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The Alamance Gleaner Vol LXVI GRAHAM/ N? C., THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 1940 NO. 46 ? WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS By Edward C. Wayne Nazis Widen Scope of Bombing Attacks On Vital Ports and Industrial Cities; Italian and British Naval Forces Clash; Weird Stories Told of Rumanian Purge (EDITOB'f NOTE?When opinion! are expreaaed tn theie cotamna, they ?r? tkoM ol the newt annlpat and not netaiaarlly of tail newepaper.) ? fn?l??a?d by Weitem Newapaper Union. _____J BUCHAREST, RUMANIA - Shortly after this picture of King Michael and hi* mother was taken, the streets of this city run red with blood. This is the last pic ture taken of the king and his mother be fore the outbreak of the Iron Guard blood purge of political enemies. Now Michael has fled into hiding and his mother is reported to bb in Italy. MEXICO CITY, MEXICO?Smiling a dazzling smile, General (Also-Ran) Alma ian, defeated candidate for the presidency of Mexico, is shown as he arrived at Mex ico City airport and renounced all claims tf the high office following U. S. recogni tion of Manuel Camacho, who was inaugu rated at ceremonies attended by V. S. vice president elect, Henry Wallace. RUMANIA: Haywire? Bringing to mind the French revo lution, the downfall of Tsarism in Russia, and other rarities of human experience of similar ilk, Rumania went*haywire following abdication of Carol and anschluss with the Axis. Guns barked in public squares of half a score of towns, Including Bucharest, where the enemies of Iron Guards found themselves per forated and laid in row upon row of corpses in bloody streets. In vain did Gen. Ion Antonescu order peace and quiet, death fol lowed death; jails and other refuges were entered and victims dragged forth to the general slaughter. The Germans, who had touched off the inner revolt to the Nazi way of life, were aghast at their handi work, fearing lest all value of their new acquisition would be swept away in an avalanche of anarchy. King Mihai Bed into hiding; his mother. Queen Helen, who had re turned to Bucharest joyfully as soon as Carol and Mme. Lupescu decamped, hastened off to Italy and the comparative safety of exile there. None could tell where Rumania was headed. Revolution immediate ly spread to the recently Sovietized Bessarabia, its dwellers crying out for "food, lower prices, fuel and medicines." Weird stories emanated from the madness within Rumania, perhaps the oddest of all the story that 30 Iron Guardists, the ones who slew the 84 "enemies" who were held responsible for the prior assassina tion of Codreanu, had immediately committed suicide after the slay ings. Another yarn told how during the slayings a loud speaker blared forth the voice of Codreanu, words of a threat against his enemies made during a famous speech when he was at the zenith of his career. BOMBS; For Industry After the British had been won dering what new line German bomb ing would take, the Germans made it instantly plain by starting a new type of attack on a long series of industrial centers of Britain with re sults the reports of which varied according to the source. The teg* tube for these attacks was the relatively small town of Coventry, but this was followed with smashing bombings of Bristol, Man chester, Liverpool, Southampton and other cities of greater size. In general the industrial heart of England lies in the Midlands, and on many nights the bomber waves passed up London entirely to smash away at towns in this territory. German accounts of damage done are optimistic, the British call them "highly exaggerated," but appar ently the Nazis didn't know and the British wouldn't tell bow extensive the damage has been. Berlin claimed and London admit ted that Southampton was tn flames after a bitter day and night attack by the Nazis. England's chief south ern port town, .Southampton, is 80 miles southwest of London. Once the main port of call for transatlan tic liners it was the object of the constant pounding by the feared dive bdtnbers. While German dis patches stated that the city was in flames, London admitted that many fires had been started but that they were put under control within a short time. Of interest to war observers, how ever, was the adoption by Germany of the tactic which has been ear marked by the R. A. F. since the commencement of the "all-out" air war. From the first the' R. A. F. has concentrated on objectives of two types, despite the widespread popu lar demand for bombings of Berlin. The R. A. F. plane* have deluged the "invasion ports" with explo sives, and also the industrial and munitions centers of Germany. This attack also has been extend ed to industrial Italy, with devastat ing blows at Turin, Naples and Leg horn among other centers. Before the war, military observers predict ed that of the three nations, Ger many's industrial cities were best protected against air attack, Eng land's next best and Italy's moat vulnerable. All predicted, however, that if Germany held mastery of the air she