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VOICE or T H i PRESS IS PEN MIGHTIER? Hitler is now writing the Ger- man war reports. Can it be that he has discovered that the pen mightier than the sword? Chatham News o SCOTS WHA HAE As one might say: there'll al- ways be an Kngland as long as Scotsmen like Robert Alexander Watson Watt go about Inventing things like the ra<lio plane loca- tor. Brantford Expositoi o WOMEN IN UNIFORM Good luck to those Canadian women who will soon be wearing His Majesty's uniform. Good luck no less to those who will not; for let it never be forgotten that they also serve, and serve no less de- votedly, who continue at their un- spectacular Jobs in the home and In civilian employment, carrying on without shoulder straps or chevrons the family life and th* business life of the country. Saint John Telegraph-Journal. ONE LICENSE PLATE? Both th* suggestions that have ban made in respect to saving on tcel in the manufacture of On- tario motor license plates are worthy of consideration. They are that plastics be used instead of metal, or that the front license plate be abandoned. The latter proposal would seem to - the more reasonable. Plas- tics give promise of being an im- portant factor in our war effort, snd there may be need toon for relieving Industrie!) manufactur- ing these materials of all unnec- essary calls. Issuing only one license plat* for a car would save half the steel BOW going Into these articles, and ft would not be a revolutionary step. There is really little need for a plate on the front, and Florida, as an outstanding example, haa for years got along very well with- out it Windsor Star. Suggestions For The Week-Ender Are You Planning to Visit Friends From Saturday to Monday This Bummer? It Might Be Wise to Follow These Rules There have been 10 many printed complaints against the summer week-end guet who forgets her bathing suit or who wants to bor- row a sweater or even a little cold cream that many hostesses are Hading the guest-hostess relation- ship pretty itralned In spots. There may be a lot of rulen about not asking for things that haven't been put In plain view In inset or bath room. But It's ten times more annoying to any hostpgn to have a guest who won't wear a borrowed sweater when she is ob- Tlously cold than " Is to have one just who up and asks for anything she wants, whether extra warm clothes or an extra blanket. Its easier on the :< s to have a guest state her preferences about food than to say, "I like sverythlng" and then not eat much of anything on the table. Saying "I don't play bridge" IB easier on everybody, especially the hostess, than playing no badly that half th* other guests are annoyed. Nuisances Any guest can tell her hostOHfl that ihe would rather sleef) than let up and go to church, or vice versa. No hostess minds having a fuest ileep later than all others In the household, provided the guest doesn't mind making her own bed or offering to get her own break- tat B* Natural Maybe this Is the tune for (vests and hostesses to resolve to be natural and tor(et most of the ready-made- rules. Summer week- suds might be more fun all tb way around If gussU juit assumed that they were invited because they are Uked and enjoyed and not because they observe dozens of rules. Viow Nature Helps Reds on Stalin Line 12,500 Miles of Blades During the past twelve months, thirty ilin-n British manufacturer!, Maclean'* Magazine, bare tent Te<rseas an average of 1,126,000 rasor blade! a day End to end, the 456,260,000 blades would reach 1! MMI miles. The value of these sports Is something like $3,000.- (00 a year. The razor-blade export business used to be largely In the hands of Germany. That Is hut one at the many ez- aini'l' In iplte of war produc- tion, bombings and sinkings, Hilt- Ish Industry I* pxp.tndliiK its over- seas trade. German Sptarheodl On ana behind the line, Ruitia hoi millions of men to fight Invadtr SOVIE T RUSSIA Brest Li Warsaw , mcchcnixtd forces must de- flat Ukraint Mature, as usual, it on the side of the defender In the Russo-Germau conflict at Nazis hurl new attacks at the Stalin Line, but even her id has not halted Hitler's mechanized forces In the past. Map shows bow Russia builds her great line, uting rivers and difficult terrain as natural defenses. THE WARWEE K Commentary on