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In the Newsprint World Consolidated Paper Corporation Limited ranks among the world's largest newsprint producer! and hag had an outstanding financial record in recent years. !. Net current assets increased $13,833,957 in five years ended December 31st, 1942. 2. Corporation statements have shown no hank loans since 1939 compared with $19,403,625 on January 1st, 1932. 3. Net operating earnings in 1942 were equal* to about three time* bond interest require. Consolidated Paper Corporation Limited &h% First Mortgage Bond* due July 2ml. 1961 1'ayaLIr in Canada, New York and London. Eng. Denomination*: $100, $500 and $1,000 Price: At the market, to yield about 6% Descriptive circular flatUy forwarded upon request, 36 Kinj Street Wett ,^. _, Toronto nood, ( Hi nd y & < oiii ;>:i 1 1 v Telephone: ELgin 4321 Limited THE WAR WEEK Commentary on Current Events Land and Weather Against Allied Forces In March Toward Rome Two questions which for months have Intrigued, or frequently dis- turbed, the mind of the average American are why the Allies h&ve been so slow In opening a Western front, and why are we making such little progress against the Germans in the march toward Rome, says the Argonaut, San Frauslico. The two famous reputable cor- respondents, Krule Pyle in Italy, and William Philip Slmius In Washington, have given the ans- wers to those question!!. Slmms says that weather is hold- Ing up the invasion of France. "It U a known fact that from now un- til the end of March the weather In northern Francs and the Low countries : abominable. When Marshal von Hlndenberg facd the necessity of picking the open- Ing date for hln final campaign la that region he chose Maroh II, Vhlch ws as early as that old (ambler dared chance It. U may '. of oouris. that General Klien- hower will pick an earlier time to Establish t bridgehead on the 'In- vasion ooMt,' but thoie who Know the terrain best don't believe he will. Roth ground and air are too full of water." Invasien Time St Nearly every military strategist agrees with thU logic, and Slmmi further uys: "The Yanks and nil tlsh will first have to cross the English Channel. Thoy niuit carry tanks and gum and all th rest of their equipment with them. Th*y must get ashore in the face of deadly resistance along the world's most powerfully fortified coast. They must climb up on tha beaches and hold them us they did at Salerno and Tarawa, but on a vastly larger scale and at far greater cost. And they must keep on advancing, and keep on by sea. To falter inUlic be fatal. To be defeated might cost us th war." That, the Argonaut believes. Is why the Ulg Knur America, llrlt- aln, Russia and China --agreed on single program of strategy fur the Invasion, and selected <;.-iiral Blsenhower to eierut* it at ft de- finite time, uuder definitely pre- agreed upon conditions and clr- oumstuicM. War In Italy Tough Kruie 1'yle. explaining; the stow- down In the Allied liiv on Home, bluntly say* this: "The war lu Italy is lough The land and the weather are both against us. It rains and It rains. Vehicles bog down and temporary lirld^i's wash >ul. Tim country i shockingly beautiful, but J'j&t as Hhocklngly hard to capture from the onemy. The hills ris to high :!.... of al- most Kolid ro'-k. You <,iu't go around them . . . so yon have to go up and over A m.-ro platoon ot Hermans, woil dug in on hlgh- rock-lplnnd bill can hold out for * long lime a^afiiyl tnimendoiis "Hevtng com* from home no re- cently, I know )uu folks back tlieie are disappointed and iiu/zled by the slow proitrcAi In Italy You wonder why * movo forward no imperceptibly. You are Impatient (or us (o get to Rom*. Well, 1 csn tell you this <>nr troops are just OK lni(iatfi-nt fur Horn* as you. They all xuy wh thing* is flits: 'It was never Hits Imd In Tunisia' 'VS' ran Into A new brand of Krnuts i>r here.' 'Kvery day we don't advance i* one day longer before we ut homtv' "Our troops are living In a way almost Inromvlvable to you In lh<> Btatei. llm f.-ini black valleys are kueii dep in mud. Tluiiisand* f the men have not !><< dry for Other thou*ajidi Ue at night in the high mountains with tho temperature below freezing and the thin snow drifting over them. "They dig into the stones and sleep in little chasms and behind rocks and in half caves. They live like men of prehistoric times, and a club would become them more than a machine gun. How they survive the winter misery at all Is beyond us who have the oppor- tunity of drier beds In the warmiv valleys. Path Is Tedious "It Is not the fault of our troop*, Lut Your Idle Equipment With Us THE ALISON MACHINERY COMPANY LIMITED 20S Simcu. Strt TORONTO 2 B. |750. PC, and cmh nwardr for original musical composi- tion*. Canadian* of either ..