The Alamance Gleaner
VOL. LXXII GRAHAM, N. C., THURSDAY, DECEMBER 26, 1946 NO. 47.
WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS
Packers Sign. Wage Agreements;
Grant Carriers Rate Relief;
Labor Awaits High Court Decree
__________Released by Western Newspaper Union
(XirrOB'8 NOTE: When opinions are expressed In these colsmns. they are those of
Vesters Newspaper Union's news analysts and not necessarily si this newspaper.!
LABOR:.
Packer Peace
lfeat conditions continued to look
iwj for the American housewife
with the AFL and CIO packing
house unions coming to terms with
ihe big packers on new contracts
without resorting to costly strikes.
The AFL Amalgamated Meat Cut
ters and Butchers Workmen set the
pattern for peace in the industry by
agreeing with Swift on a 7Vi cent
an hour wage increase, higher pay
for night work, a better vacation
plan, pay for eight holidays and re
duction of geographical wage differ
entials. Including all benefits, the
total hourly increase amounts to 12
cents.
Hot to be outdone, the CIO United
Packinghouse Workers of America
then signed with Cudahy for an
average wage increase of 15 cents,
extra night pay, a sick leave plan,
compensation for eight holidays and
elimination of* geographical wage
differentials. At the same time, the
CIO union also reached agreement
with the Tobin Packing company of
Fbrt Dodge, Iowa, on a new con
tract providing for guaranteed em
ployment of 52 weeks.
Sue for Back Pay
As a result of a Supreme court
decision of last June 10 decreeing
that employees of the Mount Clem
ens Potters company were entitled
to compensation under the fair la
bor standards act of 1938 for walk
fcig to their jobs on plant property,
American industry faced the pros'
pect of being forced to shell out
hundreds of millions of dollars of
back pay.
Wasting no time in taking-advan
tage of the court ruling, the CIO
United Steelworkers and CIO Auto
Workers filed suits in the Cleve
land, Ohio, federal court for back
pay for 180,000 union members. The
Steelworkers asked 56 million dol
lars for 148,000 employees of He
poblic Steel company and 38 mil
Koo dollars for 30,000 workers of '
American Steel and Wire. The Auto
Workers seek 12V4 million dollars
lor 2,000 employees of Ohio Crank- .
shaft company.
At least one employer, faced with I
the prospect of being forced to pay |
help for time spent in reaching their
jobs in the plant, settled with the
nion. Dow Chemical company of
Midland, Mich., agreed to pay 1,200 .
employees of John L. Lewis' UMW's
District 50 a total of $4,656,000.
FREIGHT RATES:
Grant Boost
Interstate Commerce commission
was unanimous in granting rail and :
water carriers an average 17.6 per
cent freight rate increase and per- !
?kitting railroads to maintain a 10 j
per cent passenger fare boost. |
Noting that wage costs alone t
nee 1941 have mounted by $1,382,
M0,000 annually, ICC declared that
Me new rates were necessary (1)
Mr maintenance and development
si the transport system to meet na
tkmal needs, and (2) to assure the ;
Movement of a high volume of traf- I
Ac efficiently.
Rates on commodities other than I
Mom especially treated were in- }
ceased by 20 per cent under the |
IOC order while tariffs on agricul- i
Mral products and livestock (except |
fruits and vegetaSles) were boosted
IS per cent. Maximum increases
were allowed on many items to
maintain the competitive balance
between different regions.
SUPREME COURT:
Weighty Decision
In calling off the costly soft-coal
strike, John L. Lewis of the United
Mine Workers was content to leave
determination of the issue to the
U. S. Supreme court. Said John L.:
The Supreme court is, and we be
?^ : _J
lievc will ever be, the protector ol
American liberties and the rightful
privileges of individual citizens."
Having agreed to consider the
case directly from the federal dis
trict court, the high tribunal set Jan
uary 14 as the date for government
and defense arguments. Upon the
final decision not only rested wheth
er the heavy fines against the UMW
and Lewis would stick but, more
importantly, whether government
operated industries could prevent
workers from striking.
Legally, the issue boiled down to
this: Could government operation
of an industry be considered essen
tial to the running of the govern
ment As the ruling power, the gov
ernment said all its actions were
necessary; on the other hand, the
UMW said the running of coal mines
was not within governmental prov
ince.
