1943: Accidents And Accident Prevention

Accidental deaths in the United States decreased during 1943, for the second successive year. However, the decrease amounted to only 1½ per cent, leaving a death total of 94,500 for the year. There were, in addition, 9,700,000 non-fatal injuries during 1943, of which 320,000 involved some degree of permanent disability, and the remainder caused at least one day's temporary disability.

The reduction of 1,500 fatalities, as compared with 1942, was made possible by a reduction of 5,000 in motor vehicle deaths and 500 in occupational fatalities. These decreases were partially offset by increases in home and public (not motor vehicle) fatalities.

The reduction in motor vehicle fatalities, amounting to 18 per cent, was matched by a similar decline in the amount of motor vehicle mileage. In the first six months of 1943, deaths decreased appreciably more than would have been expected from the decline in travel, but this favorable showing was offset by advancing figures during the latter half of the year.

The reduction in occupational deaths was achieved under wartime conditions that included not only increased employment and many more man-hours of work, but the added hazards of top speed production, new and untrained workers, and the introduction of increasing thousands of women to industrial jobs.

Accidents are estimated to have cost the nation $5,000,000,000 in 1943, including wage losses (present and future), medical expense, overhead costs of insurance, production delays, damage to equipment, and property damage from traffic accidents and fires. The enormity of the nation's accident losses during 1943 impressed itself more forcibly than ever before on civilian and military leaders. This was largely because man-power shortages in almost every branch of production focused attention on the seriousness of work absences resulting from accidents.

Recognizing the importance of safety to the nation's war effort, President Roosevelt called upon 'the National Safety Council and all other safety forces of the nation' to renew their efforts in the 'battle against carelessness.' The armed services translated the President's orders into action. Many branches of the Army, the Air Forces, the Navy, and other military units put into effect full scale safety programs, both for their own personnel and for the private industries furnishing war materials. In arms plants, in plane factories, in shipyards, and every other war production industry, there was clear recognition of the need for conserving man power through correcting the unsafe conditions and unsafe practices responsible for disabling injuries. In the armed forces, too, positive efforts were made to avoid casualties in training that would prevent men from reaching the fighting front.

Leaders in every phase of safety activity joined in the 32nd National Safety Congress and Exposition, held in Chicago in October. The National Safety Council reported that this convention was the largest in its history, with an attendance of 10,000. One hundred seventy-five different sessions were held, dealing with industrial, traffic, home, school and farm safety. In addition to this national congress, there were some 40 regional safety conferences in various parts of the country, bringing together safety directors and other interested persons in their respective areas. Continuous year-round safety programs were carried on in most of the larger cities.

A feature of the year's activity was the regionalizing of organized safety efforts. The National Safety Council established regional offices in New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, and Atlanta, and expanded its field force for the purpose of establishing community safety organizations. The Council also inaugurated a 'chapter plan,' making it possible for community groups to become integral parts of the national organization.

Safety received greater attention through the radio, newspapers, magazines, and other educational media than in any previous year. This expanded publicity brought home to an increasing number of citizens the importance of constant attention to safe practices. American industry, which has pioneered in the safety movement for the past 30 years, made possible an enlarged program of public, home, and school safety through its contributions to the National Safety Council's War Production Fund. This financial assistance was the means whereby the Council's educational efforts on a nation-wide scale were greatly enlarged. Industrial support of programs for non-industrial safety was felt to be well justified on the grounds that in most industries four industrial employees are killed in accidents which occur off the job for every three killed on the job.

While recognizing that safety during the war had to be considered primarily as a campaign to 'save man power for war power,' the National Safety Council and other organized safety groups did not lose sight of the importance of planning for postwar safety.

This safety planning pertained to industry, traffic, and other fields of safety effort. While the return of peace will reduce accident exposure in some fields, it will be greatly increased in others. The Council's committees are developing programs for coordinating the efforts of industry, government agencies, and other groups so that preventive efforts can be quickly directed at those hazards which may be inclined to increase when the war ends. The needs of war have driven home the fact that accidents represent a needless waste of productive power. It is the hope of the National Safety Council and of safety authorities, generally, that the nation will continue the same vigorous efforts to curb accident losses in peace as have been developed during the war.

