Washington, 1). C.
MI DITI ICKANi: AN MIX-l'P
Inside story on General Wuvcll s
transfer to India, as told in diplo
matic dispatches, is that Wavell had
been t|uaiTi lin? with Churchill and
had opposed political-military moves
such a tl c campaign In Gn < ce and
Crete and the expedition to Solum.
More important from tin- Amer
U .n pomt of view. Wavell hod fa
vored the evacuation of all British
forces from the entire Mediter
ranean area. And V S. military ex
perts a:: reed with him? in fact,
urged it. .
S> although in a sense G? neral
Wavell is being demoted, yet in oth
er respects he will be in a position
I < mn an I Bi II h fora ?? from an
area to which he had urged that
British forces retreat.
For some time General Wavell
hud contended that Britain's posi
tion in tin- Mediterranean wa? to
defer I 1 .? Hi ' "f only
?41 >0.000 Tl . ? in t'le Near K.ist faei i
a combined Axis total twice -is
strong? 4<Hl.OO<i Germans and Italians
in Libya, plus 800.0nti Nazis in
Greece! Bulgaria and Rumania.
The letter figure has been partially
diminished I'*- transfers to Ru:-sia,
but Wavell argued t'.at the Nazi
Fascist armies could concenfate
attack in one place while British
troops had to spread out over a far
flung lim from Libya to Syria and
Iraq. Therefore he disagreed with
Churchill on all military moves
which had a political motive.
l\ S. Worried Over Atlantic.
U. S. military and naval strate
gists sided with Wavell. were stronR
lor the idea of a complete British
withdrawal from the Mediterranean.
The strateg> behind this was two
fold: 3
1. The British hav< lost 40 per
cent of their original Mediterranean
fleet. The losses at Crete were
much worse than oflicially admitted,
and even in the Syrian campaign
naval losses were considerable.
Therefore, American naval men,
facing the probability of having to
help the British fleet in the Atlantic,
did not want the fleet further weak
ened.
2. The United States is more in
terested in what happens on the
bulge of Africa around Dakar (op
posite Brazil) than it is in the Medi
terranean.
To this end, both General Wavell
and U. S. strategists favored the idea
of withdrawing British forces from
the Mediterranean entirely and es
tablishing a new line of defense
across the very center of Africa
from Port Sudan on the Red sea to
Freetown on the Atlantic ocean.
This line of defense meant that
about 1,500 miles of the hottest des
ert in the world would be between
. the Nazis and the British lines.
^ Over such a desert it is diilicult for
tanks to operate without heating up;
also it is difficult for the average
bomber to carry a load over such
distances. So it was expected that
the Nazis would exhaust themselves
in the deep, hot deserts of Africa.
Part of the plan contemplated n
highway straight across equatorial
Africa from Freetown and later
from Dakar to Port Sudan.
Churchill Says No.
However, Churchill was flatly op
posed. So were many other British
leaders. They felt that the shock
of withdrawal from the Mediterran
ean, traditional sphere of British in
fluence. and from Suez which had
been identified with the British em
pire for years, would be too much
for the British public.
This debate occurred before the
Nazi attack on Russia and before
the British march into Syria. But
after the slowness of Wavell's suc
cess in Syria, all these factors cul
minated in his transfer to India.
There Wavell can concentrate on
defense of the most important part
of the empire? if the Nazis creep
up on the Indian border in South
Russia. Also, he will not be in the
Mediterranean, for the defense of
which he had no great enthusiasm.
MERRY-GO-ROUND
It was a breathless day in Wash
ington. The only breeze was kicked
up by the little subway car run
ning between the senate ofTica build
ing and the Capitol. Passenger Hat
tie Caraway, senator from Arkan
sas. clutched at her flying strands
o / hair.
Curly-haired Sen. Berkeley Bunk
er of Nevada, who succeeded to the
seat of the late Key Pittman, never
misses a senate session and is as
siduously studying parliamentary
procedure. Vice President Wallace
has called him to preside during his
absence more than any other sen
ator.
WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS By Edward C. Wayne
Landing of U. S. Forces in Iceland
Is New Move in Hemisphere Defense;
Germany's Campaign Against Russia
Gives British Chance for Air Attacks
i:i>ITOK'K NOTE ? When opinion*, are rtprri^rd In these rwlumn*. the*
are those of the new* Analyst nnd not nrrr?s.iril> ot thin newspaper ?
____________________ iHrlrasrd by Western Newspaper Union ?
During the Iraq rebellion and war, Anierieans stationed at the Iraq
capital eitv of Baghdad prepared to defend themselves. As Old Glory
Is raised in the background men of the American legation staff start
training drill with weapons furnished by British military mission com
mander. But the British won this war before the Americans were called
upon to defend themselves.
ICIXAM):
( Iccupirtl hy II. S.
American naval forces have oc
cupied Iceland to supplement and
eventually to replace British forces
there. This information was given
congress by Preside it Roosevelt,
who explained that the move was
taken "to forestall any pincers
movement undertaken by Germany
against the Western hemisphere."
The occupation waE >, 0^rr>rIifih0fi
with the full permission of the new
Iceland republic which had declared
its independence from Denmark in
May.
ON RUN:
Or Defending?
Crucial questions of the Russo
German war were these:
Did the Nazis actually have the
Russians in a wild-disorganized re
treat?
Were the Russians, instead, fall
ing back to the Stalin line in good
order considering the magnitude 01
their army?
Was the finish to be another de
feat for the defenders as soon as the
large cities were taken, as had hap
pened in Norway, Belgium, Holland,
France?
Or were the Russians willing, like
the Chinese, to move back across
vast territory and let space and
winter hardships swallow up the
Nazi effort?
None of these questions could be
answered accurately through the
muddle of rival claims, yet there
were hints here and there that tend
ed to show trends in attack and de
fense that might furnish a partial
answer.
The onslaught was terrific and
news pictures released by the Ger
mans showed the advance across
battlefields filled with backgrounds
of smoke, flame and destruction.
The speed could be counted at about
350 miles in two weeks ? the very
distance not only pointing to the ter
rific power of the attack, but also to
the difficulty of maintaining a serv
ice of supply and "mopping up'* over
so many thousands of square miles.
So much tended to show the Nazis
swift and easy victors. Yet there
were other indications, entirely
aside from the official and biased
communiques which bore on the
eventual result and the theory of
the Red defense.
There were reports from Nazi
friendly Vichy and Rome. The for
mer reported half the troops of oc
cupation withdrawn to the eastern
front; the latter warned against ex
pecting a swift and easy victory.
The reports from Scandinavian
sources of the evacuation of civilians
from Leningrad and Moscow and
Kiev; the speech of Stalin in which
he urged the "scorched earth" de
fense; the plans of Hitler to put
Louis Ferdinand on the Russian
throne ? all indicated that there
might be a chance that the Rus
, sians were willing to drop back as
slowly as might be. cede what
cities and territory must be given
up. and let the Russian wastes and
the impending Russian fall and win
ter eat up the strength of the at
tacker.
1 Few believed that the "Stalin line"
would be anything but a stormy
way-station for the German ad
vance. But many believed that the
1 "Chinese plan" would not only stem
the Hitlerian attack? but eventually
| defeat it.
BRITAIN:
I lor Chance
The British were apparently keen
ly aware that the preoccupation oi
the Nazis with the Reds on the
East furnished them with their great !
chance of the war.
Hardly had the attack against j
Russia been on for a week than the
R.A.F. leaders announced mastery
of the daytime air over the occupied j
regions and western Germany.
Hardly did a day pass without
large-scale daytime bombing raids,
and the British plane losses did not
appear great if, as the claim was |
made, they were using several
squadrons of upward of 100 bombers
each every day.
There was a silence from Ger
man sources about the accomplish
ments of the raids, but the British,
judging from their own losses from
German air attacks, figured that
their chosen objectives must soon be
reduced to hopeless ruins.
