1941-01-09 — Page 11

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Mussolini's Mystery

Isles

By HARRY LEVIN

The Dodecancur Islands have Three small ports divide the suddenly sprung from their oh

waterfront of Rhodes. Beside one stood the famous 100-foot Colossus,

Aurient World.

scurity in the Eastern Meditere of the Seven Wonders of the rancún map into the glare of the war headlines, Harry Levin, The tians have gunk millions who sketches them for you here, of pounds in widening and Im- Continual visited the islands not long be- proving these parts.

improvement has been in progress fore war broke out between not only in Rhodes but in Leros,

Haly and Greece,

Cos and Stampidio,

661OME to Rhodes," the

"COME

U gay tourist posters were still beckoning a few weeks ago. "Gem of the Dodecanese, Italy's gcan Isle of Roses!"

It had everything—beauti- ful scenery, unrivalled climate, splendid hotels, magnificent antiquities: an earthly para- diac above, the murmuring Mediterranean.

What they did not add was that it is also an island for- tress,

The twelve islands of the Dodecanese, of which Rhodes is larger than the other eleven together, lic midway between Egypt and Greece.

Thoy form to-day a key point in the Mediterranean

war.

ONCE TURKISH

From ancient times, when their first known' conquerors were the Mycencans and Phoenicions, their strategic value has been recog- nised.

Before the Italians seized them in 1912, they were in Turkish hands. But the bulk of the is- landers are Greeks. Their ances- tors have lived in the Dodecanese since the dawn of history.

In Rhodes, the tourists is struck by the perfect ronds that run up the hillsides to end abruptly, us though their destinations had sud- denly vanished.

Those roads lead to skilfully- shultered nerts, biusted out of the hillsides which shelter the Italian batteries.

The number of guns and the extent of the island's other for- tifications, are, naturally, things strangers don't find out.

Some of the hillside caverns, however, are known to have begun life as quarries. Now they are fitted with corridors, ante-cham- bers, rotundas and ventilating- shafts.

Nearly 300 miles of roads have been bullt in Rhodes by the Italiana

One of these highways, linking the aerodrome with the main town, Parallel runs along the shore. with it, along the beach below. runs a line of barbed wire en- tanglements. On the ridges Jist above

ure great calls f more barbed wire.

FOR THE "MERMAIDS"

The Customs guard used to ex- plain with a grin that this prickly. barricade was to stop mermaids landing.

Also in readiness for the "mer- maids,"

immense barracks and military hospitals have been built. The main streets, bars, and cinema awarned, when I was there, with green uniforms of the garrison.

Very youthful they were for the most port—short, dark and affable, Many come from the country dia- tricts of southern Italy. One, at least, was mightily bored.

n

He missed the farm at home, he nald. There was work to be done there now. And here he was. wasting his time. But-with shrug of the shoulders-it wasn't his business. The Duce wanted him here, and the Duce must be right.

Particularly Leros-lhe island of the Dodecanese.

setret

To make sure that the secret of this island are kept, thousands of Its Greek and Turkish Wein expelled.

natives

Italy's plans have been to harn Leros into a miniature Ægenn Gibraltar. The fine anatura) har- hour of Porto Lago can hold some of the largest battleships. It has à seaplane base, with many miles of ideal "ying-water," and A naval arsenal.

The eastern side of the island. facing the narrow Diaport Straits that separate il from Anatolia, has been strongly fortified.

MILITARY VALUE

Once, in 1925, two Italian de- putles became highly exelted about the possibility of selling Italians in the Dodecanese. Five million Hallans could be established there, they

Baid,

probably more.

Mussolini wasn't interested. For kiny, in the words, of an Italian spokesman, "the value of the is Inda arises from their geographie military position, which enables us to ma

make of them the base of our future expansion,"

So, aut of a total population of over 140,000, there used to be only a few thousand Italians, most of then offcials, professional men and merchants,

Sill, Mussolini has been-prodigal- with publle buildings for them. In the Via del Littorio,

tha Rhodes seafront, you see Italian constructive ambition at its height.

near

On each side of the broad street, with not a spuck of

of dirt to mar their severity, are the great clois- tered Goverrunent buildings, the Fascist headquarters, the cinema that is in truth a picture palace.

