Strategic Place Held By Egypt The British Commonwealth is dispersed over the earth, its parts by vast expanses of water and air space, comments The Times of London, Eng. Dis- persion involves both strength and weakness: strength, because dispersed territories can- not well be attacked simultaneous- ly; weakens, because world com- munications are nowadays vulner- able long-range attack. Britain was originally drawn to Egypt mainly by the attraction of the Suez Canal and the link with India which it represented. EARLIER CENTRE plore Beal, nd been su, wever,s n a centre of communications. The isthmus of Suez had been a trade route and also of milfiary importance: Ia the War aga revolutionary France, Britain had drawn reinforcements from India and the Cape to fight the French in Egypt. In the Cri- mean war a cavalry regiment from India had landed at Suez and marched to the Mediterranean on 'ts way to the Crimea. In addition 0 connecting the eastern seas and he Mediterranean, Egyp had con- jected Asia and Africa through inal, which had served as a mili- ary highway for thousands of ears. Today, though the Suez Canal remains an important factor, it is fir from being the sole factor in tle. significance of the eastern Nediterranean. But for British and nore recently American power in waters Greece would have siccumbed to Communism and Russia might be in possession of the Dardanelles. The region known as the Middle Eist -- the title is inaccurate geo- faphically and takes its name ran a command -- is of high stategic value. The airfields ex- istng, under construction, or pro- the oil resources with- or behind it would alone suffice to make it that. For Britian it fills a (ap wherein the Commonwealth conmunications are vulnerable. For her and her allles it is in woild strategy a central area, em- boing great possibilities both for dence and offense. EGYPT IS KEY Wery one who has made a ser- fous and. instructed study. of the Mille East during the last six yesrs has come to the same con- won, that its strength depends w B great extent upon Egypt. It is virually impossible to make a conbination of military bases and stabions or a distribution of strength of which, if Egypt is left out, the delscts cannot %e seen a glance Ui as the Suez Canal is, the esgraphical situation of the coun- | plays an even greater part. If the canal were to be closed to traffic by war, the double approach the front door and the back, Port Seid and Suez, would remain. This factor was of incalculable value in the last war. owhere else in that theatre of r could the work of mainten- ajdce accomplished there have been carried out, In the bad times our shipping had to follow the long {ape route, whereas that of the had but a small fraction of distance to cover in c g e Mediterannean; but for us berths and facilities more righted the balance. J EMAND WITHDRAWAL They have none the less demand- ed insistently that British forces should be withdrawn from the [Suez Cana] zone. They have also declared that Egypt, as a sover- © eign power, must reserve the right to the judge of the circum- | stances in which a request for aid should be made in time of emer- gency and of what constitutes a state of emergecy. Assuming that the view of the present government is the same as that of its predecessors, the crucial issue lies here. The Suez Canal zone is a great military base. It contains camps, depots, workshops, and stores worth-many millions, in many cases requiring careful and skilled maintenance. On the other hand, this base iz not necessarily the only possible sta- tion for the operational or fighting forces in the present strategic cir. cumstances or in time of peace, however convenient it may be for the purpose. Moreover, it loses a great proportion of its value if it i Sluate amidst a hostile popula- It is well known that work is in progress to improve the facilities of other stations in the Levant, notably in rus. The present problem is three-pronged. First, can really amicable relations now be established with Egypt? Sec- ondly, will this make possible a sound and endu: agreement on the Sujet of aid in Egyptian de- fence, agreement which will avoid so far as ible the' ter- rible risk involved in big strategic movements in time of emergency? Thirdly, will Egypt guarantee the maintenance of the base, g into account the fact that advice and technical assistance from a British staff and British adminis- trative services cannot be avoided it the maintenance is to be thor- ou New Barber Takes Over Storied Seat VANCOUVER (CP)--The second chair from the end in the Hotel Vancouver has a new barber now-- after 31 years. Barber John Bruce McCallum celebrated his 82nd