The Alamance Gleaner
. '
VoL LXXI GRAHAM, N. C., THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 1945 No. 7
r ? ^ ?
WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS
Allies Storm River Barriers
To Mount Twin Drives on Reich;
Thousands Homeless From Floods
' Released by Western Newspaper Union. m
(EDITOR'S NOTE: When opinions ere expressed In these columns, they ere these of
Western Newspaper Union's news analysis end net necessarily ef this newspaper.)
Flood waters spilling over the banks of the Ohio river and its tribu
taries again made thousands homeless and threatened war production.
Aerial view shows Newton, Ohio, with a population of 2,MM, isolated by
EUROPE:
Span Barriers
Frwn the west and from the east
Me freat battle for Germany was
fcjguii, with a sorely pressed Nazi .
eaanmand, which once marshalled i
As fegions in triumph, desperately .
attempting to stem the Allied tide. i
Moat significant of the Allied
?ores was the U. S. crossing of the <
?Una in pursuit of a disorganized I
enemy, who had broken off the bat- 1
He to the west of the river and at- i
tempted to flee to supposed ibcurity <
behind its broad span, pf ously un- i
iiaasiii since Napoleon's ume. <
Smashing quickly through enemy i
near-guards, who tried to slow up i
She V. S. and British advance and i
give the main body of their troops
a chance to escape across the Rhine,
Allied spearheads not only reached
flee historic river in short time but
aiae spanned it with the intention of
touting the disorganized enemy no
opportunity to reform his ranks for
a stiff defense of the waterway.
To Lt. Gen. Courtney Hodges' 1st
American army went the honor of
being the first Allied unit to jump
Me Rhine below Cologne. Crossing
ada.il the river measured a quar
From S/Sgt. Thomas J. Defilbaugh
af Cumberland, Md., came the
latest story of Lt.
Gen. George S. Pat
ton's personal in
spiration ot bis
troops under fire.
Daring the Allied
comeback against
Von Rnndstedt's of
fensive in January,
Yanks reached the
swift and icy Sure
river, and faced the
task of crossing it
? tow!* tnivn nf R?Hpn.
derf, commanding: the countryside.
When Patton saw that boats offered
a perfect target for German gunners
while it would be difficult to draw a
head on a man swimming across,
he Jumped into the swirling water
and swam over to prove to his
troops it could be done. Inspired,
?ey followed, capturing Betten
derf.
ter mile in width and its banks flat
tened out, Hodges' men steadily ex
panded their bridgehead for a thrust
across the rolling hill country lying
last below the vital Ruhr valley.
As Hodges' troops poured across
tee Rhine in the wake of Germans
struggling inland, the enemy tried to
chop up the American beachhead
with mortar and artillery fire, and
aamored elements launched limited
cnterattacks in an attempt to trim
tee expanding foothold.
While Hodges' famous 1st attained
tee angular honor of becoming the
text military force to cross the
Rhine since 1813, the U. S. 9th and
tetfte and Canadian armies to the
anrth and the U. S. 3rd army to the
aaatfa also drew up to the river in
?ecail time, poised for the leap after
having cleared hugetpockets of en
emy troops to their rear.
Meanwhile, the Russians launched
ahnad all-out assault on Berlin, with
Red infantrymen, paced By armored
columns, smashing deep into the en
emy defenses west of the Oder.
lhas did , the Allies breach the
Germans' two river barriers guard
sag both ends of the Reich to carry
the battle into the flatlands lying be
yead, where the comparative level
aeas afforded their armored columns
?pportunity to wear down an enemy,
whose recent strategy had called for
extended use of terrain to economize
dwindling forces.
PACIFIC:
Stubborn Foe
Despite the loss ot over 225,000
men in the Philippine and Iwo,
Jima campaigns, the Japs contin
ued to offer stiff resistance to
American clean-ups in these sec
tors.
Indicative ot the tenacity of the
snemy was his withdrawal to the
lulks of battered ships in Manila
Bay to continue the fight with small
arms fire after having been driven
jut of Manila itself. Although they
already had lost over 212,000 men
an both Leyte and Luzon, an esti
mated 60,000 Japs fought on from
natural strongpoints against Yank
attempts to compress them in the
mountains lying to the east of
Manila.