- < under SI jraarn on March 1 1141, tli* closing flat* far entries, Junior Olvl.ilon open to com- petitor* under II who do uot qualify for major prise*. For entry form* and full In- formntlon apply CANADIAN PEKI-'ORMINU KIUHT SOC- IETY LIMITED, Itoynl Bank Uulldln*;. Toronto. VOICE OF THE PRJE_SS HUMAN PASTURAGE Parsley, spruce bark and lawn grass are hailed by a chemist a raluabla sources of Vitamin 0. All right, we'll make the effort and eat that stuff they ..vruiklt* on our boiled potatoes, but we'll be darned if wo'll cut the li.vn with our teeth or go out In tha woods and gnaw trees. Windsor Star. NO JAP HUMANITY Japanese airmen are not pro- vided with narachutes or other means for seeking safety, in tha event of disaster in the air. Tha Jap la just as ruthless with his own fighters as he is with tha enemy. Humanity as we know It finds no place in the Japanese heart. Chatham Daily News. o VERBAL MONSTROSITY A news-render on C.B.C. pro- nounced Christmas as "Xmaa." Written out, Xinas has 110 place in decent society. Pronounced as abridged it is a verbal monstrosity which comes oddly from tin ag- ency intended to promote, among other lliiiiKf, culture and good speech. Ottawa Journal. o FRANKLIN'S WAY Benjamin Franklin defended "yf" us a natural and perfectly understandable way of ."polling "wife." Although Ren was yz in most things, lie was yd of the mark on that one. Fort Krie Times-Itr-view). o FUTILE EFFORT Why sliouM a man try to hide behind a woman's skirts when a woman herself cannot do it now- adays. nor of tlieir direction, that the northward path is a tedious one. It is the weather and the terrain and the weather. "If there were no German fight- Ing troops In Italy, If (here were merely (ierman engineers to blow up th bridges in the passes, If never a shot was fired at all. our northward march would .still be slow. "No one who ha* not teen this mud, these dark skies, then forbidding ridges, and ghost-like clouds thit urvsfl nd then quickly hide your killer, should have the right to be Impatient with tha pro- gress along the road to Rome.' Weather Will Break Soon And we do not hellevH that any- one who has not suffered that mud and squalor, which held up the great Allied drives fo victory In World \Vur 1, sho.ihl lie too im- patient, either. Within a few wimks the weather will break in Italy, and with clear oklei and drying terrain the Allies will move forward, Into Koine ,atul on to the Hrncer I'nsa! THE ROYAL BANK OF CANADA ANNUAL MEETING Morris W. Wilson, President, says any degree of political freedom impossible under wholly planned economy. Challenges socialists to show how public would benefit by state monoply of banking. Sydney G. Dobson, Vice President and General Manager, reports bank business at unprecedented levels. Assets reach new peak of over $1,500,000,000. The threat to the personal lib- erty of all Canadians, inherent In the plans of the socialists for tha nationalization of Canadian indus- try, wag emphasized by Morris W. Wilson. President of The Royal Bank of Canada, at the bank's Annual Meeting. Mr. Wilson reviewed the tre- meudous role Canada had played in thi!i mightiest war of ail time and the manner in which work- men and enterprisers alike had co- operated in it. "Despite this fact," he said, "we are being told by all the publicity methods revolution- ary partisans can devise, that in oi-'li-r to win the peace we must change our entire economic sys- tem and launch out into new and untried paths, under new and in- exiierienced leaders. The theor- ists and visionaries who preach !li.".i' doctrines of an economic revolution may be thoroughly honest and sincere. But the fact remains that the principles they advocate can only lead, as a final and inevitable result, to a com- pletely regimented economy, and on this point I cannot do better than quote the Editor of the Lon- don Economist, a well-known writer of liberal views: "... A wholly planned economy "is Incompatible with any degree "i political freedom. The possibil- ity of a man's earning his living "in his own way, without let or "hindrance, is the essential condl- "rlon of (lure being any freedom "of discussion, any freedom to op- "poso. If more than a fraction of "the electorate come to depend for "thflr livelihood upon the temper- 4 .u \ masters of the mechanism of "ilie State- that is, upon the polt- "tlcians -then democracy Is at an "end." "I am more convinced than ever that tha menace of socialistic teaching is one which closely af- fects everyone In Canada In both his business and private life. "These advocate! of a new order havtt an astounding scheme, which will result in nothing less than complete regimentation of Canada. A* you know, one of their principal objectives, and the first plank la their platform, is to nationalize