WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS By Edward C. Wayne
u. S. Counters Diplomatic Blitzkrieg
V/ith World-Wide Economic Warfare
Having Trade Control as Objective;
Russians Slow Tempo of Nazi Drive
NKW YORK CITY. ? Here's an example of what the gas "curfew"
along the eastern seaboard really means. Murray Jupitor, owner of the
g.it station, takes off his working clothes when night time comes around.
Despite the piled up cars behind him he refused to sell to a customer in
keeping with the recommendations of Secretary of Interior Ickes. The
nil; n tells the story . . . "No Gas Till 7 a. m."
DIPLOMACY :
II nr liittrr
!i seemed hard to believe that
v illi 9.000.000 to 11,000,000 human
inys bitterly engaged in a death
limbic on the Kusso-German
I- ts, that battles of diplomats and
:?. mists could stand out in the
important news of the day. but such
iced was the case.
llrrmiiny was engaged in a well
?tined diplomatic blitzkrieg against
" n American solidarity, and many
i !!? ved that the entire fabric of
Japanese moves in the South Pa
. iiir were not only Nazi-inspired,
nt I'xecutcd unwillingly by Nippon
in .bedience to direct orders from
Bi i lin.
The elTort obviously seemed to be
to engage the attention of the
I :t-,d States at half a dozen dif
? rent points that America's entry
? the war would be postponed to
t last possible moment.
Or, if that entry could not be
cied, the Axis intended that the
l ; t attention of the United States
uld be directed toward the East
lmi.es, thus holding our fleet away
from the Atlantic.
There was conceded to be little
change that the outbreak of border
war between Peru and Ecuador, the
attempted Nazi coup in Bolivia, the
ditw in Argentina, and the strained
relations with Mexico were not part
and parcel of a gigantic diplomatic,
propaganda and espionage cam
paign against Pan-American soli
darity.
Though it might be said to have
foiled, it nevertheless engaged our
attention for more than a month.
Tit.-n came Dakar back onto the
fror.t pages again, with a Nazi de
mand upon Vichy which seemed not
only aimed at bases in Dakar, but
a new effort to enroll the French
fleet as a direct German-Italian in
strument of warfare.
These were big stakes, and the en
tire trend and sequence of them al
most dwarfed the fighting on the
Eastern front, particularly since it
continued to be difficult to gain any
accurate picture of what was going
on in the active fiehtinc.
ECONOMIC:
War Outstanding
Hardly of secondary importance
to the diplomatic blitzkrieg launched
in the Far East and Pan-America
by the Axis was the world-wide eco
nomic war engaged in by Pan
America, the United States and Brit
ain against the Axis, now more
sternly than ever against Japan.
There were analysts who felt that
the outbreak of war between Ger
many and Russia was directly
caused by the success of the eco
nomic blockade, plus the fact that
Russia either would not or could not
trans-ship sufficient needed goods
from Japan, nor furnish enough of
1 her <Sam ? ?
Despite the huge losses of the
British at sea, it was pointed out
that ships sent to the bottom simply
meant Goods not reaching England
?it did not mean that any of this
material was reaching Germany.
The economic war, therefore, not
launched the Russo-German
war, but also the renewed move by
Germany to attempt to corral the
French fleet, to replace her surface
raidws which were either sunk or
bottled up, with which Germany
might hope to reopen some trade
route now that the Japan-Russia rail
method had h#*en halted by the war.
GASOLINE:
Curfew Stai ts
The gasoline curfew, ordained by
Secretary Ickes at the request and
instance of the oil producers and
dealers in the eastern United States,
was started on short notice, but
seemed doomed to failure, and some
form of rationing seemed certain
to be adopted.
Scarcely anybody except some
few oil dealers and some govern
ment officials believed that the clos
ing of gas stations from 7 p. m. to
7 a. m. seven days a week would
accomplish anything except two
things:
It would throw out of their jobs
some 100,000 filling station opera
tives and it would change the gaso
line-buying habits of the people of
the affected districts.
Trucks, many of them carting
goods in the national defense, were
to be exempted; also taxicabs, and
the buses, most of which today are
diesel-operated, nearly all carry 20
hours' supply of fuel, the curfew not
hampering their operations what
ever.
