Western Star (Corner Brook, N.L.), 1943-02-19

              The Western Star Vol. 43 Corner Brook, Newfoundland, Friday, February 19, 1943 No. 47 Loss Beleived Great In Local Garage Fire Weekly War Commentary Premier Joseph Stalin of Russia appears to have had good reason behind him when he sent a message to President Roosevelt forecasting that "joint military operations of the armed forces of the United States of America, Great Britain and the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics in the near future will bring about victory over our common enemy." Certainly the performance of Stalin's own troops justified confidence, for they had attained such momentum in their counter-offensive against the Germans and their satellites that it appeared unlikely the enemy would be able to gain a stance from which to conduct successful resistance. While the Russians were rolling westward the Allies were stiffening their blows all over the world. In North Africa the British Bth Army was consolidating itself for a new assault on the combined German army from Libya and the Italian and German reinforcements sent into Tunisia across the narrows of the Mediterranean. The AHies also showed growing strength in the air, a strength which military experts believed would lead soon to a critical condition in the Axis fighter aircraft command in Africa. Italy's Move Whether as a direct result of African- reverses- or from -some other causes, Mussolini sacked his son-in-law Count Ciano from the position of foreign minister in Italy and took over the job himself. He had previously assigned Crown Prince Humbert to command Italian forces on the Russian front. These moves were interpreted in some quarters {is signs that the Fascist state is nearing a crackup and that the Duce is striving desperately to hang onto his regime by removing possible opposition elements and concentrating all possible authority in his own l>erson. The impact of the Italian moves was felt as far away as Tokyo where a radio commentator dear cribed Italy as being located in a "very pathetic geographical situation." The announcer also felt it necessary to deny that Italy is about to drop out of the Axis. Italy's fervor for the war was not increased by the mounting tempo of Allied air raids which previously were reported to have had a thoroughly demoralizing effect on the people. Germany, too, took on a sombre note, calling for mourning for its lost Stalingrad army and taking a greater and greater beating from Allied air forces which hammered almost inces* santly at heavy-industries cities and points engaged in building, equipping and commissioning the submarines with which Germany hopes to open another spring offensive. Poised in Britain, further to worry the Nazis, were great British, Canadian and American forces, waiting for the signal to strike across the narrow northern seas at the heart of the Axis. Nazis' Precarious Position As the Russian offensive along the southern end of the long Eastern Front rolls forward there are many grounds for the belief that the southeastern Ukraine may soon be wrested from the German invaders. Only a comparatively snuUl area of the Caucasus remains in Nazi hands and the speed of the 'retreat from this quarter to Rostov and the Crimea is growing rapidly with the Germans suffering heavy losses. lied armies attacking along the Donets River are menacing the northern flank of German forces in the southeastern Ukraine. The attackers have captured several bridgeheads along Specially Written for the Western Star By H H. GORDON, Canadian Press Staff Writer the Upper Donets and unless counter-attacks are successful the estimated 250,000 Germans in the area will be in a precarious position. The success of Stalin's winter offensive has been remarkable. The Russian armies attacked with a strength in manpower and armament far superior to that of the previous winter and overcame German "hedgehog" positions in a manner that surprised even military authorities. Since' the winter drive began at Stelingrad in mid-November the Russians claim Germany and the satellite nations have lost more than 1,000,000 men. Churchill at Tripoli Soldiers of the British Bth Army were heartened by the unexpeded appearance of Prime Minister Churchill at Tripoli. "The occupation of Tripolitania has altered the whole character of the war," he told Gen. Sir Harold Alexander, Gen. Sir Bernard Montgomery and thousands of troops. Montgomery's forces are still jabbing at Axis positions along the Tunisian frontier, but one force was reported last week to have swung around to the west to link up with Allied troops in central Tunisia. The great battle in the small coastal area in northern Tunisia may come sometime this month. •Bttehday t»ee» iwrre A*ts troops and equipment arriving in North Africa. Land fighting so far has been comparatively insignificant, but in the air, battles continue daily with the Allies reported to be maintaining air superiority. Cross Country Travelling Slow A. Martin and P. G. Tipping of Bowater's Woods Departments returned last weekend from a trip