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I w^iii I yiâ€"»<> . â€" »^«^<»f u l m -A-<M»>i » â-  »ii> i «â-  11 I I â-  •- - Queen For A Year â€" Queen for a year, 18-year-oUl Marj^arct Marsliall, shown lure. %von title of Miss Toronto of VJA7 at the annual Toronto Police A. A. A. games. I-oster Mother To Zoo Babies I Meeting a Crisis "tyiwt do you lliiiik of the Uitest %nus oj till fvniiiii situutiun, Sena- tort" "Don't bother itie, 1 yoita get on tht radio and talk. In a erisis like this there is no time to think." He Found Out lie was about to propose, but be- for doing so he 'aished to make sure she would make a good housewife. .Su he asked her: "Can you wash dishes.?" "Yes," she said. "Can \ou wipe the-.nr lie didn't propose. ^K ^ TEDIOUS WORK By CLUVAS WILLIAMS ISASKEDTOSAVJOME- MOTHER PROMPT? HIM- MOTHER PER5EVER - ^HlNGTOV^s/â- ^D(^TD asks, what did he see e?-- what wd the €HOWH0WW£LLHE THI5M0RNING? SINKS' IXIG5AY7 SflUIRMS rALI«5TABE^SIL£Nny CM)N0NCHE6T AMD SCRATCHED LC<a EETREAT5 TOWARDS CjiAIR. AS MOTHER. COAXES HIM TO TALK oresapears behind as front door, chair.. mother gives closes, stactff ur and visitcr leave? prattlinguntil ^.^^ bedtime:. tataMM w n« t^ •ifnrnt. tw t OUT OUR WAY By J. R. Williams Cii^; By r^EDRICKA BORCHARD In the Christian Science Monitor This is a love story. It is I'.ie love story of Helen and Fred Martini, and of Helen's love for Chiquita and Lolita and Kajpur and Kusty and Josephine and Ming, who live in a man-made world in which there is little distrust nor jealousy, nor fear. When pretty little Helen De- laney, still in High School, nii-t and married the local watchmaker's hanilsome young apprentice, Fred Martini she had no idea that she would become a foster mother to hundreds ot furred and feathered creatures. It is Helen Martini, who mothers all the Bronx Zoo animals too young to be on public exhibit. Sunday Afternoon Jaiuits Fred loved lions, and Helen loved Fred, so when Fred wanted to go to tlie iCoo every Sunday afternoon to look at the lions, Helen went aloiif; and looked at Fred. It was a very satisfactory arrangement. Then one day, after they'd been married for about five years, Fred announced that he'd much rather take care of lions than repair watch- es, and -Helen said "Why don't your" So he put in an application, and another couple of years went by, and one morning Fred was order- ed to report for an examination. He passed it. He wasn't appointed Keeper- of the Lion House at once, because that is a complicated and highly specialized job requiring an cv«.n longer apprenticeship than that of watchmaking, but he was put in charge of various lesser animals, and both Fred and Helen have never seen an animal they couldn't like. By this time, Helen was spend- ing part of every day at the Zoo, but unofficially, just a part of the throng admiring the animiils â€" and one animal keeper. Keeper of the Lion House Came the day that Fred re- ceived his official appointment as Keeper of the Lion House, and Helen transferred her audience participation to one particular build- ing. She'd finish her housework quickly, and rush off to the lion house. One day a lioness had a cut), and like so many wild animals who bear in captivity, couldn't care for her baby. Fred was concerned. He wrapped the little fellow in a blanket and brought it home to Helen, who fed it with a medicine dropper and cared for it with love. The young- ster thrived. Fred knew that tlie lion was tlic property of the /oo, but Helen anil the lion felt tliat it belonged to Helen. Compromise was clearly indicated, and Helen became, financially and officially, an employee of the /oo, with its nursery her undisputed domain. The Zoo Nursery I'liysically, that nursery is not unlike an ordinary nursery for human children. It has pastel walls, and the air is kept uniformly warm and moist. The white cages look like so many white cribs, and each is equipped with a woolen blanket tinted pink or baby blue. There is a big white refrigerator and a small electric stove, ancf Cost of Living Considered In Wage Agreement What is bclfcved to be one of the first wage agreements in Canada to include a cost of living clause, was concluded recently between the Macdonald Tobacco Company of Montreal and the Tobacco Workers' International Union, Local 2J.S. In recognizing the necessity for a flexible method of compensation to keep pace with rapid rises and de- creases in the cost of living index, the company agreed that the "gross wages shall be increased by 25 cents per week for each full point rise over April 6, 1947. Should the cost of living decline, this bonus shall be decreased by 2.S cents