BRITAIN:
Royal Romance
Great Britain, which takes its roy
alty seriously, was bubbling all over
with the latest regal romance, this
one involving Prince Philip of
Greece and Princess Elizabeth.
Long rumored, the engagement of
the royal couple loomed as more
and more of a possibility as the
British press continued to build up
the handsome, blond prince. Much
ado was made of his application for
British citizenship. Steamed up over
the ballyhoo, bobby-soxers joined
otherwise staid Britishers in believ
ing the match was "super."
While the prince and princess
made a fitting couple, the rumored
romance was not without its politi
Princess Elizabeth and Prince
Philip shown as they attend re
ception in London.
cal implications. Such a royal mar
riage would bind Britain more
closely to Greece, which occupies a
strategic position in the eastern
Mediterranean and presently is .a.
diplomatic battleground between
Britain and Russia in the fight tor
control of the Near East.
FOREIGN MINISTERS:
Germany Next
Having cleaned up the Balkan
peace pacts, the foreign ministers
of the Big Four agreed to undertake
the thorny issue of a German treaty
in Moscow next March.
The decision came as the U. S.
and Britain determined to unify their
two occupation zones to speed up the
economic recovery of western Ger
many and trim their relief burdens,
and continental Europe, once de
pendent upon the Reich for essential
supplies, continued to lag in recon
struction.
U. S. consent to conduct the parley
in Moscow was forthcoming only aft
er Russian Foreign Commissar Mo
lotov promised Secretary of State
Byrnes that newsmen would be fiv-'
en both freedom and facilities for
reporting the meeting. Byrnes in
sisted that newsmen .had not been
afforded suitable accommodations
during the last confab In the Soviet
capital.
U. N.j
Slap Franco
Even as 300,000 Spaniards assem
bled before the national palace in
Madrid to hear Generalissimo Fran
co lash "foreign Interference," the
United Nations political and security,
committee, meeting at Lake Suc
cess, N. Y., adopted a resolution for
the withdrawal of all members' am
bassadors from Spain,
j Remaining obdurate in its conten
| tion that no drastic action should be
j taken against Spain but the Spanish
| people should be given every oppor
| tunity for holding free elections, the
| U. S. abstained from voting on the
resolution. As it was, the resolution
was mild enough, since the countries
agreed to leave other diplomatic
representatives in Spain to conduct
business as usual. Effect of the
action was to snub Franco on the
direct government level.
Fiery Spaniards plastered fiery
placards against "foreign interfer
ence" in Madrid in the demonstra
tions against world condemnation
against the Franco regime. In ad
dressing the throngs, Franco de
clared: The Spanish government
was a matter of concern to the Span
ish people alone; Spain had dem
onstrated its peaceful intentions by
remaining neutral through World
War II; Spain showed its willing
ness to further prosperity by being
willing to deal commercially with
other nations.
'Big Train' Pastes On
t
Another of baseball's greats
passed into Valhalla with the death
of Walter Johnson, 59, acclaimed
by many as the, greatest pitcher
who ever toed' the rubber.
Famed for his blinding speed,
Johnson blazed a trail of glory dur
<- ? us- m ??? ?i ?
jug 111a ?i-/cai piay
ing career with the
Washington Sena
tors. Known as the
"Big Train," he
won 413 games and
lost 280; set the
modern strike-out
record of 3,497, top
ping the 200 mark
for seven consecu
tive seasons; hurled
... _ . 2 no-hitters, and 114
Big Train shutouts.
But statistics do not tell the true
story of Johnson's greatness. Indi
cative of his prowess and strength,
he blanked the New York Yankees
three times in four days in 1910.
In 1911, he struck out four men in
one inning after his catcher had al
lowed one batter to reach base when
he dropped a third strike. In 1912,
he pitched 56 straight scoreless inn
ings.
ROCKET PLANE:
Beautiful!
Stepping out of the Bell XS-1 after
taking the rocket plane up to 35.000
feet and running it at 550 miles per
hour, test pilot Chalmers Goodlin,
23, exclaimed gleefully:
"The plane, the engine ? in fact,
everything about the flight ? was
beautiful. It was all very quiet, with
absolutely no noise at all in the
cockpit, no sensation of the roar of
an engine."
