They lend at 2% per cent for op- erating capital, and at 1% per cent for commodity loans. But, the co-ops says, they get a large share of their money from private banks on better terms than the government grants. And private businesses get RFC loans. "4, Co-ops get research, service and educational assistance from government departments. To which their friends retort by calling attention to tariffs, sub- sidles, research and educational work done by government agen- cles for the benefit of any busi- ness. 5. Co-op stock is exempt from Securities and Exchange regula- tions. They are not subject to anti-trust laws. These both are true. Since the co-ops deal al- most exclusively with their own members, their friends question how important the exemptions are, * * Plugs Made From Nothing * * Experience shows that a quan. tity of ceramic material, used for insulation, is lost * in the manufacture of sparking plugs. Up till now, no one had thought it necessary to use this waste in powder form, and this valuable material in its original form was lost in the atmosphere or was turned out - as refuse. A big British firm specializing in the manufacture of sparking plugs has now installed a new electro- filter plant which will enable this waste to be used economic- ally. The production figures are amazing. In the case of this firm, material sufficient for making millions of sparking plugs has been recovered in a year by the use of this new elec- tro-filter. on Alert "London Police Ever The London telephone number 999 was rung over 60,000 times during the' course of last year, Calling this number brings imme- diate assistance to the inhabi- tants of the metropolis when danger threatens, such as an out- break of fire, a street 'accident requiring the services of an am- bulance and medical aid or any kind of attempt at crime. When 999 is rung an impersonal voice asks for what purpose assistance is required, whether the fire brigade, the ambulance service or the police should be called. More often than not the police are required and contact is then made with the informa- tion room at Scotland Yard. This information room is the \ Britain Would Beat Own Aviation Mark Plans for another, attack on the world's airspeed record were re- vealed recently by Group Cap- tain E. M, Donaldson when he was presented with the Britane nia trophy, awarded annually for the year's most outstanding per- formance in aviation, Group Cap- tain Donaldson established the new world's speed record of 616 m.p.h. last September in a Glos- ter Meteor Four fighter plane powered by two Rolls Royce 'Derwent Five" jet-propelled en- gines, He now intends to make a mon-stop record flight in a jet propelled Meteor from San Fran- cleo to New York, a distance of 2, miles and expects to be able to cruise at nearly 700 m.p.h. --8 Is Photographed : It is a well-known fact that charts iving the dept': of water around even much frequented coastlines are not always reliable with the result that faulty rec- ords of depths have been the cause of shipwrecks. In order to remedy this defect; British Coastal Command is making use of a new method which Is simpler and more reliable than other methods. ! The measurements 'are car- ried out photographically, two cameras being fitted to the air- craft, each 'photographing ver-- tically downwards, Panchromatic films are used in each case, one camera being fitted with a green and the other with a red filter. By comparing the two photo- graphs, experts can determine the depth of water to within three ie't if one stretch of coast thus photographed is known in every detail, This is possible be- cause coastal waters are nsually comparatively shallow .and pro- duce quite a different effect on the film if photographed through a green or a red filter, If a green. filtér is used, the water appears as mué¢h more transparent than with a red filter, sc that the dis- tance between the surface of the water and the bottom of the sea' --the: depth, in other words--can be determined. By H. J. Uxlen nerve centre for police operations and is run on lines precisely simi- lar to the Admiralty or Fighter Command operations room during World War II. There are a num- ber of tables with maps on thém, each Tepressnting a different London 'district and showing the position of the police cars, which can be ready to give assistance in their areas within a matter of seconds. The officer on duty first decides which of the police cars can co-operate most quickly, he then writes his instructions and hands them to the operator, who immediately sends out a call. This} call sign is not, as for American police' cars, "Calling all cars," but a morse signal. As soon as"it is heard the po- lice in London's 55 patrol cars lis- ten with care. Each car is man- ned by two uniformed police, the driver and the operator, and a lain clothes man, the observer. he car is then off in a flash to the site of the crime. These cars enabled 6,000 arrests to be made during last year, the majority of the cases being very ordinary, "unromantic" crimes, such as car thefts, brawls, burglaries and the like, naturally inevitable in the daily life of any vast city, the more especially now when there are thousands of deserters with- out papers and the aftermath of war is felt in continued shortage of consumer goods, and rationing, in war-damaged buildings remain- ing easy of entry and the short- age of manpower normal peace-time supervision so far ime possible. ? The London police are at the present time just as ably-fitted, with the medern means at their disposal, to meet these many de- mands laid upon them, as they were as a newly created force a hundred years ago to deal with the chaotic conditions then preva- lent as a result of the industrial