With more than 12,000 Japs al
ready killed on Iwo Jima, marines
still were forced to inch forward on
the northern part of the tiny island
to flush enemy remnants from the
rocky hill positions. Because the
Japs could retire to underground
shelters during heavy aerial or
artillery bombardment, the Leather
necks were compelled to root them
out in close-in fighting.
FLOODS:
Thousands Homeless
Familiar but tragic scenes were
reenacted again as the Ohio river
and tributaries rose over their banks
to flood surrounding lowlands and
send thousands of homeless refu
gees scurrying to safety.
Operations of war industries in tne
rivers' paths were seriously affected
as the waters rose, and residents of
the great cities of Pittsburgh, Cin
cinnati, Portsmouth and Louisville
anxiously viewed the broadening
crests, which threatened to spill
over and flood their environs.
UI au me Dig ciues, rorisrnuuin,
with its 40,000 people, was most seri
ously endangered, with rising waters
lapping at the 63-foot flood wall while
state troopers and volunteers strug
gled to reinforce it with a sandbag
levee.
With rain-swollen rivers flooding
acres of low-lying farm land in Ten
nessee, Arkansas and Mississippi,
thousands of residents of these areas
also were forced to move to the up
lands.
MANPOWER:
Showdown Near
With the senate still strongly op
posed to compulsory labor, "work
or fight" legislation headed for a
showdown in conferences with the
house, with sentiment strong for
the grant of additional power to the
War Manpower commission to con
tinue to exert pressure toward the
channeling of workers into needed
industry.
At the same time, congress
moved to draft unmarried nurses to
provide the 20,000 needed to attend
the growing battle casualties. Under
legislation considered, nurses would
be given the right to appeal induc
tion, would be offered commissions
even if drafted, and would be eligi
ble for benefits under the G.I. bill
of rights.
Vigorously opposed to the house's
"work or fight" measure providing
for army induction or fine and jaU
for failure of 18 to 45 year-old men
to accept war essential employment,
the senate pushed a substitute
bill under which the WMC would
set the limit on the number of em
ployees any establishment could
have, and regulate the hiring of
people.
CIVIL AVIATION:
On Upgrade
Reflecting the nation's increasing
air-consciousness, and the prospects
for greatly expanded civil aviation
alter the war, no less than 31,000
student pilot certificates were issued
during 1944 as compared with 33,000
the year previously, the Civil Aero- ,
nautics board revealed.
Interested in aviation because of
some relation's service in the air '
forces or because increased income 1
has permitted training, women rep- 1
resent 13 to 35 per cent of the new t
students, the CAA said. Most youths '
from 16 to 21 years of age intend to <
enter the air forces later while the 1
majority of men over 30 plan to use '
their planes for business travel. 1
As a further indication of the fu- 1
ture employment of the airplane in 1
American life, CAA said, country ?
doctors and priests have become in- j
terested in aviation as a means of
serving larger areas and thus over- 1
coming the limits of vehicular '
travel. '
CLOTHING:
More for Kiddies
In addition to cotton fabric pre- '
viously allotted for low and medi- ]
um-priced children's clothing, addi- ,
tional yardage has been allocated 1
for the manufacture of about 614 ;
million more kiddies' garments, the
War Production board revfealed.
Outing flannel, print cloths, broad- ,
cloths, poplins, lawns and cham
brays will be among the material .
allotted for the extra children's
dresses, overalls, coveralls, toddlers'
dresses, jacket type pajamas, one (
piece pajamas, two piece button-on
pajamas, infants' gertrudes. Infants'
kimonos, infants' gowns, creepers,
rompers and crawlers.
WPB's allocation of the cotton fab
ric was part of its program to in
crease the output of cheaper cloth- j
ing and thus help cut rising apparel >
costs, which OPAdministrator Ches- (
ter Bowles called one of the most
dangerous wartime inflationary '
threats.
These Gifts Are Different!
With the President himself not per
mitted to receive gifts from foreigners
without congressional approval, Mrs. Roose
velt has been the recipient
-I _ 'J- -I L
oj a u me variety uj iuc/i
present*.
Already the recipient of a
jewel-crusted gold crown and
a harem costume, Mrs.
Roosevelt lately was given
an $&jOOO mink coat from
the Quebec Fur Breeders
association?the only one of
the presents she planned to
use, she told newsmen.
