■ I ■ -» - ' * * * ■ ■ -- - ■■ - .. — . ■ ■■ I .. I ..■ ... I Governments of Many Nations Changed As Liberating Armies Advanced in 1944 CommonPeopleGet Chance to Establish Democratic States Governmental changes that shared world importance with the war news marked the year 1944. Iceland became a repub lic; five Soviet Socialist repub lics again took their places in the U. S. S. R.; four Nazi shackled countries were liber ated; and three Axis satellites deserted. A year-end bulletin from the National Geographic society reviews these momen tous events. On June 17 Iceland became a modem republic. On that day the Althing—an 11-centuries-old legisla tive body sometimes called the “Grandmother of Parliaments”— elected the nation's former regent, Sveinn Bjornsson, president. In a national election held in May the people had voted to dissolve their union with Denmark. First settled in 874 and organized as a republic 56 years later, Iceland was independent until 1263 when it joined with Norway. Both Iceland and Norway came under Danish rule in 1381. Norway was sepa rated from Denmark by cession to Sweden in 1814, and the two coun tries formed a union which lasted until 1905 when the union was end ed by mutual agreement. Iceland ers had long agitated for independ ence, but it was not realized until 1918. Iceland was then recognized as a separate kingdom with unlim ited sovereignty. Germany tried in prewar years to get control of this strategic North Atlantic island by establishing com mercial routes. British forces were stationed on the island shortly after the beginning of World War II. They were replaced in 1941 by American units. D — __A_o n n Re-enter U.S.S.R. Five other republics, 1,500 miles or more to the east, resumed their prewar status. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, freed from Nazi occupa • tion, again became a part of the Soviet Union as Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Re publics. All three had first entered . the Union in 1940. I The Karelo-Finnish Republic, far ther to the north, was the fourth to be added to the Soviet family. It also had first entered the Union in 1940. Its border city of Viipuri guards the western approach to the city of Leningrad. Russia’s new Arctic port of Pecheng (Petsamo), acquired from Finland in Septem ber, extended Russian boundaries westward to Norway. The fifth state restored to Russia in 1914 is the Moldavian Soviet So cialist Republic, a slice of territory lying between the Ukrainian Repub lic and Romania. Once known as Bessarabia, this area has experi enced a round of governmental changes. Before World War I it was Russian ground; from 1918 to 1940 it belong to Romania. It was turned back to Russia in 1940 and set up as a republic of the Union, only to be reoccupied by Romania the next year. To four German dominated na tions — France, Belgium, Luxem bourg and Greece—freedom came toward the close of the year. France, whose liberation was her alded by Allied landings on the Nor mandy coast, June 6, was almost completely free by the middle of September. General Charles de Gaulle’s Com mittee of National Liberation was recognized on October 23 by the U. S. state department as the de facto government of France. On Septem ber 21 President Roosevelt appoint Gen. Charles De Gaulle, head of the provisional government of France, reviews the 1944 Armistice day parade in Paris, flanked by Win ston Churchill and Anthony Eden of Great Britain. France was formally invited to become a member of the European Advisory committee by the British statesmen. Record-Breaking Dams Are Constructed During the Year The Kentucky dam, on the Ieu nessee river near Paducah, became the 21st dam in operation under the Tennessee Valley authority. Its 184-mile reservoir, longest In TVA. provides 4H million acre-feet of wa ter storage space, which would be enough to absorb two feet of Mis sissippi river flood crest at Cairo. Illinois Nearing completion is Fon < tana, largest and highest dam in I the eastern United Stales, on the Little Tennessee river in North Car- j ouna u is me oniy orner iva aam now under construction. Biggest rolled-flil earthen dam in the world is the Denison (Texas) dam on the Red river, completed early in the year by army engi neers. Its 127.000-acre lake backs 80 miles up the Red river to Gaines ville, Texas, and 60 miles up the Washita river to Ravia, Okla. To save Oklahoma's Cumberland oil Held, the Washita was detoured by construction of 4Vi miles of dikes. The president of the newly established Icelandic republic, Sveinn Bjornsson, addresses the nation by radio on June 17, 1944, the day the island dissolved its union with Denmark. ed Jefferson Caffery, former United States ambassador to Brazil, as am bassador to the French government now established in Paris. On Ar mistice day France was formally in vited to become a full-fledged mem ber of the European advisory com mission meeting in London. Belgium’s Regent. Belgium, whose national liberation released its own governing agencies, immediately took steps to restore its prewar standing. In the ab I Crown Prince Umberto was named Prince Lieutenant General of the Realm of Italy by his father, King Victor Emanuel, who abdicated when Allied troops entered the capi tal In June, 1944. sence of King Leopold III, held in Germany, 41 - year - old Prince Charles, brother of the king, be came “Regent of the Realm," to act until the king returns. In September, the tiny Duchy of Luxembourg, neighbor of France, Belgium and Germany, celebrated its freedom from four years of Nazi tyranny. Allied fighting men landing in Greece in October helped Greek pa triots to oust the Germans. Internal political problems had divided the people into factions, some