1942: Zoology

Reports on Mammals.

The finding of two muskrats with fur of a peculiar wavy type has been reported by Dr. H. L. Dozier of the U. S. Fur Animal Field Station. He reports this as a rare occurrence and suggests that this condition may be hereditary. However, E. A. McIlhenny, a naturalist, later reports that numerous permanently waved specimens are found each year on his muskrat farm. This worker considers the wavy condition due to the rats having been scorched by fire. This problem might easily be settled by experimentally determining whether heredity or external environmental factors such as heat were the determining causes.

As a part of the program to further investigate reproduction in the muskrat, Dr. T. R. Forbes of the Fish and Wildlife Service, U. S. Department of the Interior, Swarthmore, Pa., has determined by histological study that the male muskrat in Maryland begins spermatogenesis in the middle of December and the female starts ovulation in the middle of February with seasonal gonadal activity terminating in both sexes approximately during the latter part of October.

David B. Cook, of the New York State Conservation Department, reported on the food habits of the beaver. It is generally recognized that beaver relish the bark on trees. However, it is also recognized now that these animals also feed on grass, roots, tubers, seed heads, and flowers.

The Forest Service reported that the Rocky Mountain goats, found only in the United States, and heretofore only in Washington, Idaho, and Montana, are now existing in the Black Hills of South Dakota. A few of these animals escaped while on exhibition in South Dakota and have adjusted themselves so well to this environment that the herd has now increased to twenty-five through the natural process of reproduction.

The Newfoundland Department of Natural Resources has completed a survey of the island with the thought of introducing either the American white-tail or the English red deer. At the present time only the black bear and the woodland caribou are native to Newfoundland and the moose has been the only large game animal which has been introduced and become established with any degree of success up to this time.

Prof. A. R. Shadle and W. R. Ploss of the University of Buffalo report what is believed to be only the second case on record of the birth of a porcupine in captivity. The young animal had its incisor teeth well developed and was able to exhibit regular porcupine defense reactions. The infant continued nursing until it was three and one-half months old. This is another instance in which zoologists are better able to obtain life history studies of animals when little of this sort has been reported heretofore.

British Columbia authorities report that experiments are now being conducted on the feeding of fur-bearing animals with sea-lions. The latter have heretofore been considered a major nuisance by West Coast fishermen because of the number of fish they consume. However, the problem of how to obtain these sea-lions in sufficient amounts for food at a low cost has not been worked out satisfactorily as yet.

Reports on Birds.

R. E. Danforth of Noank, Conn., reports that black-capped chickadees make a substantial part of their winter diet on 'jumping plant-lice' along the Connecticut shore. The plant-lice of two species, Calophya flavida and C. nigripennis were found upon sumacs in this region and the birds were observed eating, not only the fruit clusters, but also the lice from the stems.

Dr. W. S. Bullough of the University of Leeds reports that the starling may be a responsible carrier of hoof-and-mouth disease. Heretofore, authorities have succeeded in stamping out each outbreak of the disease soon after its discovery, but the origin of the disease has remained undiscovered. The migrating starling, as a carrier of the virus, now is considered a possibility and further studies will no doubt prove whether this is the case or not.

Drs. P. D. Dalke, W. K. Clark, Jr., and L. J. Korschgen of the Missouri Cooperative Wildlife Unit have shown that wild turkeys are great destroyers of harmful beetles. They have shown that turkeys in the Ozark region of Missouri feed on grasshoppers, stinkbugs, beetles, and ants for about 25 per cent of their diet while the other 75 per cent is made up of grass seeds, acorns, etc.

Aquatic Life.