Current Events Latest War Developments Improve British Position Increased confidence was brought to the people of Britain and her allies by the speeches of Prime Minister Winston Churchill on July 14. This "dogged old warrior" said. to quote the New York Tunes, "that the tables had been turned on Ger- many In the matter of air raids and Increased bombings could be ex- pected, that there would be no truce with Germany, that Italy was on the bombing schedule and that Lon- don could continue to 'take It' If necessary." Only the Beginning "In the last few weeks alone," Mr. Churchill Bald, "we have thrown upon Germany about half the ton- nage of bombs thrown by the Ger- mans upon our cities during the whole course of the war. But this to only the beginning. We do not expect to hit without being hit back, and we Intend with m-ery weefc that passes to hit harder." Shipping Losses Decrease That Britain's position had vastly Improved from a year ago was the opinion of Klrke L. Simpson, Asso- ciated Press military correspon- dent, who stressed, among other factors In the situation, the sharp decrease In British Bhlpping losses. He said: "London's ship-loss figures for June tell the story. They were the lowest since July, 1940 <32!),29 tons), ..MI |it for a period In the dead of last, winter. Indications are that the present month's losses will fall evon lower, due to Nazi air concentrations In the east, to prob- able withdrawal of some Gorman submarines for use against Russia In the Baltic mid to British counter measures at sea." The Battle of the Atlantic would appear to be veering In favor of Britain and the I'nlted States. Collapse of Vichy Resistance The British lifelines had also been greatly strengthened In the Kiddle East by the Syrian victory, and the political results, it was predicted, would be of much more consequence. There could be no doubt that the outbreak of the Nazi-Soviet war !>a<! much to do with the col- lapse of Vichy resistance to the British-Free French allies In Syria and Lebanon. It ended the last hope of the "men of Vichy" for effective German Intervention there. Bur- render followed Inevitably. British-Soviet Pact The new British-Russian pact signed at Moscow on July 12, said Mr. Churohlll, "Is, of course an al- liance and the Russian people are our allies." General Jan Christian Smute, Prime Minister of South Africa, In commenting on Mr. Churchill's statement to the British House of Commons, said: "Let no one say we are now In league with the Communists and are fighting the battle of Communism." The British-Russian treaty pledged that each nation would support the other In war against Hitlerite Ger- many; and that neither would sign a separate peace with the enemy. The New York Times last week presented a clear picture of the movee and counter-moves of tbs two great powers now In the fourth week of war: "It Is still hard to believe that the German and Russian reports of hostilities are talking alKnit the same war. Berlin tells of sweeping advances. Mos- cow reports victorious counter- attacks. "The German High Command re- stricted Itself to a report of 'pro- gress' on the whole eastern front, but the German news agencies told of the Imminent doom of two of Russia's greatest cities, Leningrad and Kiev. In the north the Nazis were aid to have crossed the Luga River, last great barrier to Lenin- grad, and In the south tlie fall of Kiev was said to be a foregone con- clusion. "The Moscow communique said the drive at Leningrad had been stopped with a successful counter- attack In which the Nazi columns were being hurled back or destroy ed 'section by section." In the central sector, the Russian line was said to he holding at Vitebsk, while the. southern thrust at Kiev was declared to have been thrown back Jn disorder near Novocnid Vol- ynsk." Which Way to Jump The belief that something spec- tacular was brewing In the I^and of the Rising Sun was vindicated last week when, after paying H visit to the Emperor, Premier Prince Fumlmaro Konoye resign ed, and with him the entire Jap anese Cabinet. Obv'ously this meant serious Internal dissension In the matter of Japan's foreign policy, and disagreement over the Saving Ontario's Natural Resources G. C. Toner Ontario Federation of Anglers ad Hun ten (No. 50) PROBLEM OF EROSION This article will deal with erosion. I