The Hardin tribune-herald. [volume] (Hardin, Mont.) 1925-1973, 1941-05-08

nN> CORNELIUS
VANDERBILT. JR
VANDERBILT. JR,
Canada in Wartime

after leaving Syracuse, after five
Interruptions in the night, immigra-
ton and customs on either side of
the International line. ETC., descend
ed in Canada's great city, a bit
tired and sleepy.
Canada in war Is a lot livelier
place than Canada at peace. Streets
scream patriotic banners; soldiers,
sailors, women in uniform clutter
traffic; bands blare all day, planes
drone all night. Newspapers are
crammed with news from the
Mother Country; radio stations
with reports from back home"
Toronto's time" is faster than
during peace. The city has its
W war time" like the daylight
saving time we have, only two hours
faster than the regular time. This
is to conserve electricity. They call
it ''war-saving-time."
Shops are even more war-like than
the streets; display apparel for
those in the nations armed forces,
such as shirts, socks. shoes, sweat
ers, underwear and helmets. The
underwear, incidentally, is no longer
tWo-piece because the British army
requires its soldiers to wear COM
binations. Art stores sell maps, tech
meal army books, compasses, al
tometers, flags, drawing boards,
heavy crayons.
Quite as many women as men are
in uniform on the streets. They're
jaunty-looking. Dozens Of different
outfits flourish, among them the
C.D.F. canadian Defense %force),
the CATS. (Civilian Auxiliary Ter
ritorial service) and the C.R.C.
canadian Red Cross. The C.D.F.
has approximately 800 members in
Toronto alone. They drive staff
cars, and the brass hats" as visit
ing officials are called. The CATS.
is headed by Ivy Maison, a we'll
known spinster who teaches how to
shoot down parachutists, cook, darn
socks, sew on soldiers buttons and
to camoufage helmets with paint.
The Gro. admittedly does the best
all around work. There are 5000
separate Red Cross sewing units in
Canada today. Their particular job
is reconditioning clothes worn by
soldiers in training. and making
thousands Of diapers, washcloths,
and clothes for youngsters for their
British sisters whose homes have
been wiped out. During the past six
months the Toronto division Of the
Red Cross has sent to London AZ
ambulances and nor than 20, 900
blankets, Lady Reading distributes
these gifts when they reach Eng
land. Hundreds of thousands OF
women in England work similarly.
Many Of them fly planes between
airports and factories bringing in
vital plane parts, and arranging
new billets for evacuees. All cook
ing and sweeping in English canton
ments is done by WACO. (Wom-
ems Auxiliary Civilian corps).
Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, and
Quebec are surrounded by scores of
barracks, training centers, airports,
camps and prison camps. There
are nearly 100, 900 Germans in Cana
dian prison camps today! Young
draftees used to guard them. but
escapes became too frequent, so old
soldiers from the last war were sta
toned there instead. In of the
biggest prison camps the German
officers recently struck because
they we're forced to eat at the same
table as the enlisted men. Against
the violent protests of many thou
sands of Canadians, the Canadian
government decided to humor the
prisoners and gave them their own
army mess. This babying of the
Nazis is the cause of much dissatis-
faction on the part Of the man in
the street. He wants them to be put
to work building highways, sewers.
airports, dams and canals.
A couple of huge camps have be-
come show places Of Toronto lately.
One of them is called Little Nor
way" Here several thousand Nor
wegian youths are being trained by
the R.C.A.F. (Royal Canadian Air
force). Across a hundred yards or
so of water they have their WI air.
port on an island. They own their
own training and fighting planes.
pay their soldiers in their own
currency. These men are out for
blood. Their private motto is Take
no Prisoners"
Thousands Of young American
boys are serving in the R.C.A.F to-
day. Some people told me the fig.
ure reached $4,000. They come
from all parts of the United States,
most of them h%itchhiking. They are
protected by wartime secrecy, and
almost all Of them are given the job
of either training pilots, or working
as part of the ground crews.
HEARING THINGS: The open