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"the listening posts. doing 'fulltime ind Island Of Ceylon Prepared For War By Sonia Tomara, Writing From Colombo, in New York Herald Tribune Ceylon is a fortress. It will not be caught napping. The lessons of Pearl Harbor and Singapore have been useful to this island. It is possible to say today, without be- traying military secrets, that Cey- = lon will and can be defended against attacks of the enemy, Some day, when the time comes for the opening of a real front:in the East, it will serve as a most formidable sea, air and land base for altacks against the Japs in Burma and the Dutch East Indies. It is not easy to enter Ceylon. I had to wait two weeks to obtain a permit, as the. authotities are reluctant to allow women in. Last April, when-the Japs bombed Cey- lon and Trincomalee, hundreds of English women left the island for India. = Only those doing useful Jobs have been permitted to stay. It is impressive to see what has been done to strengthen the Cey- _ lon defences since last spring. The Japs are likely to regret bitterly gome day that they did not launch an attack on Ceylon on the heels of their other successes in Malaya, Burma and China, They might have achieved something then just as Hitler might have conquered Brit- ain right after Dunkirk, Forces Well Prepared If the Japs came here today they would face strong, well prepared forces and many tricks of modern warfare. Admiral Sir Geoffrey Lay- ton, commander-inchief of the is- land since the fall of Singapore, has been given full power to for- tify 'Ceylon. If it were in danger again, as it was last April, he would become virtual dictator here. He has worked untiringly building Ceylon's defences and getting in equipment and men. British and Indian soldiers and officers have come lo swell the army ready to defend Ceylon. During manoeuvres [ witnessed in the depth of the Ceylonese jungle, [ saw Bast African Negioes and the felt hats of the little Gur- khas from Nepal, as well as trucks and cannon shipped all the way - from England. Traveling with' ine on the ferry from India to the northern tip of this island, along the so-called Adams Bridge, which Hanuman, the Monkey God, helped to build In legendary times, I talked to young English officers just arrived from home to take command over the. Indian 'units. Tired of waiting for battle at home, they had volunteer- ed for this destination. - It is ire YEble to say when Cey: ~sun" Will be in the news again. All has been quiet here since Aprll, when the Japs sent 79 planes to bomb Ceylon harbor, and the Brit. ish fighters chased -them off, de- - stroying half. But Admiral Layton does not want complacency. "There _ 4s no good or bad season for the Japs to attack us," he said to me, "The monsoons cannot stop them, Now they are so expert in landing operations, our main problem is to be on the alert all the time." You usually wake up in the morning to the sound of antlair raid guns practising. Rifle squads - are trained in shooting everywhere. In the central control room of the A.R.P., girls sit day and night at At night the whole town is blacked out. People will tell you how grim ; things were last spring. Now there is confidence. Heavily convoyed ships come here steadily from Eng: land, the United States and Aus- tralia, bringing supplies. Marines Not Fooled [ By Japanese Trick "Hup, two, three, fo', hup .. .,"" cracked the American voice out of the foggy darkness. "Okay, boys, get your stuff together -- we're ~ pulling out of here..." - : The detachment of marines camped on a cricket field on Tulagi Island in. the Solomons could see 10 figures approaching, One young sergeant arose duti- fully to his feet and started to join the ten. Then another sergeant yelled a word that meant "Japs!" to the marines, and their rifles volleyed. Eight of the ten Japanese were killed, including the one with the American education whose voice "baited the trap. | 8 Million Women Work Full Time CAIl women of 18 to 46 have been registered. in Britain, and single women and childless wid- ows between 20 and 30 are sub. ..Ject to draft into the armed ser- vices. So far only the 20-24 age group has been called. Of the 17,250,000 in the 14-68 group, about 11,000,000 are mar- In addition to the 8,000,000 y jobs, it ls estimated that 5,600,000 are tak- _ing care of families and