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PUNTING ON THE THAMES t ., 9 -. * This American boy and girl find that punting as done on the Thames has nothing to do with football. The boy in the background. is doing the punting or paddling of the boat while Pvt. Edward Correll of Reading, Pa., and Eleanor Shaw of San Francisco relax. Both are automobile drivers for U. S. forces in Britain. ^DIVIDUAL itJzerrs A Weekly Column About This and That in Our Canadian Army Several young gentlemen of my Acquaintance have dropped out of BJght In local circles. No more are they seen at the sqare dances that have recently become very popu- lar at a dance pavilion not far away. The local "hot doggery", where boyg and girls who never have any appetite at meal time* tuff themselves at odd hours to the detriment of pocket money that can't stay In pockets, will have to struggle along without them. No longer, will these par- ticular young gentlemen three of them English three French peaking strum their guitars and other musical Instruments In my living-room. No longer, that Is, until their first "leaves" roll around and they tttrn up In uniform, heavier, more erect and bronzed, to earn and deserve the admiration of the-ir dancing partners. They have gone off In several directions, the Infantry, th Air Force, and to work on the con- struction of a strategic highway. The girls who have swum and bi- cycled and hiked and danced with them all summer set me right when I made some rather acid comments upon the boy who are apt to be paid almost as much per hour in highway construction at the soldiers and airmen get per day. "They've been torued down for the Army", was chorussed at me, "and, anyway, by the time they pay for board and room and clothes there won't be much dif- ference- iu their pay." Another point mae by the youug ladies In putting this old soldier to rights wag that the road-mak- ers, will probably be In almost as great danger as their pals in uni- form. It all goes to prove two things that eve-n au old soldier hue no right to jump to conclusions and that there is more than one way to be of service to the Dominion In this fight for self-preservation. Probably tbe most Illuminating feature of this sudden exodus and six yung men foin a small comunity. leaves a noticeable gap is the tranqullity that has re- scened upon those who play the stellar roles. We- older people don't realize the problems with which we have faced our Juniors. From our set i.lrLi-- and politically muscle-bound brains, we evolve a series of mys- tifying regulations aud conditions. Then we- expect youngsters just, out of school to understand what we haven't courage enough to tell them when their minds arc busy trying to adjust themselves to a life that haa none* of the- pro- tection with which we surround their school days. Put yourself iu the position of a 'teen aga boy. He suddenly be- come conscious of a world that is peopled mostly by contemporar- ies in uniform. He le.iriM that a khaki uniform minus tbe word "Canada" is the badge of the "draf- tee". Others Iu khaki but wearing "Canada" are volunteers. They will he accepted at the age of eighte it but will not go oversea* until they are nineteen. But if they do not volnnt>N>r they will not be called until they are twenty. What shall he do? We cau't tell him. We should be able to tell him what we want. We are the people, aren't we? We govern the country, don't we? We've got to wake up. If we are going to ask our young gentle-men to enlist to save us from an enemy who will spare no one, the leaat we can do Is to make quite clear what we expect at them. That's why I say that the most Illuminating feature of what has been happening in our village ! the descent of tranquillity upon the young gentlemen. There are no perplexities left for them. Now they are in uniform the Personnel Selection directorate will see to it that they are em- ployed where they fit in best which means they will have great- er opportunities for advancement and promotion than was the lot of the private eoldier before this war. They have no decisions of a major character to make. They are doing their duty and are in. the hands of men trained to em- ploy them to the best advantage, men who know that their own future, their own safety, their own lives will be in the hands of these youths they are training. What about us? We are older. By now the perplexities of llfev should not be aa troublesome to ug as they are to the 'teen age world. We can't rely upon an Admin- istrative and Training Staff to di- rect our activities into channels where we can be of the greatest service to our country and, there- fore, to ourselves. Which makes our duty all the more plainer! Most Needed Items Listed In Britain Most netded clothing iu Great Britain includes wool sweatees, undervests, underpants, overcoat*, pajamas, socks, stockings and boys' shorts, for ages from six to sixteen. The need U greater for boys than for girls. More thau 50,000 babies have been born in the emergency homes for mothers established under Britain's cv;iou;>tion pro- gtam. VOICE OF THE PRESS "FORGETTING" ABOUT THE WAR There are some people who say they do not want to see a film about the war, read a book about it, or do anything else that re- minds them of it. They say they want to forget about the war. They even say they are tired of reading about it in the news- papers. These are the people who are. selfish, self-centred and