??i . ? .? ? ? ' ' .
The Alamance Gleaner !
. . \
? ' JL. 0
VoL LXXI GRAHAM, N. C., THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1945 No. 0? J
WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS
Russians Strike for Berlin As
Nazis Plan Last-Ditch Defense;
New Landings Aid Manila Drive
. Released by Western Newspaper Union. .
(EDITOR'S NOTE: When opinions are expressed In these eelamns. they are theee ef
Western Newspaper Union's news analysts and not neeessarlly ef this newspaper.)
m w i ?
Members of Fifth division of Third army warm themselves about
bonfire in Luxembourg comfortably ensconced in furniture salvaged from
fho town's debris
EUROPE:
Berlin Goal
Berlin was their goal as the
First White Bussian and the First
Vkranian armies plunged to the
wtodihg ice-packed Oder river on a
wide front, with German resistance
growing stronger as columns of re
enforcements rushed to the front
ad took up their positions in the
flaming battle line.
With the two Russian armies
-Rawing up to the Oder on an al
aaest solid front from above Berlin
dear down to the Czechoslovakian
harder, Berlin was imperilled by a
flnwerful outflanking maneuver by
?krshal Zhukov from the north and
Marshal Konev from the south.
The great thrust on Berlin prom
tad to put the Germans' vaunted
Oder river defense line, over two
pears in the making, to the test,
and. further strain Nazi strength,
Aeady outnumbered by about three
to four in the east. In early assaults
?a the Oder ip the Silesian area,
German regulars, reenforced by
toaatical 16 to 65-year-old home front
troops, stubbornly held their ground
against the powerhouse attacks of
toe First Ukranian army, which
had been the first to reach the de
fense line from central Poland.
Finish Fight
Long the hallowed center of Prus
sianism, Berlin, it appeared, was not
to be spared the fate of other great
European capitals as the Nazis
anade strong points of its public
holdings and institutions for a des
Declaring "there is no evi
dence yet of any root in the Ger
man retreat," Navy Secretary
Forrestal said: "They are with
drawing tb the great line of de
fenses on the Oder river . . .
where . . . they may fight with
the same tenacity and ferocity
they have shown in the west. . . .
Ail that will beat Germany is
power, sheer, crude power."
per ale stand and prepared to blow
ap all factories and installations
in the district.
"Not one stone atop another . . .'
will be left . . . when the Russians
enter," proclaimed Propaganda
Minister Goebbels.
Meanwhile, as thousands of Ger
man refugees streamed into the
Reich from the east and Hitler called
.?pop all able-bodied men for a last
ditch fight and all others for indus
try, Nazi leaders threatened ". . .
cowardly creatures who try to de
sert the fatherland in its hour of
weed." Said they: "We shall not
permit them to throw a wrench in
the works. . . . Germany will fight
en no matter where or under what
conditions. . . ."
Fear Yank Drive
Attacking in snow and slush in
strength along an expanding front
below Aachen, Yanks put the en
emy's vaunted Siegfried defenses to
the test again even as Berlin feared
an all-out drive to break the dead
lock in the west.
At the same time, the Germans
began to slowly break ground in Al- I
sace to the south, where mixed i
U. 8. and French forces increased
heavy pressure on their huge pocket |
below Strasbourg and threatened i
the enemy's escape roads eastward I
to the Rhine. 1
No less than 100,000 U. S. troops <
reportedly burrowed their way into ]
the outer defenses of the Siegfried I
line along the sector from which Von I
Rundstedt had burst into Belgium 1
?
and Luxembourg in his great De
cember drive. As the Yanks plowed
through heavy snowdrifts, they met
i bitter opposition at Nazi strong
: points.
PACIFIC:
! Strategic Moves
Strategist and tactician, Gen.
Douglas MacArthur "scored two
more landings in Luzon, directly
aiding his triumphant march on
Manila, while far to the north, U. S.
forces continued to drive to the east
ward in bitter hand-to-hand fighting,
which threatened to cut the island
in two.
In one of the landings, U. S. troops
overran the Subic Bay area, which
opened up a big harbor for naval
use and supply of American forces
above Manila, while the other land
General Mar Arthur (rl(kt) itodlei mape
with aides on Luzon.
ing Yank stepped ashore below
the Philippine capital itself, threat
ening any enemy effort to bring
up reenforcements from the south.
As long as MacArthur still appeared
to be holding back some of his
strength, Jap commanders were re
luctant to commit sizeable forces
into the battle in the Manila region.
