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VOICE F T H E PRESS PIRIT OF CHINA Chungking has a Rotary Ulub, (fee members of which, are partly alive* and partly Brltlah and Am- erican*. At the bottom of the Mual weekly notice recently there ap- pwj-ed the following verse: "And when we meet again, let's apeak Of anything you like of pigs that squeak, Of our vacation books or toys, Of our imagined troubles or real X>ys, Ol rice-veraa but my Mend, Don't ask me when the war will end, Don't whine about the price- increase, Don't tell me that your ser- vant's squeeze. Don't tell me of the hou*tng dearth, Don't tell me there'* no peaoe on earth. Don't say that transportation's bad, Don't wall that oo/fee can't be had. Don't sing that old worn-out re- frain, Please don't when next we meet again!" The spirit of Chungking Is rep- resentative f tbe will of the Ohd- *e*e people to break tte spirit C Japan. Bt Thomas Timea-Journal. v NICKEL IN THE WAR ome striking tacts are present A in a statement made by the In- ternational Nickel Company of Canada, United. World nickel pro- etectlon and consumption this year fcare set all-Urn* records, and more an Ml percent of X ie being used te war order*. The United State* this year has used more than two- felrd* of the world's toul nickel OTtput double the peacetime :. Price* were unchanged tbi* at figure* which have pre- vailed for II years. And In an *I- to meet a constantly growing oami International Nickel to Vending I36.WO.OOO to Increase its reduction by 10,000,000 pound* anally. Oanadian nickel i* playing a vi- al role in the war, and It is a of satisfaction to all Can- that their ba*e inetals ID- has seized so magnificently Ms) chance for public serrloe. Ottawa Journal. A FREE COUNTRY? We read with vast surprise that jMrdl have l>en placed Inside fee Japanese embassy at Wash- Jain i. in order to prevent Mr. No- nra slitting bto belly open in A* 1 1,. .-* Japanese style. MUM 7 if Mr. Nomura wants to jommit suicide he should be al- kewed to do so. What is happening *c American liberty T Winnipeg Freae Pre. T LIFE CHEAP TO JAPS Oriental life to about the eoeap- <t thing on the market. U 1,000 Jap* are sunk tt means nothing except that (,000 Japs are remov- ed a* a potential fighting fore*. Breaking down Jai> morale cannot te an objective at all. That may caloue, but it is the key to philosophy. St. Catharine* Standard. GOOD OLD DAYS Ibe metals controller announce* ban on a whole lot of doo-dad* jkd things, including brass cloth- book*; which brings u* back to M*) food old days when we hung and hat on a 8 inch nail in the wall. Ottawa Cltlien. v ALIBI OoebDela most be baid put to it tor a satisfactory story explaining fee large-scale Uermac retreat In fciutU Couldn't be just say the my Is coming home for Christ- Christian Bclente Monitor. v A outitMi rattlusuak, we are told, s able to strike two-thirds of it* sengtb. Now let's see -how long Is Japan, and how far away from OTr British Columbia coast? Stratford Beacon-Herald. PLACE FOR GOSSIPS Wonder where gossips would land If there wasn't any middle tf tfae sidewalk. -Kitchener Hecord. THE BOOK SHELF BOTANY BAY by Charles Nordhoff and Norman Hall A pun. i : colony of AiiHirallu In the eighteenth century is the set- ting for another thrilling tale of a4veutu4v by Nordhoff nnd Hall, authors of "The IVounty" and "The Hurricane." Hugh i.i ..in is convicted in Bngland of highway robliery and to sent aboard a con v lot ship to Mrve a life sentence, at liotuny Bay. On the same boat in NelllA Garth . ,i. ... : fur protecting two hlKliw:i)ineu. Talent, Nellie and a tow fellow prisoner* determine to escape from tbe pitiful, Kintld life of the ftettle- mriit. Afirr licart-ln'i'akhiK ilrluys attempts tliry n-i mil SCORING FOUR-BAGGER FOR DEFENSE Saving Ontario's Natural Resources No. 70 Bearer oocur all over Ontario. Ttey were ahient for many >..