showed last week how erosion cuts down the highest mountains, given time, and how nature uses it to fashion the earth. But this is slow natural erosion not the swift man- ac!e : la- tion of the land that occurs when we misuse our natural resources. One is necessary, tne other will eventually make om land a desert unless it is controlled. Where soil or rock is exposed to the atmosphere or to water chemical and physical changes take place. Freezing and heating break up the rocks and the harder soils. Acids from the air and from minerals acted upon by the air help to dissolve away the hardest rock. These reaction* and many others are continuing all the time but very slowly for there are other factors acting against them. In Ontario's HUtory In our land there are few places where the soil or the fock is nor- mally exposed to the air. Nearly everywhere under natural condi- tions a heavy growth of plant life covers and protects the soil. This protection cuts erosion to a mini- mum so that very little soil dia- appears into the rivers during the year. At one time every stream in Ontario flowed clear and cool the year around. Erosion hardly existed because of the cover of plants and trees. The first settlers needed agri- cultural lands so they cut the trees from many parts of the ountry. Where the toil was ex- posed it was rich and deep, crops grew marvellously for the first years. Later as the rich organic humus, that held the soil together, disappeared, the land became more open and leas packed. And under such conditions erosion is speeded up a thousand-fold. Every heavy rain carries away the soil to the rivers which are dirty from their heavy load of siit. As the top soil goes, the organic humus already gone, the deeper soils are exposed and these cut away even faster until bare rock is reached. This is the problem we must face very soon. Prevent erosion or our agricultural lands, will disappear forever. steps that should be taken In the face of the changing International situation. Kuropean diplomats gen- erally professed to believe that the Nippon government had been considering some move to counter Russia's action In mining Soviet Far Kastern waters; In British and American circes In Tokio, at- tention was centred on French-lndo- China and Southeast Asia. But while the Japanese prepared for more "action." Washington was readying counter-measure* that would almost surely follow a new Japanese act of n.ssresslon ITU mimic couiUer-nieasu-es, such * a possible embargo n-i shipment of oil to Japan, or blocking of Japan from entrance Into tV I' dlan Ocean. Canada and the War "A gallon a d;iy keeps Hitler away," ('nnmlinns heard List week at the beginning of a govt -i nmi'iit drive to cut Knsoliue consumption In the Dominion. Hours of sale for the "btisgy Juice" were restrict- ed to between 7 a.m. anil 7 p.m. daily, not Including Sn:il;iys: and the price was uppod by Ic. If these gent It* hints didn't work, car-tim- ers were catilkine.a to expect strict i aliening by fall. The successful conclusion of tin- Canadian Army Active recruiting drive the quota was reached last week removed the possibility, for the time being at least, thai conscription would !>e Intrudum; The Department of IVfense u'i- viously conM get all the men i 1 wanted through t!i* channels of voluntary enlist mrr.t. Could Mr King's tour to tiie west have acted as a strong stimulant to the re- cruiting riiinpi-ilfrn? Stalin Line Makes 1,100 Mile Barrier Fortifications Run From Black Sra to Gulf of Finland Soviet Secretive About De- scription* Few facts have leaked out about Soviet Russia's Stalin Line, which the German war machine has been bucking for the past couple of weeks, and there is no reliable basis on which to Judge Its strength. Here is the best available pic- ture: In general It Is a 1,100-mile man- made barrier running along the entire old Russian western frontier from the Black Sea to the Gulf of Finland, and It was built principally to guard against invasion from Germany. It combines the features of France's Maginot Line, Including great, full-equipped concrete fort- resses built underground, with the advantages of Germany's West Wall, which is built In greater depth. Whether or not It can be flanked, as was the Maginot, Is a matter of speculation. Underground Fortresses The bulk of the Stalin system