to Bonne Bay, and say travelling conditions are exceedingly difficult. The road to Deer Lake is in excellent condition, but proceeding from Deer Lake to Lomond, they spent eight or nine hours on the road. This trip takes just a little more than half an hour in summer. The Bonne Bay Road is not very good just now, and a horse, trotting, breaks through the drifts or steps off the narrow road and takfes a header. Bonne Bay is frozen over for about two miles from Lomond, and at the present time provides good walking. There is al>out another mile of slob and poor ice where the traveller has to walk around the shore—there the walking is fat* from pleasant. The rocks are covered with ice, and in some places, sheer cliffs have to be climbed. When open water is readied, a dory is used, and a thirty mile an hour head wind, as encountered by Mr. Martin and Mr. Tipping, does not facilitate matters. "But the hospitality of Norris Point", said Mr. Tipping, when relating his experience, "makes one forget alxnit the trouble experienced in reaching the place." Tariff Reduction As from midnight on Sunday, February 14, 1943, many items of food imports are to be exempt from the War Tax of 71£ 1 formerly imposed. The list includes cereals, meatj butter and cheese, milk foods and numerous items that will be published at a later date. The 7 V 4% War Tax has also been removed from surgical items, and various fishermen's ftento. * This Technical Struggle Between Fighter And Fighter By OLIVER STEWART < Whenever the struggle for air superiority boils up, attention concentrates on the fighter. That is the machine that plays the chief part in deciding whether the bombers will be able to work in the daylight; whether the areodromes will be kept working; whether the land forces will have protection from enemy bombing; whether th« supply columns will get through without serious damage. In France in 1940 the call was for fighters to hold down the German air force. It was the same in Greece and Crete, the same in the Western Desert, the same in Tunisia. The first step towards command of the air must be taken by the fighters. The whole of the struggle for air supremacy in this war has revolved round this small, fast machine. We learned the value of a good fighter in the Battle of Britain, and we have never forgotten the lesson. During that battle, work was being done and plans were being laid, the results of which we are only now beginning to*see. Recently, for instance, the Ministry of Aircraft Production released some details of the new Merlin engine. This engine gives more power and gives it higher up than the Merlins of the Spitfires and Hurricanes of the Battle of Britain. It gives the Spitfire yet another step up in performance and keeps it ahead of the enemy's fighters. It is a tremendous technical* struggle this, between fighter and fighter. So much depends on it that all the countries at war lavish their treasure without stint on those who can give a little more power and a little more speed and a little more climb to the fighters. But no amount of government encouragement can produce better fighters-unless the ability exists in the country to design and to develop. And of the two things I would say that development is rrot only the more laborious and the more trying to those engaged on it, but the more difficult. R. J. Mitchell gave us a piece of sheer inspiration in the Spitfire. It is, perhaps, the supreme example of design in all aviation history. You only have to look at a Spitfire to know that it is right. But the Germans, with their excellent Focke-Wulf 190, would have gone on ahead of the Spitfire and would have challenged our fighter supremacy'by now had it not been for  development work done on the Spitfire and more especially on the Merlin engine. In the Mark 61 form, the Merlin engine has a twostage supercharger and gives so much power at height that a four-bladed airscrew has to be used to absorb it all. The engine is a little longer than it used to be, so that the Spitfire has a slightly longer nose to enable it to lie fitted in; but otherwise it looks superficialy much the same. It carries two cannon and four machine guns, all in the wings, and it has all its old power of manoeuvre and control through a wide speed range. In short, it is Mitchell's machine still; but in a much more highly developed form than it was when Mitchell died. The Hurricane has also been intensively developed since the Battle of Britain days, but in a different way from the Spitfire, It has been developed so that it can undertake all kinds of special jobs, such as bombing and low-level attack. To do these things its weight has had to be put up more and more. But although bombs have been hung on it, the development work has been so sound that today it is a good deal faster than in its original form. Development/ then, is the Militia Chief Visits Bay Of Islands Lt.-Col. Howell, M.C., Commandiiffe Officer of the Newfoundland Militia is visiting Corner Brook this week, and in an interview with a representative of The Western Star, expressed great admiration for the progress that is being made by the Bay of Islands Home Guard. "They are a fine body of men," said Lt.