Speaking oj the gold
t.-J. .1 ! I 1
crew**, ?*"?*-?? we receiyeo jium an yi/ncnn
potentate following the Casablanca con
ference, Mrs. Roosevelt declared: "Ift
(Ac most terrific thing you ever taw. No
body could wear it. Its too heavy."
FAftM DEBT:
Cut Sharply
At its peak in 1923 when it totaled
over 10V4 billion dollars, the na
tion's {arm debt dropped to 5tt
billion dollars by January, 1945, with
a 20 per cent reduction taking place
within the last 5 years.
As a result of the war-stimu
lated economy, farmers have en
joyed high income, as reflected in
the big increase of both realty and
plant value. Since 1940, worth of
livestock was nearly doubled, ma
chinery and equipment was up one
third, and land values rose about 25
per cent. In addition, farmers' hold
ings of currency, bank deposits and
war bonds increased nearly 8 bil
lion dollars during that time.
In reviewing the farm mortgage
picture, the Federal Reserve bank
showed that federal land banks and
other agencies substantially in
creased their investments during the
1930s while those of individuals i
declined. The proportion of farm
mortgages held by life insurance
companies has risen slightly while
commercial banks have experienced
only a slight drop.
U. S. INVESTMENTS:
Foreign Holdings
American investments in foreign
countries totalled over 13 billion
dollars in 1941 while foreign holdings
in the U. S. approximated 8H bil
lion dollars, the National Foreign
Trade council reported in an ex-1
haustive analysis based upon treas
ury department testimony at recent j
congressional hearings.
Of the American investments, al
most two-thirds were divided be
tween Europe and Canada. Of the
4 billion in Europe, 1V? billion were
in Germany, and over 1 billion in
Britain.
Besides the 4 billion dollars in
Canada and Newfoundland, U. S. in
vestors put more than lt4 billion in
South America and more than Vi
billion in Asia. Of the amount in
Asia, 170 million dollars were in the
Philippines, 165 million in China and
Manchuria and 90 million in Japan,
it was revealed.
Gen. Patton
am ??>ii tha a(p'
Mrs.
KHtCVtlt
Ill?
? 1
Things I Never Knew 'Til Note:
That Uncle Sam lost 18,500 sol
lera, sailors and marines in 1944?
lot by Jap or Nazi ballets, bat by
iccldents in the U. 8. . . . That
srhen soldiers and sailors actually
lake heed of their superiors' acct
ient warnings, the aeeldent rate in
camps drops 64%. . . . This column
is dedicated to saving the life of
?ome soldier, sailor, marine or
prorker in the war effort?and the
itatistics prove that it probably will.
, . . Every life lost to this country
Is one less fighter against Hitler.
IT our country needs your life?to
protect its own. . . . This is the
breakdown of your chances of liv
ing this year:
That 30,000,800 Americans have
been injured in home-front acci
ients since the war started. . . .
Work accidents last year caused the
loss of 900,000 man-years of labor,
and more workers were killed OFF
the job than on the job?29,000 to
18,000.
That drinking on the part of either
the driver or the v pedestrian is in
volved in one out of every five fatal
traffic accidents, and that, even in
wartime, one or both drivers in fatal
accidents violate a law in two out
of every three cases.
That about 7,800 persons were
drowned in the United States last
year. . . . Smokers cause nearly a
fifth of all fires In the U. S. A. . . .
Accidents kill one out of three
school-age children who die. . . .
Three out of five fatal traffic acci
dents occur at night. . . . Nearly
2,000 persons were killed in grade
crossing accidents last year. (So,
Look, Listen and Live!)
That thousands of hunters will be
maimed this year?and nearly 1,000
will be killed in hunting accidents
unless the hunter is extra careful.
. . . 17,000 people in farm families
were killed by accidents last year?
and only mining, construction, trans
portation and public utilities are
more dangerous industries than ag
riculture. . . . About 80,000 hospital
beds are occupied today by persons
who have suffered accidents. (This
is roughly 10% of all beds, and the
pity of it is that accident cases usu
ally require the immediate attention
of several doctors and nurses, as
well as the use of anesthesia appara
tus, operating rooms and hospital
beds. And this at a time when
they're talking about drafting
nurses!)
That Benjamin Franklin was one
of the first safety advocates in
America. Remember? He said:
"Haste makes waste" and "Care
lessness does more harm than want
of knowledge."
