Toll of Roads 652 Last Year 3 Highway Deaths In Ontarlo During 1939 8how Increase -- Men Chief Victims -- Be. tween 4 and 10 p.m. Worst A Hours Ontario's death toll from highway ' aocldents during 1939 was 652, ac- ¢ording to the annual summary of #tatistics on motor vehicle traffic aocidents issued by Provincial High. ways Departsient officials. 13,710 ACCIDENTS There were 13,710 accidents dur- {ng the year and 11,638 persons were injured. The accldents cost $1,860,264 In damage to vehlcles and property. Pedestrians topped the lst of classes of persons killed. The fig: ures showed 40 per cent, were ped estrians, 19.2 por cent were drivers and 31.6 per cent, were passengers, The summary shows an increase of 12 in the number of deaths over the 1938 figure and a marked in- crease of 21.6 per cent. in the non- collision type of accident, MORE PEDESTRIANS KILLED Men, numbering 480, were the chief victims of the fatal accidents doring the year. . The hours between 4 p.m, and 10 p.m. were the most dangerous on the highway with the largest num- ber of accidents taking place then, The safest hour on an average was between 5 am, and 6 am York County, which includes To- yonto, had 4,193 accidents during the year. Ranking next were Went- worth with 1,067, Middlesex 840, Essex 752, Carleton 493 and Wel Jand 328. Opens Postal Conference Hon. William. P. ~ Mullock, Canada's' new ~ Postmaster-Gen- eral, spoke at the opening in Lon- don, Sept. 4, of a postal con- ference of Ontario Postmasters. His chief topic was war-time measurés and how they affect postal regulations. No Publishing Victims' Names 3 British Air Rald Casualty Lists Are Posted Outside the Town Halls A spokesman for the British min- $stry of home security announced Jato in August that lists of casual ties in London air ralds would be posted outside local town halls but would not be allowéd to be publish. ed, [There are regular monthly totals published for victims throughout all Britain, . He sald that lists of London cas- nalties are being sent confidential ly to newspaper editors to stop the alarming rumors concerning. the number of persons killed or Injured in German attacks As soon 'as possible after an at tack, he sald, the names are post. ed at the town halls. While he ad- mitted that a German agent could inspect these lists, he said the min- istry hoped to make it difficult to get the names to Germany. © (If Germany got the names it could, by checking postal director- fes, work out roughly the localities where bombs struck). Purpose In Life Urged On Boys Family Court Judge Speaking at C,N.E,, Gives Valuable Ad- vice Every boy should have a purpose in life in order to avold the narrow, vicious circle of mere existence, Family Court Judge - Hawley 8. Mott suggested in an address at the 1940 C.N:iE. : Among his hearers were several score "junior directors" of the big 'fair, boys selected by thelr teachers to represent their schools on the Exhibition board for the day. They are invited each year to oftér sug. gestions for Exhibition. improve ment, particularly with regard' to features appealing to youth, DEVELOP A TASTE Judgo Mott advised the boys to acquire and develop a taste for real good pletures, music and books, as three of the finer thinge.in life. Saving Ontario's Natural Resources (No, 7) By G. C. TONER LUTHER SWAMP The highest point in southern Ontario is the Dundalk platean, situated in Wellington and Duf- ferin counties, On the southern edge of the plateau, 1706 feet above sea level, is Luther Swamp, a great bog of more than 80,000 acres. This swamp is probably the greatest natural resource we have in southwestern Ontario for it is the storage basin from which all the great rivers receive their water, The Thames, the Grand, the Credit, the Humber, the Mait- land, the Saugeen, and. the Not- tawasaga; all have their humble beginnings on the slopes of the Dundalk plateau, Some of them have direct surface flow from the swamp, underground deep seepage. The District Suffered About a generation ago Luther swamp was drained into the Grand river in the hopes that good farm land would be uncov- ered. The promoters of the drain- age scheme were disappointed, for the land, being a peat bog, has proven unsatisfactory for ag- riculture. But the worst loss was to the people of the Province for Nature's laws and schemes for flood control were set aside. This great swamp in its natural state was a barrier against floods, It