Ickes expressed hope was that the
curfew would make the populace
conscious of the shortage, and hence
inclined to co-operate in a restricted
use of the fuel.
But most believed it would simply
mean that those taking long trips
would drive by day instead of at
night; and that most city dwellers
using their cars to and from work
and for pleasure driving at night
would see to it that they had a fuU
tank at 7 p. m.
RUSSIANS:
Sloiv Tempo
Most of those who conncd the
Russo-German war scene believed
that the Russians had slowed the
German advance down to less than
a walk.
A realistic Russian source claimed
1,500,000 German casualties on the
long war front since the attack
started, and closed wth these
words: "and if our losses have been
greater, what of it?"
That statement gave the picture of
a nation of 172,000.000 people pretty
well geared for war, willing to fight,
and seemingly possessed of huge
quantities of arms and ammunition.
It was nearly a repetition of the
Chinese answer to Japan's attack,
resulting in a stalemate war now
well into its fifth year, with the pres
ent front little changed in a long
time, and Chiang Kai-shek reput
edly having a larger organized
army on the front than the Japanese
by two or three to one.
The Japanese casualties admitted
ly hnd been heavy, the Chinese' ad
mittedly much heavier ? "but what
of it?"
Russian sources were, however,
claiming much more than this. They
were claiming not only the actual
destruction of German division aft
er division; they were asserting that
there was a definite Nazi withdrawal
in the central, or Smolensk region,
made necessary by flanking and
"cut-through" movements.
Gloomiest anti-war correspond
ents, seme of them far from the
front, pictured the German advance
lines within 130 miles of Moscow,
but few there were who believed
that there was any real capture of
territory as close to the capital as
that, partly because of the complete
failure of the Nazis to bomb Mos
cow with any effectiveness.
npHE bard, who almost wrote "the
despot's heel is on thy nock ?
Maryland, my Maryland." evident
ly was not referring to any sot of
pitchers. For Maryland's home
run hitters on the big time have
spent most of their careers on the
sun-blistered necks of various
wrecked and battered pitching
stalls.
It was Maryland that save the
tante Home-Kan lljkcr. It ?.,s
Maryland that sent
Babe Ituth into ac
tion. It was Sudlers
ville, Md., that pre
sented Jimmy Foxx.
'? \l id il |?> .
town, Md., that fol
lows through with
Charles Mrnest Kel
ler, known to his
mates as King Kong
Keller, who may be
the fourth Mary
land entry to lead
the league in home
Grantland Rice
runs Ddorc the season ends.
The fame of Baker, Ruth and
Foxx in order has been plastered in
printer's ink all over the map. But
Keller is practicing quick starts in
the general direction of his three
famous predecessors and ho de
serves far more polite mention than
he has received to dnio
More About Keller
I'd like to tell you more about
Charlie ("King Kong") Keller. He
was born in Middletown, Md., Sep
tember 12, 1016. which means he is
still shy of 25 years. He is five
feet ten in height, weighs 105 pounds
and every pound is either raw steel
or rawhide.
lie is close to being the strongest
man in baseball, and one of the
fastest. He has the arms of a (iar
gantua and a pair of hands that
CHARLIE KELLER
could palm a watermelon. As Lang
don Smith once wrote, he is "thewed
like the aurochs bull."
Another Angle
When the Yankees won their
fourth straight pennant and their
fourth straight world series in 1939,
the season rookie Keller had bat
ted .334 through the season and .438
in the big series, we decided during
the train celebration that followed
to leave the baleful influence of Bill
Dickey and Joe Gordon and to look
up Strong Man Keller.
Keller finally compromised on a
bottle of cold milk. He admitted
milk was about the strongest drink
he had ever taken.
As a ball player at Maryland uni
versity, I learned from others, Kel
ler had been the hardest worker on
the squad ? one of those willing to
get up early to run three miles to
build up his legs, to use a rubber
ball to build up the grip in his two
hands ? a fcilow Ty Cobb would have
taken to his heart. He was the type
of athlete willing to sacrifice every
thing else for his profession. Al
most "the forgotten man of sport."