They felt that the Coventries on
Europe's soil must be numerous.
Heavy night attacks followed those
by day, with only occasional and
very light German reprisals ? and
all of these under cover of dark
ness.
On the sea, also, the British
seemed to be making some head
way against the U-boat menace, and
the probability was felt that many
submarines must have been divert
ed to the Baltic, to serve againsf
Russian vessels.
MARSHALL:
And Draftees
Two vital questions on the home
front were brought to the fore by
General Marshall, chief of staff of
the U. S. army:
The keeping of selective service
men past their 12-month training
period.
The question of sending them be
yond the United States and her pos
sessions as "task troops."
The chief of staff made his case
plain. The army, he said, was com
posed of three elements ? regulars,
national guardsmen, and draftees.
These, instead of having been kept
separate, were all melted into one
military whole, arid to remove a
part of these, the draftees, at the
end of 12 months, would be to create
utter confusion in the whole organi
zation, he said.
He asked that the part of the
selective service law which limited
the time and place o I the soldier's
service be taken away.
Otherwise, he pointed out, the
power of the commander-in-chiel
would become a meaningless thing
and detachments needed at certair
points would be forced to lose theii
manpower.
But the chief of staffs request
couched in such a way that iJ
seemed an official request of con>
Kress by the war department, founc
considerable opposition, Senatoi
McNary of Oregon, Republican lead
er, stating that he was not only it
opposition to the removal of the geo
graphical restrictions in the drafl
act, but also was against the re
moval of the 12-month restriction a;
well.
It was evident that Karshall'i
hope for an army of 2,500.000 trainee
men, able to move wherever the
congress and the commander-in
chief deemed expedient, was not go
ing to be won without overcomin|
serious opposition.
"TP HE old-timer likes to think the
* old days arid the old ways were
the best. As the years slip by he
lets his imagination build up the
stronger spots and lop olT the weak
er turns his ancient idols carried
into action.
Certainly baseball's two most fa
mous stars for 30 years ? from 1905
to 1935 ? were Ty
Cobb and Babe
Kuth. Cobb's big
league career open
ed in 1905. Babe's
in 1914. For more
than 10 years their
careers overlapped.
Their counter
parts in 1941 are
Hob Feller and Joe
DiMaggio. Bob Fel
ler is, or should be.
one of the all-time
pitching greats. The
(?rantland Ricc
same ratine applies to Joe Di.Mag
gio as a hitter and outfielder.
Without attempting to rnte the val
ue of Ty and Babe against Bob and
Joe. there is one department at least
where the old-timer can expand his
chest and prove his point. This is
the matter of color.
Cobb and Ruth packed an en
larged amount of personality in
their playing systems. They had
flame, flare, dash. They caught and
held the fancy of the crowd.
Feller and DiMaggio are both on
the quiet, unobtrusive side who like
life better away from the mob. Both
are friendly, serious young men who
make their entire contribution as a
star pitcher and a star outfielder.
They make no claim or pretensions
to any form of so-called "color."
Cobb and Ruth have always been
exactly the opposite. They were
actors as well as ball players. Both
were on the exciting side. And a
big part of their crowd appeal had
no particular connection with me
chanical skill. They had plenty of
that.
Disagreeing With Ty
It pains us to disagree with such
an old pal as Tyrus Raymond Cobb.
I was in Atlanta
when Ty was in Au
gusta around 1904
or 1905 and we
headed north from
the red clay hills
at about the same
date.
Ty naturally likes
the "one run at a
time" game best.
He likes the less
lively ball. He has
something on his
side of the argu
Ty Cobb
ment with respect to this.
But the modern game is more
dramatic. In the old days a three
or four-run lead was usually deci
sive. Today it may mean little, and
the crowd knows it. Both infielders
and outfielders, especially infielders,
bave to work at a far faster clip
to handle whistling drives that come
their way. The home run is still the
main crowd thrill.