C. N. Feast, director of the Colorado Game and Fish Commission, has discovered that trout raised in a hatchery can be distinguished from those that are hatched and grown in their native habitat by an examination of their dorsal fins. Mr. Feast states that trout grown to legal size in a hatchery have dorsal fins somewhat degenerated through crowding. When these fish are released in streams the fins develop, but malformations of various sorts are the usual case. Hence, this serves as a mark of identification which is generally sufficiently accurate to allow for observations on percentages in stream surveys.

C. E. Porter of Santiago, Chile, and W. L. Schmitt of Washington, D. C., report the identification of a free-living fresh water jellyfish from South America. Mr. Fick, an engineer, collected the specimen near Quilqué, a Province of Valparaíso, in March and sent it to the above authors for identification. This record is the first for the free-living fresh water medusae, Craspedacusta somerbii (Lankester), from South America.

Dr. Harvey Bassler of the American Museum of Natural History, New York, reports an account of an attack of a sting-ray on man. Authentic personal records of such occurrences are rare with none heretofore authentically reported from the Amazon Basin. From the brief account reported by the above author, it appears that the sting-ray's sting is definitely poisonous to man. While not fatal, evidently the sting is accompanied with almost unendurable pain.

Dr. Clarence R. Shoemaker of the U. S. National Museum Scientific staff has recently described a small crustacean animal and named it in honor of President Roosevelt. This new species known as Neomeganphopus roosevelti, is an important item in the diet of fish in Magdalena Bay on the coast of Lower California. It was collected on the 1938 Presidential cruise, by Dr. W. L. Schmitt of the Museum staff.

Extinct Fauna.

Another large mammal has recently been added to the extinct pre-tundra fauna known from Alaska. This mammal, a ground sloth known technically as representing a species of the Megalonyx, was found during extensive explorations of the Childs Frick Expedition in cooperation with the University of Alaska. The site of discovery, as reported by Chester Stock of the California Institute of Technology, occurs on Cripple Creek, approximately fifteen miles Southwest of Fairbanks. Heretofore, this genus has been associated with the Pleistocene forest faunas of the more southerly regions of North America. The occurrence in Alaska, therefore, extends the geographic range considerably to the north of its previously known distribution.

Fossils, mainly ancient relatives of crabs and crayfish known as trilobites, have been found in a series of limestone strata long thought to be barren of such evidences.

The strata, known as the Maryville formation and of the mid-Cambrian age occurs in many regions in the chain of Eastern Mountains. These fossils are related to similar forms found in the Rocky Mountains and present further evidence that life existed half a billion years ago in a region where the Appalachian Mountains are now located.

1942: Yukon Territory

The completion of the Alaskan Highway by the United States in mid-November 1942 is expected to contribute greatly to the development of Yukon and the Northwest Territories. See CIVIL ENGINEERING.

1942: Yugoslavia

As the result of German aggression in April 1941 Yugoslavia has been temporarily divided up among its neighbors. Germany, Italy, Bulgaria and Hungary each took a part of Yugoslavia, while the remaining portions of the kingdom formed two puppet states, one Croatia (see CROATIA), an outright Fascist state, collaborating closely with Germany and Italy, the other Serbia, administered by a government under Gen. Milan Neditch, each occupied and supervised by Italian and German troops. Of the three racially and linguistically closely related peoples, the Serbs, the Croats and the Slovenes, the worst fate befell the Serbs and the Slovenes. The territory of the Slovenes was divided between Germany and Italy and annexed by these two nations. The deeply Catholic, peaceful people of Slovenia were driven out of their villages and when they resisted their enslavement, cruelly persecuted and many hundreds of them executed. Yugoslavia presents probably the most unhappy land in Europe, because it was not only divided among the conquerors — or rather it was divided up by the German conquerors between three nations, Italian, Bulgarian and Hungarian, who had contributed nothing to the conquest and only afterwards had tried to get their share of the flesh of the helpless victim — but it is also torn by internal dissensions between Democrats and Fascists, between Serbs and Croats.

