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The Alamance Gleaner
>* "V' ? U
VoL LXXI ~~ "? /. GRAHAM, N. C.-, THUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 1945 No. 34
" ?WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS
Round UpJapaneseWar Leaders;
Hog Slaughter Shows Big Dip;
British Seek Financial Aid
' Released by Western Newspaper Union.
(UllOB'8 NOTE: When opinions are expressed In these eotmmns, they are those of
???*??? Newspaper Union's news analysts and net necessarily of this newspaper.)
HI Britain seeking extensive American financial assistance, eonsnl
Mkaicci ander way at state department with leading conferees including
Haas Ml to right) Leo Crowley, foreign economie administrator; Lord
?nHan, British ambassador; William Clayton, assistant secretary of state;
Lead Keynes, British economist, and Henry A. Wallace, secretary of com
?MraSn
JAPAN:
Emmmi Up War Lords
VHh high Japanese war leaders
Mkac their own lives as the Ameri
can net gradually
began to tighten
around them, the
Nipponese govern
ment of Premier
Higashi - Kuni as
sumed the responsi
bility for rounding
up suspected war
criminals in an ef
fort to head off a
mass suicide wave.
Japan's No. 1
war lord through
am bm 01 tne racinc cuniiiuL uc
Bre enemy reverses forced his re
tirement, ez-Premier Hideki Tojo
led off the suicide wave by attempt
tag to take his life as American
Bangs arrived at his country resi
dence outside of Tokyo to arrest him.
Though Tojo misfired, former war
?mister and army chief Sugiyama
mad better aim to kill himself, and
as welfare minister Koizumi also
bwulJi J in taking his life.
Having first professed full respon
sibility for the war before trying to
ahoot himself, Tojo shut up tighter
toon a clam following an improve
anent in his condition under the
watchful eye of American medics.
Rrftwtag to talk on his sick-bed,
toe ashen 61-year-old former Japa
nese kingpin declared that he would
not answer questions without docu
mentary reference.
Meanwhile, capital circles re
vealed that Tojo and other sus
pected Japanese war criminals
would have their unhappy day in
aaurt before a four-power military
taitaatal similar to the one trying
Hari overlords in Germany.
Representatives of the U. S., Brit
ain. Russia and China will comprise
toe tribunal, which probably will sit
? " TafcnTawd, as in the case of its !
European counterpart, try foreign
government leaders on the unprece
Jn^ml ohorano e\f nrmHllftin O U/arS
at aggression.
fa addition to trial on the novel
?aal of carrying on aggressive
warfare, Japanese will be tried for
?Kh crimes as racial persecution,
torimt of helpless people, and mur
der of captured military personnel.
Thnagji not questioning the goal
d bringing Nazi and Japanese over
beds to justice, many eminent
American lawyers have opposed the
procedure for trial, declaring that it
adabitshes a precedent for kangaroo
?auita which might be used against
UM personages in the future.
SLAUGHTER:
r B?g? Down
I' Iksagh slaughter of cattle and
be^ during the first eight months
d Mi hit new tops for federally
bnpacted plants, butchering of hogs
dapd off severely, resulting in s
amdfaaad tight meat situation. Only
add aa improved hog situation in
asaasfag the overall supply of meat
dH marketing experts look forward
fa aa sad of rationing.
Wish August slaughter at an eight
pass law, the eight month bog pro
fatfa totalled 28,821,667, away be
bar fas 50.332,226 mark for the
aaaaa period last year. During the
W>h part of September, hogs con
Isaed to trickle into leading mar
kets, with shipments commanding
adhg prices.
Partly offsetting decreased hog
Ae^ter were record butchering!
af cattle and sheep for the first eight
maafae af the year, with 9,071,406
aaMs killed and 13,960,994 sheep. At
ibm the calf total was the sec
ond large at oa record.
FOREIGN AFFAIRS:
British Ask Aid
In the U. S. to seli this country on
the feasibility of offering financial
assistance to Britain, Ambassador
Halifax and Economist Keynes de
clared that a prosperous Britain,
getting its great exporting and im
porting machinery going at full
blast, would help assure the stabil
ity so necessary for postwar peace.