revolution and the political con- flicts; they rest: order then and they keep order now, yet now as then they go unarmed and now as then their alm is less the ar- rest of criminals than the preven- tion of crime. This alm was stressed .in the original instruc- tions given the newly created Metropolitan police by their first chiefs, Rowan and Mayne -- "It should be understood at the out- set that the. object to be attained is the prevention of crime, . . . When many offenders are com- mitted, is must appear to the commissioners that the police is not properly conducted." These instructions were issued in| 1829 and have since been faithfully followed by the London police. Such unarmed police can only be efficient if they can rely upon the confidence and support of the majority of people, and this con- fidence has been earned by their definite efficiency and their friendly attitude, and still more by the fact that they have never been put to any political misuse. The British police are the guard- lans of the law and their position is above any and every political , power. : The police in Britain had early appreciated the danger that they could easily, as so often proved . the case in other countries, be- come an instrument of oppres- sion. They Have, therefore, done everything possible to avoid pro- vocative measures or even the slightest suggestion of anything -of the kind. They carry no weapons, rarely introduce force when making arrests and scarce- ly ever use their truncheons, but resort instead to psychology, relying upon the public's respect and confidence and the law- breaker's appreciation of their efficienéy, which has won re- own, This prestige of the London fles in the outstanding capability and training of each individual member, due to a great extent to the selection of candi- _ dates and the adoption of the lat- est methods of detection, typical of which are the police cars and the telephone number 999. * 'British Products With New Appeal * Products of an e-tirely new design will be among the exhib-~ its shown in the Engineering and Hardware Section of the British Industries Fair in May. The range of goods displayed which will be wider than ever before will also include a number of items incorporating new advan- ces In technique. Many products will have a special c.ppeal to ov- erseas markets. The Board of Trade reports today that the de- mand for space at the fair has been greater than in ary pre- vious year and that additional * accommodation have been made available in outdoor sections ad- jacent to main entrances for ex- hibits suitable for this type of display. It adds that- the hotel accommodatioh is a problem, but organizérs have made arrange- ments to deal with' enquiries from intending visitors. The fair will be held from May 5 to 16. The Engineering and Hardware Section will be housed in a 16- acre building at Castle Brom- wich, Birmingham. - into AMPHIBIOUS PATROL: These Customs men who guard the U. S.- Canadian border must be able to paddle their own canoes by sum- mer, travel by snowshoes and skis in winter in the wilderness. WASHINGTON, April 19.--On "snowmobiles" and snowshoes in winter, on foot and in flimsy canoes in 'summer, the United States Border Patrol men guarding the boundary between Canada and the United States have managed to keep smuggling down to an - inconsequential trickle. But the trickle could become a torrent of narcotics and other illegal goods, according to U.S. Customs officials, if the Customs Service is forced to eliminate its Canadian border patrol because of Congressional budget cuts. Proposed cuts -would force Customs Service to fire 200 cus- toms border patrolmen assigned to stations along the Canadian boundary, says W. R. Johnson, U. 8. Commissioner of Customs. Already, 743 Port Patrol officers assigned to New York have been discharged. The vigil which the Border Patrol has maintained for years along the lonely boundary be- tween the United . States and Canada has discouraged most would-be smugglers. ~The job requires periodic inspections of every mile of the continent-wide line, In the summer, it is most= ly a green wilderness. In the winter, icy storms make it a des- olate cold stretch. ' The job takes hardy men. Their essign- ment is simple and specific: pre= vent smuggling, . Without these hardy men doe Ing this specific job, the Cana- dian border would offer & tempting door for smugglers. Johnson says that already the incteased volume of customs business has forced the agency dangerously streamlined procedures. For example, he points out, "We have discontine ued the weighing of wool at Bose ton and are accepting invoice weights on this commodity which is dutiable at rates ranging from 13 to 37 cents per pound and on which duties in the amount of $144,227,927 were collected dur- ing the last fiscal year, Im- porters' samples are being used to test the sucrose content of sugar, which governs the tariff \ rate in the collection of duty which will amount to over $40,000,000 next year." The Mexican border has al- ways been the source of the most trouble to the Customs Service. Most smuggling is at- tempted across that boundary, Customs Service officlals do not plan to reduce this force even under present Congressional cuts, But they fear that if the cuts are allowed to stand, the Canadian border might become the most troublesome, LONELY FOOTPRL.TS+ A snowshoe trail makes the lonely vigil of U. 8. Customs patrol along the fence that marks the international boundary near Mars Hill, Me. Customs officials fear this lne will be crossed with the footprints of smugglers if economy cuts foree on of the patrol. INSIDE JOb: When America's border is 8 port, Customs patrol probes incoming ships to seek out contraband. These