Venetian, Sicillan, Oriental styles are strewn together, designed not less to overawe the natives than to perpetuate in stene the greatness of the Fascist builders.

PRIVILEGED ISLES

Italy has given the Islanders bread and games, and some reone- mic benefits. But it withholds freedom.

All the feeling and all the loyal- ty of the Greek population-which. is nearly 90 per cent, of the total

are for Greece.

Despite concentrated efforts to make them good Italian ellizens, they consider Italian rule undesir- able. Quietly, their Church, which has a long memory, and has not forgotten grave indignities to its Archbishops as far back as the time of the Venetians in the 16th century, teaches them to keep faith with Grence und Greek milture.

In 1932, for this offence, the Orthodox Metropolitan of Ithodes was expelled.

Under Turkey the islands en- joyed many benefits. They were known, in fact, as the Privitered Isles. Yet they joined the Greek War of Independence.

In the coming of the Italians in 1912 they saw promise of libera-. tion. At the Pence Conference," Venizelos fought for their "an- alterable and centuries-old usplra- tion to unite with Greece."

He obtained a conteromike. It seemed that Rhodes, at least, might attoln its goal, although the other Isionds were ceded to Italy.

Then Venizelos fell from grace. In 1924 all the islanda

were formally annexed to Italy, with the consent of Turkey,

All signs of restlessness in the Jainnds have since been rigorously

1030 there repressed. In rints. That was the last expression of dissatisfaction.

were

To-day, although they may seem resigned to their fate, the move-.. ment for liberation still stirs un- easily beneath the surface. But it has lacked all power--and now the war has trapped once more the *Well, I don't suppose he's bored inhabitants of these Isles of my-

and longer,

stery,

FUNNY SIDE UP

2/4

Chae, 1949 by Valtan Prature Prudeau, Lis TMBA, OR nema rewavy

HERE,

BOSSY

Ulbrary, Supreme Court

January 9, 1941.

By Walt Disney

PAGE

By Abner Dean

3-14

"About that money I fent your folks-shall 'I doduct it as

charity or a bad debt?"

Why Grow Old?

By Josephine Lowman

When you look into the mir- ror don't indulge in wishful thinking as the wicked queen in Snow White did. If we look only at our best points and try to overlook the others, we will fall far short of our potentialities for love liness.

Our mirror should be so placed and so lighted that they will tell us the truth about our faults in complexion, hair and figure. If we are to overcome faults we must first recognise them.

The bravest men

ever By C. G.

JUST when the Blitzkrieg un

Norway_lind_sturted__1__wak staying with a friend at a Constut Command station of the RAF. It was a queer station. It led started with Avro Ansons to patrol the cost and escort convoys, of thips. Then it had required some Ashlers to drive away enemy air- craft which attacked the Ansons.

After that some Amerienn Hud- Fon twin-motor machines were given to it. They had more power and range than the tile Ansons, and found out important things on the coast of Norway, which let to the borrowing of heavy and medium bombers from the Eom- ber Command. In fact, the place was regular aeronauticnt men- ngerie

The day I got there our news- papers had published mups of our innefits round Denmark right into the Baltic, far be- and yond the Skagerrak and Kattegat (friends of our schooldays), block- ing the German and Danish har- bours from which ships had to take troops to Norway,

Very rightly our people said: "Wonderful

thing the British Navy, But how did our mine. layers or submarines get through the German minefields, and past the German submarines and de- stroyers and air force to lay those mines?"

THAT evening About cocktall

tune into the ante-room of the mess, came half a dozen young officers in naval uniform, led by one who was himself led by an amiable but territic-looking buli- dog-man and dog were much the same shape and ever so English.

aly host told me that they were My part of a Fleet Air Arm squadron

a

which was at the stotion special job. Later, I was shown what it was and how they did it.

