Lake Scugog Historical Society Historic Digital Newspaper Collection

Port Perry Star (1907-), 5 Mar 1942, p. 7

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ee ----x Churchill Warns Against Division . . Refers to Dangers of Bicker Ing In Times of Adversity In a editorial headed, "Mr, Churchill's Warning", The New York Times declared Prime Min. ister Churchill's speech of Sun. day to have been worth making - "if he had done nothing else-than warn his hearers not only against - the futility but the actual dan. gers of bickering, recriminations and division in a time of ad- versity", © ; i "This does not wean," the edi- torial continued, "that justified criticism at home of- a nation's leaders must be reressed. Each nation must hold its own leaders to stritt accountability, though criticisin must be carefully weigh- ed before it is uttered. As for criticisms of one allied nation by another, justified or not, the less there is of this in public the bet- ter it will be for all concerned. It would do little geod and much harm for Englishmen, Canadians or Australians to criticize us for not being more alert at Pearl Har- bor, for not having had enough airplanes at The Philippines to hold them securely or for delay in sending help to the Far: East. 'It does just as little good and just as much harm for Americans to criticize the inadequate de- fence of Singapore or the British failure to sink the German war- ships in the Channel. "Such recriminations, even on the part of private persons, ac- complish no possible good, but only help to bring about the very diversions that the Axis is trying so hard to create. Each of the United Nations will have enough to do to rectify its own short- comings and to make its own co- operation. most effective. There could be no more useful prayer for each of us to keep as a guid- ing rule, in short, than that of a Chinese Christian, recently cit- ed in another connection by the President: - 'Lord, reform Thy world, beginning with me'." * NEW BOMBER CHIEF v ¥ © AIR MARSHAL A. T. HARRIS In future when British bombers | drop their loads on the Reich, they'll be acting on orders of Air a NAY a ol as commander-in-chief of the bomber command is announced. He succeeds Sir Richard Peirse. Air "Marshal Harris i in Wash: ington now. +3 Urges Balanced Diet For Farm Children Prof. E, W. McHenry, of the University of Toronto, recently told the Ontario Association of Agricultural Societies that Cana- dian farmers pay mote attention to the diet of their livestock than to that of their children. © All necesities of a balanced, nutritive diet are to be found on Canadian farms, he said, Cana dian food is neither poor enough in itself to cause disaster, nor Is it good enuvugh to prevent some types of disease, yh He urged consamption of more 'eggs, milk, cheese, meat, carrots and other vegetables, fruits and: especially tomatoes for a higher standard' of health among Cana- dians, Churchill Followed Big Battle on Map Prime Minister Churchill, stand- ing before a big map of the Eng- lish Channel in the Admiralty war . room, watched for hours the un-- - succéssful British -Adval-air battle | Tate ~ the Admiralty, watched beside him with the escaping German war- ships. g : . V. Alexander, First Lord of VOICE OF THE PRESS SIX WORDS b An unnamed young soldier out in Hawaii has a message for you. He didn't know he had a mes. sage. . But .he had.: A corresponden\: touring the new defences of Hawaii found him in a secluded dugout, where he was slgeping on the hard ground. Asked if that wasn't pretty tough, the young jsoldier grinned, spat, and. deliv- ered his message: "Was. Not now. Used to it." The sooner we get into that frame of mind about how tough "it is to undergo the thousand little inconveniences that go with 'war, as well as the real sacrifices, the better. The end of the war will be in sight when 11,000,000 "people are saying about how tough it-is to make their own sacrifices: " "Was. Not now. Used to it." --Calgary" Albertan --s "IF WE CARE ENOUGH" 'Miss Byrne Hope Saunders, speaking to. women of Waéstern Ontario on the price ceiling law, gave all of Canada a motto for this war. Women, she said, can be unbeatable, "If we care enough." What better rallying cry could be coined for this country at war? In it lies the whole spirit that we must have to win, Canada has everything for victory, either in war or peace. Nothing on earth can beat us, "If we care enough," Thus far, there have been too many evidences that we do not care enough, do not care enough to serve, do not care enough to work, do not care enough to sac- rifice, do not care enough to give. "If we care enough," we can