another 600,000 aré physically unfit, leaving comparatively few still available for full-time mobiliza- tion, ' forces had a I Sayid Idris. (left) leader of the Scnussi Arabs, is grected by his troops in traditional manner, Allies recently in Libya. Formerly under Italians, they joined A THE WAR . WEEK -- Commentary on Current Events Superiority Of Allied Air Power Insures Success In North Africa Four main factors may be sald to account for the great Allied air successes in North Afrlca. They are important because they have never been present before all to- gether, They are important also because when those four qualities can be combined they make pos- sible decisive results. The four factors were--and are: 1.--Superiority in technical quality of aircraft. # 2.--Superiority in numbers. 3.--Adequate ground organiza- tlon for servicing, maintenance and repair. 4.--Masterly handling of the available squadrons in a balanced offensive. Added to those essential quall- ties is the fact that a chain of air hases were available for occupa- tion as the advance went forward westward from Egypt and east- ward from Algeria: And further- more the axis use of their own air forces was distinguished by neither imagination nor initiative. Not for the first time the Luft- waffe was so rigidly bound to its -{* ground forces that it could ex: ploit none of the versatility which characterizes air-power and Is so essential for {ts success. Let 'us examine more closely those four factors in success. 'In the first place the Allied marked technical superiority in the aircraft employ- ed. The basis of all alr-power is the single-seat fighter and both in Egypt and in French North Africa the Supermarine Spitfire, flown by British, American and Imperial pilots showed that it is the fighter "par-excellence." The Spitfires were able to establish real alr supremacy--not merely superfor- ity--and so drive the enemy out of the sky. J Improved Spitfire : Incidentally, a still further Im- proved version of the Spitfire is now in service powered with the --new. Rolls Royce Merlin Sixty- One motor of greatly Increased performance. The result is a high- fiying fighter which is not only delightful to fly but supreme In speed and fire-power. This Spit. fire is a world beater--and for- tunately there are going to be plenty of them, . Of the other types of alrcraft which have done so well in North Africa the Hurrlcane anfl Kitty. hawk fighter bombers, e Am- erican Boston, Baltimore and Mit- chell medfum bombers, and the Halifax and Liberator héavy bomb ers have been outstanding. To single out but one--the Douglas. Boston: Ill of the British Alr Forces, similar, to the American A-20C, has performed magnificent. (| ly and has lent itself to new and brilliant tactics described by Afr . Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder as "Boston tea parties." In these "parties" concentrated attacks are madé by Bostons in close. forma. tion against enemy fighter afr. dromes. The bombs are dropped | at 15 yafd 'Intervals over the whole target which is thus com: pletely blanketed. Overlaps. are Hable to bo reprimanded. . Quite. early in the attacks the ~ Allled forces had built up superior ity of numbers over the Luftwaffe ' in Egypt--estimated at some 600 German and 400 Italian first-line aircraft. The magnificently organ. conditions In fzed workshops behind the lines made possible the maintenance of the Allied aircraft in action at a constant level, In that respect the enemy failed and, as he retreated, abandoned much of his equipment. Malta In New Role The use of parachute froops in French North Africa is another example of the exploitation of the right weapons In the right places. The 1,500 mile flight by the Am- erlcan and British troops under Lt. Col. Edson D. Raff in their Douglas transports from England to Africa must rank as one of the great feats of its kind in this war and of immense significance for the future. In every way the Twelfth Air Force of the U. S. Army, now in Africa, must be - congratulated on a fine piece of work which will lead to great things. How great theso things are to be in the near future will 'depend very much on tho air-strength of *the United Nations. The axis is likely to try and set up the strong- est possible air cover in a triangle over Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica and Southern Italy--all