the banks. SOCIALIST MENACE "Naturally, we are interested la preserving our business, in which m many shareholders have Invest- ed, aiwl to which so many deposi- tors have entrusted their savings. But even mure as citizens than as Tiny Atlantic Isle Is Strategic Spot A pinpoint of land in the South Atlantic, less than 38 square mill's in area, was disclosed by the United States Army as one of the must vital spots in Allied strategy. It has served as a funnel for shipping 5,000 planes to Africa. The War Department lifted the veil of secrecy from the role played by tiny Acension Island, a dot on the plane ferry route be- tween South America and Africa. Ascension is only one stop on one route which the air transport command uses in its trans-Atlan- tic operations, but the depart- ment declared that probably no base lias such strategic signific- ance. Construction of Wideawake field on Ascension was sturted March 30, !! 13, when a detach- ment of Army engineers moved in ami started working day and mi^lit on the pile of volcanic rock, finders, dirt and one oasis of vegetation on the mountainside. The work was completed in three months amid the greatest secrecy. Since war began, Great Hrituin has spent SG.CiGO.OOO.OOO in the I'nited Slates on supplies of all kinds. businessmen, we deplore the rise of this creed, because we firmly believe. that implementation of the socialist plan would ruin this gen- eration and set Canada back cen- turies. "It 1* as a citizen as well as a banker that I put before you some further considerations to which I hope you will give your earnest thought. "The course of the socialist party In Canada has been charted for us in several books which make clear that nothing short of complete socialization of the means of pro- duction and finance will satisfy the party. That means domination of every phase of economic life, Including agriculture, labour and capital. Therefore, because we all fall into one or other of the classes, it means domination of every in- dividual. "What would the socialists achieve by nationalization of the banks? Their book on social plan- ning says that they will form one board of directors for the national bank monopoly instead of the ten boards which now operate the com- petitive chartered banks. "Socialist^ literature suggests thru access to the books of the bank and a consequent rupture of the confidential relationship that now exists between bank and de- positor, would be of inestimable value in determining taxation poli- cies. But would this appeal to the depositor? "Furthermore, as we are organ- ized today, a prospective borrower may go from one bank to another If he falls to convince the first banker of his probity, ability and prospects; under the socialistic system, unless the prospective bor- rower could convince the state bank of the soundness of the project for which he sought to borrow money, and also that the transaction to be financed was in harmony with soc- ialist party objectives, he would be turned down and would have no other bank to look to for a loan. Do you think that such a system would assure the borrower of as fair treatment as he now receives T "I believe the answer to these two questions, affecting depositor* and borrowers. Is a positive 'No.' On the contrary, history and ex- perience lead in to expect that such a government monopoly of hanking would lead to favouritism of party adherents. At the same time, we should witness a spread of that sterility of Ideas and enter- prise which tends to accompany every human activity that finds It- self In a position of unchallenge- able power." PRIVATE BANKING BEST Mr. Wilson suggested that it was not simply due to chance that banking the world over had con- tinued in private hands, but that the people ami the Uovernments had considered It advisable from every point of view that banking should be free of political and par- tisan influences. He reminded his audience that Canadian banks were already effectively controlled by the Itanli of Canada and that fur- ther intervention by the Govern- ment in the banking business would, In his belief, be superfluous and would not be welcomed by the majority who deal with the bunks. Mr. Wilson again urged business to speak up on its own behalf. "Itusiness will have only Itself to hluine if, through inaction, it va- cates or falls to occupy fields of activity into which U later finds that public opinion has forced the (iovernnient to enter." Mr. Wilson saw no reason for approaching the post-war era with any defeatist attitude and declar- ed that the same energy. Initiative and uclfU'ssuess wuich had devel- oped in the war years, could be usoit for constructive purposes aft- er the peace. Ill all plans for the rehabilltnttan of deviistttted countries the United States uml