go forward without one worry for the future. If we do not, the struggle is lost right now. --Windsor Star Do i OUR DEBT TO RUSSIA Our debt to the Soviet is a hundredfold heavier than is the Soviet debt to us. For all we need to do is. contemplate what would have happened to us had Stalin --as so many writers predicted he would do just a year ago. We have our hands full as it is, with Hitler and Japan--even when . a million Russian lives have been sacrificed to help hold qur lines. Had those lives been sacrificed to break us, we would not be argu- ing about the petty things which concern us in Canada today. --Vancouver 'News-Herald Oe TOO MUCH ROPE Eskimo sends word from the northern tip of Alaska that he's coming into Nome in the spring for a divorce. We always thought the chance of a husband to stay out all of a six-month night was too.much of an opportunity to last very long. . ___ --Windsor Star --C-- DON'T FORGET THE GUN! A famed biologist thinks the great American sense 'of humor will defeat the Jap. Particularly if one has a gun trained on the fellow, while saying, "This one will slay you." - --Chicago News --0-- "FIRELESS"" CCOKER- A rich Illinois bachelor married «his cook. That's reducing the ', marital ¢hance to a minimum. An--- _ other newspaper paragrapher re- marked that he got a fireless' cooker, : --Chatham News --) JAPS ACT AS ONE Let's face it; 80,000,000 Japs who think and hate and act as one can lick 130,000,000 people who won't pull together. --Detroit Free Press FR HEADACHE TABLETS There may be something in the theory that the modern income- tax form was devised by the mak- ers of headache tablets, , -- Ottawa Citizen South African Sheep Help British Sailors The skins of South African sheep are helping to save the lives of shipwrecked British sailors. Sheepskin gloves, large and warm, are now included in a life- boat's equipment." Fine gloves are got from each sheepskin and big quantities are being turned out by the makers. . They are also prdoucing a great number of other types of gloves, mostly for the Royal Air Force, not to mention leather flying hel- mets at the rate of a thousand a week. The Army is getting from them -gloves of ample size for protecting men at bayonet practice and they are also distributing quantities of boxing gloves to the forces. "sa his aides steadily plotted the course of the Nazi warships into the North Sea--and at least temp- orary safety. 3 : erally, Fo The Amazon River is navigable for ocean steamers for 2,800 miles, : THE WAR - WEEK -- Commentary on Current Events National Unity Strengthened By Changes In British Cabinet A wave of criticism has been slowly ' gathering force against Prime Minister Churchill's gov. ernment as the British lost hold in Singapore, as the Imperials fel) back iif Libya, as the German, ~ ships of war escaped through the Strait of Dover. The nation waa demanding "explanation, insisting. in changes in the cabinet in order to strengthen Britain's war effort, Public opinion in Great Britain * is a mighty force, and Mr. Church. ill is a strong-minded map. Such, however, is the potency of British democracy that he 'bowed -to the demands of an aroused people by making changes essential to the strengthening of his government. The shake-up was a thorough one and the present small group ot cabinet members will now be able to devote all their energies to the conducting of the war, Closer Ties With Russia Sir Stafford Cripps, Ambassador to Russia, was ap- pointed leader of the House of Commons, His entry into the cabinet appeared to be a response to growing demands that his views on closer relation with Russia be given more authority. Sir Staf- ford knows Russia, her strength and her trends. Isn't Russia the only nation that has conducted a brilliant war aganist Hitler, ana the only nation that has carried out a grand strategy? General MacArthur, in a greeting to the Red Army, said: "In my lifetime I have participated in a number of wars and have witnessed others, "as well as studying in great detail the campaigns of outstanding leaders of the past. "In none have I observed such effective re- sistance to the heaviest blows of a hitherto. undefeated enemy fol- lowed by a smashing counter-af- tack. The scale and grandeur of this effort marks it as the great- est military achievement in all higtory." : Task of Red Army The courage and endurance of the Russians must be backed up - _chosen_to_go_along_with_the_Axis - | With the machinery of war,.and Britain and the United States must supply alt that is necessary to enable the Russians to sus- tain their offensive against the invaders and to drive them from their land. The task