held the water for deep seepage, preventing it from going down the rivers as wild, springtime in- undations. Springs, of course, are fed from the underground secen- age and Luther swamp helped to maintain these as well as the un- derground water table that fed the farmer's wells. Since the swamp was drained .the whole district has suffered. At one time the wells were shal- low for the water table was close to. the surface, now, the wells are being driven decper and deeper cach year as the water table drops. And in the spring time the Grand river, the prin- cipal stream to reccive water from the swamp, goes on the rampage, destroying property and damaging the farmlands through- out its course. "The Dam Will Help On the _gther hand this river has suffered 'tremendous shrink- age in the past generation. Fully fifty-five miles of its upper reaches dry up each summer as a direct result of the draining of the swamp. Formerly, the upper Grand comprised one of the fin- est speckled trout waters in the region. Now, trout are virtually non-existent. Floods in the spring- time, droughts and low water in the summer and early fall, these have followed the unwise drain- age of the headwater swamp. However, there seems to be a determined effort at the present time to stop the damage from floods on the Grand River and the restoration of Luther swamp to its original condition is now being consideréd as an aid to this flood control, By building a dam across the outlet of the swamp, to hold back the water -in the spring, a vast reservoir will be created that will do much towards replenishing the underground water of the distric. as well as help in flood control. springs and the King's Pigeons Have Enlisted Royal Birds Are To Be Used In Event of Emergency -- Acting As Alr Mail Pigeons from the King's loft at Sandringham have been added to a plgeon post organized to operate in the event of a natlonal emer- gency In Great Britain, The pigeon post was inaugurated in July last sho visited Fort Dunlop and releas- ed the first flock of pigeons from their baskets, DISTANCE FLIERS On the eve of the outbreak of the war a pair of blue checks arrived from BE. W. Steele, the King's pig- eon keeper, They are long distance birds, four or five years old, of the stock which has won the big races .from Lerwick fn'S8hetland and Bor- deaux. In addition to the pigeon loft at headquarters, lofts are being open- od in other parts of the country for the service, which is the only or: ganized pigeon post in Great Bri. tain, ' MESSAGES ARE TINY - By 'reducing messages to facsim- fle on a special thin film, the birds oan take 35,000 words in an alumin- um e¢arrler fixed to thelr leg, Each centro has apparatus for reducing the meoseages and for magnifying them to a readable soript when ro ceived, \ others are fed by _the |' VICE-REGAL Continuing their tour of Central Ontario, the Earl and Countess of Athlone, accompanied by Princess a munitions plant at St. Catharines and then continued on to visit Niazara Falls. sented with a bouquet during the trip. is shown (right) getting a close-up view of the falls. 'VISITS ST. CATHARINES AND NIAGARA FALLS Juliana of The Netherlands, inspected on. The Countess of Athlone is pictured (left) as she was pre- In the centre, His Excellency shows great interest in the 'work of the munitions plant. Princess Juliana year by the Duchess of Kent when _ THE WAR-WEEK--Commentary on Current Events Destroyer Swap Gives Britain War Advantage "The nasty shock for Hitler", - recently foretold by the London Daly Mail, came last week with President: Roosevelt's dramatic announcement that the United States was handing over to Great Britain 650 destroyers for use in the war against Germany. In more than one way, this was bad news for the Axis. Hitler and Mussolini~smuw "the British navy strengthened thereby, its forces bolstered for an early Near Eastern offensive; knew their own blockade of the Brit- ish Isles weakened; realized the extent of the co-operation be- tween Brtiain and the - United States (for the U. S. came close to "an act of war" in implement- ing the deal). Atlantic Sewed Up Played up less than any other angle was U. S. satisfaction at having pulled off a major diplo- matic and political coup. securing of naval and air bases' stretching up in a chain from South America to Newfoundland meant that the United States had the North Atlantic tied up in a bag, was on its way to becoming quietly