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RUINS OF OREL This is Orel as the Russians found it when they returned to the Nazi-devastated city. One of th first citiea rewon in the Soviet offensive that began last summer, Orel mourns the loss of her modern, beautiful buildings but looks to the day when they will be rebuilt THE WAR - WEEK Commentary on Current Events The Master Plan For Greatest Military Operation Of All Time London publicly reports that a large area in southwestern Eng- Inad is to be evacuated by Dec. 20 to provide an invasion train- h.g ground for American troops; General Devers, the American commander, announces that the manouevres are necessary to de- velop "the master plan that will et in motion what may be the greatest military operation of all time"; and as the correspondents Are allowed to speak with an in- creasing freedom of a gathering "aecond-front" army, the Ger- mans show that they are impress- ed by the recent bombing of the outhwestera British peris from which it will presumably be launched, says The New York Herald Tribune. Pattern Growi Clearer From all this one gathers that a master plan has actually been drawn to a major Kale and the date set; but that it certainly cannot be before Dec. 20 and probably will not come for a con- siderably longer time. Thus the pattern, glimpsed through the Moscow communique and the subsequent speeches of Mr, Stalin and Mr, Churchill, begins to grow * little clearer. It was in May that the Prime Minister said that ~ while opinions differed as to whether "air .x>wer by itself" could "bring about the collapse of Germany," the "experiment is well worth tryir,g." Probably neither Mr. Churchill nor his air advisers ever thought that Ger- many could be knocked out from the air with no land invasion at 11; but if' is believed that they did have hopes that she could be so "softened up" as to make the ultimate invasion a relatively minor part of the total strategy. Reiulti Nfttive? Throughout the summer the "experiment" has been made on ar. ascending scale of violence, and the results, on the whole, appear to have been negative. The devastation has been terrible; but the protective dispersal of Germany's war industries and the astonishing; cupacit) of a modern industrial econonij to wake re- pairs ami develop makeshifts has rendered it less immediately de- cisive than might have been ex- pected. While the air attack has severely hobbled Germany's phy- sical ability to make war, it has not directly destroyed it. The British are begin nihg to feel that the main impact of air assault is on morale rather than on phy- sical potential. Co-ordinated Plan Developed Perhaps it was a recoKiiition of this which lay behind the success of the Moscow conference. One can infer that the Western Allies came to the conference ready to grant that the air war would have to be backed up by massive ex- ploitation on the ground, however costly in life it might be; that this made it possible for the first time to bring the land, sea and air strategy of Russia, Britain nd the United States on to a common ground and from it to develop a genuinely co-ordinated plan, leading to the firm pledges of specific action which were ap- parently exchanged at Moscow. The Only Way This cannot mean that the sec- ond front has been substituted for the bombing offensive, or that Italy is to be abandoned in favor of France. Itather. it sug- gests that all parts have been fitted into a whole which will per- mit each part to exert its maxi- mum possible effect. In such a plan, ideas of a major Balkan offensive would be dropped; in Italy, the main objective would be simply to secure -(and it has been done at relatively small cost) the bases from which to tep up the bombinf offensive over all of Germany, while a major blow with land forces from the West would be co-ordinated with the hammer strokes of the Red Army and of the British- based strategic bombers. For the Western Allies it may mean a bill heavier than some may have hoped they would have to pay. But it is the only way to get results. The Book Sheli WESTERN STAR By Stephen Vincent Benet "Western Star is the spirit and the beginnings of America. There is In It the essence of what Am- erica Is and the snre knowledge of what it will be. "Americans are always moving on." This Is the first line of this great new nar- rative poem, Western Star- The words Mr. Benet used to describe America apply equally well to him. He also was always moving on. When the war came he put aside his own work, and without recompense, devoted eT- ery ounce of his energy and gen- ius to the