was completed in 1933, but the Red Army's leaders have added to it and strengthened it continually ver since, and are reported to have Installed the most modern machinery available to keep the fortifications Impregnable as new weapons of attack have been de- veloped. Details about the Stalin Line, ob- viously, are military secrets, but the Kremlin has not permitted even general descriptions as much as the French did. One exception was an article pub- lished April 11 in the Soviet Army newspaper Red Star the first mention in the Soviet press of the Red fortifications in several years. A special correspondent told of entering a great steel and concrete underground fortress through a door concealed In a hillside. Inside he- found a warm, well-lighted labyrinth of defence machinery, complete with power plant, dormi- tory and fire stations. The guns and machine gum were said to be a unit in a com pletely fortified zone- of fire. 25-Mile Depth These underground fortresses are provisioned with reserve stores for long sieges. An Invader must do more than conquer these Maginot-type forti flcations, however, for the Stalin Line runs in depth for distances varying up to about 75 miles in some places. The depth Is said to average -."> miles. Making a Freight Car To build a box car for the freight services of the Canadian National Railways requires ap- proximately 2,000 man-hours of work. The Book Shelf., "The Forgotten Village" BY JOHN STEINBECK The top ranking American nov- elist who wrote "The Grapes of Wrath" has joined his superb tal- ents with those of the film director who produced "Crisis" ami "Lights Out in Europe," to tell the story of the coming of modern medicine to the natives of Mexico. Steinbeck supplies the text, Kline the beauti- ful photographs for this study of the Old Mexico and the new "The Forgotten Village." The camera crew that recorded this narrative of birth a ad death, of witch doctors and vaccines, spent nine months on the off trails ot Mexico. They travelled thousands of milee to lind Just the village they needed; they borrowed children from the government school, took men from the fields, their wives from the markets, an old medicine woman from her hut by tue side of the trail. The motion picture they made (for release this autuam) is 8,000 feet long. From this wealth of pictures J3fi photographs were selected for the book. John Steinbeck himself says: "This is a story of the little bueblo of Santiago on the skirts of a hill in the mountains of Mexico. And this Is the story of the boy ,,uan Diego and of his family and of his people, who live in the long moment when the past slips reluctantly Into the future." "The Forgotten Village" ... by John Steinbeck . . . Toronto: Mac- millan Company of Canada . . $3.00. Harden Surface of Dusty Cement Floor The most practical treatment for cement floors which seem soft and Inclined to dust is to saturate them thoroughly with sodium sili- cate (waterglass) as follows: Wash the floor thoroughly with clear water, scrubbing with a stiff broom or scrubbing brush remov- ing all dirt. Allow the s- face to dry. Mix one part wateiglass (so- dium silicate) with three to four parts of water depending upon the porosity of the concrete the denser the concrete the weaker the solution required. Apply with a brush, oiie coat evenly over the entire surface. This will penetrate Into i'ie poies of the concrete. Allow 'be con- crete surface to dry; ;ifier 24 hours apply Another coat the same as before. Again allow the siw- face to dry, and apply .inoui'jr coat. If after 24 hours, tlie third coat is not Hush with th? surface in any part of tie floor, apply an- other co.it. That which :tmaiiis on the surface can be re.i'llly re- moved, thus smoothing up the floor. That which has penetrated iuto the pores has come In con- tact with the alkalies ;ii;il salts in the concrete and forni'.-il Into an insoluljle han! minera) Ottawa Farm Journal. LIFE'S LIKE THAT By Fred Neher "Where are you going to be after lunch?" REG'LAR FELLERS Taking No Chances By GENE BYRNES WHEN WW3M FINDS THIS OUT ITS JUST GOING, TO BE TOO BAD FOR ME/ DID YOU LOOK IN THE SECOND DRAWER IN ' MY BUREAU DID MOU SEE THE CAT AROUND, PINHEAD, DID vou no THIS? * WELL, >'OU SAID IP 1 DID ANYTHING NAUGHTY XOU WOULD TURN ME INTO A AROUSE AN' I WANT TO UP TO BE A IV. M INSTEA