master of this whole hem- isphere. (A major feature of the transaction with Britain was a concurrent pledge from Prime Minister Churchill to Secretary of State Hull that the British fleet would never be scuttled or surrendered and thus jeopardize U.S. security in the Atlantic). "They Can't Do It" Great Britain still had not been invaded last week. In sup- port of the theory that Germany never would be able to accom- lish - it, Masanori Ito, one of apan's best-known naval com- mentators, declared that Hitler could not land troops in Eng- land while the British commanded the sea--and the German Air Force was insufficient to win away that command. During the week the Germans were "obviously concentrating on destroying all the important Brit- ish airfields in the southeast cor- ner of England, so that British fighters would be unable to de: fend London and hold the air over the southeast coast: Plans for an invasion could only then go forward. Grave disturbances in the Bal- kans, & new line-up in Africa (all the French colonies there went over to the side of Britain) worked from other quarters last week to give Hitler and Mussolini serious pause in their campaigns for world conquest. The embroil- ment of Rumania and Hungary meant the cutting-off of vtial The _ Tm Evidence was abundant that Stalin had prevented any Italian move through Greece against Britain. Would he now act to stop Hitler's march through Russia? Would he step in himself anl take over Carol's kingdom? A clash between Germany and the Soviet Union was 'seen as ines vitable, sometime; would Stalin seize the moment when Hitler was engaged in the Battle of Britain, to catch his ideological opponent at a disadvantage and attack boldly in the east? Crisis in the East In the other crisis of international pro- portions. Over Inde-China. The Japanese fleet was - reported cruising outside Indo-China waters, blockading the entire northeast coast. . . . The chief of the 'Japanese mission to French Indo-China had sent an ultimatum demanding the right to transport Jap troops across the French colony---which had been refused. , . . The Chinese Government (against whom the Jap troops would be moving) had formally declared its determina- tion to act should the. Japanese enter French Indo-China 'under any pretext or under any condi- tions with a view to attacking China. . . ." U. S. Notifies Japan From Washington, Secretary of State Cordell Hull publicly no- tified Japan that any change in the status quo of French Indo- China and the Netherlands East Indies, due to Japanese military operations, would have "an un- fortunate effect upon public op- nion in the United States." .. . The first move of a new civil disobedience campaign against Britain for refusing to grant India independence was begun last weck at Cawnpore, home of the Indian Nationalist leader, Nehru, Mohandas K. Gandhi had previously declared that the Government of India was "invit- ing civil disobedience" by urrest- ing certain of its. members -on charges of making seditious speeches. Enough 21 At home the National War Services Department announced that the 21 year-old class of Canadian young men would pro- vide almost enough personnel for the first two drafts for military training . . . Several million Can- adian youngsters started buck to school; in Ontario, only twenty- eight of them were stricken by the dread infantile paralysis now raging across the horder in Michigan . . . Far East loomed an- - There Are Plants That Kill Humans Several Are Known To Nat. uralists -- Cannibal Tree of Australia Is Example Apart from plants that polson there are several known to natural ists which can kill a man who comes within their clutches. One horror of this kind is the Cannibal Tree of Australia, the powerful 1daves of which can close in like a trap and crush out the life of the unwary investigator. Another un- pleasant forest fiend is the Tele- graph Tree of India, which has leaves that move about curlously; but anyone who touches them is liable to get a severe electric shock -- quite enough to kill a man with a weak heart. The worst of these killing plants {3 the vegetable octopus that grows near Lake Titicaca, in South Amer- fca, This was discovered by an ox- plorer who, hearing tho agonized cries of a dog, found the animal en- veloped in a-netwerk of rope-like fibres He managed to free it -- but not beforo man and dog had been blistered and blood-stained by the monster