conceivably could cripple British industry. I GREEKS: History Makers Generations to come will find in their history books the story of the defense of their nation by the Greek armies under General Metaxas, who continued their successes, though at somewhat slower pace as they pro ceeded many miles into the difficult Albanian terrain. / * Study of military maps showed the dangers of the Italian position, but reports tended to show that although badly beaten and knocked back on their heels into Albanian territory, the Italians were still planning to make a fight of it. Greeks were taking their victories calmly, General Metaxas giving the United States to understand that lit tle Greece could not hope to "go it alone," but would need expanded American aid in addition to liberal help from British land forces and airplanes. The Grecian armies were fighting a brilliant and vigorous campaign, with much of the drive that goes with repeated successes. Dramatic sidelights were the fighting of the Macedonian women, who told how they gathered on a mountain pla teau against orders of Greek com manders and started avalanches of heavy rocks down on Italians trapped in a ravine below them. Another dramatic sidelight was provided by the Italian radio, which broadcast a bitter denunciation of the Greeks for use of the bayonet, calling it a "barbarous weapon." Leslie Hcrre-Belisha, writing of the Greeks, said real test would be reached when Italians reached the coastal plain, where Fascist mech anized equipment would get a fairer test. Greeks were promising to make no stops in driving Italians into the Adriatic. DIES: Vs. Administration? Martin Dies, foe of the fifth col umn, whenever an# wherever be finds signs of ft, ran into a snag when President Roosevelt handed him an admonitory telegram at his Orange, Texas, home. President warned Dies that his "White Paper" and "Red Paper" were premature and hampered Work of the G-men. New Senator LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - BerkeUy Bunker, above, appointed by Governor CarviUe to be United States senator from Nevada to succeed the late Key Pittman. Bunker, 34, served two terms in the Ne vada legislature and was speaker of the house, last yeaam AMERICA: A World Banker The United States, digging deep into the taxpayers' pockets to finance preparedness (or the nation al defense, now has become tha world's banker, reverting to the American status of 1914-1918, when this nation put but $24,000,000,000, not much of which ever returned. Present requests for war credits came presently from Lord Lothian, representing Great Britain, which will want some sort of credit status in 1941; from Greece, which says its need for aid is immediate; and Chi na, who has been needing more and more right along. China was first to get hers, the U. S. okaying $100,000,000 in credits of which one half is secured by Chinese "metals," to be delivered during the next two or three years. Part of this will be the priceless antimony the world supply of which is highly restricted. It will pass from China to U. S. via the Burma road, under the hail of Nipponese bombs. China got her credits on the very day when, as Japanese and puppet state envoys were getting together to sign a treaty of "peace," guer rillas blew up a train?estimated dead and injured, 400. Sumner Welles announced the United States had agreed to Gre cian aid "in principle," and that exact details would be worked out, and munitions sent. Britain's first maneuverings for credit, however, met with a storm in house and senate circles, strong est opponent being Hiram Johnson, author of the neutrality act. But from embassy circles and also across the water came the plea: "Send us planes, lots of planes, and we'll blast Germany out of the skies." The planes, paid for in cash and motors, are on the way. TO SEA: Goes the War Naval activity, which has fur nished some of the best stories of the war thus far, spruced up, with British, Italian and German naval units clashing on the high seas. One observer said "battles appear to have been on a large scale if wo ever find out what happened," re calling that they are still telling the story and publishing pictures of the Battle of Ormn?way back early last summer. Sketchy accounts show these facts: British Mediterranean fleet met strong fores of Italian vessels, head ed by two battleships, oS Sardinia. British say firing started at "ex treme range" (probably about IS miles) as ships were "hull doom" on the horizon. Italian cruisers fled (or harbor under smtfte screen. British cruisers followed and met heavy Are from heavier-armed bat tleships, then veered away them selves for safety. They say that battleships also fled from the en gagement, pursued by aircraft, which caught up with them and tor pedoed at least two vessels, one of largest size. British admit that Italian air planes made three attacks on their fleet, admit that one cruiser was hit by a naval shell and sight killed, several wounded. Observers told how Ark Royal, aircraft carrier, vanished in spray from 10 bombs, which hit nearity, but