- from th southern portion of the Province but hare staged a war Tilioui oomsback under the protuc tire lawi and are now found In many placet cloie to our farmiiir oouiMnitlcf. They ;..... be wel- comed by tbe muckrat trapvers for U)T raise and hold tbe water lev- el* OB many amall creek* and fekei that provide good habitat lor Ike emaller fur bearer. In Hi* North country the beav- er' are becoming more Important each year. For a long time the In- dians and the white trapper* were encouraged to get all the fur they oould with the result that they periodically (ound themselves with- out any animal* to catch. When thta happened they itarved or they ivad to be supported by the Gov- enineat, a rather coitly procedure for tt> people. A few year* ago Uie government decided to put certain areaa under management In an effort to prove that the) Indians oould be made Mlf-Mwortlng. One *uch area waa el MM* around the WUmle Hirer on fee eait coast of James Bay. AII.I to beaver were the total popvlatlon of many thousand* of square mile* of tbe region. The Indian*, who were very poor, were told that they could have complete right* to the region but they muit leave the beaver until they In- erea*ed and In the meantime the Government would hire them s guardian*. An educational cam- paign waa started among theie foceet people with the result that they now know that the beaver 1* Ifceera by right but that It must be protected and foitered until Uie Increase U large enough to yield an annual take. He last Information I received showed that the beaver In the area bad Inert* K. ,1 to 60.000 pair* and that the Indians were fully aware of their potential value. In a year or *o they will start to catch part of the Increase but you can be sure that it will only be part. They would not go back to the old ways < . i If they could. SCOUTING . . Babe Ruth, the veteran King of Swat, i* doing: all he can to help keep Uncle Sam right in there pitchin' against the country'* eneraie*. The photo *hows the Babe in New York looking over $100,000 worth ef United States Defense Savings Bond* he ha* Just purchased. te a email boat, are picked up b> a freighter and eventually landed a> Bngland. A pardon lor Hugh and the pros- pect ef Us lit* partnership with Nellie bring the *tory to a very nappy ending. Botany lay ... by Charts* Nor- fceff and Norman H*ll . . . Me Cieiiand and Stewart . . . Price WML On* of the current widespread war lerrlce actlvltie* of Scout* I* the collecting of medicine bot- tle* for military hospital* In prac- tically every province. Bottle* of certain ilzes are sought, as called for. A recent request was tor col- ored bottles, and gallon glass Jan for the Central Medical Stores. Al- ready many thousands of dollar* have been *aved to the Govern- mont by thl* Boy Bcout activity. 100,000 tons of wastepapcr was collected by Brtllh Boy ScouU during 141. tfor courage and coolness shown In the rescue of a young mother and her baby and an olderly wo- man during an air raid, two North- umberland Boy Scout*, broitier*, have been awarded the. Scout Ollt ('TOM for Gallantry. The brother*, Jo* and John Chambers, 10 and 17 year* respectively, were on street fire watch during a blits. A bomb partially wrecked a house, and a young woman ran out, tem- porarily unnerved. The boys ba*- tened to her, and got her safely to a shelter. They then learned, from her disjointed remarks, that her baby was till In the house. John leaped over a fence, entered tbe house, found the baby, and returned, shielding It with hi* body trom shell fragments and flying glaa*. He brought > vi also that there an elderly woman in the houae, and that the refused to leave. Together the brothers re- turned, and between them picked up the old lady and brought her to safety. As a variation from Bcout war hero stories from Britain come* a unique account of the circum- stances under which a London Boy Bcout was chosen to take the role of Oliver Twist in a radio presen- tation for that famous story of Charles Dickens. Mr. Hugh Stew- art of the B. U. C., who had for some time been seeking a boy with the desired voice, suddenly beard It on a crowded bus. The bus stoppexl, and before he could reach the lad, who was in the uni- form of a Boy Scout, the boy dis- appeared. Btewnrt had noted the color of the Scout's neckerchief, howevotr, and thix>ugli this was able to locate his Scout Troop, then the boy himself. The boy, Scout Phillip Jones, agreed, and hla voice will be heard In the rale of tbe famous little Dickons charac- ter who had the courage to ask for more porridge. THE WAR . WEEK Commentary on Current Events Ebb and Flow of World War Across Oceans and Continents The scope