oi the Red Army is clearly stated in Premier Stalin's speech [to Soviet Russia's 200,000,000 pgbple in the twenty- fourth anniversary of the found- ing of the Red Army of Russia. He said "statéments appear from time to time in the foreign press to the effect that the Red Army aims at the destruction of the German people. This is a wic- ked, foolish libel. It is probable that this war will bring about the end of Hitler's clique. We would former ° welcome this solution. But it would be ridiculous to identify Hitler's clique with' the German people and the German state, History teaches that Hitlers come and go, but the 'German people and the German state remain... , The task/of the Red Army consists of liberating 'from the German invaders our Soviet land, in liber. ating from the whip of the Ger- man invaders the citizens of our - villages and towns." Responsibility For Defeats It is important to understand . .that responsibility for the unsat- isfactory conduct of thé war does not fall on any one man, but on a system that made early defeats inevitable, Before this war, the British Empire was a loose association ot nations "and colonies, relying on .the mother country for protec. tion. None maintained an ade- quate fighting force, not even Britain herself. Britain did, how- ever, have a powerful navy which: was considered sufficient to pro. tect her possessions and com. merce in all parts of the world. Reliance was also placed in the French fleet, particularly for con. trol of the Mediterranean. Bri- tain depended on the French srmies--they failed. She de- pended on American naval supers jority in the Pacific--that failed. Task of British - The task of total war was too great for British preparedness. Britain was called upon to protect her island home, to safeguard the Mediterranean shores of Africa, to build up an army in the Middle East, to arm her forces. in the Far East, to furnish war mater ials to Russia and China, It was not so much a matter of faulty strategy on Britain's part but a case of sheer physical incapacity that caused initial re- verses. The British Empire was not equipped for war and no government, whether headed by Churchill or any other man, could have hoped _to achieve victories ~-with the materials on hand. In the reconstruction of his cabinet, Mr. Churchill retained the 'post of Minister of Defence but, to free: himself of routine duties, appointed Mr, Clement R. Attlee to the new position of Deputy Prime Minister. The changes made by Mr. Churchill should meet 'with the widest approval. There is a feel- ing of great relief that the Prime Minister has by his prompt ac- tion cased the growing tension in Parliament. Renewed confidence will now be felt in the cabinet and the national unity will be strengthened for whatever ahead. _ LIFE'S LIKE THAT (Ses 1000 by rd Now) 2-4 peso NEAER, By Fred. Neher Zz] "You dance heavenly, Mr. Bolt!" lies. "bound for the war areas, / WINTER CONVOY By Lieut. E. H. Bartlett, R.C.N.V.R. Behind closed doors a question of naval warfare was under dis- cussion," . "If any enemy submarine is sighted, the sighting ship must open fire immediately," a quietly- spoken officer was saying, _ "If you are not gure whether he's an enemy, open' fire anyway," he continued. Then, grimly, "we must. not waste opportunities." There were appreciative nods from his audience. They were captains. all, masters of "ships * Not captains of ships built for war, but men whose, peacetime cargo carriers have been armed with guns against both submarines and aircraft, so that they will have some means of defence and so that "opportunities will not be wasted." They were sitting in what the - war has made familiar as a *"con- voy conference," getting their final instructions before their fleet sailed from a Canadian port, outward bound with food and sup. plies and vital necessities * for those other parts of an Empire at war. It was a formal conference, with formality natural to men bearing responsibility. There was nothing of the atmosphere of class-room or lecture-hall, though, for this was a conference of equals recognizing that each had his own duty to perform, and that each was dependent upon the other. On the one hand were highly trained, keenly specialized Cana- dian naval officers, with all the experience and knowledge of the Navy behind them. And all the knowledge, too, of the hazards into which the conferces were go- ing, and which they were to share. On the other hand were the - captains of the merchant ships. Each, in his own ship supreme. Each, after years of command, grown used to independent action and to making his own decisions. And each, at the dictates of