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VOICE OF THE PRESS WHY YOUNG MEN ARE UNFIT Fifty per cent, of United Statei young men offering- to enlist were found upon medical examin- ation to be physically unfit for military service, BO says Gen* Tnnney, one-time heavyweight champion. The reason, he gives, is the refusal to take the exercise n*ceusry to the development of muscls. Young men prefer the automobile to walking; If they Mk recreation, they go to a pic- ture ihow, listen to the radio, or at beat, play badminton. Isn't it true to a certain extent in Can- Brampton Conservator DE GAULLE'S FORCES General de Gaulle's forces of Free France now include an army f 100,000 men, a fleet of forty wmnhlpi and 105 merchant ships and tanker*. Numbered among bi army are 2,000 trained avia- tors. Despite Petain and Darlan, 4 Gaulle and his men are pre- venting the emblem of Franc* from being trailed in the dust. Hamilton Spectator CAN'T BE BLAMED People in County Kerry, Eire, mistook a Nazi sergeant for a general, when a plane made a forced landing there. They could hardly be blamed, of course, see- ing that the German people them- aelvei are mistaking a corporal lor a commander-in-chicf of all th Reich's forces. Stratford Beacon-Herald o WHEAT NEEDED BY EIRE Faced with a blockade of sorts, Fire stepped up wheat production to an estimated 300,000 tons. Thia leaves 80,000 tons to be im- ported. Now, if Eire would let us use the naval bases, it woulu be easier to make sure that grain got to lire. o DIDN'T EXPLODE The heaviest German bomb dropped on London, which evi- dently did not explode, measured 18 feet three inches in length, two feet three inches in diameter, and weighed two tons. Why not fix it up for remailing and drop k over the dead-letter office In Berlin? Hamilton Spectator o INFANT PRODIGY A professor in the University f California contend* that Mother Goose rhymes can be traced back 1,000 years. Oh, Doc, how could sh have written all those jingles way back in 58 B.C. when she was a mere slip of a gosling? Ottawa Citizen STRAWBERRY JUICE KILLS TYPHUS The deadly typhus germ can dit for only a few hours in fresh trawberry juice. But, let the Nazis try to find fresh strawberries in Russia in January. French Possessions Of Strategic Value Allied interest in France's col- nial possessions in the Western Hemisphere is due to the strate- gic importance of the group, ra- ttier than their value as * sourc* f vital raw material, as is the MM in Dutch Guiana, recently ccupied by a United States lore*. Except for their vast produc- tion of sugar and rum there arc 286 distilleries in Martini- |ue and Guadeloupe alone the ton islands and one piece of main- land that make up Vichy's re- taining colonies in the West ure Comparatively poor and ov- irerowded. But they occupy lo- ations that scarcely can be ig- nored. Martinique and Gaudvloupe tad five smaller islands lie along I great curving chain of Islands Ihat mark the eastern gateway to the Caribbean Sea and the ap- proaches to the Panama Canal. St. Lucia, site of one of th* United States' new leased de- fence bases, is almost in sight of Martinique. French Guiana, which contains Devil's Island penal colony, is on th northeast coast of South America, adjoining Uulch Guiana, which was occupied with consent f the Netherlands Government to guard the United States supply f bauxite. Its occupation by an nemy would present an obvious Menace. To the south of Newfoundland Me the two barren islands of Miquelon and St. Pierre. Their combined area of ninety-thre* quari> miles is inhabited by fewer than 5,000 persons, who mak* their living chiefly from the fish- ing industries. GUARDIANS OF EAST COAST They're chieftains of the closely co-ordinated land-sea-air forces that stand watch over America's populous Atlantic seaboard. Shown at one of their frequent conferences are Lieutenant General Hugh A. Drum (centre), famed commander of the Eastern Army Forces; Brigadier General Arnold N. Krogstad (left), commander of the First Air Force; and Rear Admiral Adlophus Andrews (right), com- mander of the North Atlantic Naval Coastal Frontier. They share a secret, joint headquarters somewhere in the New York metropolitan area, where they map defensive-offensive operations. Ontario Pupils To Aid Victory Loan Nine Thousand Schools In The Province Will Take Part In Pageant Nine thousund public schools in the province of Ontario have been asked to participate in a histori- cal musical pageant in the period of the forthcoming Second Cana- dian Victory Loan Campaign. The Provincial Ministry of Edu- cation is interested in the pro- ject. The Minister himself, the Hon. D. McArthur, has written personal letters to secretaries of school boards and boards of edu- cation and to every school prin- cipal urging that some form of ntertainment be given in each school to provide a background for campaign speakers. The musical pageant "Caval- cade of Canada" devised by F. R. Fenwick, Mus., Bac. of the De- partment of Education is one of several musical plays proposed for general use during the period of the campaign. Two others "Blue Boots" for junior grades and "Builders of Canada" a musical play for intermediate grades, both written by Mary Grahnan (Just Mary) have been suggested as alternative productions. The "Cavalcade of Canada" re- lates the history of Canada in music, song and dance. It begins with an opening episode illus- trating in dance the manner in which early Indian settlers of Can- ada celebrated their festive occa- sions with song and dance. Epi- sode No. 2 dramatises in the form of French Canadian folk songs the life of the early French set- ters, the first white settlers