service of his country. At the time of his recent death Mr. Benet held a position in the esteem of his fellow writers and fellow Americans probably never before achieved by an American writer. As truly as any soldier on the battlefield, he gave his life for the country he loved. Western Star ... By Stephen Vincent Benet . . . Oxford Uni- versity Press . . Price $2.50. FREEDOM'S FARE Hungry repatriated Allied pris- oner grabs a thick sandwich be- "fore pu tii g down his lujr.ui.ge. at l.eith. Scotland, where soldiers returned from Germany lan:Iid. British Miner's Amazing Record Cheerful Little Fellow Has Worked 7 Days A Wek For 84 Weeks The battle of production, like the clash ot arms, has produced Its heroes, but few who appear dough- tier than a British coal miner iden- tified only as Bart. His exploits are reported in "The Listener,* official organ of the British Broad- casting Company, as told over the air by the manager of the Import- ant pit in the North Midlands where he works. Telling: English listeners how their miners are backing the attack, the manager said: 'There is one man, known to his friends as Bart, who has -re- duced 21.511 tons of coal In 1.205 shifts: 84 of these shifts being worked on Sundays. Bart Is 43. He stands five feet, four inches high in his socks and weighs just over 94 stone (133 pounds'). He's a cheerful little fellow, and fall of the Joy of life. Every day this man has worked he has produced only a fraction below 1! tons, which Is equal to 300 times his own weight. Let's look at It an- other way; In four years Bart has loaded the equivalent of 2.200 rail- way trucks of coal, or one whole trainload every four weeks. The vast quantity of coal produced by this one man is sufficient to pro- vide the finished steel for the pro- duction of one heavy cruiser and two destroyers of the Tribal class- During the whole period of the war Bart has lost only one shift voluntarily. He has worked seven days a week for 8t wpeks and Ills a v era Re for the whole war I six days per week, including holiday periods." The New York Sun point* out how ''phenomenal" Bart's record is by comparison with the output in U.S. bituminous mines In which. In 1941. t'?e average per miner w.is 5.2 tons per day and in 1^4:' prob- ably nearer five tons. Thi> Sun adds : "Yet In this country the output should be hisher than in England due to the fact that here a pro- portion of bituminous coal is gain- ed by strip mining and Blso be- cause American pit mines are more efficiently mechanized than those in Enelaml." Chrysanthemums Before th<? Sicilian ca:iin;ii:!i the Emperor of Jannn under-: >'< to encourage his illustrious fel- low-gangster. Mussolini. l>y deco- rating him with the Imperial Order of the Chrysanthemum. The Italian press duly reported the bestowal of a most distin- guished honor. I ut kept 1111:111 on just v-liat the decoration was. In Italy the chrysanthemum is asso- ciated with funerals. New York Times. VOICE OF THE PRESS VICTOR EMMANUEL Here, then, is the bleak future of the proud old monarch: A large part of his kingdom demands his crown, which has adorned his head for 43 years. And another large part demands his head, which he has worn for 74 years. He maj^lose both. All because he compromised with freedom way back In 1922. Winnipeg Free Press. o GUESSEFtS The people who used to record their guesses on the number of beans In the pot In the drug store window are now recording their guesses on when the war will end. They are probably as far wrong as they were on tha number of beans. KIwan!s Magazine. o MANY LIKE THIS Maybe that genius In the N'avy Department who re-arranged the typewriter keyboard in the inter- ests of simplicity could do some- thing for ours. The blamed thing can't spell. Christan Science Monitor. AHEAD OF HIS TIME Funny how some people live years ahead of their time. Take the man who wrote. "Yes, We Have No Bananas." Windsor Star. o LIFE IS FLEETING The good thing about a modern popular sons is that it doesn't stay popular long. Brandon Sun. o ELUSIVE INFLUENCE Influence Is* what you think you have, till you try to use it. Kitchener Record. Re*dv When C.C.F. Takes Over One of our backing friends has been tolling us about the plans his bank is making for the day when the C.C.F. takes over the banks in Canada. That is go- ing to be a great day. There will no longer be any nionev troubles. At first, this particular bank thought it would keep the money in stacks behind the counter and hand it out. but they decided that would be too formal. So, they are just going to put the money in a hrsre pile in the middle of the f'oor. Then, people c:in come in and take a tvuuif.il whenever they need it. There is no taking two haiulsfu). the L'.C.F. beins a.