of the war is ap- proaching a maximum of vastness, extending from the western shore* of America, across the Pacific, across Asia, Europe and Africa, and across the Atlantic to the eastern shores of America. Everywhere in the Pacific Japan I* on the offensive. Hong Kong I* being mercilessly pounded, the Philippine* Increasingly harried, Singapore threatened by an over- land drive from Malaya and Pearl Harbor preparing for further con- flict. Singapore The naval base on Singapore I*- land hag been called tbe world'* largest. .Fifteen years of labor and |80,UOO,0<HI went Into 1U construc- tion. It can hold the entire Bri- tish fleet, drydock the biggest battleship. Its eighteen-iuch coast- al guns have a twenty-five-mile range. Dominating the sea lanes between the Indian Ocean and the waters of Oceania, guarding the oil and rubber of the Indies and the tin of Malaya, Singapore is widely regarded as Impregnable to attack from water, most vulner- able to attack by land. It was by land last week that the Japanese were striking toward this key to the Allied Far Eastern defense. Tbe only laud approach to Singa- pore runs down the Malay Penin- sula, From It* beginning at Uie top of toe Qulf of Slam to It* end above Singapore, the peninsula of Thailand, in the flret days of the I'Kciflc conflict, opened the way tor an unopposed Japanese drive more than half way down the nar- row approach to the British Malay- an frontier, *ome 350 mile* north or Singapore. The linking of the Royal Navy'* capital ships, Prince of Wales and Repulse, gave Uie Japanese control of Malayan wat- ers. With these advantage*, plus numerical superiority, the soldier* of tbe Riling Sun battled their way forward last week again*! the ttltf opposition of British B.H- pire troop*. Jungles and Mountains The terrain, in many ways, WHB one of the most difficult yet en- countered anywhere in the world by tbe war's fighting men. Mal- aya'* damp, hot jungles climb up the sides of granite mountain ranges. Rubber plantations, a few paved road* built by the British. Obe open pit* of great tin mines, break th clotted mass of under- growth. Along the peninsular coast Mes a belt of fairly flat, opvn ground. The almost Impenetrable buah is the home of tigers, leop arde, elephants, rhinoceros, vain plre bats, brilliantly plumed blrils and deadly reptiles. Its climate has always been unhealthy for tlie white man. Tbe Japanese had apparently prepared carefully for the fighting in the lush wilderness. Clad In lightweight unlfroms, supported by ontv-man tanks and other special equipment, adopting the Infiltra- tion and anibush tactics of the Am- erican Indian, the Nipponese sol- dier* forced back their foe. At one point tney were 250 miles from Singapore. They compelled the ev- acuation Of Penung on the West Malayan coast; that exotic resort town and secondary naval base could serve as a springboard for a jump to the Indies or for raids on Burnia-and-Iiidla-botimi ship- ping. Meanwhile, a Japanese land- ing on British Borneo a.ppeared to be an attempt to gain a base on Singapore's flank. Philippines In the first phase of the war Nipponese blows wore chiefly aim- ed at Manila. L*ist week a land offensive was attempted. Tokyo as- serted that troops were landed on beachMieads north of the capital and Inter far to the south on the isriand of Mindanao. A hold on this 1st. m. I would provide Japan with valuable- bases for raids on Manila. Hong Kong Siege A century-old outpost of empire, the Island of HOUR KOIIR (thirty- two square miles) Is perched on the South I'liina coast, overlooks the long supply route between Ja- pan's main Islands and the Mal;iy Peninsula. More than u year ago Hong Kong's link with the Chin e*e Mm i -. w:is .severed by Jap- anese troops; -till it served as a clearing house where Free China ordered the American Roods that eventually traveled the Burma Road. The city long stood as a ymbol of British prestige In the i,.. . .. .u io.e in an Anglo-Japan- ese- war was seen as a potential menace to Nipponese sea lines; its prolonged defense would mean a diversion of Japanese strength from oiuer more vital se<rtorB. Last week Its second of siege the Empire garrison on Hong Kong was hard pressed. A Japan- ese iand-aud-alr assault captured K o w 1 o o n the city's