CANADA AND THE WAR.

Press, Volume LI, Issue 15393, 25 September 1915, Page 9

CANADA AND THE WAR.

ITEMS OF INTEREST. (FHOU OLE OWN" CORRESPONDENT.) TORONTO, August 27. More than 1700 6killed mechanics, mostly riveters and turners, have been secured in Canada for British munitions factories by Messrs AVm. AVindliam and G. N. Barnes, M.P., who came to this country in May on behalf of the British Government to secure iron and steel workers for the arsenal and naval works in the British Isles. These 1710 men have all sailed for England under contract with the "War Office. Each was given a thorough test before being accepted, and they were picked from about 15,000 applicants all over Canada. The Commissioners visited every industrial centre in the Dominion, and believe they have picked up every man available. About SO per cent, of the men chosen have had previous training in British munitions or naval works, and all are guaranteed return passage to Canada, after the war is over. These 1710 men, Mr "Windham says, arc worth at the present time to* the War Office in connexion with the speeding of munitions output two or three times that number of men on the firing-line. Almost every member „of tho Manitoba Grain-Growers' Association has

promised to give ono acre of his crop to patriotic purposes tms year. It is expected tnat at least lo,uou acres will tuus be contributed, tne proceeds oi wmch wouid mean considerably moro than 2UO,UOU dollars. One of ttie most unique pledges yet recorded is that of the members of the congregation of ot. Matthew's Anglican Church, Ottawa, who havo deemed to contribute a steady 6tream of mach-ine-guns, at the rate of one etery month, until tho war is over. • lk-sides doing well in indiviaual gifts and otherwise helping in the various Patriotic Funds, the staff of the Ontai io Parliament Buildings have undertaken to give a machi no-gun and will probablv furnish the men also to man it If this is done, the Acting-Premier promised that the Government would allow them full pay and keep their positions open for them. Tho faculty at tho Ontario Agricultural College, Guelph, is giving two guns, and the district representatives of the Department of Agriculture throughout tho province are contributing another. The oldest member of tho Red Cross Secietv in the world is l>ollo^-fd, to Chec-Poos-Ta-Tin ("Pointed Cap ). 10, vears of ago last November, who drew his treatv money a short time ac°. and at once proceeded to the Red Cross headquarters on the File Indian Reserve m Saskatchewan, and paid his two ttoilars membership fee, taking with him many of his followers, who '>ear the descriptive names of "Hod Walker," "Owl." "Sitting-before-tho-Fire," ''Crooked Xose," and ' Chief Star Blanket." All the officers and members of this branch of tho society are Indians. The Society originated m tho late spring, when the killing at the front of the adopted son of the Indian Agent on the reserve roused tho Indians to do something to avenge his death, and several of the young men at once joined the battalion in W mnipeg. while all the rest of the people on the reserve, out 1 ana young, women as well as men, tooU up tno woik oi proviumg comioits tor tae soldiers overseas. ine.v he id baud concerts, knitted socKs ana nuuners, etc., and tneir work was in every ease found equal, and m many, superior to tliat ot their win to fellow-workers. \S hile working lor the lied Cross this band has not neglected the other funds being raisod tor relief purposes, having contributed more than 3UO dollars to tiie Belgian Relief Fund.

With a view to ensuring at reasonable prices a Canadian" suppiy ot relined sine, suitably for use in tho production of brass for the manufacture of quick-firing cartridge cases for shells, the Government has passed an Order-in-Council providing for bounties on refined zine produced in Canada from Canadian ores. The order is tentative, and will not go into effect unless the war is ended before July 31st, 1917, for tho reason that the zinc refiners are willing to put- in the necessary plant only on a guarantee that tho orders from the Shell Committee shall be sufficient to defray the oost of installing tho plants and give a legitimate profit, or also that in the event of the war coming to a close before the time mentioned. the bounty shall bo payable up to that date. In any case, it is provided that the total amount of bounties to be paid shall not exceed 400,000 dollars. Hitherto zinc ores havo not been refined in Canada. It is probable that a similar arrangement may bo announced later in regard to the refining of copoer from Canadian ore in Canada. copper being also requisite for the mp.nufacturo of fixed ammunition. An adequate supnlv of brass being now assured, the Shell Committee is in a position to go abend with the filling of orders for many million dollars' worth of loaded shells for the War Office.