In one of the most dramatic epi
sodes of the Philippine invasion,
picked men of the 6th Ranger bat
talion and Filipino guerrillas made
a surprise attack on a Japanese pris
on compound behind enemy lines on
Luzon, freeing 486 Americans, 23
British, three Dutchmen and a Nor
wegian. Although over 100 were so
weak from malnutrition, disease and
old battlewounds that they had to 1
be carried off on husky Ranger
backs or in carabao carts, only two
failed to survive the 25-mile jour- J
ney to safety.
CONGRESS:
Busy Session
With publication of President i
Roosevelt's agreement to the sepa- ?
ration of the Reconstruction Finance '
corporation with its vast loaning '
powers from the U. S. department
of commerce, the senate passed the |
George bill authorizing the action
by a 74 to 12 vote and thereby paved (
the way for the confirmation of
Henry A. Wallace as the department ,
secretary. . ,
Although Wallace's confirmation <
was postponed to March 1, it was ,
considered likely at that time, since t
principal objection to his appoint- ,
ment had been based on the fact t
that be would have controlled the f
vast resources of the RFC in the
postwar period, with fear of their
use on government projects to pro- ?
vide full employment. House ap- "
proval of the bill to separate the *
RFC from the commerce depart- ?
ment was expected to meet speedy *
approval.
At the same time, the house ,
passed, and then sent to a none too
sympathetic senate, a work or fight
Pill, under which all men between ?
18 and 48 would be frozen in esaen- b
Jal occupations or asked to take ^
MPs designated by their local.draft u
wards under penalty of induction or *?
ine and lmpriarvasBt in case of re
MEAT:
U. S. to Take More
With smaller slaughter In federa
ly Inspected plants reducing alloci
tions ot meat (or military and lent
lease purposes, the govemmer
moved to channel more stock int
these packing houses from non-(e<
erally inspected establishments.
To. trim slaughter at the 27,00
non-federally inspected plants, whos
entire output goes to civilians, th
government reported that they wi
receive cattle subsidies ranging tror
SO cents to $2 per hundredwelgk
only for the same amount of stoc
that they butchered a year age
while payments of $1.50 per hundred
weight on hogs will be made on onl;
70 per cent of the volume of 1944.
Effect of the regulation will be t
make less meat available for civil
lans in centers served by non-fed
erally Inspected plants, but onl;
slightly more for consumers supplie
by federally inspected houses. Pres
ent government acquisition of hal
of the beef and 45 per cent of th'
pork output of federally inspectei
plants will be increased, it was said
FARM MACHINERY:
Pinch to Persist
Stating that . . as long as th
war continues, farmers will not tx
able to buy as much new farm ma
chinery as they need," the Office o
War Information said that the pro
duction of equipment for the yea:
ending July 1 will fall short of heav;
demand despite the fact that i
should approximate peak prewai
output.
Although expecting quotas to bi
generally met despite a slow star
in production. OWI warned . . n<
more new tractors, side deliver]
rakes, combines or other haying an<
harvesting machinery will be avail
able during . . . IMS . . . than weri
available during . . . 1944."
Indicating that farmers will havi
to fall back on the same methodi
this year to meet food goals, OW.
said that 1944's high production re
suited from intensive use of existinj
machinery, increased use of fertiliz
er, greater acreage and harder worl
and longer hours, with output pel
hand 38 per cent above 1940. Re
processing of some 383,000 younj
farmers between 18 and 25 for th<
.draft,* however, may further com
1 plicate the * already pressing man
power problem, OWI said.
ACCIDENTS:
High Toll
Ninety-four thousand people killed.
9,750,000 injured and material lossei
of $4,850,000,000?that was the na
tion's accident toll in 1944, the Na
tional Safety council revealed.
As a result of mishaps, lost time
equalled one year's production oi
1,000,000 workers, it was pointed out,
or the manufacture of 29,000 heavy
bombers.
Although the death toll showed a
drop of 5,000 over the previous year,
with the greatest reduction shown in
home accidents, authorities were
alarmed by the increasing fatalities
among children. More than 1,000
toddlers under five were killed, more
than in 1M1, the Safety council said,
while accidental deaths of young
sters from 5 to 14 in the home were
high.
Luckiest Man
I_ l L ?- *
tn r ww ua*m not pi lot
in Pacific racovaring
from boa bit*, Sgt.
fames B. Krants of Hick
ory Point, Tenrt, might
well consider himself the
luckiest man in the world.