well-equipped with airtields. -The Sicillan Chan- nel between Tunis and Marsala in Sicily 1s about 90 miles wide which - means that strong Allied fighter sweeps would be possible from Tunis in support of concen- trated bombing. Furthermore, Mal- ta--which now turns from grim and gallant -defence to swift and shattering attack--Iis only 60 miles from the Sicillan shore. Now at last Malta comes into her own. The first task is thus to clear the axis neck and crop out of Africa, The next Is to establish alr superlority from African alr bases out over the Mediterranean. The third is to destroy as much as possible of the Luftwalfe on its advanced bases to create the which successful combined operations can be ad- vanced a step further. The Luft- waffe must.be made to fight--the more it fights the better for the Allled ¢ause. Aircraft production in America and (reat Britain now outstrips that of the -axis by a wide margin, The hfgher the rate of wastage which can be forced on the axis the quicker will come "the absolute.air mastery which is the key to victory, Of the 21,600,000 women between the ages of 14 and 65 in the United States, more than 13,500,000 are employed. " they encountered. THE BOOK SHELF OUR HEARTS WERE YOUNG N AND GAY By Cornelia Otis Skinner and Emily Kimbrough Cornelia Otis Skinner and Emily Kimbrough went abroad together. This was in the early twenties, and they were not quite in theirs, "Emily," Cornelia said, '"at- tracts trouble the way blue serge - But it was, after' attracts lint." all, Cornelia who canie down with the measles and a great many complications. Emily did nearly drown a man, but her intention was only to be helpful; and when she hit an English nobleman in the face, it was unpremeditated and in sport. Certainly the ship- wreck was not the fault of either of them, though Cornelia has al- ways averred that the mere fact of Emily's being there helped to bring it about. They were young and foolish and their hearts were gay, They laughed at nearly everything but they cried, too, at England, and the sight of France, the Fiffel Tower and Joan of Are. They had been brought up to know about such places, and sure enough they were true, and Cor nelia and Emily were there to see them, They were every young Amerl- can girl on her first trip abroad. They discovered and they owned Europe, or such part of it as they awkwardly cantered over, and they adored alwost. everything Such things as they did not adore they hated. They would not have known enough nor how to be bored. They longed to be considered worldly but they were not of the world; they were on top of it. Our Hearts Were Young and " Gay ... By Cornelia Otis Skinner and Emily Kimbrough . .. Dodd, Mead & Company ... Price $3.00, VOICE OF THE SAVE THE YOUNG PIGS Lowering the mortality rate in young pigs is the greatest single step toward meeting the bacon production objective of 675,000, 000 pounds set in the new British agreement, the only assured means of achiev ing the goal. Too many young pigs are lost each year --- almost invariably through ignorance rather than carelessness. Lack of iron, result- ing in anacmia, worms and disease germs are common causes of seri ous losses in young pigs. -- Winnipeg Tribune. cafe LOOK IT UP, HITLER "Granting that Herr Hitler feels all the admiration for the music of Richard Wagner he pro. fesses, its still a cinch bet one of the composer's works is never played or mentioned in his pres. ence. That's his 'Rule Britannia' March which he wrote and sent to the London Philharmonic Orch- estra for performance in 1840." --Detroit Free Press. Shanid WE DON'T BELIEVE IT_ One o' our readers claims to of overieard the followin' dia- 'logue: Buyer--"How about a little butter?" , Dealer--*"We.ain't got none." Buyer--"Oh, go down in the cellar and have a look aronud." Dealer--*1 can't." Buyer--'"Why not?! --- Dealer--*"Cellar steps are block- ed with cases." Buyer--*"Cases of what?" Dealer--"Butter." i --Starbeams. aye COLD-BLOODED Japanese airmen have deliber- ately bombed Red Cross hospitals in the South. Pacific. That's just ""another double-cross hy she Japs. --Windsor Star. api pnt THEY GO UNDER Lloyd's of Lofdon is now housed in offices 650 feet under- ground, Yes, they're the under- writers, --Hamilton Spectator. --) MATTER .OF OPINION Dad gets more pleasure out of a made-over dress than mother. Kitchener