-Col. Howell, "and should the occasion arise, I know they will be a credit to the fighting tradition of Newfoundlanders in the First World War." Lt.-Col. Howell expressed regret that, not all of the equipment had*l>een received by members of the Home Guard, but said that within two weeks every man would be completely outfitted and equipped. Bom in Canada, Lt.-Col. Howell is the son of Newfoundland parents. "I have been hearing about Newfoundland all my- life," he said, "and feel perfectly at home here." Will be Made Public For some time rumours have been circulating regarding an investigation that is made in connection with some very young girls visiting a certain place at Corner Brook West. It is presumed that the police are aware of the identity of the persons involved, and that when their investigations are concluded sortie publicity will result. Cause of Corner Brook Garage Fire Undetermined The police received a call about 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday night informing them that a fire had started at the Corner Brook Garage. The fire was first seen by two-boys who were passing the garage at that time. They notified two men working at the back of the Garage, William Pilgrim and Alex Dobin who immediately went to locate the fire. The men endeavoured to secure a hose to pour water on the fire, but the water pipes were frozen. They turned in the fire alarm, but in the meantime, the police had reached the scene. The fire had already gained headway, and was going through the roof and it was impossible te save the building. , Save Stock The police, by the workmen, and others who were passing and saw the fire, managed to save the bulk of the stock in the showroom before the fire made further entry impossible. Frank LeDrew, who had been playing hockey at the time, rushed from the rink in time to get into the building and save the books and other valuable material that was in the safe. Unable to Save Cars and Trucks The value of material lost has not yet been ascertained, but it is believed to be considerable. A number of trucks and ears burned before they could be moved. A car belonging to A. W. Bentley, and another belonging to Norman Fisher are among those known to be lost, and it is reported that Pierce Fudge's car was in the garage at the time too. Several cars had been stored in the garage for the winter; few of them.were rescued from the flames. Visible for Miles The flames from the fire threw a glow on the snow hills, surrounding the town, and from a distance it appeared as if Canada Packers Ltd., might be afire too. Men were guarding the roof of that building, throwing snow on the embers that were dropping there. If there had been any wind, it is improbable that the fire would have been confined to the garage. Second Fire on Wednesday Shortly after two o'clock on Wednesday another fire alarm was given; this time a building on Burke's Road belonging to T. Coombs, and occupied by the family of Ern. M. Kaplow. The cause of this fire is also unknown, but the firemen managed to save this building, although considerable damage was done, and the furniture of the family occupying the house was ruined by water and smoke. Chimney Catches Fire The third fire occurred about five o'clock on Wednesday when Submarine Is Hitler's Last Ace As Allies Forge Ahead SOMEWHERE IN THE ATLAN-i TIC—Inky darkness has settled over the ocean. The skipper stands by oft the bridge. Below him he can hear the muffled clatter of the engines. The waves chop noisily against the ship's sides. In the hold lays a precious treasure of cargo bound for the Allied fighting front. Maybe the cargo consists of fuel, or maybe of munitions, or then again of guns or tanks. But regardless of whatever ' it may consist, the cargo is essential to the army in the field awaiting its arrival. We are in a new kind of war, different from any that has ever been fought before, and as a result new problems have arisen in conducting if. The greatest of these problems is the problem of supply. In fact, the whole success in modern warfare lies in the solution of this problem of supply. No wonder then that the skipper of that ship plowing bravely through the dark waters of the ocean stands so vigilantly at his post. On the delivery of his cargo may depend the success of a battle, the triumph of a tactical maneuver that may decide an entire campaign, and bring victory. Has Confidence in Ship. But the skipper's concern is not with his ship. Perhaps she has come from the yards of Henry J. Kaiser, whose modern construction methods have enabled thousands of his eager and sweating workmen to turn out the most seaworthy ships in the world in a matter of mere days instead of months. Hie skipper is not worried about his crew. They arcall trained and courageous sailors. And the skipper does not fear the sea. He knows its sounds, its smells, its moods. He can handle it like a mother can handle her baby. Why then his concern? Tonight, as every