birthday re- cently by retiring after more than 60 years behind a barber's chair. Durie his 31 years in both the new and the old Hotel Vancouver barber shops "Mac" -- as he is known by three shopmates with whom he worked for more than 25 Jalsa trimmed many famous s. He includes in his list Presidents Sot dx yiardor, Vico " Tr urier an the Duke of Kent, j Other personalities to sit in Me- Callum's chair were boxers Jack Dempsey, Gene Tunney and James J. Corbett. The name Nokomis for the grain- growing centre in Saskatchewan was taken from Longfellow's poem "Hiawatha." ) ~ You'll pay MORE for FOOD if you don't act NOW! | ] * ' THE ONTARIO GOVERNMENT took the yellow out of margarine-- NOW they want power to ban any edible oil product! Ladies--do you like shortening in your pie-crust? Men--do you like peanut butter on your bread? Mayonnaise in your salads? Cooking oil? Money- saving margarine? WELL YOU'RE LIABLE TO LOSE THEM! Four years ago, a surprising ban was placed on the yellow color in margarine. When it went through, even men in the Ontario Legislature were stunned. Now, an even more amazing bill is before the Ontario Legislature--to be acted on within a few days! This fantastic bill No. 71, an amendment to the Edible Oil Products Act 1952, will actually give the Ontario Government power to stop you buying any food product made with any fat except butter-fat! That means shortening, margarine, mayonnaise, cooking oil and dozens of other good, low-cost foods can be taken away from you, any time the Ontario Government feels like it. This is a real threat to your food budget--for no government passes a law unless it intends to use it! How did all this happen? How could a democratic group like our Ontario Legislature pass on such dictatorial nondense? Let's be fair. They are busy men. They hear a lot of bills and talk every day. They have obviously missed the full meaning of the Edikle Oil Products Act and Bill No. 71. If the men in the Ontario Legislature had thought seriously about Bill No. 71 for a short time, they would be shocked at its implications. It was the same with. the margarine color ban. Certain pressure groups created such a stir that honest men in the Legislature thought they were acting on the will of a majority. : Now Ontario women have to mess around coloring margarine every day. What can we do? If you want to protect your right to buy money- saving foods like margarine, shortening, good foods like mayonnaise, cooking oil, peanut butter -- you have to make yourself heard! A wave of protest has risen against the margarine color ban. It has been brought to a head by the fantasti Edible Oil Products Act. Let the Government know you mean business today! Tell them that you want your margarine yellow! Tell them you want to keep on buying good foods, economical foods, even if they aren't made with butter-fat! Act today -- tomorrow may be too late! This week, thousands of letters, wires, phone calls will go to Queen's Park. Angry groups of wage-earners, home-makers, retailers, farmers are making themselves heard. Protest today--have yellow margarine next week! It can happen that fast! If we show the opinion of the majority, the democratic way will work! Write a letter--or use the form letter we have supplied. But do it today. Stop Bill No. 71 in" its tracks . , . it can be passed any day this week! WRITE TO YOUR MEMBER DIRECTLY OR CLIP AND MAIL THIS LETTER TODAY--AND WE WILL SEE HE GETS IT. What is the Institute of Edible Oil Foods? The Institute of Edible Oil Foods is alarge group of farmers, processors and manufacturers who produce, manufacture and market edible oil products. About 50,000 Ontario farmers, food-plant workers, grocers, and manu- facturers get their income partly or wholly from sales of such foods as shortening, mayonnaise, margarine, peanut butter, cooking oil. The Institute of Edible Oil Foods was formed recently. Its first task is to inform the Ontario Public about Bill No. 71 and the Edible Oil Products Act and to encourage the moyement to lift the margarine color ban. THE INSTITUTE OF EDIBLE OIL FOODS EL SS SRR TON EE SEES ERR ES Institute of Edible Oil Foods 37 Isabella Street, Toronto 5, Ontario. Dear Sirs: Please forward this suggestion immediately to the member of the Ontario Legislature for my riding. "l wish to protest the margarine color ban, and the passage of Bill No. 71. | feel that both are unnecessary restrictions and give unfair advantage to special groups. Please rescind the margarine color ban, and use your influence to stop Bill No. 71." Signed 0000000000 R RRR 0RRROY AQAION veoiviveiavsiviavncenny {Tawn, County) THE DAILY TIMES-GAZETTE, Tuesday, March 17, 1953 9 seer