Record. In fact, this may be . extended Air Depots Built In African Jungle Emergency Landing Places In Wildest Part of Africa A great many planes have been flown from the British Isles to the Middle East, but thousands have been shipped from the United Stajes to ports in West Africa, re- assembled, and then flown to thelr bases. President Roosevelt stated a long time ago that the Allies had a huge assembly base somewhere down the coast of the Red Sea from which planes, guns and sup- plies were sent to the Egyptian front. . . , LI An officer of the Royal Air Force who has arrived in New York re- vealed that there is an assembly dopot in a jungle in Western Africa from which thousands of planes, shipped from the United States, have been flown to the North Africa fronts, It became necessary to establish. African depots after the fall of France which made the Mediterrancan route dangerous, and this, the larg- est of the plants, Is 6,600 miles from the theatre of war. The place selected was only a tribal hamlet on the fringe of a forest along the coast, but it had a good harbor. Thousands of natives were round- ed up, and with the aid of army engineers, they built, deep In the hinterland, what is one &f the best equipped air depots in the world. There is a journey of about 4,000 miles through some of tho wildest parts of Africa before reaching the edge of the Sudan desert, and en- gineers had to hack their way through in order to establish emer- geney landing places where planes could refuel and be serviced. There were not even paths through the forests. In order to win the co-operation of the natives the word was spread that if they found any airmen who are forced down, | rewards would be pald in gold for conducting them to the nearest emergency fleld. . . . The R.A.F. officer, who has flown the route himself, says it is one of the most interesting, and per- haps most terrifying territories in the world. The land below teems with lions and other wild animals, and if airmen came down in certain places a bag of gold would not be much use to them. When the planes reach Khartoum the worst of the trip Is over, but a 2,000-mile stretch of sand remains, and the monoony is only broken by secing nn occasional Arab tent, or a camel caravan. SCOUTING ... The Chief Scout for Canada, His Ixcellency the Governor-Gen- eral, has announced the week of February 21-27 as Boy Scout Week in Canada. The opening feature of the observance will be memorial services for Lord Baden- Powell on February 21, the. day prior to the birthday. of the Founder of the Boy Scout Moye- ment. : * | * - A few Boy Scouts of Liverpool, England, opened a Service Bureau to give information in the much bombed city. It proved so suc- cessfal that the police, when con- fronted with a problem adopted the habit of telling people "Go to the Scouts about it." The service has been extended and three Scout help centres are now in operation, LJ * . .A group of British, Boy Scouts, anxious. to do their bit "in pur- chasing war bonds, organized a mole hunting expedition. They skinned the moles, sold the skins and invested the proceeds in bonds. . ~ * * "Twenty Scottish Wolf Cubs were waiting outside a theatre to sce the movie version of Rudyard Kipling's "Jungle _DBook."" Nearby was a crippled sidewalk artist. The Cubs went into a huddle, reached a unanimous decision, turned the movie money over to the cripple and went home without seeing the picture. Their good turn for the day was done, . * * A Jewish contingent of the United States' Army has made a donation of five pounds to a British Boy Scout Troop which the facilities of its THE UNCONQUERABLES By E. K. In The Christlan Sclence Monitor They were twelve young, very young Frenchmen, mostly from the Norman and Breton ooast When the war. started, they all volunteered for the French flying forces and became student-pilots "id one of Franée's alr schools. They were eager to fight against "the hereditary- enemy of thelr country, but France broke down and the students were dismissed. Yet the twelve would not return to their homes.' They decided to continue the struggle against the Nazis on thelr own. «oo. General de Gaulle's appeal to the French had reached them, and fn - their secret meetings the young men resolved to join the, Fred French army. They borrowed money from thelr parents and friends and bought a small