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M Real Tom Sawyer Died Last Month At Age of 82â€"Cincinnatti Au- thor and Inventor Is Said to Have Inspired Mark Twain Thomas Sawyer Spivey, reputed- ly the Inspiration for Mark Twain’s tale of boys' life on the Mississippi River banks, died last month. He was 82 years old. Spivey, noted in his own right as an author and as the inventor of the modern fireproof safe, died in hospital at Cincinnati, Ohio, af- ter a year’s illness. As a boy of 12 in the post-Civil War ’ays in Shawneetown, 111., Twain piloted a Mississippi River boat and stopped often to invite youngsters aboard, hear their stor- ies of adventure and tell them the tales of river life, “Tom considered Sam Clemens his best friend and often sipped cocktails and exchanged yarns with him in the red room .of the Wal- dorf in New York,” his widow said, Spivey’s writings, included in Who’s Who in America, covered fiction, political theory and relig- ion. By-Eiection Victor • Karl Homuth scored a victory for the Conservatives when he overwhelmed2 his Liberal and C. C, F. opponents in the Federal by- election for the Ontario riding of Waterloo south. Horse Has Been Aid to Mankind Two thousand years ago the breed still known as Arabian was in existence as a contributor to man’s welfare. Spanish and French breeds gradually followed in development. Perhaps a major factor in the success ; of William the Conquer- or’s British invasion was the su- periority of the steeds he brought with him. From that time on the breeding problem changed as far as horses were concerned, for with the flowering of knighthood a heavier, stronger animal was needed to bear the warrior and his .weighty armor. As armor continued to increase in weight, importations <#£ Flem- ish horses were made by - King John, of Magna Carta times. Hen- ry VIII compelled English far- mers to keep mares of certain weight for breeding with selected stallions. Again the picture changed with the advent of gunpowder, wh’ch Oliver Cromwell first used with success in warfare, and a still dif- ferent type of horse was sought by breeders. From that time on the horse began to take its place in agriculture and late in the 18 th century drove the ox : from the plow,to its feed lot. Ancient. Oyster Adage Reliable Strangely enough, the old adage that oysters are not good eating in the months that have no “R” in them is pretty reliable, accord- ing to R. E. S. Homans of the Prince Edward Island Fisheries Bureau. The, reason is that during the summer months in oyster beds of the United States, where the say- ing originated, the water tempera- tures usually reach 70 degrees. At this temperature the shell-fish spawn and their meat is then thin ' and rubbery. In the Maritime Provinces, how- ever, where the water does not reach 70 degrees until mid-sum- mer oysters are still their succu- lent selves â-  in the months of May and June. ! VOICE OF ! I the PRESS 1 WHEN CRISES COME SINGLY Now if the quints had only had their tonsils out during the war crisis',-- Hamilton Spectator. A PAN TO BE PANNED We don’t like Hitler’s map of Europe. Neither do we care for the map of Hitler himself. â€" Brandon Sun. WE NEED REALISTS' The world needs idealists, but what Canada needs most at the mo- ment is some honest, courageous realists at the head of affairs. â€" Farmer’s Advocate. THERE WERE OTHER THINGS TOO A Russian farmer claims to be 145 years old, and says he can re- member Napoleon’s retreat from Moscow in 1812, Then he can alSo remember probably when men gave up their seats In street cars to lad- ies, when people went to a dance to dance, and when fishermen went to fishing grounds, to fish. â€" Chat- ham News. LUCKY CRUSOE! Wonder if Robinson Crusoe real- ly appreciated how lucky he was, castaway out there on his island with no taxes to pay, no unemploy- ment problem, apparently a pleas- ant climate and always a meal to be had for the catching; which is a hanged Sight surer and easier than the way some of us have to get our daily bread, here in what passes for civilization. â€" Calgary Albert- an, WHEN YOU LEND YOUR CAR The hit-and-run driver menace is continuing, bringing a Hamilton magistrate to call for punishment for owners of loaned cars involved in such incidents. It seems strange that a person who suffers injury is without recourse against the-car owner who lends his car to another, who promptly evades any financial responsibility. But then law and justice are not. always the same. â€" Brantford Expositor. WAR SCARES AND PRICES Your grocer has to take an in- terest In international affairs whe- ther he wishes to or not. News from Spain is that General Franco and a 1937 frost have combined to advance prices of Seville bitter or- anges for marmalade. Manchurian walnuts on the way are to be cheaper than present stocks. The trade journal, Canadian Grocer, re- ports that beans are cheaper “since the war scare disisolved." | The [BOOK SHELF t By ELIZABETH EEDY ” I > “THE LONG VALLEY” By John Steinbeck Known as one of the most rich- ly promising of younger American writers, John Steinbeck has hum- or, deep understanding of human nature, a true grasp of life. Here in his first volume of short stor- ies, “The Long Valley,” you have tales which demonstrate intimate, delicious communion with the Salinas Valley land of California that nourishes Steinbeck’s art, as well as stories