1941-03-22 — Page 8

8

Saturday,

HONGKONG TELEGRAPH

March 22, 1941,

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The

Hongkong Telegraph.

Saturday, March 22, 1941. Wyndham St., Hongkong Telephone: 20015

AI

THE profix "Special to the Telegraph" Is used by the "Hougkung Telegraph" to Indicate news which is strictly copyright der the provisions of the Telecomuluni- cations Ordinance, 1836. Such news hears the indication."U" is received in Hongkong on the date of publication, by the United Pross Associations, who re- servo all rights and forbid republications, either wholly or in part without previous arrangement.

WISE DECISION

The decision of Government to take over the control of the re- moval of nightsoil must be hailed with the utmost satisfaction by the community generally. Hong- kong is no longer an overgrown township, but a Colony of very considerable dimensions, and there can be no doubt that one of its greatest problems as affect- ing public health, is that relating _to___this____vital service. Cholera has now become an endemic disease, and while there may not be definite proof that the unsatisfactory method of the disposal of nightsoll is largely cos ponsible, there does exist a very grave doubt. The deciston of both His Excellency the Governor and the Executive Council that the change- uver should be adopted without fur- Under the ther delay, is a wise one. future control, it will be expected that the closest supervision will be exercised, and that the danger to which the community has so long been exposed, will be considerably curtailed.

In many respects, the Colony needs a thorough cleaning up, and the sooner a vigorous campaign is started against the many filthy habits which are common with the lower classes, the better and safer for all who re- side here. In some districts, the squalor is accentuated by the filthy No steps environment to be seen. appear to be taken to disinfect some of the open nullahs, which are veri- table cesspools, and the Impression is given that whatever sanitary regula- tions or service which may be sup- posed to exist, are totally inadequate.

It is indeed surprising that some objection should have been taken to Government's proposal, for It must surely be expected that offelal res ponsibility. will Induce some mensure ut emciency and order.

Apart from the nightsoil problem, there must be other ways and means of making Hongkong a cleaner and healthier place in which to reside. The limited water supply, with the ever attendant fear of serious shor- Inge, precludes the use of main water for washing down the streets. The Auggestion that sea-water should be used, has been turned down in the past, but it becomes clearer as cach yeh passes, that some scheme must be evolved sooner or later to ensure the proper cleansing of our highways and byways.

AERIAL

MORSE KEY?

TRANSMITTER

*(WEIGHT Iư)

VALVE AND BATTERIES.

Two spies executed in Pentonville Prison believed their task would be a short one and that they would soon he relieved by the Nazi troops.

The first of their beliefs came chery with Waldberg and Meier. true. They were caught soon The date of his execution was after they started "business?" postponed beenuse he gave no-. They posed as refugees, but tice of appeal, which he with- shortly before they died they drew

confessed to the real purposes of He was sent to Britain by the German Secret Service to ferrel their visit to England.

The men were a 25-years-old out information that might help German named Jose Waldberg enemy bombers, and a 24-years-old Dutchman, of German origin, Karl Meier.

Like his confederates, he had

a small portable wireless trans- mitting set and plenty of money in £1 notes,

He lurked in woods and empty

THIRD spy, confederate of these two, was executed at the prison later following his buildings by day and tried to learn vital information by listen- conviction at the Old Bailey.

ing to careless talk in public- He was Charles Albert Van houses, buses and trams at night. Den Kieboom. 25 26-year-old

Then, in the darkness, he rig- elerk, who was born in Japan. ged up his wireless set in iso- Kieboom, a Dutch subject. lated fields and tried to send stood his trial for felony-trea- messages to Germany.

CASES FOR CARRYING

-And How It Was Carried.

They call this a war of machines, but-

REMEMBER the

MEN, Too

"Wo

HE pllot grunted. are not men any more. We're just Spitares."

We were in the mess of a Fighter Command Station. The pilots, just back from a perilous patrol, were listening-in to the B.B.C. recitation of the latest R.A.F. communiqué.

He did not say i bitterly because, for one thing, these men are as genuinely devoted to their Spitfires as the proverbial Arab to his steed. But he was expressing what lots of us feel, I think. nowadays.

The rapid succession of events in the air have meant that the day- by-day achievements have neces- sarily became a rather arid cata- logue of so many Heinkels. Messer- schmit 109's, Dorniers, Blenheims. Spitfires and Hurricanes.

So many engaged. So many brought down. So many over der- Diany.