That the war has greatly curtailed Canadian imports of luxuries and things other than the necessaries of life, is indicated in the decline of moro than eleven million dollars in the value of imports of carriages, carts, cars, ctc., during the year ending with May than during the previous twelve month period, tho totals being 7,420,000 dollars, as compared with 18,.>60,000 dollars. Imports of silks fell oft by two millions; tobacco more than a million; precious stones by 1,300,000 dollars; watches by 600,000 dollars; books, periodicals, etc., moro than a million, electrical apparatus by threo millions; fancy goods 1,800,000 dollars; furs by 1,309,000 dollars; fruits 2,500,000 dollars; and of manufactures of iron and {steel by nearly fifty million dollars, or more than 45 ner cent. Tho total imports of merchandise were 430,139,167 dollars, as against 591,3-10,902 dollars for the twelve months previous, a docrease of nearly 30 'per cent. Canadians are now drinking more tea and less ale. beer and other liquors than formerly ; the importations of tea for the year ending May 31st, amounting to 7,5<>1,950 dollars, an increase of a little over a million dollars; while those of ale, beer, and porter were only 573,189 dollars, as compared with 1,273,570 dollars. Another effect of the war on trade currents is shown in the fact that Canada imported from tho United States goods to the value of 420,000,000 dollars, or 29 millions moro than tho preceding twolvemdhth, but from Great Britain 81,023,000 dollars, or forty millions less; while Canadian exports to the United States were valuod at 220,000,000 dollars, a gain of 14 millions, but, to Great Britain 234,009,000 dollars, an increase of eighteen millions.

The national thrift engendered of tho war and the scarcity, coupled with the increased excise taxes, has effected a great reduction in the amount of money spent by Canadians on smoking and drinking. Spirits consumed, as reported by the Inland Revenue Department for the last fiscal year, totalled nearly BC0,(X)O gallons less than during the preceding year. 48,0!X),CC0 fewer cigars and 27,000,C00 fewer cigarettes were smoked. This marks the first slackening in the growth of men's expensive habits fo:- some years in Canada, tho last decreases in the nationpl consumption of liquors and tobaccos synchronising witli the financial • depression of nearly twenty years ago. sinco when tho nation's drink and tobacco bill has been steadily mounting. JJren with the decreased consumption of .the past year, however, tho totals arc decidedly large. "Of cigars, there were consumed 23G,56fi.»42. as compared with 258,210,892 in 1013-11 r and cl cigarettes 1,030,13(5,{>0G, as compared with 1,110.023.170 in 1013-11. Averaging the retail price of cigars at 7 cents and of cigarettes at li cents, this means about 03 million dollars spent on these two luxuries alone last year in Canada, sufficient to pay the interest on the war debt for four or five years.

The total consumption or spirits was 4,072,187 gallons, as compared with 4,831.110 gallons tho previous year. Per capita consumption of liquors is on the down grade, after several years of steady upward tendency, last year being 1.872 gallons, as compared with 1.116 gallons the year before, and being now lower than at any time since 1903. Of beer last year the per capita consumption was 0.071 gallons, the year before 7.2 gallons; of wines .118 of a gallon, as against ,124»in 1913-11. The tobacco consumption decreased per capita nearly* one-third, being 2.442 pounds, as compared with 3.711. The total quantity entered for consumption last year was 20,664,405 pounds, of which 15,723.320 i>ounds was in raw leaf. Cigarette users paid in cxcise last year 3,004,822 dollars, an increase of nearly 200,000 dollars for tho year, in spite of the decreased consumption. Of the 213 Toronto men in the Princess Patricia's Own Canadian Light Infantry, the first Canadian Regiment to get to the fighting line, composed exclusively of veterans of other wars, only ten were still on tho effective list when one of the woundod returned to his homo hero on the Ist instant, having been discharged on account of medical unfitness to servo further. On tho fato-

ful Sth of May (the 4th was had enough) "tho Pats." mustered, at the beginning only 635 men, a good deal less than half tho origins) total, but at night there remained of the 635 only 150 men and four officers fit for duty.