To the terror and cruelty of the occupying armies of Germans, Italians, Hungarians and Bulgarians must be added the bitterness of civil war. Thus the number of Yugoslavs killed by the invaders or in internal warfare has been estimated for the last 18 months at no less than 500,000, among them many women and children. In many instances whole villages were destroyed and all the inhabitants killed.

Armed Resistance.

In the mountains of central Serbia the remnants of the Yugoslav regular army resisted the German and Italian attempts to destroy them. They were under the command of Gen. Dragoljub Mihailovich, who succeeded in building up an army which was believed at one time to number as many as 150,000 men. Though this army suffered from lack of equipment, it carried on a most successful guerrilla warfare against the Axis conquerors. At various times it has gained control of large parts of Serbia, Bosnia, Herzegovina and Montenegro. It was helped everywhere by patriots and by the dissatisfied peasantry. It succeeded in raiding Axis garrisons and utilizing their supply stores, exterminating smaller Axis posts and even fighting some real battles with fully equipped enemy divisions. Besides regular soldiers many Chetniks or volunteers are fighting under General Mihailovich. The puppet governments of Serbia and Croatia have taken most energetic measures to annihilate and suppress the Chetnik movement, but they seem to have failed, in spite of the fact that the supplies of General Mihailovich ran low and that a dangerous split occurred in the ranks of the forces fighting the Axis. In any case, Yugoslavia is the only one of the occupied nations who maintained a real armed force in the field and did not confine itself to underground activity. It was helped in this by the mountainous and rugged character of the country and the fierce spirit of independence of its population.

In the second half of 1942 groups of partisans separated from General Mihailovich's army and opposed Mihailovich, though carrying on the fight against the Axis with great determination. It was reported that frequent clashes between the patriot army of General Mihailovich and the partisans occurred, in any case mutual recrimination and suspicions were voiced. The partisans who called themselves the 'people's army,' seemed to be under Communist leadership, though they included sincere patriots and some rather doubtful elements who were driven by despair to pillage and lawlessness. The people's army was apparently supported by the Soviet Union and Communist sources accused Mihailovich of connivance with the Fascists. Yet it seemed probable that Mihailovich wished only to maintain some army discipline and to preserve his forces until the day when the United Nations would be able to launch a Balkan offensive. In any case the Yugoslav fighters forced the Axis to maintain large forces in Yugoslavia.

Yugoslav Government.

The Yugoslav government in London continued its confidence in General Mihailovich. It named him Minister of War and Chief of Staff and gave him full military and administrative powers. The Yugoslav government was reconstituted on Jan. 12 when Slobodan Jovanovitch, a former professor of the University of Belgrade and well known for his liberal views, became Prime Minister.

The importance of Yugoslavia and her continuous resistance was recognized by the fact that the United States raised the Yugoslav legation to the rank of an embassy. The Yugoslav government tried also to prepare the way for a better peace in the Balkan peninsula after the war by concluding in January 1942 a treaty of confederation with the Greek government. This treaty anticipated the cooperation of the two nations in the field of foreign policy, of military defense and of economic matters. Special organizations were to be created to determine the details of the cooperation in these three fields and the confederation was to be regarded as the nucleus of a future Balkan union.

1942: Wyoming

Area and Population.

The eighth largest state in the Union, Wyoming has an area of 97,506 sq. mi., of which 320 are covered by water. Of the total, 3,426 sq. mi. are comprised within Yellowstone National Park, and 150 sq. mi. in the Grand Teton National Park.

The population was listed in 1940 as 250,742, of whom 93,577 were urban and 157,165 rural, the urban population having increased 33.5 per cent between 1930 and 1940, and the rural 1.1 per cent. Of the total population, 246,597 are whites, 956 Negroes, and 2,349 Indians.

In 1940 there were 89 incorporated towns in Wyoming, and of these only six had a population of 5,000 or over: Cheyenne, 22,474; Casper, 17,964; Laramie, 10,627; Sheridan, 10,529; Rock Springs, 9,827; and Rawlins, 5,531. The Japanese relocation center, built during the summer of 1942 near Cody, and named Heart Mountain, contains a population of approximately 11,385.