opposing the return of the monarchy. The cabinet decided to inform King George II, in London, that resump tion of his powers was conditioned on popular will. Late in the year, Netherlanders saw the beginning of the Allied at tempt to smash the western anchor of the German defense system, pre lude to liberation. From the south west Pacific came more good news —for the first time in more than four years the nation’s flag flew over Hollandia in Netherlands New Guinea. Axis-satellites Finland, Romania and Bulgaria broke their ties with the Nazi government, and moved toward agreements with the Allied powers. Shifts in Italy King Victor Emanuel III stepped aside in favor of his 39-year-old son, Umberto, designated "Prince Lieu tenant General of the Realm.” Pre mier Ivanoe Bonomi and his Italian cabinet contributed a novelty when they took office in June. They did not take the customary oath to the crown; instead they pledged them selves to fulfill their duties accord ing to the constitution. The United States resumed diplomatic relations with Italy in October when Alexan der G. Kirk was named ambassa dor. On November 10 the presiden cy of the Allied Commission for It aly was transferred from military to civilian direction. me neagnng repuDiic or Syria, liberated from the Vichy-French in 1941, added to its territory the in dependent mountain-kingdom of Je bel Druz. Its people, dwellers in southern Syria, voted to yield their administrative and financial inde pendence, and merge the manage ment of their affairs with the gov ernment of Syria. President Roose velt appointed George Wadsworth minister to the republics of Syria and Lebanon. Closer bonds between the United States and its African protege Li beria were assured by the Decem ber, 1943, treaty, the provisions of which were made public on October 30, 1944. The treaty stipulates that all naval, military and air installa tion* will be supervised by the U. S. Significant changes took place in 1944 in the New world. Argentina abolished all political parties and instituted strict censorship of the press. The tiny Atlantic island of Bermuda modernized some of its ancient laws. For the first time in the three centuries of its history women were given the same voting privileges as men. Philippines to Be Free. Events in the Pacific area were highlighted by the return to the Philippines of President Sergio Os mena and his cabinet with the in vasion forces of Gen. Douglas Mac Arthur. The presence of the offi cial was only suggestive of the re sumption of authority on home soil, for it was understood that island af fairs will continue to be adminis tered from Washington. The future status of the Philip pines was defined in two resolu tions adopted by the U S. congress, and signed by President Roosevelt on June 30. These resolutions grant independence to the islands as soon as the Japs are ejected, and pro vide for defense by the construction of United States military and naval bases. voinuiiua o vjisi power ana irri gation program moved forward as the last concrete was poured on Shasta, second highest dam in the world (500 feet). Water from the Friant dam in the San Joaquin val ley began on June 4 to pour through the new Madera canal. Army engineers completed the concrete Norfork dam on the North Fork river in Arkansas, to supply power and control floods in northern Arkansas and southern Missouri. When the New Year Will Arrive Among U. S. Fighting Men the World Over Many churches of America, of all denominations, will keep their doora open Sunday and Monday in order that relatives and friends of American fighting men and women throughout the world may offer New Year’s prayers at the time their loved ones are welcoming In the New Year, no matter where they will be. These services are in addition to regular watch night services. When 1945 reaches New York City In a blare of noise or a silence of prayer, it will already be early Monday evening Just east of Australia in the Chatham Islands. Meanwhile, at Honolulu the clock will register 6:30 p. m. Sunday. The New Year is born on the lonely Chatham islands, 414 miles southeast of New Zealand, and races westward at 1,000 miles an hour. About 200 shepherds and fishermen, augmented with troops in the Chatham group, will celebrate the New Year by ringing the church bell on Hanson island. The international date line, near these isles, was set by the British admiralty and runs near the 180th meridian of longitude. Bells Over the World Will Herald In a New Year of Promised Peace For Centuries the Old Year Has Died to Tolling Of Bells—With Hope for Better Times. "Never forget the cheerful and cordial observance of New Year’s Day.” —George Washington. Since early ages, the sound of stone, of hollow resonant wood, and of all the metals that came out of the earth, fashioned as a means by which man could make his gods hear him, have also been used to announce peace and the turning point toward better things of life. The first bells were fashioned by primitive man of wood. Prior to this time the "click stone," some times called the first bell, was a resonant stone suspended by a thong and struck with a stick or another stone to give the ringing effect. The first church bell was erected by Paulimus, bishop of Nola, in the city of Campania. Italy, in about 400 A. D. Early bells were bap tized. In Switzerland a curious tra dition Is that all baptized bells take a trip to Rome every year during Passion weeks and get back in time to be rung on Easter morning. "All they thunder here are harmless! For these bells have been annointed And baptized with holy water. They defy our utmost power." The science of music of bells has been recognized in some of the lead ing music institutions