Should Britain fail to secure suf
ficient aid to rebuild its industry and
obtain raw materials for processing
into finished goods, Messrs. Halifax
and Keynes pointed out, the whole
intricate system of exchange among
nations wculd be affected, leading
to social disturbances the world
over and another outgrowth of isms.
Thus, in approaching the U. S.
on a basis of mutual concern,
the British came over as prac
tical statesmen and not as beg
gars. Further, they disclaimed
any intention of seeking an easy
way out by negotiating interest
bearing loans, but rather stated
that they were opposed to any
tvoe *of debt of a burdensome
nature which, like World War I
obligations, would have to be
eventually repudiated.
In shying from the idea of an in
terest - bearing loan, the British left
'the way open for an outright grant,
which would be strongly bucked
here, or a long-range interest-free
advance.
Shape Italian Treaty
While the British talked dollars
in Washington, D. C., the Big Five
council of foreign ministers con
tinued discussions in London con
cerning the future political and ter
ritorial makeup of postwar Europe,
with the diplomatists occupied with
drawing up an Italian peace treaty.
Foremost of the problems associ
ated with an Italian treaty was the
-disposition of the country's North
African colonies, with the British
reportedly frowning on the Ameri
can proposition for permitting the
Italians to retain their territories
under a United Nations trusteeship.
? - as? _A_ .1 |A.
AS ine ciciuai jvc??/iug iv>
protective boundaries and rich
interests cropped up, the Brit
ish were said to favor Italian
retention of only western Libya
while taking for themselves
eastern Libya covering Egypt
and Italian Somalilaad fronting
the gateway to the vital Red sea
leading to the 8nes canal. At
the same time, the French re
portedly sought a slice of north
western Libya from Italy to
strengthen their own Tunisian
holding.
But if the disposition of Italian colo
nies posed a big problem, so did the
readjustment of Italy's European
borders, with France out for a re
adjustment of the Alpine boundary
and Yugoslavia hot for annexation
of the strategic Istrian peninsula
with its rich port of Trieste. As the
meeting progressed, the Big Five
were said to have considered a com
promise under which Italy would re
linquish the peninsula jutting into
the Adriatic sea but retain Trieste
itself.
With U. S. and British pressure
for free and open elections in Ro
mania and Bulgaria already having
forced the communists' hands in
those countries, Yugoslav and
Greek rightists next came to the fore
at the foreign ministers' conference
to request intervention in the
political affairs of those Balkan
states to assure a fair and peaceful
democratic representation.
RELIGION:
Courses Challenged
Traditional American leparation
of church from state was the issue
Mrs. Vashti McCullom of Cham
paign, 111., raised against the Cham
paign school board in her suit to
halt voluntary religious instruction
in the public schools in the com
munity.
With both Mrs. McCullom and the
board prepared to appeal to the Su
preme court in event of their loss
of the decision, the suit promises to
affect similar instruction in 1,850
communities in 40 states. North Da
kota and New Hampshire are the
only states without such religious
courses.
In bringing her suit as the inter
ested party, Mrs. McCullom stated
that as the only pupil in his class
not enrolled in the voluntary 30 min
ute per week instruction in the Prot
estant, Catholic and Jewish faiths,
her 10-year-old son Terry had suf
fered acute embarrassment. As a
result, she said, indirect pressure
had been brought to bear against the
youngster to take the course, regard
less of his inclination, on public
school property maintained by tax
payers' funds.
In countering Mrs. McCullom's
charge, the school board pointed out
that the courses were outside of the
school curricula and purely volun
tary, with the representatives of all
of the principal religious denomina
tions conducting and flnancirys the
instruction.
Aside from the state constitution
and statutes involved, federal inter
vention hinged on the first amend
ment to the U. S. Constitution, which
provides: "Congress shall make no
law respecting an establishment of
religion or prohibiting the free ex
ercise thereof" . . . and section
1 of the 14th amendment to the Con
stitution declaring . . . "No state
shall make or enforce any law
which shall abridge the privileges
or immunities of the citizens of the
United States; nor shall any state
deprive any person of life, liberty,
or property without due process of
law, nor deny to any person within
its jurisdiction the equal protection
of the laws."