indul- gent; who hate to be reminded of anything that disturbs their peace of mind. That is not the mentality that will win the war. We can only win it by measuring up to our responsiblities to the. utmost of our capacity, in the interest of others as well as of ourselves. Stratford Beacon-Herald o COULD LIFT BOOKS Ottawa hints that the gas ration, for pleasure motoring may be re- duced soon. A good start might be. made at the ration board if it would lift for a few weeks the coupon books of motorists convict- ed of exceeding federal speed limit of 40 miles an hour. That would compel these individuals to save gus and rubber by not using either at all, for a while. Edmonton Journal ANY GERMAN A GOOD TARGET Ideas of targets have changed vastly since the war began. At the first the British airmen wer not permitted to bomb certain military targets, because they wer o close to civilian centres of po- pulation, a number of civilians might be killed. But, since Hitler started in- discriminate bombing, the British idea is that any German is a good target now. Windsor Star o COMMANDO MATERIAL Wild disorder continues to mark local wrestling matches, with spectators battling each other here and there and storm- ing the ring, while the odd con- testant claps a hold on the ref- eree. There seems to be plenty of Commanda material there. Montreal Gazette o FOR DOG-OWNERS No normal person is happy about hitting a dog with his auto- mobile, and sometimes it is very difficult to avoid some of the little rascals who haven't been taught not to chase cars and to keep out of the. street Can't dog owners think of the feelings of motorists, too? Christian Science Monitor The Indian rupee is worth ap- proximately 30.05 cents. Australia Meets War Emergency An example of the remarkable progress made by the Australian munitions industry in speeding up production since the Japanese en- tered the war comes from Queens- land. When the Japanese launched their attack against Pearl Harbor, the biggest munition factory in Queensland was in course of erec- tion. By the end of January it had begun the production of small arms ammunition on a small scale. Today the factory is producing all classes of ammunition in enor- mous quantities, and it is going direct to the firing line. Cart- ridges of all kinds and big shell* are being turned out at this fac- tory in an ever-growing stream and output will continue to in- crease day by day and week by week until maximum production is attained by the end of this year. Girli In War Plants In four months the staff haa grown fourfold, from hundreds to thousands, and before the end of the year the present number will be doubled again. Hundreds of machines are being operated by girls who a few months ago were typists, clerks, factory hands, waitresses, daughters of farmers and graziers, and the like. Few of them had ever handled machinery before but, after a few weeks training, they are now doing a job which the factory executives cannot praise too highly. Some of them are on work that has never been done before by women. In munitions the greatest precision is necessary and had early production at this new factory been below the rigid standard demanded, it could have been excused. This was not the case. On the contrary, from the beginning of production in Queensland, the ammunition has been passed by inspectors of the three fighting services. Miracle of The Afe This is only one example of what has been happening through- out Australia since war began. The change-over from civil to de- fence production by Australian industries has been described as one of the miracles of the age. With no previous experience to guide them, Australian industrial- ists are today turning out every type of armament and defence equipment in staggering quanti- ties for a country that a few years ago was considered purely from a primary production point of view in the world economy. Today Australian industries are making things which, even as late as 1SMO, could not be made there. BRIEF WAR SUMMARY A melting pot for optical glass InsCruuieuts in a Canadian factory contains about 2,000 pounds of glads at ettcu melt. After the vari- ous operations, about 500 pounds of usable glass is obtained. LIFE'S LIKE THAT By Fred Neher "You're moving into th nicest neighborhood. . . . We nil have the best times talking about one another." On long-range, there's hopeful feeling: Russia shows signs of holding out, deapite Stalingrad situation, keeping Nazi army busy on Eastern front. Bombings of Germany are slowing down the Nazi war production. The Naaia have a big reserve of finished war equipment, but the air raids on factories and communications will delay the replacements inouUia hence. Japan has over-extended her supply lines. They are vulner- able, and Japanese shipping is faring badly. These factors add up to a plus for the Allies on the long pull, but the outlook in the next few months is probably not so good. Axis Campaign In Russia Hitler appears about to bring Uia campaign in southern Russia to a conclusion which may be satisfactory to him for the pre- sent. He has not annihilated the Russian armies, as he set out to do, but be has immobilized them hi the south for the time being at least. Aud, since Russian terri- torial, material and manpower losses on other fronts have made large-scale, successful Russian of- fensives improbable, without strong Allied support. Hitler sen- sibly might be expected