per week for each full point of decline, but not below the index figure as at April 6, 1947." In commenting on the new clause, union officials who negotiated the contract, expressed complete satis- faction and hailed it as a forward step in labor-management relations. The new contract, which was con- cluded in a completely amicable at- mosphere, also included a general S-cent hourly increase; a 5-day working week of 45 hours and in- clusion of ten holidays, six of them with p;n . there are feeding dishec of pink plastic, light in weight and un- breakable. The young animals are healthy and happy and jealous and cute, and all of them need, vnA get) affection. Helen unlocks the nursery door and pandemonium breaks loose, each squeak or bark or whinny or whine a demand for instant at- tention. She makes the. rounds Whistling, talking, patting. Chiquita and Lolita, the ocelots who look like house cats and can behave so differently, stop their tumbling and crowd against the bars to have their ears pulled and their noses- stroked. Ming, the Gray Lemur Ming, the gray lemur from Mad- agascar who dislikes women and is friendly only with men, make* an exception in Helen's case, and begs for petting witli every pretty wile in his repertoire. Even suspi- cious Rusty, the red squirrel, rare in this part of the world, who was found half frozen in the park where someone must have dropped him, stops his mad gyrations and crowds foru:iv(l lor liis inunu-nt of affection. Only Josephine, the half-grown chimpanzee from the Belgian Con- go, conceals her eagerness, because Josephine is a sophisticated young woman of the world, quite ac- customed to dining in public, and very proud. If her cage manners are not all that they might be, surely a lady may relax a bit in her own home. She keeps an eye on Helen, and when she judges that her turn is almost due begins to preen. Hastily she wipes her hands on her shaggy coat, and whei< the door is opened, springs into Helen's arms, gives her an almost human hug, and snuggles against her shoulder, rolling her eyes amorous- ly If a party is on the agenda, and it usually is, Joscph.inc sits sc<lately on her little chair, and cats daint- ily from a spoon, spilling not a single drop. If she forgets and uses a paw to chase an elusive morsel, Helen shakes an admoni- tory finger or frowns, and Josephine looks shcepisli. Helen never pun- ishes the animals: they woik for caresses, not throiijjh fear. Even in the lion house, the big animals know and welcome her. Some of them were born in cap- tivity, and Helen boUle-fed tliem- Others were acquired in infancy, and Helen nursed them too- She kept a female lion cub and a female tiger cub, born almost simul- taneously, in her home for a while, and the two animals played to- gether and forgot their heriditary enmity. They've never remember- ed it, and today, full grown, they share a cage in llie lion house, and are friends. Tiger, Lion Tal-.e Turns Tluy do show riv.Thy for Helen's affection. The tiger is nice about it; she just purrs like a kitten when Helen scratches her head, then moves aside and lets the lion have her turn. The lion is selfish; she pushes the tiger aside and tries to nuzzle into Helen's hand. Kajpur. a tiijcr, was one of tlie nicest babies Helen ever had- He was born in the zoo in 1044, one of a litter of three. Their mother didn't like them and would have nothing to do with them, so foster- mother Martini trok i.ver, as she SO often docs. Kajpur, altlunigli the largest of the rulis. was a born "snuggle- pup," and even at the advanced age of six months, would coax to be spoon-fed. He weighs over (JOi) pounds now, but he still thinks he's Helen's kitten, and will roll over for her. She pets him from outside the cage, because he is so powerful that one of his tit;er-bugs would crush her. Black Leopard Her Pet It \vo\il(l he liard for Helen 'to choose which animal she cares for most, but ii such a clioice had to be made it would probably be for Baghecra, the two-year-old black leaopard that she rai;>ed on a bottle. Leaopards arc notably ferocious and no friend to man, but Baghecra, for all his ferociousness, is friend to one man and one woman. LIntil he was nine months old he lived in the Martinis' home and followed them from room to room. The first night that he was kept in the Zoo Helen stayed there too, "so that he wouldn't be afraid." He wasn't afraid, and Helen was very proud of him. "He's such a nice animal" she • tells you, but then she says that about all of them. Taxed," she admits it, "but only" she says, "lurausc it's true." jj^MAMi^sk^WaM Luck Of the Irish By DEE RANDALL Ann and Terry were young. They were