Mother of three boys and wife of
a University of Illinois professor, 32
year-old Mrs. McCullom said thai
while she realized the suit might
harm young Terry, her deep con
viction on separation of church from
state inspired her action.
Plan Jobless Benefits
?
Though the senate finance
committee worked out a broad
postwar unemployment benefit
bill, the solons turned down
Pres. Harry S. Truman's recom
mendation that jobless com
pensation be raised to a maxi
mum of $25 per week.
Instead, the committee bent to
the task of shaping a measure
which would authorize the fed
eral government to contribute
Munds toward extending the time
of state unemployment payments
60 per cent. Benefits now range
from $15 for 14 weeks in Ari
zona to $28 for 30 weeks in Con
necticut.
Both federal and maritime
worxers wouia De maae eugiDie
(or unemployment compensa
tions under the proposed bill, at
the rate existent in the state of
their employment.
In addition, workers who mi
grated to war production cen
ters would be allowed up to $200
(or transportation expenses
back to their old residences or
new job locations. Money would
not be advanced (or the ship
ment of any household effects,
however.
STRIKES:
Hit Radio
Heading up a wave of strikes,
leaving over 100,000 workers idle,
was the walkout of engineers of the
National and American Broadcast
ing companies partly .paralyzing ra
dio programs and forcing executive
technicians to take over operation of
the controls.
Though the strike ostensibly was
over wage demands. Informed in
dustry sources said the walkout was
a flareup of a dispute between the
independent engineers' union and
Jimmy Petrillo's American Feder
ation of Musicians, AFL, over which
of the two should represent the em
ployees who turn the records for
transcribed broadcasts.
While the war labor board or
dered the radio companies to deal
with the engineers over the record
changers, the AFM's jurisdiction
over the so-called "platter jockeys"
has been recognized in Chicago,
Washington, New York and Detroit.
Because the big chains feared Pe
trillo might call his musicians out
on strike if they dealt with the en
gineers over the record changers, H
was charged, they have been stall
ing on the negotiations.
h. r?:--?
n
iiJUH
Votes of ? New Yorker:
Don't be disappointed that Halsey
didn't ride Hirohito's horse. . . .
rhat was just the colorful Old
Boy's way of saying he'd get to
rokyo. . . . Admiral Halsey always
was good with the phrase-turner's
tool. ... As f rut ample? The con
gratulatory message he sent to a
submarine crew after a job well
done:
"Your picture is on my piano."
The Boner Delightful (from an
Aug. 24th a. m. paper): "De Gaulle
Here. At City Hall, deception cere
monies will begin at noon."
Final Guffaw Dep't: The foot a
newsmag once used to kick this col
yumist is now in its mouth. We
were booted because one of our pre
dictions fizzled. . . . The Aug. 13th
(1945) issue of the same critic con
tained this gem: "Last week Rus
sia wan not ready ? if ever she
would oe ? to go to war with
Japan." . . . Russia went to war with
Nippon on Aug. 8th. To make the
revenge sweeter ? this broadcaster
was first to accurately forecast Rus
sia's positive entry into the war.
The Bouse Ways and Means Com
mittee lias been giving a frosty re
ception to Pres. Truman's request
for greiter jobless benefits, with
Rep. Kiutsen of Minnesota asking:
"If we pay a man $25 a week for
not working, what will we have to
pay 10 iei mm 10 worn :
"The answer to that," com
mented a politico, "is that you'U
have to pay him a living wage,
that's all."
"Yes," agreed a colleague, "but
what constitutes a living wage?"
"That," was the retort wonderful,
"depends on whether you're giving
it or getting it."
Sallies in Our Alley: In the Cub
Room Fanny Ward, the 76-year old
doll-face, swapped howjoodoos with
her friend, Supreme Court Justice
Frank Murphy. . . . "Frank," she
asked, "how do you keep so
young?" . . . Looking at his charm
ing companion alongside him, Mr.