I found Keller to be pleasant, in
telligent, courteous, and extremely
quiet. He doesn't believe in wast
ing words, which proves again he
is another "vanishing American. "
An Outside Entry
This last spring at St. Petersburg
we had a feud golf match ? Bill Dick
ey and Rice against Joe Gordon and
Twinkletocs Selkirk. Keller just
came along, playing for the exer
cise. He hadn't played much or any
golf.
He sprayed the Florida landscape.
Rut he asked questions and listened
to advice. At a 510-yard hole he
was seven feet from the cup with a
drive and a number four iron. He
sank the putt.
"That's an eagle." 1 said.
"What's an eagle?" Keller asked.
He finished with three pars.
The greatest pair of hands I ever
saw in baseball belonged to Honus
Wagner, the Flying Dutchman ? the
greatest inficlder that ever lived.
Honus had scoops for hands. Kel
ler's are even bigger.
His Dish
Edward (?olf is pie for me.
Irvine Yes, 1 see you iust took
another slice.
Truth That Hurts
First M'ulf r ire >ou mueh
f?y \<?r i hiltlrin telling
Srrotut lltithrt \??f *?? mm It a* f?v
their telling tin- truth ?il r?r\ cn<i/>/?r.?
firiur*- times.
The Line-l'p
"Is Mary your eldest sister?"
"Yes."
?'And who conies alte r her?**
"You and two other fellows.**
FLATTEN III >1
Hard to Say?
' Mother -What? A 20-paj?o letter
front that soldier friend c>f yours
at camp. What did he say?
Daughter He says he loves me.
Vmpah describe* a harmonica
as corn on the cob set to music.
Down and Out
Juhnn* .S?? yon are tlonn here ftir a
month? W hat / ain't understand is how
>uii uirlt afford such >i lorn; vacation.
(iladw Oh, that** eaw. U ?? %/n-ntI
"/!?? month on the sands, and the other
li Kc'rc ?n thf rorks.
Wife ? What can a woman do
v. hen hei husband is a rolling
stone?
Friend? Kesort to the rolling-pin.
Not That
He took his best girl for tea m
a restaurant. Half-way through
he looked at her and smiled.
"You're gorgeous," he said.
She seemed peeved.
"I may possess a hearty appe
tite," she replied, "hut no one
could truthfully call me gorgeous,
dear."
Said one girl to another: "I.et's i
cross over to the other side of the j
street, so that we'll meet Jack. 1
want to ignore him!"
Truth at Last
"It was so long? L never saw
such a fish!"
"I believe you."
I'lavine Is Ours
Ufa is like a Kumc of tables,
tlii' t'haiKvs arc not in our power,
liut the plaviii,; is Terence.
ANTISEPTIC SALVE
Used by thousand-! with satisfactory re
sults for 40 years? six effective in^redi
ents. Oft Carboil at drug storm or mail
50c to bpurlock-Neal Co., Nashville, Tcnn.
Hurting Others
lie hurts the absent who quar
rels with a drunken man. Syrus.
? WHEN IN NEW YORK CITY ?
STAY AT
EAST END HOTEL
FOR WOMEN
Eaat 7B?h Street Ovmloolr in? Coat Rirer
Tel. BUtterfield 8-6490
^?TES Weekly from S8 including
? Meals . . Daily $2.25 Including Meals #
Tin? Kxamplc
He who lives well is the best
preacher.? Cervantes.
World a Mirror
The world is a looking-glass,
and gives buck to every man the
refiection of his own face. Frown
at it, and it in turn will look sourly
upon you ; laugh at it and with it,
and it is a jolly, kind companion.
? William Makepeace Thackeray.
SQUARE VANCES
? ? . on Saturday night Segan
in tarty pioneer days as a
frontier version of the ancient,
Old World jigs and reels.
KING EDWARD Cigars be came
the nation 'wide favorite when the
American public realised that this
big, mild, fine cigar was America's
greatest smoking bargain. Give your
self a smoke-treat. Light
? King Edward today
Labor the Conqueror
Labor is discovered to be the
grand conqueror, enriching and
building lip nations more surely
than the proudest battles ? Chai
ning.
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