Education.

The public schools in Wyoming have an enrollment of 55,904 students, with a total of 71,445 persons of school age (6 to 21). The total number of public schools is 1,024, classified as follows: high schools, 96; elementary schools, 225; and rural schools, 703. The average annual salary of teachers is $1,152 for the elementary schools, and $1,388 for the secondary.

The total operating cost for Wyoming schools is slightly over $6,000,000 annually.

Wyoming schools have been quick to adjust their educational programs to the needs of the war emergency, and this is revealed by the fact that 31 of the high schools, or about one third, are now offering preflight aeronautics. Approximately 600 senior high school students are now receiving preliminary preflight training.

Many adjustments in the school program have been made to accelerate the training of youth for war service. Two thirds of Wyoming high schools are today offering some type of physical education program for their students. Offerings in both science and mathematics have been expanded in keeping with the recommendation of the Army and Navy, and other governmental agencies. Three or more full units of science are available in 70 per cent of the high schools, and in 31 per cent of the schools 4 or more units in science are offered. About 64 per cent of the high schools are offering three or more complete units in the field of mathematics.

Minerals.

Investigations conducted in connection with defense have established that there are more than a score of valuable minerals and compounds in Wyoming, including coal, iron, ferro-alloys, titanium, vanadium, chrome, manganese, bentonite, potash, phosphate, gypsum, limestone, dolomite, graphite, kyanite, silica, asphalt, vermiculite, mica, beryl, tin, and asbestos. The state has an estimated 1,761,000,000,000 tons of recoverable coal, 400,000,000 barrels of oil reserves, 250,000,000 of them asphaltic oil suitable for synthetic rubber, highway construction, and roofing material, besides petroleum coke and large reserves of natural gas.

Agriculture.

Wyoming is semi-arid, and agriculture is carried on by irrigation and by 'dry farming.' The state's principal crop is hay, with wheat ranking second. Other crops in order of importance are sugar beets, beans, corn, oats, barley and potatoes. Turkeys add approximately $500,000 yearly, to the farmers' income, and butter, cheese, milk and cream are estimated to be worth $1,500,000 annually.

Extensive migration of workers including farm laborers from the state, produced acute labor shortages during 1942. Even though there are few substantial war industries in Wyoming, the employment of women already far exceeds that of the last war. Railroads are employing more workers than at any time in history, and are overburdened by the impact of an unprecedented volume of business.

Agriculture sustained considerable losses due to labor scarcity during the harvest. This was partially offset by the participation of business men and school children in the harvest work, and by the employment of some of the Japanese from the War Relocation Center. The drain on manpower by selective service is a prime factor in hindering full mobilization of the mineral, agricultural, and industrial resources.

Defense.

Each of the twenty-three counties of the state has a Defense Council and some of the incorporated towns are also organized and function under a County Council.

In cooperation with the American Legion, a training school was held at Casper in July 1942, and more than one hundred persons from different parts of the state were trained in the work of the U. S. Defense Corps. Volunteers numbering 23,986, 9.6 per cent of the total population of Wyoming, are enrolled in Civilian Defense, with 10,103 having completed their training. This ranks Wyoming, on a per capita basis, second in organization in the Seventh Defense Region. The State Guard was organized as a unit of civilian defense in 1941, but has experienced a large turnover in members due to the numbers joining the armed forces or entering defense work elsewhere.

State Officers.

Governor, Dr. Lester C. Hunt; Secretary of State, Mart T. Christensen; Auditor, Wm. (Scotty) Jack; Treasurer, Earl Wright; Superintendent of Public Instruction, Esther L. Anderson.

United States Senators:

Joseph C. O'Mahoney, E. V. Robertson.

1942: World War II

Global Character of the Conflict.