Fueled with ethyl alcohol mixed
with oxygen, the -XS-1 is designed
for a speed of 1,700 m.p.h., but
Goodlin held it down to 550 m.p.h.
in the preliminary test. Built for
speedy, high altitude flying, the
plane measures only 31 feet in
length and has a wing span of 28
feet.
Army acceptance of the craft is
conditioned upon its ability to trav
el at 80 per cent of the speed of
sound, which ranges from 660
i m.p.h. to 783 m.p.h., depending
upon temperature and altitude. In
hitting it up at 550 m.p.h., Good
lin achieved a speed of 75 per cent
NEAR EAST:
bluff Reds
Russia drew a pass in the diplo
matic poker game in the Near
East as 'Iran, Greece and Turkey,
backed by the Anglo-American
powers, rebuffed leftist Jockeying!
for advantage in Iran and Greece.
In a bold maneuver to test the ex
tent of Russian determination to
dominate oil-rich northern Iran,
government forces marched into
Azerbaijan province ostensibly to
guarantee free parliamentary elec
tions. At flrst, Communist leaders
threatened civil war if the govern
ment troops continued their march,
but suddenly backtracked when the
Nationalists called their bluff.
Guerrillas seeking to establish
themselves in northeastern Greece
also were left holding the bag when
Greek regulars routed 1,000 left lata
at Corymbos and the remnants were
wiped out by Turkish troops when
they fled across the nearby border.
Communist ? dominated Bulgaria
was implicated in the scuffle, Greek
government sources claiming that
the guerrillas were provisioned by
Bulgars and some of the wounded
carried back into that country.
MAN AHOT7T TOWN
Sallies u Our Alley: Chum* hear
that war hero Flip Cochran "went
through every dime he had" fooling
around the zig-zaggy cotton mark
et. .. . Preston Sturges, the film
producer, is such a stickler for per
fect grammar that he argues with
waiters all over town whenever he
sees a word used incorrectly on a
menu. That's a new way of aggra
vating yourself! . . . We hear Sally
Rand is weary of courtroom scenes
and may retire. . . . One of the
Zanzibar employees is such a ham
he bought $500 worth of looking
glasses (to put all over his apt.)
so that he can see how small he is
from any angle. . . . Gail Barber,
Village Corner strip-teaser, was bit
ten by a dawg recently?and the
bowwow died two days later!
The Miami rain fell as It did
In the Jeanne Eagels show,
"Rain," and the wind howled
for two nights (sometimes at
42 miles per honr). But the
Florida gazettes referred to the
storm as "squalls" . . . Squalls? -
Midget hurricanes! . . . Flor
Idians with a sensayuma eail
them "Yankee breexes" .. . And
just when California's Governor
Warren arrived. Haw! . . .
Florida's Governor Caldwell
handled it adroitly, saying: "We
had these storms to make
Governor Warren feel at home."
The Late Watch: Tip the feature
editors that Howard Hughes has
a good story about the people he
is rewarding for helping him live
after his plane crash. A flre chief
out there is among them. . . . Re
member Bob Crawford? He com
posed the famous song, "Off We Go
?Into the Wild Blue Yonder, dum
de - dum - deedle - de - dummmm!"
Well, he's opened a spot called The
Blue Yonder in Miami. He says the
brass hats never gave him any rec
ognition for it or the 39 months he
flew with the air corps! And some
guys got army diplomas for week
ending over there! Fine thing.
Washington Sq. Vignette:
They tell this story around the
square. . . . They add that It
may not be true?but then
again?it may. . . . Two little
boys (with the nnknowing cruel
ty of children) were plaguing
a friend because be was lame.
... A woman paused and told
them that they shouldn't poke
fun at anyone less fortunate
than they. .. . Besides, she said.
Just because be couldn't use
his legs didn't mean be wasn't
Just as strong and brave as they
were. . . . The last great Presi
dent, she said, became Presi
dent, though paralysed. . . .
"And he," she continued,
"was as strong and brave as
any man living. I know. Too
see 1 was his wife."
His name Is Bob Turner . . . Was
a Zanuck hireling before the war
but never made a film. . . . Under
studied in a couple of shows last
season but rarely got on stage. . .
He became friendly with a girl
working on a movie mag, who put
his picture in the July issue. ...
Since then he's received 5,000 fan
letters from every state, Hawaii,
South Africa and even India. . . .
Has 124 fan clubs, a monthly news
paper and a quarterly magazine put
out by the clubs. . . . He's been
swamped with marriage proposals
and has been forced to move be
cause he never got any rest. . . .