Justice replied: "Courtin*" ... In
"Polonaise," the new Chopin-in
spired operetta, the principals are
all European-born. . . . Klepura is a
Pole; his wife, Marts Eggerth, is
Hungarian or Austrian. . . . Kurt
Bais, the new comedian, is from
mlttel-Europa, and other foreigners
include David Lichine, the ballet
master, and Tanya. . . . "Who's the
most important person in the
show?" inquired a clown. "The in
terpreter?"
The nationalist group has adopted
another rodent for a pet: Traitor
Petain. . . . The boo-hooey consists
of sobbing about Petain's age and
blubbering that be was merely try
ing to save France. Nutzl When
Petain was in Verminy's hip-pocket
he was an accessory to Nazi crimes
committed against Frenchmen of
all ages including children. Petain
sent 36,000 French children to work
in Germany as slave laborers!
When the tlx Americans were
arrested on State Dep't orders re
cently front pages whooped about
the espionage angle. . . . This re
porter pointed out that the spy hoop
la was merely the gimmick used by
some diplomats in an attempt to
muzzle journalistic criticism of
State Dep't policies. ... A few days
ago a Federal Grand Jury refused
to indict three of the accused, and
the other three were not Indicted for
espionage but merely for "purloin
ing" government documents. ... It
is about time Congress probed the
striped-britches boys responsible for
the whole shameful affair.
The American Navy and Hiro
hlto's eyeglasses prove the sama
thing. That the Jape are a very
shortsighted people. . . . The Jspi
signed the surrender terms. But out
safety is in our fleet, not in theli
signatures. ... We had their sig.
natures on treaties December 7th,
! 1941. . . . The Jap is anxious tc
let bygones be bygones. So is anj
1 criminal on the day of his convic.
tion.
I Sounds in the Night: At the En
duro: "A waiter is a guy who be
; 11 eves that money grows on trays."
I... At the Metropole: "When ii
that tramp going to write hei
1 naughty - biography?" . . . Ai
Chateaubriand: "He made her at
honest woman. Sent her back to hei
husband."
Stork Club Coofactus: Beware a
a Jap on his knees. It only make:
it easier for him to hit you balou
the belt.
Tax Question Spotlights Spectacular Growth of . 1
Co-Operative Movement in U. S. in Recent Years J
Private Business Complains of Disadvantage;
Co-Ops' Volume Tops Five Billion Dollars
By ALJEDLICKA
When congress ponders a new revenue bill this fall, one of the
major propositions under discussion will be the taxation of co-op
eratives. Under pressure of established tax-paying enterprises,
the solons can be expected to comb the situation thoroughly, since
the rapid growth of co-operatives in the present century not only
poses the question of tax equality, but also of maintenance of
revenue.
But though the question of taxation itself appears to head up
the co-operative question now, there are other and even more deep
ly rooted underlying causes, principally the movement's threat to
fV?A fA 4b
v??t uouiMuuai muci iwoii uuor
ness system. In this respect, the
whole co-operative development
may well shape as an economic
evolution, though frequent
cycles have robbed it of the con
sistency necessary for historical
reform.
At the present time, however,
American co-operatives are on a
rising tide, with the strongly
established farm organizations
numbering 4,390,000 members
being steadily complemented by
urban consumer and manufac
turing groups. During the 1943-'44
season rural marketing and purchas
ing co-operatives alone did over S
billion dollars worth of business,
mostly on a tax-free basis.
As a result of the steady growth
of co-operatives spearheaded by the
farmer associations, and their ex
tension into various fields, tradi
tionally established American busi
nessmen are stirring uneasily.
Whereas only the handler and sup
plier of agricultural products and
material formerly had been pressed
by the co-operatives, competition
now has been extended to manu
facturers of farm machinery, hard
ware, paints, electric refrigerators,
washing machines, toasters, clocks,
cigars, cigarettes, lipstick, tires and
batteries.