The year 1942 saw the global war unfold itself in all its world-wide compass. The declarations of war by Japan and Germany and her satellites in December 1941 had forced the United States into war. In spite of the fact that the global intentions of the Fascist aggressor nations had been clearly manifest and even openly avowed, the United States was not sufficiently prepared. The result was that Japan could gain by its attack such an initial advantage against the American navy and air force at Pearl Harbor and in the Philippine Islands that she could launch her campaign of conquest for the first part of 1942 almost without any serious counter-challenge. The British, hard pressed by numerically superior enemies across the Channel and in the Near East, could not spare sufficient equipment to hold their Far-Eastern possessions. Thus the war began under unfavorable circumstances for the Allied nations. Yet this picture changed in the course of the year.

By the end of 1942 three factors, at least two of which came to many as a surprise, made themselves more and more felt: the growing mobilization of the technological, economic, and manpower resources of the United States of America — a most impressive achievement; the magnificent power of endurance and resilience of the Soviet armies and industry; and finally the surprising strength of Great Britain, which, though most savagely bombed from the air and beset by submarines on the seas, had been able to reach a peak of production especially in airplanes, which put it, at least in quality of its forces and matériel, at the top. By the end of 1942 it had become clear that the relative strength of the United Nations was growing, while that of the Axis was declining, a situation which in all probability will not only go on but become more and more pronounced and accelerated in the years to come. The only member of the United Nations in which improvement in conditions was not marked was China. Her situation had deteriorated. Responsible for that circumstance was the Japanese conquest of Burma, the backdoor to China and containing the starting point of the famous Burma Road over which China got the supplies from the United States and Great Britain, that enabled her to supply her army, at least partially, with the essential heavy equipment. The closing of the Burma Road rendered the military and economic position of China most difficult. In view of the need of equipment in Australia and India, the United States was unable to furnish China with any considerable number of military and transport planes to ease the situation. It was only the indomitable courage of the Chinese that made it possible for them to keep in the war and even to gain some advantages over the Japanese by local offensives. The British offensive from India against the Burmese Port of Akyab at the end of December, 1942, increased the hope that a full scale offensive would be launched early in 1943 against the Japanese in Burma.

1942: World Peace

Solidarity of the United Nations the First Essential.

In the year 1942, when the possibility of the victory of the United Nations became greater and greater, the public and private discussions of foundations for the coming peace grew in importance. It was generally agreed that the best, and probably even an indispensable, foundation of world peace would be the continued solidarity of the United Nations, which is also the absolute prerequisite of victory. It had been clear for some time that Germany, and to a lesser degree Japan, put hope in their ability, in case of defeat, to utilize the disunity among the victors for another trial at world domination, as they had done after 1918, when the victorious Allies began immediately to quarrel among themselves and to distrust one another, thus diverting their own attention from a lasting settlement with Germany. There is some hope that this fatal mistake will not be repeated. Already the name 'United Nations' binds the nations more closely together than they were held by the term 'Allied and Associated Nations.' Each of the United Nations knows today that she is fighting for her own survival, and that this survival is conditioned by a close cooperation. The lend-lease agreements also tend to create a much more closely-knit unity among the United Nations, in spite of their ideological and geographic differences. More important than anything else is the growing awareness of the public that peace in the twentieth century can never be found in isolation and national egotism, but only in international solidarity and responsibility. Both major parties in the United States are now pledged officially to a program of world peace by cooperation after the war.

Disarmament of Aggressor Nations a Second Essential.

The second important prerequisite of world peace, already accepted by all the United Nations, is the complete disarmament of the aggressor nations, a disarmament this time closely and strictly supervised, so as to make impossible such secret rearmament as Germany started in 1919 and fostered so that twenty years after Germany's defeat, she was the most powerfully armed nation on earth, while the victor nations — the United States, Great Britain and France — were materially and morally disarmed. But this supervision of the disarmament of the aggressor nations demands the closest collaboration of the United Nations after victory, a collaboration which must create its own permanent organs of executive, legislative, and judicial power.

Steps Already Taken Toward World Peace.

Resolutions of the American Republics.