to offer the Russians peace so that he could consolidate aud capitalize ou his extensive gains while tliere is yet lime. A Nazi peace is utter- ly unacceptable to Stalin, bow- ever, and Hitler is preparing Win- ter quarters for a holding army In Russia prior to turning else- where in a sink-or-swim effort to finish the war quickly by eii- trenching himself so firmly on the Continent that further fighting obviously would be impractical. If he id permitted the initiative, the focus of activity Is expected to shift to the Middle East. wherc he presumably anticipates au Allied attempt to clear him out of North Africa, open the Mediterranean and launch an offensive against bin relatively unprotected flank In Europe. Tliere are increasingly definite and detailed Indication*. however, that the initiative im about to be taken away from him. Allied Naval Power It may now be stated author- itatively that British naval power Is greater than when the war bev gan, and that American naval power te considerably greater thaa it was December 6 last. Admiral King has intimated that the Am- erican two-ocean navy will b "ready" by June of next year. Some important seafare develop- ments are wisely kept secret. Am to failure to reveal fully certaia losses, they are hardly in excesa of the expected coast of oper- ations. However, as somebody haa put it. "whichever side pulls the fewer 'boners' will win the war." Censorship veils the actual aitu- atiou in India. The Nazis put everything they have iuto attack* on convoys in aid of Russi-i. Talk of an Allied Generalissimo con- tinues. The British iuflationarjr threat is largely checked by strict rationing, in contrast to American reliance mainly on other controls. Excess purchasing-power becomes "forced savings" when allowabla purchases are rigidly restricted. It should be repeated tiiat the Am- erican tradition favors offense and it may be assumed that the high Allied decisions to which Presi- dent Roosevelt recently referred are in accord therewith. Canada At Dieppe Canada's complaint that its part in the Dieppe raid and other fight- ing has been underrated, particu- larly iu U.S. newsreels, is not t be minimized. Canada is not a large country, but its contribu- tion to the war io a large one and its troops did shoulder the major burden at Dieppe. It would be wis for Canada. England, the U. 3. and all of the other United Na- tiors to remember that they ar fighting the war collectively, that separately they might not be able to fight it at all. LISTEN TO ff "COUNTRY NEWS ITEMS OF INTEREST FROM ONTARIO WEEKLY NEWSPAPERS EACH SUNDAY AT 2 P.M. CFRB - 860 On Your Dial Socialists In Italy Rising Against Fascism The Socialist Party iu Italy, which Benito Mussolini's follow- ers in early days forcibly disband- ed was reported today to be rais- ing its head against Fascism. A dispatch from Zurich quoted Swiss Socialist circles as de-clar- ing that the Italian Socialist Par- ty In recent months had been re- organized with "illegal uniu" mul- tiplying in factories in the great- er part of Italian territory. The Socialists recently helped in a strike at the Fiat works, where they suddenly quit their jobs and demanded an increase in pay. Six hours later, according to this account, company officials ac- ceded to the demands and the strikers went back to work. Although strikes are prohibit- ed in Italy, the newspaper said, "not a policeman or soldier show- ed himself during the strike. Flowers Forecast Mild Autumn The veteran Joliiiny Thomas, well-kuowu Fort Brie prognosti- cator, does not agree with several other old-time weather forecasters here that folk in the Niagara Dis- trict are in for an early Fall. "It Is my belief that we will have a mild October and November, too.' 1 Mr. Thomas commented. "One reason is that the wild asters are just commencing to btpom. and as these flowers are sensitive to frost, it is my belief that old Danie Nature knows bet- tor than the average human Joes." Women Likely To Stay On Farm Farm women are not likely te> be directed into other occupation* because the work they now arc doing has a high priority ratine; Mrs. Rex Eaton, assistant direc- tor of National Selective Service) announced. Farm women from 20 to 34 years of age, inclusive, are re- quired to register with other women in the same age groups This registration is compulsory- Postmasters have been author- ized to act as registrars in rural districts. Women now working on farms will be registered as "farm women." But this does not mea* that they will be "frozen" in their present jobs, Mrs. Katun says. Farm work usually tapen off during the winter, and Mrs. Eaton urged that young women who are free to turn to other work in slack seasons do so. Killings In Greece Daily Occurrence* A high German official wlto escaped to Palestine informed th (.'reek government that 3,000 of the islanders have been exec..tod by the Germans and thnt terror- ism "of the most grave char- acter continues. Arrests and shootings occur daily on Crete, the big island south of Greece, this official whose name may not be disclosed reported. He said condemned persons were forced to dig their own graves and that the people were forced to witness executions of their townsmen. REG'LAR FELLERS Slow Collection. By GENE BYRNES THERE 5 THAT GUY r OWES US A DM MINDIN'HIS CAR WHAT OWES US A DIME V- > J. '.- WMX yOU UTTLE RUFFIANS.' I OWE NOBODY BUT MX TAILOR AND HES TOO POLITE TO REMIND ME OP IT .'