On the airfield was a squadron of the Fairey Swordfish, which is ablg biplane with a single Bristol Pegasus motor of 890 hp. Like hil Fleet Air Arm machines, the wings fold so that they can go down the ifts in H.M.'s aircraft carriefs from

the flying deck to the air- craft holds, which the F.A.A. loyal to the ale, calls hangars,

The machine was bulit for Fleet reconnalmance, and as a torpedo- dropper, so it is a weight-lifter, and ita best cruising speed is about 120 mp.h.about that of the trainers which one seca floating

sky. around the

Then Swordfishes for the special Job were different. Where the navigator ought to sit was an enormous patrol-lank which stuck

met Grey

up above the deck between the pilot and the aft cockpit. It took up all the second seat, and ended In a blank wall high above where the third seat should have been. There the navigater had to sit with his legs underneath a mass of petrol, all ready to drown him in flames if an incendiary bullet caught it.

T bombing-up time, just before A dark, instead of the normal torpedo or beads, huge flat-ended burrels were rolled out un trolleys and fixed between the wheels.

These were our magnetle mines for the Baltic, far more powerful and more magnetle than the Ger- inat mines of which we heard s0 much at the time, and now looked upon as a busted flush:

Those barrels brought the flying speed of the old Swordish down to about by mph.

That night, the rest of us

as were going peacefully to bed, we heard the growl of the Bristols starting up, and a few minutes Tater the drone of henvy stuff taking off, circling the C.O.'s house and heading seawards.

Next morning they เง tame back, bar one, who had to land at Another airfield and bent

his Permit. They reported, results, hnd their suppers at a late break- went to bed, ull Jusceline, ready to do it again next night.

NOW @gure to yourself that sort of courage the "three o'clock In the morning courage" which Napoleon admired in our people......... the machine outrageously over- loaded, carrying a mine which would leave nothing to pick up if it exploded in a crash, and carry- ing a truck-load of petrol to give the 1,000 miles range: its speed such that the worst anti-aircraft guimer

or searchlight operator hardly miss it; its only pro- tection against fighters the fact that it was too slow for them to stay with it and shoot at it; pliot and navigator without the com- panionship of a cabin, lonely all night on the end of a telephone wire.

They had none of the excite- ment of the single-sent fighter, or his interval for refreshment after his three-hour patrol, and none of the crewship, as it were, of the big bombers or the flying boats. If otkude a deux, there was a over tho mine-layers in the Sword- Ashes had -for most of twelve hours at n stretch.

They were the bravest men I have met. I have known a good mony V.Cs and plenty of DS.Os.

Too many women go in for the becoming, rosy, dim lights which flatter them into care- lessness and neglect. We can have these in our boudoirs, but at some place we should have brightly lighted mirrors with which to whet our up- petite for self-improvement. Four Mirrors Needed A woman really needs_four mirrors to help her appraise her- self and care

for herself. First she must have one which she can at her dressing table. This Use should be large enough for her to see herself from her head to her waist. Next, she needs a hand mirror, one full-length one, and

is magnifying glass, The latter of the greatest nid in studying the skin, applying pstick and weed- ing out steny hairs from the brows.

Lighting is

also Important, Some ladies attempt to use the bulbs which represent sunlight, electric light, or daylight. How- ever, this is a rather risky busi- ness, except for experts, and it is usually better to use plain white bulbs and plenty bright!

The lights t the side of the dressing table should be about on a level with the nose, and should also have a light above the head.

One Convenient Place

It helps us immensely to have all of the necessities of good grooming and beauty care in one convenient spot. It is so easy to procrastinate If we have to look for the brush and hunt up the cleansing cream.

The most limited and meagre set of toola should include mani- cure items, cleansing and lubri- caling cream, eye cream, a long- bristled hairbrush, lotion, an cyc- Insh and eyebrow brush, a deo- dorant, a depilatory and tweezers. Besides these, a woman should have a light pad on which to lake, her exercises and a board or cot (with end raised) so that she can rest for a period or so of time each day in the beauty angle position.

Make It ensy to care for your- self Don't put the obstacles of heetleness and lost time in your way. These simple, daily routines will keep you young long after the Joudest laughter of scoffers hina died away.

None of these FAA, lada had any decorations

1 then. hope they have got them since.

Today the job is done by high- powered, high-speed, well-armed bombers.

admires our Nobody bomber

and coastal recon- naissance people and our fighter pilots more than I do. But those couples In the Swordfishes deserve. to be recorded in history, for they made so much history themselves.

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