Of official steps taken towards the establishment of world peace three sets of agreements should be mentioned, though all deal as yet only with partial or regional problems. One is the set of resolutions adopted at the conference of the foreign ministers of all American republics in Rio de Janeiro at the end of January 1942, laying down the rules for a closer military, economic, and diplomatic cooperation of all the American republics. All the American republics carried out these resolutions in letter and in spirit, except Chile and (especially) Argentina. But many American republics, among them the two most populous, Mexico and Brazil, entered the war against the Axis and thus expressed full solidarity with the cause of the United Nations. (In January 1943 Chile broke relations with the Axis.)

Agreements Made by Baltic and Balkan Nations.

Another set of agreements concerns Central Europe, the most important belt of many nationalities and states from the Baltic to the Aegean Sea which forms a barrier against German and Russian expansion. The existence of these national states not only accords with the demands of justice for all nations, small and large alike, but it is also one of the necessities of peace; however, only under the condition that these nations collaborate most closely. Otherwise, their disunion makes them an easy prey and a temptation for the aggressive desires of their more powerful neighbors. The disunion and mutual jealousies of the nations of eastern and central Europe and of the Balkans facilitated the designs of the aggressors. In the year 1942 the foundations were laid for a closer collaboration of the nations of that region. On Jan. 15, 1942, the governments of Greece and Yugoslavia concluded an agreement concerning the constitution of a Balkan union. The agreement promises coordination of the foreign policy and of the military preparations of the two nations and the elaboration of a common economic plan with a customs union and the common development of all means of communication. A similar agreement between the governments of Poland and Czechoslovakia, concluded on Jan. 23, 1942, went even further in establishing a confederation to assure a common policy with regard to foreign affairs, defense, economic and financial matters, social questions, transport, posts, and telegraphs. Both these unions expressed their desire to welcome other states of the region as members and to cooperate in establishing a strong basis for peace from the Baltic to the Aegean Sea.

Treaty Between Britain and the Soviet Union.

Yet the most important, and easily the first major step in the right direction, is the treaty between Great Britain and the Soviet Union, May 26, 1942. It established not only a pact of mutual assistance during the war, but, for at least twenty years, the basis of close cooperation in the maintenance of peace in Europe. It removed the danger of conflicting spheres of interest of the two great powers in post-war Europe. The alliance is not regarded as an exclusive Soviet-British concern, but as a nucleus for union with other like-minded states for common action to preserve peace. The agreement expressed the determination of the two countries not to seek any territorial expansion and not to interfere in the internal affairs of other nations.

The United States and Canada.

Though not yet formally concluded, a similar step towards the coming peace was taken in an exchange of notes between the United States and Canada, made public on Dec. 1, which set forth the principles guiding the two governments in approaching post-war problems. They were looking forward to the early beginning of conversations with the other United Nations, with the view to establishing now the foundations upon which there may be created after the war a better system of production, exchange, and consumption of goods for the satisfaction of human needs in all countries willing to join in the effort. Canada and the United States are already bound together by the Agreement of Ogdensburg for the joint defense of the two countries and by the Agreement of Hyde Park for economic collaboration in the production of war materials for Great Britain. The agreements with Canada include the same statement as the lend-lease agreements with Great Britain, namely, that the two governments 'are engaged in a cooperative undertaking, together with every other nation or people of like mind, to the end of laying the basis of a just and enduring world peace, securing order under law to themselves and all nations.' Post-war settlements must promote economic relations advantageous on a world-wide scale. The two governments hope, in cooperation with all other countries of like mind, for the elimination of all forms of discriminatory treatment in international commerce, and the reduction of tariffs and other trade barriers. In their conversations the two governments 'will seek to furnish to the world concrete evidence of the ways in which two neighboring countries that have a long experience of friendly relations and a high degree of economic interdependence, and that share the conviction that such reciprocally beneficial relations must form part of a general system, may promote by agreed action their mutual interests to the benefit of themselves and other countries.'