war, abandoning his prized independ- ence for the extra strength and the qxtra safety which come with the sending of ships to sea in closely guarded convoys, . They were veterans of the At- lantic Battle at the conference. Presiding was a "convoy commo- dore,". the man who was to direct the fleet from the bridge of one of the merchant ships. Already, this war, .he has many crossings behind him, and a reputation for "getting the ships through." "Getting them through," he said bluntly, was the only thing _ which mattered to him. . "I don't intend to leave any- body behind, we all will get across ~ together," he declared. "We don't want any stragglers, and we don't want anybody losing the convoy at night. If you are hav- ing any trouble, let me know, and we'll do something about it." Calmly and confidently he out- lined his plans. Each captain had a copy of the convoy orders, and a chart showing the cruising dis- ~ positions of the ships. Orders and charts were given close attention as the commodore went over them point by point. This to be done if a ship was damaged; that if the enemy at- tacked. Precautions to be. taken against making too much smoke, which would give away the con- voy position in daytime; or against showing lights, the: flare of a careless match or the glare of an improperly shielded lamp, which would -- draw dangec at night. Smaller points, too, which these men of experience recognize as being important. The nced for damping rubbish overboard only at certain dark hours, so that no trail may be left on the sea's sur- fuce to guide the submarines which strike from below." Care that no slick of oil be left to. pro- vide yet another trail. Carefully the captains noted each pot as it was made. The) wear no uniforms, and do not claim to be fighting men, but they are men wise in the ways of sea warfare and know the tricks of circumventing the enemy as well "as the art of fighting him if he appears. To them this study of conyoy orders was not an empty gesture, staled through repetition, ™ but a meeting of their board of -degenerated- into "luv" or "luf" ..Quartermaster Sergeant, all these strategy, making sure that all was in order before their fleet put out to sea. Sitting with them were uni- . formed officers of the fighting service, captains of Canadian es cort ships which were to throw their shield around the merchant fleet. They, too, studied their orders in intent silence, complet. ing their plans so that the protec- tion they could give would be of the greatest. , . The conference drew to a close, The commodore had given his last _ verbal orders, his next would be. by signal from the bridge of the "merchant ship in which he would lead the fleet. There remained only his good wishes. "A 'good and safe passage to you all," he 'said, "and the best of good luck. 1 hope we meet safely on the other side." "The wishes were echoed by the- Naval Control Service Officer ana by the Naval Officer in charge of the port where the fleet had as- sembled. Not effusive wishes, by any means, just a quiet but ex- tremely sincere "safe and pleas- ant voyage." There is no room for demon- strativeness in a convoy confer- ence, and the men who take their part in it are not lookiyg for kind words. More satisfying to these merchant ship captains was the knowledge that the naval auth- orities had bent their every effort to making their voyage "safe and pleasant." That they had watched over the arrival of their ships im Canaan waters, had cleared the way for them through the intrica- cies of unloading and loading, re- fuelling and taking supplies om board, arranged for minor repairs and been on hand to straightem _away the difficulties and delays which beset a ship in port, And, in, all this/ had done their job under the cloak of secrecy with which they cover ship movements as ohe of the most important fae- tors for safety, « § The conference: broke upp and there was a general mingling of all those who had taken part, A senior 'naval officer (four rings of gold on his sleeve told of his - captain's rank, and rows of col- ourdd ribbons on his coat told of 'the service he had already given his country) was host, for the conference had been held in the ward room of his base. For that matter, he had been host to the captains for the time they had been in port, throwing the ward room open to them as a club, where they could relax in their short hours off duty. - Business, for the moment, was over, The men who had wet, on equal foot- ing, as conferees at a board of strategy now were meeting as mu- tually appreciative friends, There was good reason for their casy friendship for the bond be- tween them, these