Blown from gunnery in
waiu of B-29 during raid
over Japan, ona af
Krauts's legs was mirac
ulously held by a safety
?trap while the rest of hit
Wmv Ann ml as A in iL? m.
U KfiOO feel before bui ,OT "A***
jiu pulled him bock into the plan*.
GRAIN MARKETS: '
Get Boost
With brokers interpreting the sen
ite banking committee's approval of
i bill increasing the Commodity
Credit corporation's borrowing pow
sr from 3 to 4V4 billion dollars as a
neans of maintaining major farm
trices at 90 per cent of parity for
wo years after the war, grain prices
Irmed.
Also adding to the market's
trength was the expectation of an
ncrease in the government subsidy
o wheat millers, and reports of CCC
urchases in Minneapolis, Minn.,
nth CCC acknowledgments it had
iven large quantities of high pro
Bin wheat to millers in exchange
jr inferior grades.
In approving the increase in the
CC'S borrowing power, the senate
unking committee limited food sub
idy expenditures to $840,000,000 for
ie year beginning next July 1, and
leo permitted sale of more than
800,000 bales of cotton a year from
CC stocks.
_______
m
0 Man About Town:
? The ex-convict whose plot to kld
* nap Betty Grable was interrupted is
u last-named Williams. She still has
? a guard, and her lather and husband
lJ tote gats. . . . The O.D.T. will order
* all dining cars removed from choo
[> choos traveling less than 350 miles.
^ . . . The Newspaper Guild will in
f vade the radio field (to organize it)
next Summer.
I- The eolynm forwarded several let
1- ters from worried bond buyers who
y heard enemy-planted rumors that
1 savings bonds wouldn't be redeemed
t- in accordance with their terms. . . .
t The U. S. Treasury debunks the
e rumors with this statement: "The
i rumors are absolutely without foun
I. dation. The U. S. Gov't has never
defaulted in the payment of its
debts. Since the Congress has am
ple power to provide for meeting
all obligations of the gov't (when
e due) there can be no doubt that its
? promise to pay its obligations (when
" due) wiU be carried out. Undoubt
' edly subversive activity in this coun
" try is responsible for spreading of
r such misinformation. By making
J known the true facts you could do
' much to discount the wholly unfound
r ed rumors.?D. W. Bell, Treasury
Dep't, Washington."
ft
t The newi that Donald Nelson
i would marry the young widow Col
r bourne was tipped here first on De
1 camber 13, 1943, this way: "Wo
- promise to omit the name until he
i is freed. Watch for the name of
Mrs. Paul Strashon's next groom,
i She's a widow. He is one of Amer
i tea's most famed leaders." . . .
[ J. A. Brunner (Chief of the Veterans
. of Foreign Wars) investigated our
[ warning about a subversive exec.
. among the group and fired him.
r One of the ptoybores is so wor
- ried about his induction via the work
E or fight bill's becoming a law he's en
i gaged a man to stay in Washington
: to send him daily reports on its prog
? ress. . . . Another ot -the sense set
(afraid of losing his draft-proof sta
tus if seen in public with his dolls)
stays home, which is practically a
night club. . . . Add lucky timing:
"They Told Me," by Leonard Lyons
, in This Week. Deals with the war's
i top men and their confabs. . . . One
? of the better-known socialice made
' a terrific odor at Penn Station the
other ayem when she found she
i couldn't buy two compartments to
1 Florida plus three for her servants!
The nation's No. 1 sin town is
Washington. Ever since the FBI
lost that "black spook" case the
joynts are jumpin'. . .. How Tempus
Fugits Dep't: Davey Lee, who sat
on A. Jolson's lap in "Sonny Boy,"
is now a pilot in the S. Pacific for
Uncle Samson. ... T. Dorsey's book
ing at the 400 on Feb. 10th will guar
antee him 00,000 per week against a
percentage. A record, we think, for
a nitery. ... A WAC private sta
tioned at Santa Monica is really
named Pearl Harbor.
Your Broadway and Mina:
Fun About Town: Victor Moore,
the beloved comedian, moving out
of an exclusive Park Avenue place
(back to the Broadway hotel he lived
in during Ijie vaudeville dayi) be
cause be was "so uncomfortable."
... J. J. Shubert telling comedienne
Sue Ryan (the Shuberts' most valu
able property since "Blossom
Time") to wear her rubbers out
doers. ... J. P. Marquand, co
parent of the hit show, "The Late
George Apley," readying to cover the
Pacific arena soon. . . . Music czar
Petrillo, who will try to invade the
newsreel music field, alleging news
reels shouldn't use canned music,
etc. . . . Henry Luce, the Mag-nate,
better known as Father Time. . . .