officers poiend a ship at New York are on their last job before being discharged, along with 748 other port patrol men, because of budget slash. Re-educating Prisoners of War British public opinion has re- "cently been greatly concerned about the question of repatriation of German prisoners-of-wapr = there are 400,000 to 500,000 of them--in British hands. What- ever one's attitude to this ques- tion, one thing can be said safe- ly: that thanks to the soclal and political re-education organized y the British government in camps in Britain and the Middle East, the time which the Ger- Jnana spend in captivity is not ost. The chlef aim of this re-educa- tion is to make the Germans understand the principles and practice of the democratic form of government, and what it im- plies for the individual and the nation. To this effect special ine structional courses and lectures with free discussion are held for the prisoners; libraries have been built up in the camps, containing especially the literature forbidden in Nazi Germany; publications to suit the needs and requirements of the camp inmates are being produced; and home and foreign newspapers and magazines, and films are at their disposal. [n this carefully organized scheme, self-education is an in- tegral part. That is why initia- tive displayed by prisoners is welcomed, as it encourages the more valuable elements among the Germans and fosters the shouldering of responsibility and constructive work. The Y.M.C.A. Young Men's Christian® Associa- tion) and the British Red Cross Society are particularly helpful in this side of the re-education scheme. Extensive teaching and learning take place in the camps. Among the prisoners there are not only older men capable of teaching the younger ones in all sorts of trades and crafts, but also a high number of professional teachers. So it became possible to hold regular classes based on the Ger- man curriculum, especially for the "Abitur," the German high- er school certificate, Arrange- \ ments have been made to ensure recognition in Germany of cer- tificates received. Apart from English, which is studied by about 50,000 men, other foreign lang- uages such as French, Spanish and Russian, are being learned. In many cases "teaching and learning" have taken the form of the study circle, the "Arbeits- gemeinschaft," which calls itself sometimes *'democratic" or "po- litical," sometimes "Christian." The study circles receive their strongest stimulus from outside: either through visiting lecturers, or through fellow-prisoners, re- turning to their base camps with new ideas and fresh impressions after a few weeks' course In a training céntre. The art of pub- lic speaking, of objective discus- sion, and of listening patiently and politely to contrary opinions, is being practised, mainly in de- bating political, sociological, philosophical and religious topics. Music was, however, the com- mon ground where prisoners from all walks of life could meet. For the formation of a choir practi- cally no outside help was neces sary. Trained and untrained voices joined forces, and choirs arose everywhere in the camps. But it was more difficult to es- tablish orchestras, for, even when conductors and musicians were available, music and instruments had to be found. Here welfare societies, muinly run by the Y.M.CA. and the Red Cross assisted, and later also the wel- fare funds created by the prison ers themselves from their earne ings, helped towards the pur chase of instruments. One or- chestra founded in a Middle East desert camp acquired a remark- able reputation even before the end of the war. As time went "on a great number of bands were founded and there was no short- age of soloists. Operas and light operas were produced, and first performances were given of works, whose authors and com- posers were prisoners. One camp paper recorded such a "real first performance of an opera, with great orchestra, ballet and fabu- lous scenery, very likely repre- senting a unique occurrence in. international prisoner-of-war his- tory." - This took place recently \in one of the camps in England. Painting, sculpture and graphic ts are represented too, and the prisoners also learn to play sports and games. Football is the fa- By Helen Ast vorite sport, but handball and "Faust"-ball are played and box- ing and wrestling are popular, Many of the prisoners are ene gaged on agricultural or building work and are thus in touch with the local population. They are, therefore, aware of the spirit in which these facilities are afford- ed, which is the spirit of demog- racy in action. * * Plan To Improve Weather Data During this year Britain will spend nearly $8,000,000 on de- veloping and improving weather forecasting services. This is re- vealed in a memorandum on air estimates just issued by the Sec- retary of State for Air. The re organization of headquarters of the meteorological office is be- ing carried out to strengthen the high direction of the work and to enable increased commitments to be adequately dealt. with. This extra activity is largely due to additional demands for expert guidance on atmospheric condi tions now coming from civil avia- tion. * * Britain Will Open Police College * * During the course of this year a new National Police College is to be opened in Britain to serve as a training ground for inspect- ors and top ranking officers. It will offer an opportunity for every constable to fit himself for filling the highest posts in the police force, since the future pol- icy for the constabulary is that all officers will be drawn from the ranks, The new college re- Jiaces the foPmer training estab ishment--the Metropolitan Pol- ice College at Hendon--which, was discontinued during the war. *