in Canada, before the advent of the British. The coming of the British with the arrival in Canada of the famous explorers of that day, Martin Frobisher, Henry Hudson and William Baffin is marked by an individual episode in an ap- propriate setting and expressed by the singing of "Come Lasses and Lads 1 ' and "The King is Still in London." Scotsmen who have helped to make Canada great are paid tri- bute by the inclusion of a number dedicated to Scotland to the ac- companiment of the music of "Scots Wha Hae." Irishmen who have contributed their strength and talents to the building of the country are likewise remembered or will be when the school children sing, in tribute to them the words of "The Harp That One* Through Tara's Halls!" Welshmen, known the world over for their passion for good music and, incidentally, for their orator- ical eloquence, will be imperson- ated by the youthful singing of "Men of Harlech." Canada, it is pointed out in the foreword of the musical pageant, "Cavalcade of Canada," is com- posed of men and women of many racial origins. More than 5,000,- 000 are citizens of British stock or stock originating in the British Isles; three and a half million are derived from French stock and something over 2,000,000 from stock of other European nation- alities. Those European nationalities are therefore to be suitably repre- sented in this pageant, as will be, of course, the United States of America. ence to Allies or to Associated Dutch Canadians will derive pleasure from the number dedi- cated to the years of expansion of their homeland as expressed in long; Belgium will be remembered by the singing or recitation of the immortal words of John McCrae's poem "In Flanders Fields" in tri- bute to the 60,000 Canadians who lie buried In that ill-starred land today. Scandinavian countries will be dramatised by the singing in ap- propriate stage setting and cos- tume arrangement of Norwegian, Icelandic and Swedish national songs. Poland, the stalwart little Baltic nation that gave Joseph Conrad in literature and Chopin and Paderewski in music will re- ceive due recognition by the sing- ing by the pupils of appropriate Polish anthems. Russia will be given a place in the colourful panorama in recog- nition of her valiant role in this war. Pupils wearing Ukrainian costumes will sing Ukrainian and Russian songs in tribute, particu- larly, to Ukrainia known through the ages for its contributions to music, poetry and the arts. The Doukhobors of whom it has been said that "music i.s their breath of life" will be included in the Rus- sian portrayal. Many other European nation- alities the Greeks, Czochoslo- vukians, Jugoslavians, Hungarians will be interpreted musically as well. The Hebrew population of Canada will be included when there is sung in tribute to their contribution to the allied cause in this and other wars the anthem "Lift Thine Eyes'" by the noted Jewish composer, Felix Mendel- ssohn. This is probably the first occa- sion in the history of this or any other province in Canada upon which a Ministry of Education has stepped into a national campaign of this kind as the Hon. D. Mc- Arthur has done. Certainly It is the first occasion in any province in Canada upon which very school child in the province or any province has been impressed into a useful place in a national drive of this kind. For this rea- son all Canada is expected to ob- serve with interest the results of the provincial campaign in On- tario; the results from that par- ticular angle or in that particular sphere of campaign activity. Inclusion of the schools, school teachers and pupils alike, on such a scale as now contemplated by the campaigners is a tribute to the growing influence of the school authority and the school in the local community. It is an in- fluence often felt but seldom ade- quately recogniseo. The forth- coming- campaign should illustrate to what extent that influence is a potent factor in the lives f Canadian families. "You Can Fight for Canada!" from the patriotic review "Pull Together Canada" has been ad- opted as a theme song for this province by the Provincial Public Relations Committee of the Sec- ond Victory Loan Drive. The opening words of the song epitomise its spirit. They are: "Ships and guns and planes we need, our country to defend "But we must arm the hearts of men to win out in the end !" That song in the form of song sheets has been circularised to all of the sixty four territorial com- mittees now hard at work pre- paratory work in Ontario. Those committees have been asked to ensure that it is in the hands of every student, every school boy and girl in the province, by the date the National Drive is sche- duled to begin on February 16. It is expected that between Feb- ruary 16 and March 16 the per- iod of this year's drive through Canada everybody will be sing- Ing it. That song again will be em- ployed as a prelude to addresses by competent speakers who will appear in every city, town and hamlet in Ontario, during the per- iod of the campaign, to explain the importance of Victory Bonds for Victory; Canada's urgent need of money to win this war. Children of London Give Their Pennies Children of one of the most horribly bombed areas of London recently presented Bertram D. N. Cruger, London representative of the British War Relief Society, with a gift of five shillings and nine pence to be devoted to the psople of the United States who have suffered from the war. The gift was made up of pen- nies saved by the school children since December 7 the date of the Japanese attack on Pearl Har- bor. The presentation was made at the "America Day" celebration at a settlement house in the