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ARABIAN KNIGHTS r M* Sayid Idris (left) leader of the Senussi Arabs, is greeted by his troops in traditional manner. Formerly under Italians, they joined Allies recently in Libya. THE WAR - WEEK Commentary on Current Events Superiority Of Allied Air Power Insures Success In North Africa Four main factors may be said to account for the great Allied air successes in North Africa. They are important because they have never been present before all to- gether. They are important also because wh?n 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- tion for servicing, maintenance and repair. 4. Masterly bundling of. the available squadrons in a balanced offensive. Added to those essential quali- ties is the fact that a chain of air bases 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 its success. Let us examine more closely those four factors In succe&s. In th first place the Allied forces had a marked technical superiority ill the aircraft employ- ed. The basis of all air-power is the single-seat fighter and both in Egypt and in French North Africa the Supermarine Spitfire, -flown by Brftish, American and Imperial pilots showed that it is the fighter "par-excellence." The Spitfires were able to establish real air supremacy not merely superior- ity and so drive the en^my out of the sky. Improved Spitfire Incidentally, a still further im- proved version of the Spitfire is BOW in service powered wifh the new Rolls Royce Merlin Sixty- One motor of greatly increased performance. The result Is a high- flying 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 aircraft which have done so well in North Africa the Hurricane and Kitty- hawk fighter bombers, the Am- erican Boston, Baltimore and Mi che.ll medium bombers, and tha Halifax and Liberator heavy bomb- ers have beeu outstanding. To single out but one the Douglas- Boston III of the British Air Forces, similar to the American A-20C. has performed magnificent- ly and has lent itself to new and brilliant tactics described by Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder as "Boston tea parties." In these "parties" concentrated attacks are made by Bostons In close forma- tion against enemy fighter air- dromes. The bombs are dropped at IS yard intervals over the whole target which is t.hus com- pletely blanketed. Overlaps are liable to be reprimanded. Quite '.>i\ in the attacks the Allied forces liail built up superior- ity of numbers over the Luftwaffe In Egypt estimated at some fiOO German and 400 Italian first line aircraft. The magnificently organ- 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 bis equipment Malta In New Role The use of parachute troops iii 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- erican 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 thia 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 these things are to be in the near future will depend very much on the 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 airfields. The Sicilian Chan- nel between Tunis and Marsala in Sicily is 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 is only 60 miles from the Sicilian 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 air superiority from African air bases out over the Mediterranean. The third is to destroy as much as possible of the Luftwaffe on its advanced bases to create the conditions in which successful combined operations can be ad- vanced a step further. The Luft- waffe must be made to tight the more ii fights the better for the Allied cause. Aircraft production in America and Great Britain now outstrips that of the axis by a wide margin. The higher the ra of wastage which can be fore on the axis the quicker will com the absolute air mastery which is the key to victory. THE BOOK SHELF Of the 21.500,000 women between the ages of 14 and 65 in the United States, more than 13.500,000 are employed. OUR HEARTS WERE YOUNG AND GAY By Cornelia Oti< Skinner and Emily Kimbrourli Cornelia Otis Skinner and Emily Kimbrough went abroad together. This was in the early twenties, and they were not quite in theirs. "Emily," Cornelia si 1 id, "at- tracts trouble the way blue serge- attracts lint." But it was, alter all, Cornelia who came down with the measles and a great ma .j r<. lications. Emily did nearly diu*n a man, but her intention was only to be helpful; and when she hit an English noblemarr 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 faol 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 siirht of France, tile Eiffel Tower and Joan of Arc. Thty had been brought up to know about such places, an-i sure enough they were true, and Cor- neliii and Emily were there to see them. They were every young Ameri- 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 almost everything they encountered. 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 Heart* Were Young ana Gay . . . By Cornelia Oti> Skinner and Emil) Kimbrougb . . . Dodd, Mead & Company ... Price $3. CO. VOICE OF I H E PRESS 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. In fact, this may be 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 anaemia, worms and tiisi-asc germs are common causes of seri- ous losses in young pigs. Winnipeg Tribune. 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. WE DON'T BELIEVE IT One o' our readers claims to of overheard 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 "I can't." Buyer "Why not?" Dealer "Cellar steps are block- ed with cases." Buyer "Cases of what?" Dealer "Butter." Starbc-ams. o COLD-BLOODED Japanese airmen have deliber ately bombed Rc'd Cross hospital-* in the South Pacific. That's just another double-cross by the Jars. Windsor Star THEY GO UNDER loyci's of London is now d in offices 50 feet under- id. Yes, they're the under- writers. Hamilton Spe.'tator. -o MATTER OF OPINION Dad gets more pleasure out of a made-over dn ss than mother. Kitchener Record. 