Canada would be looked to as loaders, he said. POST-WAR REHABILITATION "I personally helinvo that large outright gifts of food, raw mate- rials, finished goods and nuichinery to backward ami devastated coun- tries will In thti long run, and even from the most selfish point of view, not only contribute most to human welfare, but both in the short and long run be in the best Interests of those nations which ca afford to make the gifts. "If this Is too much to expect of human beings in their present stage of development, the alterna- tive must be loans on a very lar^e scale on long and easy terms, or probably a combination of both loans and gifts." GENERAL MANAGER'S ADDRESS Sydney G. Dobson, Vice Presi- dent and General Manager, in re- viewing the bank's Balance Sheet said that the volume of business passing through the bank's books had been unprecedented during the past year. Total assets now ex- ceeded $1,500,000,000, an all-time high In the history of the bank. He reviewed at length the part played by the banks In assisting the country's war financing. "There appears to be a miscon- ception in the minds of some people that the banks purchase a sub- stantial portion of the Government public issues and increase their earnings In this manner. This is not the case. During 1943 two Vic- tory Loans were issued, realizing J2,692,000,000. The 4th Victory Loan floated in May last was pur- chased by 2,669,000 subscribers and the 5th Victory Loan in October, by over 3,000,000. In neither loan did the banks buy bonds for their own account. While there is natur- ally some change in the holdings of the original subscribers, rel- atively only an unimportant amount found its way into the banks. "In common with the other banks, we have done everything possible to make these Vic'.jry Loans a success. Managers have encouraged customers to subscribe or to increase their subscriptions. All depositors considered capable of subscribing* for an amount of $50 or more have been written to and advertisements have been in- serted in the press urging deposi- tors to subscribe to the full extent of their ability." EARNINGS MODEST Despite the tremendous Increase in the business of the bank, earn- ings were modest, said Mr, Dob- son. "1 think that any fair-minded, person will agree that th (2,100,- 000 paid to shareholders lut year was 11 very modest amount to be paid to the proprietors of the bank, when we consider the size of the organization and the tra- meiAiious ai-iouat of business it U necessary to handle In order to earn that amount. Any other type of business working with asset* of one and a half billion dollar! would have baen able to earn for shareholders a. considerably larger return. If we consider this 7ield la relation to our two malm earn- ing asset!, loans and investment!, we find that the dividend paid to our ihareholders was !!! than 1 .', .1 of one cent on the dollar o the total of these two Items, ft' very trifling handling charge, to say the least. 1 hav never heard the claim mad* that Canadia* banks are not efficiently run, therefore the answer must on that the profit In banking U small." Mr. Dobson reported that the progress made by the bank'! South American branch*! had been particularly gratifying and that its foreign branches wera lu a position to be of practical aid In promoting post-war trade. The General Manager remarked on the efficient manner In which the bank's staff had dealt with tremendously increased business and provided new wartime service! despite enlistments, and paid tri- bute to the enthusiasm and ability of the many young women who have joined the bank since the war began. 2,123 ENLISTMENTS "The voluntary resyouse of oar staff to our country's call has been magnificent", said Mr. Dob- son, "and, there are now 2.123 mod in tha armed forces. Of thii num- ber 2,009 were employed in Can- ada, which is equivalent to Gi% of our Canadian staff of military agt at the outbreak of war. "To these men the bank pays a portion of the difference be- tweou their bank salary and ser- vice pay. They retain their mem- bership in the Pension Fund Society, and the bank pays their group insurance premiums. We shall welcome them when the time comes for them to return to their duties iu the bank. "Unhappily the number of cas- ualties has doubled since 1 last reported to you; 67 of our young meu huve now given their lives in the cause. Their names, which we hold in honour, appear In the printed record of this meeting, and we extern! our heartfelt sym- pathy to their families." REG'LAR FELLERS Attaboy By GENE BYRNES f &OSK I'M BUSTED BUT { i CANY SEE SHOVELIN' SNOW V JEST TO GET A BANK ;S ROU TOCETHER. ft WHERE I WfcfTA GET THE OOFFT BRAINS TO WORK! now LE/WV\E SEE.' r . < . . i i,*Mft.T** /-.<./ ' > -v \ "' 7 ' <**MU\- : l Jf^K-