Ber- mondesey area. Cruger who has allocated hundreds of thousands of dollars to British organizations in the last two years, said in thanks "This makes one feel that the work of the British War Re- lief Society has been worth while." Writes In Verse His Last Bequest Many interesting and unusual wills have been probated in the county of Wentworth, but here Is one contained in four lines of poetry. It- is that of Charles Robert Hodgson, who bequeathed his en- tire estate of $19,422.86 to his widow, in this fashion: "All my earthly goods I have in store, To my tlear wife J leave for ever- more I freely give, no limit do I fix, This is my will, she the execa- trix.' Mr. Hodgson was a well-known Hamilton florist who died June 19 1941. The unusual will was made on April 12, 1927. There were no moths or but- terfies during the Great Coal Age, when many other insects flourished, because the flowers upon which these nectar drinkers depend had not yet appeared. JNDIVIDU Citizen's A Weekly Column About This and That in The Canadian Army able of assembling a Bren gun from assorted parts in the dark as a Medical Officer is of carry- ing out a major operation by th light of a motorcycle headlamp. The same is true of Ordnance, Army Service Corps every ser- vice. No matter what uniform a soldier in your qrrny wears hs is a fighting soldier. Here is an interesting not* while we are on the subject of all-round training. The trained mechanic, a man who is found in great numbers in both "Arms" and "Services", is a qualified "first-aider", having passed, as has every combatant soldier, a St. John's Ambulance course dur- ing his elementary training. In March, 1918, the enemy came close to breaking through an 1 on that occasion cooks, bak- ers, farriers, laundrymen and a host of other necessary, but not necessarily war-like, odda and ends turned to with cleavers, picks and shovels, hammers any- thing that would serve as a weap- on. They acquitted themselves well, too. The weapons seemed archaic. They were. But today, if such a situation should arise, the men would be ready for it. Today there is a course given to all soldiers in "un-armed combat" This course teaches them how to use improvised weapons such ss shrapnel helmets, fists, knees, boots in a lethal manner. Imagine what a man armed with a but- cher's cleaver or a tailor's goose could do with them after learning to take care of himse'lf without Everyone has heard, some time or another, a public speaker men- tion 'the various arms and ser- vices" of the Army. What does' that mean? That's what I asked. I asked the A.G., the C.G.S., the D.M.O. and I., and a dozen other high ranking officers. Before we forget I suppose I'd better clear up those initials some day, if the editor can spare the space, we'd better have a glos- sary of army terms "A.G." is Adjutant-General; "C.G.S.", Chief of the General Staff, and "D.M. O. and I", Director of Military Operations and Intelligence. There are probably nicknames for these high appointments but at the mo- ment I can't tell you what they are. But to get back to "arms and ervices". Here are the distinc- tions. "Arms" are the branches of the Army that carry out the tactical plans of the commander. They include: Artillery, Engin- eers, Signallers, Armoured Corps and Infantry. "Services" look af- ter the arms, support and supply them. They are: Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps, Royal Canadian Army Service Corps, Royal Can- adian rAmy Medical Corps, etc. Don't think for a minute, though, that when you refer to' the Services, as supporting the arms that you are not referring to fighting soldiers. In the mechan- ized, all-out war of today the war that the individual citizen's army is being so highly trained to fight every man in uniform is a fighting man who was trained first as a fighter before he was trained for or started work at his specialty. Every officer or man in both Arnit and Services starts his sol- diering by taking the regular ele- mentary training course. A stret- eher-bearer in this war is as cap- any arms. A few minutes ago I referred to a shrapnel helmet. Once we used to call them "tin hats". Now you frequently see them referred to as "battle-bowlers" what will they think of next? Good-Morning Mr. Shopkeeper Dialogue recently over- heard in a London shop: Sweet Young Lady: Have you any cigarettes, please? Shopkeeper: No. Sweet Young Lady: Have you any matches? Shopkeeper: No! Sweet Young Lady: Have you any chocolate? Shopkeeper: No!! Sweet Young Lady: Have you any manners? Shopkeeper: No!!! Here! What are you getting at? Sweet Young Lady: You, Mr. Shopkeeper. Good morning! Reform Thy World Beginning With Me The President's informal re- marks to the industry-labor con- ference set an admirable example of the spirit in which we must try to adjust our domestic prob- lems during the period of the war. If each of his hearers re- cognizes his personal responsi- bility for national unity and na- tional strength, there would be no difficulty in arriving at a prompt agreement. The President cited the prayer of a Chinese Christian: "Lord, reform thy world, beginning with me." There could be few more useful prayers for each of us to keep as a guid- ing rule in the present crisis. LIFE'S LIKE THAT By Fred Neher "Wow! !" Egypt .vjii pay a bounty to farmers who Krow wheat, barley or beans on land formerly de- voted to cotton. REG'LAR FELLERS The Hero By GENE BYRNES IVE QOT rr / I'LL qPAB THE BA OF MONBt AN USE IT LIKE A MAR CLUB ON 'EM / HA / A BANK ROBBERY / I'VE QOT NO qUN ON ME / VBttVH W/s.V\. VfcUSV HEY/ WAKE UP/ WHATSA IDEA OF 6ELTlN''ME WITH THAT PILLER ? TAKE THAT, TOD CROOKS / THAT'S THE TIME i FOOLED YA'