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, btt thousands have been shipped from the United States to ports in West Africa, re- assembled, and then HOWE to their bases. President Roosevelt stated a long time ago that the Allies bad a huge assembly base somewhere down the coast of tiie Red Sea from which planes, guns and sup- plies were sent to the Egyptian front. * * An officer of the Royal Air Force who has arrived in New York re- vealed that there is an assembly depot in a jungle in Western Africa from which thousands of places, 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 Mediterranean route dangerous, and this, the larg- est of the plants, is 6,000 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 of the best equipped air depots in the world. There is a journey of about 4.000 miles through some of the 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- gency landing places where planes could refuel and be serviced. There were not even paths through t.lie forests. In order to win the co-ope rar ion of the natives the word was spread Ciat if they found any airmen who are forced down, rewards would be paid in gold for conducting them to the nearest emergency field. * The R.A.K. officer, who has flown the route himself, says it is one of the most interesting, and per- haps mosr 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 seeing an occasional Arab tent, or a came: Caravan. SCOUTING. The Chief Scout for Canada, His Excellency 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 Badon- Powell on February 21, the day prior to the birthday of the Founder of the Boy Scout Move- ment. * * A few Boy Scouts of Liverpool, England, opened a Service Bureau to give information in the much bombed city. It proved so- suc- cessful 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. A group of British Boy Scouts, anxious to do the;r 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 wcri' waiting outside a theatre to see the movie version of Rudyanl Kinli'ivj's ",r\in.':!e Hook." Nearby was a cripple 1 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 pictinv. Their goo.' turn for the day wns done. * A Jewish contingent of the I'nited Stntes Army has madr a donat'on of five pounds to a British Hoy Scout Troop which cxtenclc 1 the facilities of its THE UNCONQUERABLES By E. K. in The Christian Science Monitor They were twelve young, very young Frenchmen, mostly from the Norinan and Breton count. When :.i war started, they all volunteered for the French flying forces and became student-pilots in one of Prance's air schools. They were eager to fisiif against the hereditary enemy of their country, but France broke down and the students were dismissed. Yet the twelve would not return to tlieir homes. They decided to continue the struggle against the Nazis on their own. * * General de Ga'iile's appeal to the French had reached tiiem, and in their secret meetings tiie young men resolve^ to join the Free French army. They borrowed money from their 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 coldp foggy winter day set out to sea. hoping to reach England. Soon the motor broke down, and the small coat WMU adrift. When dawn rose, the craft was over- taken by a German patrol-boat and the young men were arrested. When :hey returned to port, and were led to prison surrounded by German soldiers, the town people watched "from their 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 their flight. All refused! The Nazis sentenced the oldest of them to be executed, and the others to hard labor for life- time. None of them flinched. When they were brought back to prison. Jean M. and Pierre D. who were sentenced to die, wer separated from their com:;tdeB. When evening felt, a song WM heard from their cell: Alourir p.our la patrie, C'est le sort le plus beau, Le plus disne d'envle .'if' It was Pierre who sang wlui loud voice. A prison guard brought * lettrr to the others who fiat in gloomy silence watching t:i firs* gleam of daylight breaking throagfc the small cell window. Tliey rec- ognized J.-:i:i'-; iiiil -vritintt" Dear Fri^n-is an i Drotii TP To- morrow at dawn, about 5 oclok, we will be toM that our petition for clemency w ed, and aji hour later we wi'l >iave left this life. Before we 'all bt>n-:,ra thn German bulleis. we will tand hand in hand and cry, "Vl<rr- la France'" You. iike -if, h;tv com- mitted the crime i>f lovliif? our country. We p;i> ".uhom rgrt th- price of our pii.-riotisin . . . Anl yon, '.':>: :,ir.-.idfs. in Um of liope iind ill fortune, reniemlHsr us and be worthy nt us. I -ay for our dear Fraii'-n a:ul for .i. !oo, an'l tell t!ie t>-iit : - .. i \<l'i 'I M. * Both wr.e shot a' dawn. i'li>y died as t ;:> had lived. i--i: njf- eously. The ten lu-rs \\ . > nt to German concentration I'l.nrps in France. Tht. ,i.- still iii. re, living under Xa..i iron rule, . ed by ruthless Nazi hangaui Vet m.i:her they nor tneir inai.' ! conarades have" oten for.* < .-n. French underground papers Uave published their story, and ttieir names have become a syni 'l of French resistance against Nazi oppression. Thousands an<! t!n.'O8-* 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.F., has formed a. Boy Soout 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. * * I'ight months ago the Meuica, Officer at Lansdowne Barracks, Ottawa, asked Boy Scouts to pro- vide the centre with used medi- cine bottles. Since that time Ot- tawa Scouts 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 same period the year before. The "Rock" A ruck ami not much more, a chunk of limestone two and a half miles long and 1,550 yards wide. Gibraltar controls the Medi- terranean for 500 miles. War Shortens Men's Shirttesli 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 Uiese garments and ordered, for similar reasons, swiiepmi: re- forms in pyjama styles. rants- cuff fans and zoot-suit auihcta were deprived of further oppor- tunity to iniulge their fancies along those lines. The board ordered from two to three inches taken off men's and boys' shirts made after Dec. IS and estimated that this will result in an annual saving of several million yards of cotton and oUier fobries. More than 10,000,000 additional shirts will be manufac- tured from the material saved, it said. At the same time, tile or,.cr im- posed a genera! si:v .pi::' cation pro- gram on men's and boys' py.,a:i;as, effective Dec. 15. which will <,!. enough material to ma'.iu i.liOO,- 000 additional pai: s of pyjamas. LIFE'S LIKE THAT By Fred Neber "Do 1 look like a person %vbo stop* evrry time a strange man V <r at me?!!" POP Talking Turkey By J. MILLAR WATT VYMAT MAKE-S YOO THINK I'VE BEEN RAIDING THE ICE BOX A LITTLE BIRD TOLD ME, SIR I