Taken For Granted

men aro

Untli, now, we are beginning to forget thas there are men as well as machines, and that the immeasurably the more important We bonour them with adjectives and D.F.CA We expect them to do marvel- lous things and when they do. tako them for granted.

But here I was among them, seeing them as boyish creatures, unbelievably human. In spite of their ordeals and quite unspallt, My nine-year-old young

unselfconscious. ster has tho some always thrilling, zeat for fe

Blumped in üheir armchairs, they dia not talk about the deadly risks from which only a few minutes before they had escaped, nor about the enemy they had chased over the Channel-

Instead, two pliots arguod neatédly across mo at lunch as to how the hero of a boyish adventure serial was to Escape from his latest to-be-con- tinued "t

I doubt whether in all history there has ever been such a community of Arthur's Round Table was a men. lodge meeting of the Ancient Order of Buffaloes by "comparison,

Bir Lancelot was a Wolf Club "sixer" compared with any one of these men who, on occasion. have flown and fought for three days with only three hours sleep.

Bince May 20-the start of "Tho. Bhow." as they call it-fow of them isayo had leave. For seven days a week and for 2 hours a day with short snatches of sleep, they have bèm on the job,

BY RITCHIE CALDER

The squadrons of this station ne counted for 204 enemy planes in ten days. Their casualties were one to tie enemy's ten.

I have never heard a single grouse from any one of them," said a senior officer to me, “The most they ever any Is that they are tired. They are mar. voltous."

During one of the worst periods of "The Blitz,"fourteen of these indomit- able chaps found their way home out of enemy-occupied territory. invariably carting their cumbersome radio-tele- phones with them through the enemy I'mes.

"Dormouse

"

*R. T., allas radio-telephone." has given wliness of the amazing spirit of these men.

They use it to talk to each other un the air, but reception is so good, that when a squadron or a flight a convers ing among themselves, their crown-talk unknown to them, can often be picked up at ILQ

in the thick of dog-fights,' neavily engaged. Uey talk over T." through the barrage of death as unconcernedly an though they were shouting across the mess-room.

"Bay, George," calls out one," there's a 109 on your tail."

"Okay, pal! Il do as much for you." They watch over each other like brothers. On one occasion, two fighters had been sent to escort n defenceless plane which was bring- Ing an R.A.F. survivor off a French beach: One was flying above the clouds and the other boneath.

Back

*Operations" in England, heard one call out:

*Come up here, pat, there's a swarm of 109'

All right. Keep them busy. I'm on my way upstairs."

The two boys engaged nine Messer. schmitts, shot down three, crippled three, more and sent the other three chasing of homo,

Recently, in the middle of a battle over the Channel, Dormouse," one of the be-medailed " babies” of the station, engaged and shot down an enemy machine. He reported his success.

Then he remarked casually, na though talking to himself, 'mt My engine's giving out I'll try and land beside that destroyer down there."

A DAUSO. Then-"It's on fire. I'm going down in stamer“

All Operations" could do was cali out Good luck the epitaph of inany a gallant air.

-Washes His Dog

Dormouse" was counted as dead Then lete the next night a Chief Petty It Olleer walked into Lite mess-room. was Dormouse in borrowed uniforin He had turned nis blazing plane over so that he fell out of the cockpit and pura. chuted alongside the destroyer

I

"We excised nim dawn patrol next morning. sald the senior oficer who told me of the incident, "so that he was not due in the air un next forenoon

"When we supposed he was sleeping. we found him washing his dog. always give Wimpy a both when i have mine and I and one yesterday' he said." 1 met Dormouse." to is just a youngster with a mop of curia, the son of a missionary,

He gets his nickname vecause he is so quiet and unobtrusive and has a facility. shared with several of his messmates. for curling up in any chair and going to aleep.

When I saw him, in the rather dle- nevelled mess of one of the busiest ad. vance stations, which is in Britain's Front Line." he had just come in from eight hours over the Channel

He was not resting. He was casually filling up his diary.

tle and the others were ilable to go up at any moment. The planes were wali- Ing. and suddenly they would be hurt- ling skywards seeking or delivering death

These neroes of a nundred fights did not talk like heroes. They behaved like rather boisterous schoolboys at "break and talked of everything, except air battles.

Tremendous Odds

I induced two of then to talk of the nghting over the French coast. They had been up against tremendous odds. fighting their way in, fighting their way out, fghting their way back again, fight- ing night and day.

When I die," said one with mock drama "like, Bloody Mary they'll find Onlain written on my heart."