night, the skipper remains on the alert against the menace of the submarine, that silent and steel swordfish that prowls so stealthily in hidden waters, striking like the head of a whip and then recoiling back into the sea again. What makes them so dangerous is that they cannot be seen, send out their torpedoes at a distance and then crawl quickly away. Near shore, their effectiveness has been greatly reduced by the patrol bomber; against heavily escorted convoys, they must proceed cautiously; but out in the oceans and in thinly strung convoys, they are always dangerous. In 1917, the submarine nearly won the war for Germany before Allied naval leaders perfected a defense against it. Today, Hitler makes no bones about the fact that the Axis is depending upon the U-boat to cripple the Allied supply line and immobilize the vast number of United Nations soldiers poised on the major battiebattie fronts. The submarine is Hitler's last ace. Everywhere the Allies have seized the initiative. After a period of preparation. American production has begun to turn out great quantities of equipment for its fighting men and those of the other United Nations. The war in Russia has made serious inroads on German manpower and placed the Reich numerically at a disadvantage with the Allies. Again it is appropriate to remember that this is a new type of war we are fighting. Whereas it was once possible to maintain armies off of the land they occupied, modern warfare requires tanks and vehicles from steel and rubber; tanks and vehicles, which also eat up gallons of gas an doil. Furthermore, the development of "blitz" tactics, of concentrating vast quantities of men and material for break through blows and the subsequent encircling movements, requires a steady flow of material. Soldiers Need Tonnage Our experts have figured out that it takes 17 tons of shipping to carry one man to a fighting front arid 2.4 tons of shipping to supply him for a year. Brig. Gen. R. W. Littlejohn, the quartermaster general of American forces in the British Isles, estimates that 10.5 tons of shipping are needed to transport a soldier and 1.5 tons a months to supply him. With officials planning for the organization of an army of 7Vfc million men, the magnitude of th» problem of supplying them on fronts thousands of miles away can be clearly seen. Not only must the U-boat menace be eliminated, but our ship building must continue at itts present unprecedented record. With Henry J. Kaiser playing the dominant role. American ship builders amazed the world, and confounded the Axis, by surpassing President Roosevelt's goal of 8 million tons last year. This year, a mark of 18 million tons has been set up. The new method of ship construction—of building the hull, deck, etc., in sections on assembly lines and then putting them ttogether as a finished product in the ways—bids to crown the shipbuilders' efforts with success.Ship production has reached a point where ship launchings have surpassed sinking.*- But Allied naval experts also feel that Gorman submarine construction i • keeping ahead of sinkings. Information has been received that the Nazis have halted all ship construction and diverted facilities to submarine manufacture. Have 200 Subs. Allied naval experts believe that the Nazi submarine fleet approximates 600 craft and that probably 200 can be found in operation at one time. U-boat "mother" ships—giant submarines that can repair and refuel subs at sea-—are also said to be in action. Two new developments in the submarine have been reported. U-boats now are supposed to be capable of submerging to depths of 600 feet whereas their former limit was 300 feet. Use of compressed oxygen to a degree 400 times greater than heretofore is reputed to enable new submarines in construction to operate their Diesel engines under water, increasing their cruising range and speed. Despite the ominous threat of the submarine, however, Allied naval leaders are confident they can successfully combat the peril. Extensive expansion of the bomber patrols; production of faster shipk anjJ escorts, and enlargements of convoys are expected to greatly reduce sinking*. Improvements in sound detection instruments and in the explosive power of depth charges will improve the efficiency of the sub fighters. Girls Charged With Theft During the past week two young women aged sixteen and fourteen respectively visited a hotel here and when leaving the building they took with them a nupiber of sheets, blankets, and other articles left in the hallway to go to the laundry. At the time, about 6 a.m., the police were going off night duty, saw and recognized the girls and gave chase. On the following morning the girls brought before court. The elder, Mary Saunders, was sentenced to thirty day* in the Grand Falls jail, the other, a Juvenile, was dismissed by the Magistrate on a suspended sentence because of her age. (Continued on page 5) (Continued on page 3) THE WESTERN STAR Promotes the Best Interests of al the people of Western Newfoundland THIS WEEK'S THOUGHT From little spark may burst a mighty flame.—Dante