Evelyn Nesbit, ooce the toast of the
town, preferring to dine alone at
Duffy's Tavern.
Manhattan Murals: The photo of
Fred Allen taken about 20 years ago
in checked derby and tight trousers
?in the window of a 47th Street pho
to gger. . . . The icicles oo the nude
statues in the Museum of Modern
Art Gardens. Very comical. . . .
The pup wearing military appcrel.
. . .The French restaurant, "L'Apres
Midi," at 48th near 8tb?where the
patrons get up and entertain. . . .
The Navy flier in the Cub Room
slaying the celebs with this one. He
displays a pack of Camels and says:
"If you were out on this desert
where would you sleepT" . . . The '
sucker looks and looks and eventu- I
ally says: "I'd sleep near the pyra- ,
mids or tinder that palm tree." ...
to which the snapper is: "I wouldn't.
I'd Just go around the corner (turn
ing the pack) and sleep in one at ,
these hotels I" (
? imimi ?imiiiiifci iir-rn
?I ... == '
Simplified Rules Given to Aid in Making ,
Out the 1944 Tax Returns on New Forms]
? 4
Answers to Puzzlers
Found in Filling Out
Income Blanks
(EDITOR'S NOTEi The article below
was prepared at a service to the readers of
this newspaper in an effort to assist in the
filing ol income lex returns at required by
lew. While the forms have been simpli
fied, it is urged thai returns be filed at (or
in advance of March IS as possiblaj
IlaluHd by Wtitcre Newspaper Union.
Remember all that talk
last year about abolish
ing income tax returns?
We hope you didn't believe it,
because the treasury reminds us
that the law requires an income
tax return not later than March
15th from every person (even
children) who had $500 or more
income in 1944.
The truth is that congress
and the treasury simplified the
income tax forms quite a bit, but
still insist on the annual March 15
accounting between you and Uncle
Sam.
Altogether, the treasury figures
that about 50,000,000 Americans
must file 1944 returns. A few mil
lion, Including many farmers, have
already got the chore out of the
way by filing their returns January
15. Those early-birds filed early so
as to combine the filing of their "re
turns" with the filing of their "Dec
larations of Estimated Tax," thus
winding up ell their 1944 income tax
chores. But most of us still have
our returns to fill out and file be
tween now and March 15.
Here are the answers to some of
your inevitable questions about the
Job:
Q. What kinds ef forms or blanks
do we use?
A. There are two fbrms. One is
the withholding receipt, officially
called Form W-l (Rev.), which your
employer gives you if you have
been working for wages from which
income tax was withheld. The other
blank, dm standard Form 1040, is
not'being mailed but generally this
year, but copies should be easily ob
tainable from local collectors' of
fices, banks, post offices, and em
ployers.
Q. I bear there are three ways ef
mskins a return this year. Is that
truer
A. Yes. You can use Form 1040
as either a short-form or a long
form return. That makes two meth
ods of filing. The third method,
which is one of the major simplifica
tions in the new law, la to use the
withholding receipt.
Q. Do we have to fill out both the
withholding receipt and Form IMS?
A. No. If you are eligible to use
the withholding receipt as your re
turn and desire to do so, forget
about Form 1040. If you fill out
Form 1040, attach your withholding
receipts to the form, but do not fill
out the receipts.
Q. Is this standard allowance ex
actly II per cent? i.
A. The tax on a withholding re
ceipt or a short-form is taken from
a table in which the tax and de
ductions are averaged for income
brackets, such as from $2,000 to
$2,029, from $2,026 to $2,090. etc. The
10 per cent allowance and the tax
are figured in the middle of each
hrnrWftt
4). Who Is allowed to oso a with
holding receipt as a return?
A. Any wage earner whose total
income was less than tS-,000, pro
vided not more than $100 of his
income came from dividends, inter
est and wafes from which no tu
was withheld, and all the remainder
of his income was bom wages from
which tax was withheld. However,
in the so-called community property
states of Arizona, California, Idaho,
Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico,
Texas and Washington, a withhold
ing receipt cannot be used by a
i us band or wife alone. In those
states, married couples can use the
withholding receipt only as a "com
bined return." In thoes and all otb
g states, moreover, a combined re
turn can be made on a withholding
receipt only If their combined in
come is within the limits mentioned
at the beginning of this paragraph.