"When I die," cut in his pal, prosaic- ally, considering the hours I was in Lint cockpit, they'll and 'Spitfire' written on my behind:"

When the summona came, a bunch of them were in the middle of a game of darus.

As they clattered through the meas door, one of them called back over his shoulder to the orderly, "Don't let'any. one touch that double-six. I'll daláh my throw when I get back.”

Bometimes the darts game la tiever finished,

But that is the manner of men they' are-joking with death, fooling with risks, laughing with life, wearing their glory as unconcernedly as they wear their averyday clothes"-tunics torn and scorched by the bullets of past engagementa.

EUROPE'S LARDER Adequate Say Germans

LONDON, Mar. 21 (Reuter)--The European food situation is candidly discussed in the Tebruary issue of the German magazine "Signal.

The continent normally covers, Id per cent. of its own food require- ments, the bad harvests in one country being covered by the good harveals in other areas, It is stated.

The continent normally covers 00 per cent. of its own needs in whent, 98 per cent, in rye and barley, and 10 per cent, of oats. *

The only shortages are maize, todder and grains and these will be mode good by Intensive organisation and by slaughtering the surplus cattle,

the northern countries specially in

Despite this, the continent can leover its own needs of fat and cheese

because before the outbreak of war · these commodities were largely ex- ported to Britain.

The writer declares that in food supplies Germany is beller off now than in 1913 without counting her "new reserved.

"

Anglo-Iraqi Relations

Alliance Reaffirmed BAGHDAD, Mar. 21 (Reuter).——— "Frank and sincere talles have been reassuring to both parties while a survey of the present position in the Middle East

has confirmed the necessity of co-operation between the two Allies within the limits of the Anglo-Iraqi Trealy," declares the Foreign Minister, Tewilk Bey Suweida, in a statement concerning his recent meeting with Mr Anthony Eden, the British Foreign Secretary, in Cairo,

The Minister further said: "It was natural that I should avail myself of the opportunity of meeting Mr Eden to exchange views regarding the relations between our allied countries. I have also been in touch with other responsible British people in the Middle East and I am glad to say that the talks have been most reassuring to both parties.

"Iraq Interest is always in evading the calamities of war while fully carrying out obligations to her Ally."

S'hai Money

Market

Sterling Loophole

LONDON, Mar. 21 (Reuter).-The recent easiness of the Chinese dollar is ascribed here to the Chinese Stabilisation Fund's unwillingness to support the free market and not to the inability of the Fund to do since doubtless retains large resources as the result of the recent United States credit.

80

Negotiations are pr

proceeding to pre- vent sterling help to the fund from feeding the Shanghai murket which is the main loophole in the sterling exchange control.

Some quarters propose a Sino- British payments agreement with the familiar special-accounts but giving Chinese sterling holders more latitude than is usual clsewhero in view of the international complexity of the Shanghai market.

Eastern Supply Council

Members Gather In India

NEW DELHI, Mar. 21 (Reuter).~~ The Eastern Group Council · begins functioning here in a few days with the arrival in India of the New Zealand representative.

Other members of the Council from Australia, South Afrien, India and the United Kingdom Chairman, Sir have alrendy Archibald Carter,

EL press arrived and are

are attending

conference this morning.

A member stated that there is no question of limiting supplies from India and to obtain them from other parts of the Eastern Empire Group. of the Council is

The whole production In every

to stimulate

country in the la formed to facilitate

The Council

the practical carrying out of the policy laid down at the Eastern Group (whether in the field or in their own countries) is to proceed as the smoothly as possible and with smallest drain on shipping.

War Already Won Says Ribbentrop

Hungarian's Audience LONDON, Mar. 21 (Reuter)~~The wer is already decided in favour of Germany and her Allies and the events in 1041 "will compel our enemy to admit his defeat," declored Herr von Ribbentrop, German For- eign. B

Minister, in his

of wel-

come to the new Hungarian Foreign

The

con-

Minister, M. de Bardossy.

Bardossy was received by Hitler In Munich to-day and had a versation with

Fuehrer lasting more than an hour and a half, says the official German news agency,

Herr von Ribbentrop was present during the conversation, which took place in the atmosphere of tradition. al, cordial friendship which unites Germany and Hungary,"

Japanese Youth

LONDON, Mar. 21 (Router)—Dr. Goebbels to-day received the Japan- Youth Movement delegation which is now visiting Germany, ac- cording to the German news agency.

све