growth. VOICE THE PRESS ON THE RIGHT TRACK Anyway, those raflway-car con- versations between Prime Minister King and President Roosovelt were along the right track. --Stratford Beacon-Herald. ert ADMIRE ONTARIO Her Royal Highness, Princess Alico, expressed amazement at the beauty she was finding in Ontario, Evidently we have been falling down in failing to stress the beau- ty and grandeur to be found among our hills and valleys, along our rivers and on the shores of our lakes. --Niagara Falls" Roview. - --0-- NO THOROUGHFARE The fact that Canadians desiring to cross Canada by motor cannot do so except by securing a pass. port to enter the United -States to overcome the Lake Superior shore gap emphasizes the value that would attach to a completed Trans- Canada Highway. 4 --Sault Dally Star. --0-- CAN YOU MILK? Surprising it is how many people know nothing at all about tho milk- ing of a cow. They can play a good game of golf; they boast at times of their knowledge of bridge; they can bring home prizes from bowl ing tournaments. At tennis they aro good and In swimming and div- ing they aro expert, They play the a farm; but they can tell the milk. man off in a hurry when things look a little thin and the cream line finds its point of registration too closo to the top of the bottle. But they cannot milk a cow and there have been cows in the world tor a long, long time, Even longer than that. --Peterborough Examiner. The Book Shelf.. "THE MINGLING OF THE CANADIAN AND AMERICAN PEOPLES" By Marcus Lee Hansen No more timely work than this first volume of a series being pre- pared under the Carnegie En. dowment for International Peace could appear at such a moment in the history of the North Am- erican continent, when, after the epoch-making talks at Ogdens- burg, the United States and Cane ada have joined in a mutual de- fense agreement, climaxing loryg years of good neighborliness and - tentative co-operation. In this book Professor Hansen undertook the difficult task of filling the great knowledge of how the peoples of the United States and Canada working in uhison have woven the new pattern of North An- ercian culture. He does it by trac- ing the "exchanges in populations between the two countries since 1700, pointing out that there are millions of North Americans whose families have branches on both sides of the boundary. "The Mingling of the Canadian and American Peoples," Vol. 1 « .. by Marcus Lee Hansen . . . Toronto: The Ryerson Press . . . $3.00, . - gap in our Thansgiving Day Set for Oct, 14 Thanksgiving Day this year has been fixed for October 14, the second Monday in that month, the Department of the Secrétary of State has an- nounced. A proclamation ap- pointing that day as a day of general thanksgiving would be issued shortly, the announce- ment added last week, Double Theatre's Double Feature West Coast Movie House Has Twin Auditoriums Patrons may take their choice ot one pleture or two at a new theatre just opened in Alhambra, Calif, The Alhambra Theatre has, un- liko others, two auditoriums, A dif- ferent picture is shown in each, After each showing, the films then change auditoriums, Those who like "double bills" just stay In their seats. But those who like only one fea- ture at a time are, it they haven't scen the full picture, obliged to move to the other auditorium, Manager James Edwards, Jr, whose {dea the experiment is, says the admission price, for one or two pictures, is the same. Swordfish are taken in Canad- ian waters off the Atlantic Coast. The fishing season opened in June and will continue until Septemb- LIFE'S LIKE THAT [11S MODERNS) 7, wr. Z By Fred Neher productive activity (agricultural, , A TSE© @ .fsdh piano and at times may be Inclin- A * industrial) in the Balkans, so A salmon, tagged and released ed to sing; they discuss politics badly needed in the German war in Nova Scotian, was captured and world events; on occasion they effort. . forty-two days later at Moisie may make speches. But they can- Would Russia March? River, Quebec. By the most dir- not milk a cow. Perhaps some of Russia remained the big ques- ect route this is a distance of 800 | them have rather turned up their tion mark in European politics. miles. noso at the thought of working on "He got ho)d of some buttermilk last night and threw a party." REG'LAR FELLERS -- Good-Night ! By GENE BYRNES GOOD MORNI 00D MORNIN ad ~ PINHEAD, ie Fes. SMITH, IM MRS.GMITH I'M BUT JIMMIE DUGAN /