Because he said his hobby was col
lecting giraffes, he's received 35
miniature giraffes. . . . He's the
most famous unknown person in the
business. . . . But despite his great
popularity and fame?be can't get
a Job!
Third Act: (By Don Wahn):
I thought the lovely party never
ended. ... I thought the violins
would never die. ... I thought
that love was gay and rich and
splendid And that the moon
was married to the sky. . . .
And then I beard the awesome
sound of thunder. ... The light
ning dashed?and I was numb
with fear. . . . And, childlike,
t could only stare In wonder. ... ,
And trace the landscape, deso
late and drear. ... I turned to
you?and you were white?-od
shaken. . . . And leva was but
a gray and misty ghost, . . .
And we were trapped, forgotten
and forsaken. ... By aD the
lures that we had cherished
mast. . . . And en the Hps that
once were surely mine. . . .
There were no words no laugh
ter and no wine!
SOARING IN THE SKY . . . Ski enthusiasts Sock to the nation", on gelds this winter. with marts printed
for their first bif season since the war. Upper left photo shows ose of the open slopes at Tinsilti Xa
; tional park, a skijoring haven. At the npper right Is a fast action shot made at Alta. Utah. Center, an in
structor demonstrates for a class at Son Valley, Idaho. Lower left phots shews a skier doing a "galende
sprong"" off a cornice on the side of Mt. Hood, Oregon. At the tower right. Crater Lake National park, also to
Oregon, affords the double thrill of excellent skiing and novel scenic effects.
FULL FLIGHT
Winter Sports Areas Primed
For Influx of Ski Enthusiasts
WNU Features <
Skiing will dominate the American outdoor sports scene this
winter as most of the famous ski areas of the West and Middle
west resume operatioif for the first time since Pearl Harbor.
This winter ski fans will find old favorite lodges and cha
lets improved and in full operation again after the war, while
mnnv now onrl intoroctino nvtfc arso.
primed for ? mas* recreational in-'"
vasion.
Although most of the ski resorts
open their season in December,
snow will be in its best dry. pow
dery state during January, Febru
ary and March.
This year the "regmlar ran"
of sports enthusiasts who bead
for the snow be ids will be sup
plemented by a new group?for
mer G.I.s who learned the art 1
of skiing daring the war as a ? ?
matter of military necessity and
now are converting that knew I- 1
edge into personal enjoyment.
Major jumping and slalom touraa- ;
ments have been scheduled at every
ski basin from Michigan to famed
Sun Valley, Idaho, and the slopes
of the Pacific Northwest.
Olympics Scheduled.
Major attraction of the season will ,
be the Olympic try outs in March on
Sun Valley's Bald mountain. The
nationals are booked at Iahpeming,
Mich., February 22-23. I
Ski enthusiasts will find the new i
air age in full flight over the i
great frozen spaces, most of the ski
aress now being linked together for I
the first time by fast airline eerv- i
ice. The slalom slopes of Banff and
the Canadian Rockies with almost
startling suddenness have become <
only 14 flying hours from ski fans
in Southern California, seven hours i
from Salt Lake City, nine hours from
Denver. j
The Inxnrtoos chalet and
championship coarse at Son
Valley are only a seven-boor bop
from Loe Angeles. Colorado's
10 winter sportlands have been
brought within a mere four and
a half hoars of the Pacific coast.
Western Air Lines even is In
augurating a "ski special" from
Loe Angeles to popolar resorts.
After serving as a naval rehabili
tation center during the war. Sun
Valley was reopened as a resort
December 21. All types of winter
sports are available, including ski
joring, ice skating, sleighing, dog
sledding and swjpriming in natural
hot springs water.
Install Sid Lift*.
Four electric ski lifts serve four
skiing areas on Dollar, Ruud, Proc
tor and Baldy mountains. The lift
on Baldy is 11,900 feet long and is
divided into three sections to carry
skiers to the 8,200-foot summit in 20
minutee.
In Oregon IS ereas will be in op
eration in national forests. At Tim
berline, 63 miles from Portland, is
found one of the nation's longest ski
seasons, offering ski slopes until
mid-July. The race starts at a 10,
300-foot level and finishes at 7.000 ]
feet near the head of a mile-long
ski lift. <
At mid winter the snow la 1
from S to 29 feet deep, averag
ing a boat 12 feet, with a tem
perature around 24 degrees. j
Generous snnshtne often permits
skiing in shorts.