in love. That's why the sky locked bluer, the clouds looked whiter as they lay arm in arm on the fresh green grass. "Just think," said Ann. "Tomor- row at this time I'll be Mrs. Ter- rence Patr^'-k O'Halloran." "Sure and the O'Hallorans were alivnys lucky," Terry exclaimed, mimicking his grandfather. After the wedding it was grand fun going together to the little â- white frame house they had se- leited. Most of their savings had gone into the modestly furnished little place. But it was a homc- Theirs. Then Marianne was born. A swccl pale baby but so delicate. It took a great deal of skimping to meet all the expenses. They lived simply and Ann knew how to get the most out of everything. Right in the middle of this eco- nomical but ecstatic heaven of theirs a thunderbolt crashed. Terry lost his job. But youth is not easily discour- aged. Terry set out to find another job. He was eager <o work. He was sure to find something better. His enthusiasm wavered how- ever after several weeks. Too many, "Sorry, young fellow, , but we're not taking anyone on." Back home evenings with Ann though, he was optimistic. "I've got a good prospect tomorrow," he would say, and .\nn's answer invariably would be. "Don't worry Terry. We've still got a little money in the bank." Terry thought to ^limself. how little it was. Ann tried to keep her worries from him too. She didn't tell him that there was going to be an- other baby, until it was impossible to keep it a secret any longer. He took her in his arms. "Ann darling, it's wonderful." But he couldn't keep the note of ilespair out of his voice as he said, "If it's a boy, I hope he's a better success than I am." Their money dwindled down to nothing. Debts piled high. They lost their little home. They moved to a smelly, dank tenement. But they weren't dis- couraged yef. The future surely held something good for them. But Terry gradually declined; pulle<l himself into a shell. Ann was sweet and kind. Terry mis- understood. He thought she griev- ed. There was only the one way out. Suicide. It would look like an accident. Gas would tic tlie best wa.v. He planned the whole thing stealthily. He knew he was a coward. But he had to do it. He couldn't bear to see .^nll go on this way any long- er. The $1,000 insurance would mean .^nIl could go to a hospital when the baby was born. After that . . . he couldn't think of any more. His opportunity came quicker than he had expected. That night Ann said she was going for a walk in the fresh air. She kisc'd him goodbye, thett went out, tilling him to take care of Marianne. "I'll take a nap," he said, "my head aches." Alone, he went to the kitchen. Turned or the gas. Then laid down exhausi.,d. He dozed off. He didn't know how soon after^ but «t seemed like an eternity, Ann was gently stroking his head. It was the way he loved to wake up in the morning. It all seemed so unreal. Ann w;»s excitedly waving a paper in front of him. "It's from your firm. They want you back. Things arc picking up. You'll take old Jim Blake's place. And there'll be a $10 raise." Now Terry was sure he was dreaming. "The gas . . ." he said.. "Oh, how did you know?" ques- tioned Ann. "I didn't want to tell you but we can have it turned on tomorrow. They were really very polite, waiting until after supper time." "Yes," said Terry. "The O'Hal- lorans were always lucky." Huge Meteor Blasts Wide Russian Area A huge meteor, exploding before it reached the earth, caused an inten- sfvc "rain of iron" in Siberia, blast- ing hundreds of cedar trees and pitting the ground with huge craters. A Soviet expedition which traveled through hundreds of miles of path- less jun.ulc swamps to study the meteor which fell early this year in the remote Sikhotc -Min Mountains northeast of Vladivostok, Siberia^ reported that the meteorite, of unde- termined size, created an air cushion in its fall and exploded on hitting it. Over an area three quarters of a mile long by nearly half a mile wide the earth's surface was pitted with 106 craters, the biggest 100 feet in width and 25 feet deep. All round the dense forest dis- appeared without trace, the report .laid, adding that of hundreds of trees nearby, many cedars were split to fra.umcnts. Others had been twist- ed and thrown over at all angles. More than 250 jmall meteorites were found in the field weighing al- together over five tons CROSSTOWf By Roland Coe ^^ \x ">>. \\\\\ 'Look, (Ieor,L:;c', the wind.shieUl wiper . . XUW it's vvurkinq'. POPâ€" Water Snorts By J. MILLAR WATT .VMBRB POeS pop ^ ? /^>^*^'4'. *tH^ â- ^ CANDEINta ! !&LIT IF HE KNOW5 AS AAUCH ABOUT IT AS r -miNK HB OOBS - 'M .'K •HES GONE i V m ^li (i^ -<» / 3 I S