That the Chicago fire of 1871,
the Johnstown flood of 1888, the
Galveston tidal wave of 1IN, the
San Francisco earthquake of
1888, the sinking of the Titanic
in 1*12, the Boston night club fire
in 1M2, and all the other major
disasters since 1888 have killed
less than 28,888 Americans.
(And yet day-by-day accidents
killed 84,888 in 1*44 alone!)
That accident flgures prove the
safest people in the U. S. are little
girls between the ages at 8 and 14.
. . . There ie an accidental death in
the U. S. every Stt minutes?and an
injury every 3 seconds! . . . Acci
dents are the fifth cause of deaths
in the U. S. ... And cost *141 per
year per family in America.
That the 8eaford Nylon plant of
E. L duPont de Nemouri It Com
pany haa the beat no-injury record
in American induetry, having gone
nearly 17,000,000 mai>-Kouri without
a single lost time injury to one of
its employees. (And at tha last re
port, the record was still running.)
That even if more than 700,000
women drivers were involved in
traffic accidents in 1941, there Is no
conclusive evidence that women are
mora reckless than men when it
comes to driving automobiles. . . .
A speed violation is a factor in about
% of all fatal traffic accidents.
. . . Approximately 4* of driven
involved in fatal accidents are hit
and run driven! (The rats!)
That communications Is the
safest industry and mining the
most dangerous. . . . One per
son In 14 wtn have an accident
in the United Slates In 1945, if
the 1944 pattern prevails. . . .
Nearly 19,999 pedestrians are
killed In tralfie accidents yearly.
(And watting Is as easy.)
Agricultural Tools Rationing Called Off,
But War Demand Will Limit the Supply
?
Big Increase in
Parts, However,
Will Be Avaibble
The farmers of America are
continuing, as usual, to do a
magnificent job of producing
foodstuffs. In 1944, for the eighth
successive year, they produced
a record food total despite a
steadily dwindling manpower
supply that reached its lowest
point in 35 years.
Agricultural tools are no longer
rationed, but that doesn't mean that
the farmer, though he has the mon
ey, is going to be able to get that
new tractor or combine he wishes
so he can improve on the produc
tion miracle he has already accom
plished.
It's the same old trouble we've
had since Pearl Harbor. There's a
war on! Manufacture of farm ma
chinery, although recognized as an
essential civilian "must" program,
has to be balanced in relation to di
rect war production.
Here is the way the govern
ment suns np the situation:
Daring the IMS crop year it is
expected that American farmers
will obtain approximately the
same amount of new farm ma
chinery and attachments as they
did In 19(4. There win be, how
ever, nearly (2I,(N,M more in
' repair parts.
In'other'words, there is still not
enough new farm machinery to go
around. Farmers, In many cases,
are going to have- to conserve and
repair and get along the best they
can with what they have, rather
than buy new replacements.
Approximately 00 per cent of the
new farm machines (except trac
tors) that will be made in the United
States during the 1949 production
year July 1, 1944, to June 30, 1945,
will be available to American farm
ers. About 10 per cent will go
abroad?approximately 7 per cent in
commercial exports and 3 per cent
through Lend-Lease, according to the
Foreign Economic administration.
Lend-leased farm machines (that
totaled only U per cent of the en
tire production of U. S. farm ma
chinery from the start of the Lend
lease program from March, 1941, to
June, 1944), had to be sent abroad
to step up food production for our
boys fighting overseas. This farm
machinery export not only helped
to feed our boys, but saved ur
gently needed shipping space for
munitions instead of thousands of
tons of food grown on the wrong
side of the ocean. The chief recipi
ents of Lend-leased farm machines
have been Australia. Maw Zealand
and the British Isles, the latter bav
tag supplied 2u per cent or the rood
eaten by American troops stationed
there. Australia has supplied near
ly all the food lor American troops
in the South Pacific.
??" "
American farmers will be abl? to
obtain no more new tractors, side
delivery rakes, combines, or other
haying and harvesting machinery
during the IMS crop year than dur
ing the 1M4 crop year.
Considering the types of machines
in use on American farms, the re
placements required and the crop
shifts necessitated by war, WFA's
current farm machinery program
continues to emphasise the manu
facture of such labor-saving machin
ery as corn pickers, side delivery
rakes and pickup hay balers. WFA,
however, has requested the manu
facture for the IMS crop year of
more planting, fertilizing and tillage
equipment than for 1944. Included
are such Hems of farm equipment
as com and cotton planters, listers,
potato planters, beet and bean drills,
eddgate seeders, fertilizer distribu
tors, tractor plows and cultivators,
disc harrows, walking cultivators
and rotary hoes.