In addition, co-operatives now
drill wells, own pipe lines, refine
petroleum, possess timber tracts,
write insurance, and operate banks,
telephone companies and electric
power installations.
From the beginning, the co-opera
tive movement assumed the nature
of a joint enterprise for performing
a non-profitable service for each
participant's individual welfare.
Though contemporary history
traces the real origin of the co-oper
ative movement back to Rochdale,
England, where poor working peo
ple organized a grocery co-op in
1844 to avail themselves of cheaper
food, some historians credit the
birth of the movement to local farm
ffTOUM which hflnfi?fl (nffcthAr in
the U. S. in the 1820s to reduce in
surance costs.
Following the establishment of the
local Ore insurance groups, the co
operative movement assumed an
other form in the U. 8. after the
civil war in the national farm
Grange, a social and educational or
ganization also bent upon relieving
stringent economic conditions. Even
tually turning to co-operative meth
ods to attain its early objectives,
the Grange failed in promoting a
purchasing co-op because of the un
scrupuloslty of agents; bogged In
pushing consumer co-ops partly as a
result of the panic of 1873, and gave
up a farm machinery manufactur
ing co-op following overproduction
and under-servicing.
As the co-operative movement be
gan to take root here during World
War I and congress recognized it as
an instrument for aiding the farm
producer, legislation was enacted to
afford tax relief to operators. In
1816, congress stipulated that farm
ers, fruit growers and like associ
ations organized and operated on a
cooperative basis and acting as
selling agents for their members
should not be requested to pay an
income tax on earnings.
In subsequent legislation, the
1 so Ions provided that co-operatives
could purchase as well as sell for
producers; deed with non-mem be ri
i ss well as members; become cor
porations and pay interest on stock,
and not be prosecuted under the
anti-trust laws.
The government also sat up a fed
eral agency to loan mooey to co
operatives in 1821, with the financial
machinery expanded through the
i farm credit act of 1833. In 1833, the
' securities act also permitted co-op
:; era fives to sell equities without
i prior approval of the Securities and
' Exchange commission, which exer
cises that right over corporate is
sues.
f Though historians claim for the
i D. 8 the credit for the birth of the
-dato^tUTniMMif' 1JM'stiu'reoeivie
general recognition (or establishing
the three general principles under
which co-operatives widely function
today. These principles include:
1. One vote to each member re
gardless of stock holdings.
2. Distribution of net savings to
patrons in proportion to their pur
chases.
3. Limited fixed interest on cap
ital shares instead of variable and
unlimited dividends.
Organization of farm co-ops is rel
atively simple, with the pattern
moulded to give each member an
equal controlling interest in the
operations. Upon subscribing for
capital stock or paying a member
ship fee, the local group then adopts
by-laws and elects a board of direc
tors. A manager Is hired, policies
outlined and facilities secured. Al
though in charge, the manager re
mains under supervision of the di
recting board.
In addition to observing the Roch
dale principles in voting, savings
distribution and stock payments. Lo
cal groups often confine ownership
to farmers raising products handled
by the co-op; restrict securities
transfers, and limit the amount of
shares a member may hold.
While co-operatives are generally
organized on the local level, they
usually affiliate with regional
groups to obtain maximum effi
ciency of operation, with the region
al bodies in turn sometimes combin
ing with national associations. But,
in any case, the local group retains
a voice in the broadened organiza
tion through the selection of dele
gates.
While membership fees, stock
sales and reserves provide working
capital, co-operatives borrow on a
large scale to finance operations, a
study of the Farm Credit adminis
tration in 1939 revealing that ap
proximately 00e-half of the coops
then existent resorted to loans.
While figures show 4,390,000 mem
bers of 10,300 farm marketing and
purchasing co-ops, the actual num
ber of individuals participating in
the movement may be considerably
less since a person may belong to
more than one organization.