of the world. M Kamiel Lefevre is carillonneur of the Riverside church In New York City where the chief of carillons, by size and scope, were installed. He has started a movement for the wide development of carillon music, be lieving they could be made an ele ment in promoting human accord and genuine sympathy among the many racial groups in America. Just when bells were first used to announce the end of the old year and the start of the new is not known. Long before the clock had found its way to the tower, they had been used to announce time, often united with the observance of the canonical hours. By this usage a monastery became timemarket to the neigh borhood. I-—-1 RING OUT, WILD BELLS Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky, The flying cloud, the frosty light; The year is dying in the night; Ring out, wild bells, and let him die. Ring out the old, ring in the new. Ring, happy bells, across the snow; The year is going, let hips go; Ring out the false, ring in the true. Ring out the grief that saps the mind For those that here weseenomore; Ring out the feud of rich and poor. Ring in redress to all mankind. Ring out a slowly dying cause. And ancient forms of party strife; Ring in the nobler modes of life. With sweeter manners, purer laws. Ring out false pride in place and blood, The civic slander and the spite; Ring in the love of truth and right, Ring in the common love of good. Ring out old shapes of foul disease. Ring out the narrowing lust of gold; Ring out the thousand wars of old. Ring in the thousand years of peace. Ring in the valiant man and free The larger heart, the kindlier hand; Ring out the darkness of the land. Ring in the Christ that is to be. -LORD TENNYSON. Variety of Uses for Old Greeting Cards uon I inrow away me uirisuiias and New Year’s cards you have re ceived. Almost every church and philanthropic society has a commit tee which collects greeting cards and sends them to Institutions, hos pitals and organisations that put your greeting card to good use. If you take the trouble to distribute in some such fashion the greeting cards you have saved, you'll earn the satisfaction of sharing with oth ers the Joy the cards brought you. me nexi ume you wrap a girt ror someone, glance through the greet ing cards you have saved and pick out one with a colorful or appro priate picture on it. Cat the pic ture out neatly, glue or paste it on your gift wrapping. That's all there Is to it and you’ll be amazed to find you’ve transformed a plain package Into something original and charm ing. Fancy gift wrappings are now scarce and seldom found on the mar ket ——» SEfTIlSG CIRCLE PATTERNS Neat and Wearable House Frock Tailored Brother and Sister Sets House Frock \\7ONDERFULLY simple to fit —easy to wear and launder— this button-front house frock will make you look crisp and neat for home-front tasks. • • • Pattern No. 1977 comes In stzes 34, 36, 38 , 40. 42. 44. 46 and 48. Size 36 requires 4',i yards of 35 or 39-inch material; yards rickrack to trim. For Tots IJROTHER and sister set the lit tie folks will want to wear of ten. Sister’s pert pleated skirt and brother’s trousers both have sus Baking soda is one of the best known agents for cleaning glass ware. —•— If heavy furniture must be moved and there is no second per son to help, this is a satisfactory way to do it. There is little lifting, and there will be no scratches on the floor. Lift furniture onto an old rag rug or sack. Then pull it over to where you want it to be. —•— Clean your brick hearth by first scrubbing with a stiff brush and hot soapy water. Rinse clean and wipe dry. Let stand a day and then coat with boiled linseed oil. A steam bath will usually bring velvet back to its original texture. — •— It is easier to wash a large amount of slightly soiled clothes than a few very dirty ones. —•— Glue a bright piece of linoleum over the old worn top of a card table. Coffee grounds make a good sweeping compound for use in the basement. —•— When shaking a small throw rug, hold by the sides. If held by the ends, the weight of the rug pulls the threads apart. —•— Use a large oiled silk bowl cover for an emergency shower cap. —•— When washing walls, start at the bottom, instead of at the top; then if you spill any of the cleaning fluid on the wall it will not spot, as otherwise. ' . — penders! Either boy or girl can wear the neatly tailored blouse, with long or short sleeves. • • • Pattern No. 1250 comes in sizes 3, 3, 4, 5 and 6 years. Size 3. blouse, short sleeves, requires l*i yards of 35 or 33> inch material; skirt, yards; pants, 1 yard. Due to an unusually large demand and current war conditions, slightly more time is required in lining orders for a few of the most popular pattern numbers. Send your order to: SEWING C IRCLE PATTERN DEPT. 530 South Wells St. Chicago Enclose 25 cents in coins for each ' pattern desired. Pattern No.Size. Name. Address. HOW TO “KNOW” ASPIRIN Just be euro to ask for 8b Joseph Aspirin. There’s none faster, none stronger. Why pay more? Worid’a largest seller at 101. Demand Sb Joseph Aspirin. at first ^ C-666 Cold Preparations as directed • \ Low Moods Aro Offton Rotated To Constipation Yea, depressed states and constipa tion of ten go together I Take Nature's Remedy (Nit Tablets). Contains no chemicals, no minerals, no phenol de rivatives. N R Tablets are different— act different. Purely vegetable—a combination of 10 vegetable ingredi ents formulated over 60 yean ago. Uncoated or candy coated, their no tion is dependable, thorough, yet gentle, as millions of NR*s have proved. Get a 25f£ Convincer Box. Caution: Take only as directed. NS TO-NIGHT/ TOMOBBOW AUtIGHT Att-VEGETABIE LAXATIVE I I (ONE WORD SUGGESTION^ I FOR ACID INDIGESTION- | .w