theatrically set in mystic gardens and castles which seem to have no rooted strength. Here are exquisite studies of childhood, poetic and fresh, as well as brutal accounts of mortal struggles with Nature and merci- lessly true descriptions of vio- lence. Here are portraits of work- ers and' peasants and farm wives with genuine vitality and truth about them. You get the smell and feel and sound of the stables, the farmyard, the pigsty, the cor- ral, the kitchen, the mountains, the California skies and dews and nights. It is a bewildering variety of material. Handsomely bound this volume makes an ideal gift book for the discriminating. “The Long Valley,” by John Steinbeck; 303 pp; Toronto: Geo. J. McLeod Publishers. $2.BO. Toothpick Custom Said Beneficial Bring back the good old days of the toothpick, pleaded Dr, Isa- dor Hirsehfield of Columbia Uni- versity before a convention of den- tists, He urges that men revive the old fashion of g’oing about with gold toothpicks dangling from their vestsâ€"a “great aid in the prevention of pyorrhea,” He Knew Nothing About the Crisis Man Went So Far Into the Wilds of B.C., He Did Not Hear About the International War Scare Till It Was AH Over Colonel Leonard Ropner, Con- servative British M. P. went so far into the British Columbia wilds this autumn, that he knew nothing of the international crisis until it was all over, he told the press in London, England, last week, on returning from Canada. Colonel Ropner made .an exten- sive tour of the Dominion, where he inspected forestry operations on Vancouver and Queen Char- lotte Islands. He is a forestry commissioner of the United King- dom. He started on horseback August 14 and left civilization so far be- hind that neither he nor his party knew anything of the war danger until returning October G to a small Indian settlement where one of the inhabitants had a radio. Comics Forbidden Fascist Children Popeye the Sailor and Mickey Mouse arc unsuitable for Italian children’s minds, which must be steeled through the medium of juvenile papers to the imperial spirit of the Fascist : revolution, the National Conference on Juven- ile Literature decided in Bologna last week. last week. Plans have already been made for a fundamental transformation of children’s pa- pers and magazines. Editors have received orders to eliminate from their publications anything which goes counter to Italianism or to the formation of racial pride and consciousness. Children’s papers have a cir- culation of about 1,500,000 copies weekly. Hitherto Popeye and Mickey Mouseâ€"the latter under the name of Topolinoâ€"have been popular features. NAMES in the NEWS Nels Linden, G9, of Wetaskiwin, Alta,, was named wheat king of the Royal Winter Fair,. Toronto, in November, his sample of Reward variety winning over more than 130 exhibits. The new Canadian wheat king, who succeeds James Sebastian, of Wembley, Alta., 1937 winner, farms 1,000 acres near Wetaskiwin, pro- ducing prize grain for many years. Sebastian also won with Reward, the hard red spring variety adjudg- ed best at many shows. Linden was crowned barley king of the Chicago International Grain Show in 1933. Two years before lie won the Alberta oats Championship and in the. same year was awarded the Robertson prize by the Canad- ian Seed Association for the best efforts in pure seed production. News Parade By Elizabeth Eedy CHRISTMAS TREE TRADE: A growing industry . in Canada during recent years is the export of Christmas trees to brighten homes across the U. S. border. Did you know that approximately 700,000 Ontario spruce, pine and balsam trees will be exported to the United States this Yuletide season? That half a million more are marked for Canadian homes? That more than a thousand acres of land in Ontario will be denuded as a result? Even then we are not tak- ing into account the unauthor- ized cutting of Christmas trees done by individuals everywhere. In one Ontario small town, two years ago, we remember, some- body chopped clown the little trees in the local cemetery and sold them at a handsome price. â€"oâ€"- WHY TORTURE THE JEWS: “Time”, in its incisive foreign comment section last week advanc- ed the suggestion that the pog- roms against Jews in Germany are part of a gangster-blackmail scheme cooked up by Nazis a while back. How it is supposed to work: By holding the Jewish community of Germany in a state of general inability, to earn a living' wage, Nazis hope to force the interna- tional Jewish community to remit to Germany huge enough sums in “good money” to keep their Jew- ish relatives in the Reich from going too hungry or cold. The dollars, pounds, francs to be se- cured by thus “shaking down the whole Jewish race” are wanted to pay for such vital imports as Ger- many cannot get by barter deals. Then, too, if Germany can in- duce Great Britain and the United States to pay money to get per- secuted Jews out of the country, that’s all to the good so far as the Reich is concerned. ITALIAN ACCORD: Britain’s approval of the Anglo-Italian ac- cord (engineered by Prime Min- ister Chamberlain himself) is a diplomatic victory for both Musso- lini and Franco. Franco will get belligerent rights, enabling him to blockade Spanish loyalist territory and cut off the supply of ma- terials from outside. For Mussolini it means recog- nition of his Ethiopian conquest (although Italian troops are still fighting the natives). The King of Italy is now acknowledged “Em- peror of Ethiopia” by all the world’s major powers, with the ex- ception of the United States and Soviet Russia. 