Declarations in the Speeches of Statesmen.

In addition to these official treaties and agreements shaping the future of world peace, many important official declarations were made in speeches of responsible statesmen. The most important official declaration on the part of the United States was an address by Mr. Cordell Hull, the Secretary of State, on July 23, 1942, in which he pointed out that 'the conflict now raging throughout the earth is not a local or regional war or even a series of such wars. On the side of our enemy it is an attempt to conquer every country. On our side it is a life-and-death struggle for the preservation of our very existence. We are united in our determination to destroy the world-wide forces of ruthless conquest and brutal enslavement.' After the war the nations must create 'some international agency which can — by force, if necessary — keep the peace among nations in the future.' Peace presupposes respect for law and obligations. 'One of the institutions which must be established and be given vitality is an international court of justice. It is equally clear that the United Nations must exercise surveillance over aggressor nations. Until such time as the latter demonstrate their willingness and ability to live at peace during the formative period of the world organization, interruption by these aggressors must be rendered impossible.' Finally, barriers hindering international trade must be removed. These were the foundations of a lasting world peace as foreseen by the American Secretary of State. 'Without impediment to the fullest prosecution of the war the United Nations should from time to time formulate and proclaim their common views regarding fundamental policies which will chart for mankind a wise course based on enduring spiritual values. In support of such policies, an informed public opinion must be developed. Never did so great and so compelling a duty in this respect devolve upon those who are in positions of responsibility, public and private.'

A similar spirit animates the address delivered by Mr. Sumner Welles, Under Secretary of State, at the Arlington National Amphitheater on May 30, 1942. He predicted that the United States and the other United Nations would disarm the aggressors and share in an international police power, to insure freedom from fear to peace-loving peoples, until a permanent system of international security should be firmly established. He saw in the United Nations the nucleus of a world organization of the future. At the same time 'a new frontier of human welfare' would be set up by a better distribution of the products of world economy among the peoples of the world. 'When the victory is won the people of the United States will once more be afforded the opportunity to play their part in the determination of the kind of world in which they will live. With courage, with vision, they can yet secure the future safety of their country and of its free institutions and help the nations of the earth back into the path of peace.' Other important speeches by leading American statesmen were the address delivered by Vice President Henry A. Wallace in New York on May 8, 1942, and the address by Herbert Hoover, former President of the United States, on Dec. 16, 1942.

Punishment of War Criminals an Essential.

One of the essential prerequisites in establishing a lasting world peace is the punishment of war criminals. The governments of Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Free France, Greece, Norway, the Netherlands, Poland, Luxemburg, and Yugoslavia pledged themselves on Jan. 13 to exact swift retribution of everyone guilty of perpetrating atrocities in the occupied countries. China demanded similar action against Japan. The governments in exile, joined this time by the governments of the United States, of Great Britain, and of the Soviet Union, adopted in December a joint declaration condemning the bestial Nazi policy that aims at the extermination of the Jews and warning that these crimes will not escape retribution.

Organizations Working for Lasting Peace.

As Secretary Hull emphasized, informed public opinion is the necessary prerequisite for the establishment of a lasting peace. A number of private organizations are active in that field, among them the Commission to Study the Organization of Peace (in New York City), the Commission to Study the Basis of a Just and Durable Peace (Federal Council of Churches in America), and Federal Union, which hopes and works for the establishment of a democratic world federation. It is interesting to note that in the elections of Nov. 3, 1942, the Massachusetts Committee of Federal Union succeeded in submitting to the voters in 42 electoral districts of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts a referendum as to whether or not they favor initiative by the United States Government for establishment of a democratic world government. The districts chosen represented a cross section of the whole state, districts with Republican as well as with Democratic majorities, rural and urban districts, districts with predominantly old American stock and districts with predominantly more recent immigrant stock. All the districts voted in favor of the resolution, always with a large majority, which averaged about 3 to 1 in favor of world government. The referendum has clearly shown that the American public is veering towards peace by international collaboration and collective security.