nine ton sailing vessel, the "Buhara." _ They installed an outboard mo- tor, purchased some food, and on a cold, foggy winter day set out to sea, hoping to reach England. Soon the motor broke down, and the small coat went adrift. When dawn rose, the craft was over- taken by a German patrol-boat and the young men were arrosted. ) . . LJ When they returned to port, and were led to prison surrounded by German soldiers, the town people watched from thelr thresholds, grim and sad. The trial before the German military court was summary, The German judges of- fered mercy to any of the young men who were willing to denounce the instigators of thelr flight. All refused! The Nazis sentenced the oldest of them to be 'executed, and the others to hard labor for llfe- time. None of them flinched. When they were brought back to prison, Jean M. and Pierre D. who were sentenced to dle, were separated from thelr comrades. When evening fell, a song was heard from their cell: Mourir pour la patrle, C'est le sort le plus beau, Le plus digne d'envie . .! It was. Pierre who sang with loud voice. A prison guard brought &° letter to the others who sat fa gloomy silence watching the first gleam of daylight breaking through the small cell window. They reo ognized Jean's handwriting: Dear Friends and Brothers: Toe morrow at dawn, about 6 o'clock, we will be told that our petition for clemency was refused, and an hour later we will have left this life. Before we fall beneath: the German bullets, we will stand hand In hand and cry, "Vive Ia France!" You, like us, have come mitted the crime of loving our country. We pay without regret the price of our patriotism ,-, « Aud you, dear comrades, in time of hope and ill fortune, remember us and be. worthy of us. Pray for our dear France and for us, too, and tell the truth everywhere. Adieu Jean M, * oe Both were shot at dawn. They died as they had lived, courag- cously. The ten others were sent to German concentration camps ine. France. They are still there, living under Nazi Iron rule, abuse. ed by ruthless Nazi hangmen. Yet neither they nor their murdered comrades have been forgotten, French underground papers have published their story, and thelr names have become a symbol of French resistance against Nazl oppression, Thousands and thous. ands of French youth are willing to follow their example. Scout Hall to the unit for religi- ous services. . * . A former Patrol Leader of « Northampton Boy Scout Troop, now in the R.A.IN, has formed a Boy Scout Troop in Iran, The troop is operating smoothly de- spite language difficulties. All orders have to be passed on to the boys through an interpreter. * . - Eight months ago the Medical Officer at Lansdowne Barracks, Ottawa, asked Boy Scouts to pro- vide the centre with used medi. cine bottles. Since that time Ot- tawa Scouls have provided thou- sands every month, The military centre has not had to purchase one bottle, and an official reports a cash saving of $205, the amount spent in medicine bottles during __ the sume period the year before. A rock and not much more, a chunk of limestone two and a half miles long and 1,650 yards wide, Gibraltar controls the Medi- terrancan for 500 miles. War Shortens Men's Shirttails The United States War Produc- tion Board has shortened the na- tion's shirttails to insure an ade- quate supply of the visible parts of these garments and ordered, for similar reasons, sweeping re- forms in pyjama styles. Pants cuff fans and zoot-suit addicts were deprived of further oppor- tunity to indulge their fancies "along those lines. The board ordered from two to three inches taken off men's and boys' shirts made after Dec. 16 and estimated that this will result in an annual saving of several million yards of cotton and other fobries. More than 10,000,000 additicnal shirts will be manufac- tured from the material saved, it said, At the same time, the order im- posed a general simplification pro- gram on men's and boys' pyjamas, effective Dec. 15, which will save enough material to make 2,200,- 000 additional pairs of pyjamas. - LIFE'S LIKE THAT Z 277 By Fred Neher 5-23 v4 Ne Ad ISS "Do 1 look like a person who stops every time a strange man whistles - at me?!!"" - POP--Talking Turkey . By J. MILLAR WATT -- x EE WHAT MAKES YOL) THINK T'VE' BEEN : RAIDING THE ICE BOX D A LITTLE BIRD TOLD ME, (Released by The Bell Syndicate, Inc 3 =