Few places in America offer such
marvelous skiing opportunities as t
Alta, famous resort in Little Cotton- j
wood canyon of the Wasatch moun- ,
tains near Salt Lake City. Runs |
vary from a half mile to two miles j
for all classes of skiers phis tin- ,
lorn courses and practice slopes.
Brighton in nearby Big Cotton
wood canyon is a year-around moun
tain resort. Near here is Ecker hill,
where world record leaps have been
made by skiing stars of internation
al fame.
Many Sports Areas.
Colorado's majestic mountain
ranges abound with winter sports
lites. Among the leading skiing re- i
torts is Aspen, where the ski runs I
range in elevation from 7,800 to 11,- |
500 feet. Roch run. the outstanding
run for experts, is 9,720 feet with a I
2,700-foot drop.
Berthoud pass, where local inter
ests are expending considerable
money in development of sport fa- <
cilities. Grand Mesa and Glen wood
Springs are other Colorado spots hir
ing an increasing number of winter
?port enthusiasts.
Long known as a dude ranch coun
try, Wyoming now is coining into
the forefront aa a skiers' paradise in
winter. Jackson Hole in the scenic
Teton country just south of Yellow
stone park is among the most popu
lar spots.
Skiers may drive by aeteeae
bile op the Tetee rasa reed and
ski dewa numerous runs six ts
sevea miles leag with drops
ranging from l.Mt to 3.2M feet.
? ?.
Casper mountain, ciat fil** froen
Casper, and Tepee lodge in the re
mote Big Horns near Sheridan also
are being recognized by sport *?"??
because of their great natural ad
vantages.
Montana boasts at Red Lodge, de
ration 12.610 feet, where there are
>0 acres at practice slopes, ski lifts.
lownhiU. cross country and
runs.
Uaiqac Nevada SMe.
With a typical western setting
above the desert. Mount
S'ev , only an tour's drive tram Las
Vegas, provides a unique ste tor
arinter sports.
More than M winter sports areas
are found in the High Sierras of Cali
fornia. a state where winter spurts
Fans abound. Among the state's best
Known resorts are Lake Arrowhead.
Big Bear and Big Pines, all in South
ern California, Yasemite National
park, and the Deaaer Pass region.
ad *"Tl iVto'thTVar'w^L
WwiiiM aai ippcr XkMpa
wilfc tW tayftapfcj aai vtatt
er necessary te aaake theaa
areas h the aaban.
The "regular run'" at sports enthu
siasts tram the Midwest will head
for Wisconsin and Michigan's upper
peninsula, which otters all winter
sports, including ksg ski runs, to
boggan slides, towering ski jumps,
ice skating and ice boating.
Plan Aanaal CtishaL
For spectator pleasure, one of the
best winter sports programs is pre
sented 'every February at the Wis
ter Carnival in St. Paul. Minn.,
when the entire city takes an the air
of a northern Mardi Gras.
In the New Fngland states, too,
there is a revival of interest in win
ter sports. Special ski trains to
White mountain resorts are bemg
resumed this winter.
With expanded airline schedules
and increasing use of air transporta
tion to winter sports areas, many
fans will invade the Canadian Rock
ies area this winter. Most
sites there are in the Banff area and
Jasper National park.
Oyster Blast Tops Freak Mishaps
WASHINGTON.?Horn* accident* t
took ? new turn here when an oyster c
exploded. The housewife, who was
cooking the oyster in deep tat, suf- c
fered second degree burns on the I
hands and face in the freak accident, t
a Red Croas survey reveals. a
In another unusual mishap, a man
suffered throat injuries when he fell a
with a pipe in his mouth. Doctors i
removed a email hatpin from the
lung of a S-year-old boy, another (
child rwalkrwed a pencil clip and a 1
J-roontha-old baby suffered a frac- ]
ured skull when Its carriage rolled
iff a porch.
The superstitiously inclined
ilaimed new impetus tor their be
iets after a hammer, hanging on
he rang of a ladder, fell and struck
i man on the head.
In another home accident, a worn*
in was burned when she poured
netted fat Into a furnace.
Statistics compiled by the Bed
?ross home accident survey show an
ncrease In accidents end deaths this
rear over IMS. .