11 Duce is ’ considered to have done his part 'by withdrawing 10,- 000 “volunteers” from the Span- ish conflict. The number of men and planes he has remaining in Spain is politely ignored. DRAWING CLOSER; Through the signing of the tri-lateral trade agreement by Canada, Great Brit- ain and the United States, the three English-speaking countries are drawn closer together than ever before in their history. It is more than a commercial agree- mentâ€"the pact lays the ground foi: new understandings, future co-operation for defense purposes, by the three signatory nations. A significant point to note is that Canada is becoming more and more involved in the American or- bit, both in foreign policy and in domestic matters, as, the two con- tinents of North and South Amer- ica prepare to defend themselves against the aggressions of Ger- many, Italy, Japan. President Roosevelt’s declared determination to have the United States defend this entire hemisphere has linked us still more, closely to Washing- ton, may mark a turning-point in our policy. Henceforth the Do- minion is likely to stress 'co-oper- ation with the United States and the twenty Latin-American lepub- The. Salvation Army Christmas Appeal By the generosity of loyal Friends,'we have been able to carry to the'homes of the poor, bountiful Baskets of Cheer, and to bestow the kindly touch of a Christian Christmas on tjic lives of Thousands. Your continued help is earnestly solicited. ' > PLEASE SEND YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS TO: Commissioner George L. Carpenter, 20 Albert St,, Toronto Leave It to Him Frank Seaccio, ABOVE, was willing to take any kind of job he could get and was happy to be hired as housemaid by Mrs. Mdÿer Goldin, of Chicago. Shown here cleaning the house, he also cooks, washes dishes and takes care of the baby. lies in a long-range mutual defense plan. THE WEEK'S QUESTION: Will the man-in-the-street here be noticeably affected by the new Canada - United States trade agreement? Answer: The Cana- dian duty on American cigarettes will be cut from $4.10 to $3 a pound. There will be reductions in the duties on canned foods, electric washers: and refrigerators, furniture, leather, boots and shoes. Canadian women will appreciate the lowered tariff on cosmetics, perfumes, jewelry. Average Driver Petroleum Institute Finds He’s 43 and Automobile Is Second-Hand The American Petroleum Instit- ute took a statistical peek at the average American motorist this week and found: He is 43 years old.. He has a son and a daughter. He earns between $20, and $30 a week. His second-hand car has a mar- ket value of $238 (the odds are two to, one that he never owned a new one). His car is four or five years old and has been driven 8,500 miles an- nually, most of the distance within 100 miles of home. IJe uses 600 gallons of gas, 35 quarts of oil'annually. His annual automobile taxes total $52.99. Every person in Belfast, North- ern Ireland, is to be fitted for a gas mask once a year. Modern Étiquette BY ROBERTA LEE 1. What, expenses should the bridegroom assume? 2. When dining in a friend’s home should a guest take a help- ing of each dish offered? 3. What is America’s favorite diversion, indoor and out? 4. Should a woman, when writ- ing a social note to a man, use the salutation, “Dear Sir” ? 5. At what hours are informal calls made between intimate friends ? 6. Must one always leave a por- tion of food on the plate after fin- ishing" a meal? Answers: 1. The bride’s wedding ring, marriage license, gloves, ties, and boutonnieres for his attendants, the minister’s fee, transportation for his family and his attendants to the church, the honeymoon trip; and from that time on â€" everything. But don’t be discour- aged. The right kind of wife is worth it. 2. Yes; it is the cour- teous thing to do, even if one is not fond of some certain dish. And for a guest to refuse two or three dishes is really rude and unpardonable. 3. Dancing. 4, No. “Dear Sir” is for business pur- poses only. The informal saluta- tion is “Dear Mr, Gibson,” the more formal salutation, “My dear Mr. Gibson.” 5. At any hour dur- ing the afternoon or evening. A considerate friend will not “drop in” when she knows her neighbor devotes the morning to her house- work. 6. No, it is not necessary. “Complexity in people's lives must be balanced, and sport is one of the things which can help to do it.”-â€"Mrs. Helen Wills Moody. imromw fir Ssb tmpmuuilin * lt9s freeâ€"write Ut NOW S Fits the special top- of the 2 lb. tin of Crown Brand, Lily White nod Karo syrups. © Is easily clean ed and can fee used over and over again. # Pours without a drip. # Provides means of accurate S Makes the 2 lb. fcita an excellent table container. ® The protective cap provides a sanitary cover. Tell the boys that portraits of famous hockey stars can still be obtained for “CROWN BRAND" labels, eiowi in centsnmp 3 he bamoiis Energy Food The CANADA STARCH CO., Order from your nearest ‘blue coal’ dealer today. Ask him also about the ‘blue coal’ Heat Regulator which provides automatic heat with your present equipment. THE MODERN FU.EL .FOR SOL-L-D. COMFORT rune in' “The Shadow” every Sat., 7 p.m., CËL, Toronto, or 6.30 p.m., CEO, Ottawa. 1 (