I must disagree with Ty on an
other point. On his all-time all-star
team the pitchers he names are
Walsh. Alexander, Mathewson, John
son, Plank and Feller.
What about a pretty fair pitcher
by the name of Denton Tecumseh
(Cy) Young, the Paoli Phenom?
All Cy did was to win 512 ball
games in two major leagues. This
winning count totals more games
than the great majority of pitchers
| ever pitch. They talk about pitch
ers who can win 20 ball games a
season ? Cy Young averaged better
than 20 games a year for more than
20 years.
About Cy Young
Young did his pitching for Cleve
land, St. Louis and Boston, work
ing in both leagues. He came up
from Paoli, Ohio, in 1890 with hay
In his hair.
Cy, a huge hulk of a fellow, had
speed, control, a fine head and a
stout heart. Ar>d you can empha
size control and smartness. Cy
worked from 1890 through 1911 and
when he had finished he had passed
by something like 100 winning games
of Walter Johnson's mark in second
place.
Cobb picks Ed Walsh and Eddie
Plank, both fine pitchers, but old
Cy won more games than both to
gether.
I ran across Cy a short while
back. He gave me then one of the
secrets of his success.
"How did I ever win 512 games?"
be said. "Here's one reason. I had
Four different pitching motions Uiat
I made look alike. Also, I think
that I was the first pitcher to cover
np the pitching motion completely.
I'd practically turn my back to the
! batter and the ball would be on him
| before he was set," he explained.
Our Wasted Hour*
Statisticians have boon at their
favorite game Ufa in. anil ?0V1J
they have calculated the time we
spend doing useless things \v(
are told that the average man Insuj
three days a year holding a buu
ing receiver waiting for soim- nc
to speak to him. They say that
most people repeat Uiemselve at
least three times a day, x\. rh
amounts to about 20 hour s a y jr.
One of the greatest thicvt ot
time is indecision, and m m\ |,. .
pie spend 15 minutes daily mak
ing up their minds. In the aver
age lifetime this cuts o(T a ? hunk
equal to l'Jt years. This is liow
other time is wasted: Waiting for
meals. 2'i years, answering the
door one year, traveling to ,rk
l'i years.
St.Joseph
aspirin m
wins luces; siu.ii tr IU<
Failing Community
A churchless community a
community where men hove ,,i
doned and scofTed at or ign.ir. il
their religious needs, is a commn
nity on rapid down grade.? Tin o
dore Roosevelt.
P1act<J anywhere. I>aL?y Fly
Kilk-r attracts and kUb
Cluaranu-rtl. effective.
convctm-ut ? Oan x r.411 ?
Will not nUorlojuniDjiiiiBt
Lasts all erav>n. 2itc ?i nil
dealers. Harold 80mm, Inc ,
160 Do Kalb Avo^B'klyn.N.y.
KILL ALL FLIES
Deadly Tongue
The second most deadly instru
ment of destruction is the dyna
mite gun ? the first is the human
tongue. ? W. G. Jordan.
SCI DEMONSTRATION
MI can't tell you how thrilled I am
with the performance, labor ravine
feature*, and beauty of my new
NESCO Kerosene Ranee.
"Before you buy. insist on seeing these
new NESCOS demonstrated an!
learn about their many convenience
features and their fine cooking snd
baking qualities. You'll find Just the
model to fit your individual needs."
Simplified Operation
"The large, scientifically designed
oven hsa a reliable heat indicator and
is fully insulated with efficient glass
wool. Fuel tanks sre essily accessible
snd powerful burners provide in
stant heat in various desired degree#.
"There's an enclosed storsgeapsce for
Idle utensils and a removable burner
tray that keeps the stove snd floor
clean without bsck-breaking drudg
ery. Staggered burners sllow me to
use 3 large utensils at the same time
and the convenient table top provides
much needed extra working spsoe."
Declare a housetvh'e's holiday and
hurry doum to see the neto NESCO
Ranges at your dealer today