captains in lounge suits and their brothers in uniform, has been forged strongly during the months they have been fighting -- and winning -- the Battle of the Atlantic together. AAN MAURICE 7) IRJVIN - A. A Weekly Column About This and That in The Canadian Army Funny how on thing leads to another, isn't it? Last week's column ended with a reference to the pronunciation of the word, "Lieutenant." Two correspondents and a large volume of the Oxford Dictionary supplied information on the origin of British mispronunciation of an Anglicized French word. As the two correspondents (could they be the sum total of this column's readers?) also made some entirely irrelevant comments upon the writer's mentality we'll pass them by and concentrate on the diction- ary's explanation. . Apparently both pronunciations are correct. The dictionary points out that the derivation is from the Latin "locum _tenens" which be- came in French, "lieu"--in place of, "tenant"'--to hold. In the 14th and 15th centuries English scriveners wrote the word vari- ously as "lieu" and "liev"'--ten- ant and the latter spelling later --tenant. Hence the British pro nunciation---*leftenant." Yes, I know the pronunciation doesn't match the spelling. But just think for a minute--how do you pronounce "plough," "cough," or "through," for example? The foregoing isn't as irrele- vant "as it might scem for the subject of today's essay is--offi- cers. Officers all the way from Lance-Corporal to Field Marshal. You didn't know Lance-Corpor- als were officers? Sure they are --and very important ones, too! To be meticulous, he is a Non- Commissioned officer, one of the three types of officers to be found in the individual citizen's. army. Another type is the officer who holds His Majesty's commission ranging in rank from Second Licutenant to Field Marshal. There are more Lieutenants than Field Marshals! : And there are more Lance-Cor- porals than Lieutenants. To g¥p-the record straight here is tho hans list. Lance-Cor- oral, Cbrporal, Sergeant, Company are Non-Commissioned Officers. Next comes, Company -Sergeant Major, Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant, Regimental Sergeant- Major; these are wariant officers. Commissioned officers are, Second tion Lieutenant, Lieutenant, Captain, Major, Lieutenant-Colonel, Col-. onel, Brigadier, Major-General, Licutenant-General, General and IMield Marshal. And don't ask me why a Licut- enant-General is senior to a Major- General when a Lieutenant is jun- ior to a Major! Where does the Canadian Army get its officers? The answer is, from the ranks. Every candidate for a commission today; except in a few cases where civilian tech- nical qualifications are the decid- ing factor in the appointment, is dressing in khaki serge at the time his name is considered. He may reach commissioned rank in one of two ways, 1 al- most said" one is the hard way. As a matter of fact both ways are hard from the point of view of the outsider but quité possible of attainment by the soldier who has the necessary quality of lead- ership, educational qualifications, and guts, Many an officer has worked his way up through the non-commis- sioned and warrant ranks. Oth- ers, and they are more numerous when there is a war on, have been selected as privates to go to the Officers' Training. Centre for a strenuous course. In each case the recommenda- tion is madé¢ by the man's com-' manding officer who submits the name to the District Officer Com. manding. IT the latter concurs, the name is placed upor the eligible list and in due course, as" vacancies occur at the training* centre, the embiyo officer goes up for training. . Appointments to the rank of Lance-Corporal and promotions to higher non-commissioned ranks are made by regimental com- manders upon the recommenda- tion of company or other officers, Warrant officers, with the excep- of Regimental and Staff Sergéants-Major whose warrants are issued by the Minister of Na- tional Defence, are pronioted in the same way. : Of one thing you may be cer- tain--the man who leads your boy into action, or your boy, when he leads others into action, will be well-trained and thoroughly com- petent to undertake his heavy responsibilities, | REG'LAR FELLERS-- Correcting a Mistake YOU SEE WHAT THAT SIGN To WALK [BG DON'TCHA ? WELL, TAKE MY ADVICE ANY WALK / A RIDE FRO GONNA HAIL. AW, PHAOEYZ- I'M YOO TIRED 71M ) M THIS CAR > COMIN' DOWN THE ROAD NOW a TRE WELL, PINHEAD CERTAIN'Y: HAS NERVE / HEY, WHERE _ YA GOIN, PINHEAD ? EEA ASIII yh fer U8 Fat ibe AN irs peservet By GENE BYRNES wy If D 4 u { WANTED A RIDE / irs. SS ---------- | >

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