With 7,323 units and 2,730,000
members, the farm marketing co
operatives do by far the largest bus
iness, with 1943-44 activities total
ling almost $4,300,000,000. Handling
of dairy products accounted for
$702,000,000; livestock, $830,000,000;
grain, dry beans and rice, $433,000,
000; cotton and its products, $238,
000,000; fruits and vegetables, $160,
200,000; poultry and eggs, $130,000,
000; tobacco, $130,000,000; wool and
mohair, $107,000,000; nuts. $49.
000,000, and miscellaneous, $113,.
000,000.
For the 2,778 purchasing co-opi
with 1,800,000 members, total busi
ness for the 1943-'44 season wai
placed at $730,000,000. Seventeer
major regional procurement organ
izations alone secured $151,640,(XX
of feed; $30,702,000 of gas. oil anc
grease; $19,871,000 of fertilizer, ant
$10,893,000 of seed.
Never as successful in the U. & aj
in Britain, American urban or con
sumer co-ops are inaigniflran
alongside of the farm organizations
U0^0^member^doing^boul^9,0o?
000 business annually. Though com
sumer labor co-ops have failed in.
the past, the CIO's entrance into the
field on a limited basis bears watch
ing anew, with the union tactics ap
parently aimed at making up future
tighter wage rates by reducing
staple living costs.
In singing the praises of farm co
ops, advocates describe the move
ment as a means of putting the
country's gigantic rural plant on at
more efficient basis, with resultant)
profits to the producer.
This increased efficiency can be
attributed to both the size of co-oper-4
atives and the nature of their own
ership. By banding together, fann
ers are able to purchase goods at!
lower prices, and group distribution!
results in smaller overhead and de
creased haifilling charges. By own
ing the business, of course, co-op
erators avert dealers' margins.
Though tax-exempt co-operatives
have been the target of competitive
businesses complaining of their tax
preferment, R. Wayne Newton,
manager of the National Association
of Co-operatives, declares that the
increased return of farmers results'
in payments of higher individual
income taxes. At the same time.'
Newton says, the larger profits en
able operators to spend more en
merchandise in the local communi
ties.
Charges that co-ops are making
huge profits on their operations only
serves to emphasize the size of mar
gins formerly enjoyed by private
dealers, Newton avers. By banding
together for co-operative operations,
farmers have tended to offset their
previous disadvantage of being com
Suecessfal cMfi laiMl rakoj
st MtPbertee, Earn., tap, sad crate
elevator st Indiaoa Farm Wnai a*
Indianapolis, t?s
pel led to sell their products on a
flexible open market and buy on a
more or less rigid retail price level,
be further states.
In spearheading the opposition la
tax-exempt co-operatives, the Ra
tional Tax Equality association
points to the fact that co-op teseistn
retained after patronage refunds re
main untaxed, thus snahling them
to do business at lunar coat while
also permitting con tinning expan
sion. As a result, the NTEA asserts,
co-opcrathrea are growing at a rate
of 10 times that possible for tax
paying enterprises. \
Not only that but many tax-pay- \
ing corporations hsve -shifted to n
tax-exempt status either through ac
quisition by co-operatives or by the
voluntary action of stockholders,
NTEA declares.
As examples, NTEA president,
Ben McCabe, cites the northern Cali
fornia holdings of the Red River
Lumber company, bought by the
Fruit Growers' Supply company, a
subsidiary of the California FTuit
Growers' exchange, with a loan to
the U. S. treasury of nearly $l,MO,
000 a year in tax revenues; the
Ohio Cultivator company of BeDe
vue, Ohio, purchased by the He.
. tional Farm Machinery Co-oper
. stive Inc., with a loss of about $19g,
000 annually to Uncle Sam's coffers,
i and the Globe Refining company at
. McPherson, Sans., taken over by
i the National Co-operative Reflnerj|
, association.
Against the background of al
) ready established co-operatives and
I the shift of some tax-paying enter
I prises to a non-paying co-op basis,
McCabe also cites the possibility ofl
, the growth of labor-sponsored coo
L turner organizations, which would
t remain tax-free on two counts: one,
y because ownership would he vested
) In tax-exempt unions, and two, fen.
i te?te ttey would dterifaute earn