If husband and wife file a com
bined return on a withholding re
ceipt, their tax will be figured either
on a separate or Joint basis, which
ever is to their advantage.
Q. Who can use the short-form
Form IMS?
A. Anyone whose Income was less
than $9,000.
Q. Who nses the long-form Form
1(44?
A. The long-form most be used by
anyone whose income in 1944 was
$5,000 or more, and by anyone who
claims more deductions (for chari
ties, etc.) than the standard allow
ance of about 10 per cent which is
given automatically to taxpayers fil
ing withholding receipts or the
short-form.
Q. Can I save money by using the
long-farm instead of the ether
forms?
A. That depends on your deduc
tions. If you use the withholding re
ceipt or the short-form, you can
not take any deductions (or non
business items such as charitable
contributions, interest, taxes, medi
cal expenses, and casualty losses,
but receive instead a standard al
lowance equal to about 10 per cent
of your income. For instance, if
your income last year was $4,423,
and you use your withholding re
ceipt or a short-form, your tax is
automatically figured as if you had
$442.50 of deductions. Now, in this
example, if your actual deductions
were less than $442.90, it would save
you money to use your withholding
receipt or a short-form. If your
actual deductions were more than
$442.30, it would save you money
to make a long-form return on
Form 1040.
Q. Bow de I fill oot a withhold
ing receipt?
A. Simply answer the few ques
tions about your income and ex
emptions which are printed on the
front and back of the receipt. Be
sure to correct any mistake in your
name and address which your em
ployer has already written on your
receipt. Sign the receipt. If you have
more than one receipt, fin out only
the last one but be sure to attach
the others. Then mail the receipt
or receipts to the collector ot inter
nal revenue in your district. That's
all. Don't send any money if you
file this way, because the collector
will figure your tax, give you cred
it for amounts already paid, and
then either send you a bill if you
owe more or a refund check if you
have overpaid.
Q. How do I fill out a shofWermT
A. Get a copy of Form 1046. If all
your income was from wages, divi
dends and interest, you writp only
on page 1, and find your tax from
the table on page S. If you had
other income (for instance, from a
farm, a business, rental property,
annuities, etc.) you 'also fill in part
of page 3. Page ft is printed on the
back of page 1, so you can tear off
and throw away the other half at the
form. That's why it is called a short
form. When you file Form 1040, and
find (in item t, page 1) that you
still owe some tax, you must pay
that amount in full at the same time
you file your return.
Q. What da yea mean by the word
A Aa nuA 1? ??? ?
blanks, incoma mean* all hinds at
income, Including wages, (or sala
ries), dividends, interest, business . -
profits, rental profits, and profits on
telling or trading securities or '
other property: For tax purposes, r<~'
however, "income" does NOT in
clude certain items specifically ex
empted by law, such as the first
$1,900 of active service pay for
members of the armed forces and
their mustering-out payment when
discharged. Also exempted is the
government's contribution to month
ly family allowances to relatives
of servicemen, social security bene
fits, gifts, bequests and inheritances,
and amounts received as the bene
ficiary of a life insurance policy by
reason of the death of the insured
person.
Q. What kind at taxes de we pay?
A. The 1944 income tax is made up
of two kinds of tax. There is a "nor
mal tax" (formerly called "victory
tax") at the rate of 3 per cent, and
a "surtax" (formerly called "in
come tax") at rates ranging from
20 to 91 per cent.
Q. What kind of exemptions do
we get from these taxes?
A. For normal tax, a taxpayer
filing a separate return is allowed
only a flat exemption of $900. If
husband and wife file a Joint return
and each had at least $500 income,
they receive a joint normal-tax ex
emption of $1,000. If they file a joint
return, and one of them had less
than $900 income, the joint normal
tax exemption would be $900 plus
the actual amount of the smaller in
come. For normal tax, there is no
exemption for dependents.
For surtax, you may get exemp
tions of $900 for yourself, plus $900
for your wife (or husband), plus $900
for each of your dependents. How
ever, you can claim an exemption
tor your wife (or husband) only if
you file a joint return with her (or
him), or if she (or he) had no tax
able income and waa not a da
pendent of another taxpayer.
Aid Will B? Given Taxpayer.
1 t eiefact
INCREASE OF INCOME BEFORE TAXES IN U.S.A.
J -10074
I Ail (ifi iilll
1943 ? 19391943 19391943 1939 1943
finsniitinm faimek business industrial
corporations farmers proprietors workers
TlUf ACT
U.S. PER CAPITA TAXES REACHES NEW HIGH
wy
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