-ainst gree.I. Only one handful at a time is the limit: but of course, there is nothing to pre- vent anyo'it taking a I.aiulful, walking around the block, and coming in for anothe'- handful. The bank was going to have the line form to the right, until soireone though: that the C.C.F. leans to the left, so the line for free money will form to the left. Windsor Star. OTTAWA REPORTS That la 1944 Th.r. Will B An Increase la Machinery to th Canadian Farmer With no possibility of * let- up in th demand for increased farm production and with the labor shortage becoming more and more acute, the farmer is increasingly conscious of the need for the most modern, labor- saving farm machinery. The findings of the farm-im- plements sub-committee of the House of Commons War Expendi- tures Committee made public re- cently, emphasized the ''impera- tive necessity" of additional supplies of such labor-saving im- plements. Until May of this year, farm implements have been among the many commodities on the ra- tioned list. Since May the re- strictions guarding the sale of farm machinery hav% become less severe and gradually more and more items have been added to t'~ liit exempted from rationing regulations. This has beer, made possible b} increased manufacturing quotas which have come effect since July. Now the outlook becomes even brighter and it is expected that the cancellations of certain war cor.'.racts should cause an easing in the steel "bottle-neck," and factory facilities and labor short- age be made available for the manufacture of morn farm im- plements. This is t'.ie opinion of subcommittee. It was also pointed out that two other bottle-necks are fac- tory labor and the limited supply of malleable castings, and i: was stated that these factors are under "careful study" and rr.jy be alleviated, if not removed. Keviewing the snaation for th coming crop seaso^, H. H. Bloom, Wartime Prices and Trade Board farm machinery administrator, ha giver, the assurance that there will be a substantial in- crease in the machinery avail- able to Cana<? : farmers. So far no decisior. sa to the alloca- tion of this supply of machinery has beer, announced, but th matter is being carefully stud- ied, Mr. Bloom said. In the meantime, it would bt folly to neglect any measure that HONORED BY U.S. Major General George Ran- dolphe Pearkes, 55, V.C.. C.D.. D.S.O., M.C., General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Pacifw Command, has been honored by the United States which jot.fer- red upon him the title of Com- mander of the Le^io.-i of Merit. The honor is one of the highest available to persoi.s who are not citizens of the United St-tes and ranks .econd only to the Distin- guished Service Medai. might '.tr.t'.'.'.tr. the l:fa of ma- chinery already in hand. Pre- cautions car. be taker, to protect it from rust and rot. W. S. Richardson, assistant super!. .:e.".' ; .e:-.: at the Dominioa Experimental Station at Lennor- v::le, Quebec, says that even am inexpensive shed will 3e a pro- tection agxr.st sun, rain and snow. Bv: T. a i'iitior. he adds all Oietal parts of mach.ies that art pu!:she<i .'.> their contact with the soil, should be covered with c:' to prevent rust. For this pur- pose he recomtiends crankcase giL Before freeze-up, machine! used to spread chen.cial fertilis- ers should be thoroughly washeJ or brushed ti remove the fertil- izer, and their metal parts givea coating of oil. Some farmer* remove the star wheels and soak them in a bucket of oil for a day or two. Without the** precaution* it Is often difficult to ftt these machines started im the spring. THIS CURIOUS WORLD B f '. \ civiuzeo BROUGHT ABOUT THE EXTINCTION OP THE: LABRADOR. COOK. IN JUST YEARS AFTER HE KNEW DF THEIR. EXISTENCE. THE U0r SPECIMEN W/>6 KILLED NEAR. NEWMDRK.IN IQ75. BUND AUTHOR OF NAPA, CALIFORNIA, HAS WRTTTEN AND ALJ_ HAVE BEEN I=UB1_ISHEO. OF TRAVEL. MUCH FASTER THAN NORMAL. UNTIL. THEY REACH A COfMSIDERABUE DISTANCE. . .THEN THEV SLOW DOWN TO A CONSTANT SPEED. . THE Labrador Duck was first made known to science in 1788, and little is known of its nesting habits. Not one egg was saved to science, and only a few specimens of the bird are in existence to- day. It is supposed to have bred in Lihrador Feather hunters are credited with its extinction. NEXT: *hat live for month* without wateft REG'LAR FELLERS A Smoothie By GENE BYRNES I Sfc'.P os THE 'CM THE ?L(Stt I? A . MCSSl LOOK.,ror' TNt WlMP 15 IN THIS tNHtCTlOrt AH' \f V BUR.H THC. LC.^Vt COKt House.