mainland section. A landing was efleoted on Hong Kong island itself and quickly the Invaders rolled back the bun Lines of the defenders. In London It was said that British Empire strategists had long ago "written off" as Inevitable the loss of the outpost Nazis Retreat The war that came to >urope in September, 1939, Is entering Its third Winter. Its first was one- ot great uncertainty the period ol the "phony war," when millions lay in Idleness along the Western Front while Germany, Hushed with victory in Poland, quietly prepar ed her next Blitzkrieg. The second Winter followed England's darkest hour, when her cities shook to their foundations under merciless Kasi bombings, when only tbe ad- vance of General Wavell in Libya and the heroic resistance of Greece against the lumbering Italian arm lea brougJht a ray of hope. Today, at the threshold of tbe war'* tkird Winter, the picture of Id* battlefields in Europe favors Lh* Allies. In. tub-zero Cold, last week the German armies on the RuMlan front were falling back, pu&hed by a widening *erie* 01 toroeful Soviet offensives. In Libya the all but beaten German Africa Ooxp* was (truggling to prevent wlthdrawi'l from turning into full- fledged rout a* empire troops wept onward through the desert. New Air Force Chief in Hawaii Jap Sub Operates From Mother Ship Midget Two-Man Submarine* Used In Attack on Pearl Harbor Allied naval forces in the Pacific may (Ind pitted against them "cnools" of tiny, two-man luu- marlnus probably no bigger than a whale. Secretary of Navy Frauk Knox revealed that they were used In the "*neak" attack on Pearl Har- bor. Knox said one was destroyed by depth charges and another was captured. Naval experts estimate these tiny subs are about 5U feet long, seven feet wide, and have a dis- placement of about 50 tons. There is no indication as to how many were used in Pearl Har- bor, but they apparently did no Briij.-Gen. C. L. Tinker is the new commander of U. S. air forces in Hawaii. damage. At least one,' however, did succeed in penetrating Uie flaflbor defences and coming: within "a few yards" of an American ship before it was destroyed. Submarines the t-ize of the Jap- anese two-man craft are too small to operate over distances greater than a few hundred miles. Naval experts assume that those engag- ed in the attack against Pearl Hiirbor were operating trom a mother ship stationed out at a. This ship, probably a recondition- ed ireightea', would be large en- ough to carry eev>ral of these "baby subs," naval experts said. It was assumed that the mother hip carries them within cruising range of their objective and then lowers them into the sea. That would present no tecinieal prob- lem, since the r. S. crane *hip Kearsarge has cranes than can lift 200 ton weights. Naval observers believe that the baby u-bs are miniatures of reg- ular submarines. Once in the water they would proceed to their target with bat- tery-driven electric motor* driv- ing them at an estimated eight or nine knots below the surface. Standard Diesel-type nginea would give them 12 or 13 knots on the eurtace. ** The chief asset of such tiny craft is their ability to operate In shallow waters and to get through harbor defences. Once within striking distance 6* their prey they would loose smaller, probably 10 toot torpedoes. They would not nave to carry the standard 20 foot wpedoea because they attack at *iiv>rte<r range. Naval experts estimate that two- man submarines wt>uld be able to stay at sea fire days before re- turning to their mother ship or base. Living quarters woukl be extremely cramped, and suppliua and fuel limited. Prepared Mr. Churchill who spends his week-ends in the country when he's not too busy to get away from Downing Street disclosed that he carries a tommy-gun in the back of his automobile just in case of parachutists. LIFE'S LIKE THAT By Fred Neher REG'LAR FELLERS Slightly Used "Office politic! .... he'm campaigning for a raise!" By GENE BYRNES CERTAIN'^, MI&TER DUFFY . TOU WANNA BUY A NEW CAR JUS' TURN IN YOUR OLE ONE- I'LL qtVE A SV/EtL. DEAL bN IT / BACK SO SOON ? FAST WORK, MISTER DUFFY /BUT WHERB'S TOUR OLE CAR? X OONT CARE WHAT CONDITION ITS IN /JEST IT MERC AN III. QIVE YOU 50 <fc ON IT 7 THATfi IT / THIS HAIRPIN WHAT HELD THE WHEEL, ON IS ALL I HAVE LEFT /