During the war, manufacture of
farm machinery, although recog
nized as an essential civilian "must"
program, has had to be balanced in
relation to direct war production.
When the United States entered
the war, production at farm machin
ery was sharply curtailed because
munitions production had become an
exacting demand on this country's
supply at steel. The steel, as well
i"i i << ngjiMMaa^ia^iJ
as cast iron, rubber, zinc, copper,
that had gone into farm machines
in pre-war days, had to be diverted
to make tanks, military trucks,
landing craft, guns and other war
goods.
in ivss American farmers
were able to bay 1(1,Mb new trac
tors. Bat that was a year when >
this country made only Mil
planes. In the calendar year el !
IMS, when American farmers
were able to bny a mere SS,Mt
new tractors, the United States
manufactured more than K,(M
planes?mainly for war.
The critical shortage of raw ma
terials that put a ceiling on manu
facture of new farm machines in
1942 has been superseded by a short
age of manpower and components.
During the first quarter of the 1945
farm machinery production year,
manufacture of new machinery?ex
clusive of wheel tractors, repair
parts and attachments?was approx
imately 25 per cent behind sched
ule.
This lag in production was caused
by manpower shortages and the dif
ficulty in obtaining components,
chiefly malleable and gray iron cast
ings. In the Middle West, where
most of American farm machinery
is made, the labor supply is inade
mint* ? nmHitinn thnt will nnt
change while war goods are still ur
gently needed. One concern, that
before the war made approximately
36 per cent of American farm ma
chines, reported in October, 1944,
that by March, IMS, it would prob
ably be abort 6,000 workers needed
to keep production up to schedule,
la eCeet, daring the war this
country has asked its farmers to
raise mere ersps with less men ,
to do the week, to keep their
fares equipment is ? si Mat or- .
too hearily on replacements,
and to share their machines with
other farmers whenever and
wherever possible.
To help fanners keep their ma
chines going, manufacture of repair
parts and attachments has been in
creased considerably. In 1044 the
scheduled production of repair parte
and attachments amounted to ap
proximately 28.3 per cent of the to
tal farm machinery output, as coon
pared with 14 per cent in 1040.
Twenty-one per cent more farm
commodities were produced in 1044
than in 1040 with 9 per cent fewer
workers.
The annual employment on Amer
ican farms decreased from 10,586.
000 in 1040 to 10,037,000 in 1044. Ap
proximately 4,000,000 workers have
left agriculture for war industries
or the armed forces.
A Potato Differ That Handle* Two Row* at a Time.
1943-44 Schedule B
Actual Production (Planned)
ITEM lMd: 7-1-43?7-31-44* 7-144 0 20 45
Tractors 322,009 188,890 155,128
Corn pickers 11,436 20.026? 21,511
Mowers 110,412 116.865 89,805
Bakes (side delivery) 28,053 17,309 28,052
Hay loaders 22,077 21,238 22,936
Plck-op balers 2,047 14,315 10,702
Grain drills (plain and fertiliser) 33.248 27,826 42,051
Manure spreaders 49,425 40,731 50,940
Dise harrows 113,830 107,837 187,148
Irrigation pumps, turbine 4,088 5,313 4,710
Moldboard plows, tsactor:
One to three bottom 112,472 71,852 85^31
Four and Ave bottom 2,509 2,868 3,858
Tractor mounted:
Two bottom 23.259 35,080 16,525
tae-way disc plows 14,214 0,688 12,232
Deep and shallow well systems 253,185 240,323 238,418
Combines 43,816 42,413 45,763
Milking machines 31,524 65,083 57,525
Cream separators 82,835 58,882 70,488
Tractor-mounted cultivators 148,381 178,828 289,338
One row, horse-drawn cultivators 26,232 20,432 22,886
Planters, horse and trader-drawn 81,226 67,858 1U3S
Planters, tractor mounted 14,166 6,152 11,111
Planters, potato 4,142 3,728 4,580
* Includes prod actios carried over from WPB Limitation Order lel16, plus an
production from appeals and supplemental authorisations.
? Production through September 18, 1844.
Hay Baler Saves Laker. <
^. in
^?
CnltiTaibtf Con, Foot Rows at a Time, Sivet Labor.