cams up fir ing and drove off planes. Italian story checks with British in major details, but with opposite result. British battle with Gefman ves sels took place in the channel, Ger mans claiming two naval yeses Is damaged and two merchant ships sunk, making it apparently a con voy engagement British were mum cn this meeting. Weuhington Digest America Faces Grave Choice Between Isolation, Intervention Advocates of Both Policies Want to Protect United States; Economist Foreshadows New Tax Policies; Roosevelt Holds Press Conference. Bv BAUKHAGE (Released by Western Newspaper Union.) The steel-engraving days have come to Washington; bare, black tree-limbs etched against the bright high-light of the clouds; the lagoon and the river beyond, a molten gray; the monument, the porticos of the White House, sharp white. And the shape of things to come is being etched deeper into the con sciousness of the capital, too. America is starting down a strange road. Ahead is a fork. Shall we let the team choose or does the driver know? One thing seems to be certain. The driver knows where he wants to go. So do the horses. Back home, back to the world of things we under stand. The familiar gateway that takes us up the lane to the barn; the warm light in the dining room window, the friendly smoke curling up the chimney. The world we know! You hear that phrase often these days. The job is to get back to it. There are two roads. One is the hard way, the way that leads so near war that the hardiest hesitate. It means throwing all we have with Britain, banking on her victory, insisting on absolute defeat of the totalitarian powers. The other is the easier way. A short cut to our crwn backyard. Close the gates. Bar the door, lock the windows, learn to live within our selves if we can and let a new, mad world wag on outside. Which is the President's way? There is no doubt that Mr. Roose velt considers that his election meant that his foreign policy has been endorsed. He knows, of course, that even the people who endorsed it don't quite know what that policy is. But they do realize that it means aid to Britain short of war and they must sense that there is the risk that we may not be able to stop short of war. Many Disagree On Foreign Policy Inside the government, as well as outside, there are those who do not agree with this policy. They believe that while we must do everything to build our own defenses, our ef fort should be to bring about some kind of peace between Britain and Hitler and let Europe settle its own problems, because, as H. G. Wells put it, if the war goes on, the de struction of property, of life, cities an<1 inotitiitinns asrill Ka so iteaat tKet lytical mind and has taken particu lar enjoyment in arranging a series of roundtables where experts can emphatically disagree. The roundtable follows an excel lent dinner at a Washington hotel and sometimes the meetings last well after midnight. The speakers are exceedingly free and frank in their speech. The press in general is not invited but certain special writers are. They can't quote the speakers except with consent and confirmation of text. The men cho sen to take part are selected be cause of their sharply conflicting views. They include such figures as Rexford Tugweil, the first-term New Deal undersecretary of agriculture; Jerome Prank, now head of the Se curities Exchange commission and also one of the early crusaders of NRA days and others like Robert Garner, president of the Guaranty Trust of New York, and conserva tive bankers and economists. Mr. Harrison enjoys the hot argu ments and whether or not the par ticipants benefit from each other's views, many excellent points are brought out in such of the debate as is permitted to reach the public. At a recent meeting of this group, to which I was invited, Mordecai Ezekiel, economic advisor to the secretary of agriculture, said: "Industry faces these alterna tives: It can continue to take very large profits whenever it gets into high activity. But, if so, it must be prepared for large government expenditures to provide buying pow er necessary to keep the economy going, or heavy taxes to redistribute the national income. Otherwise, in dustry can help labor unions and the government to work out some sys tem by which a greater share of national production will go direct to wage earners or direct to con sumers." This statement gives a broad hint of administration tax policies. There is a chance, many believe, that before the boom which is ahead has a chance to explode, some such a system will be worked out by cooperation of men picked from gov ernment, industry and labor?and if Mr. Ezekiel has his say, with agri culture having its voice as well. This is only one of the many ex pressions of opinion which have been brought sharply to the atten tion of economists and others as a result of Mr. Harrison's parties. uuu uiouiuuuiui nui wc ow Law uiaw our civilization itself will be de stroyed. But those who think they know the President's mind say that ha feels that civilization as we know and want it can be saved only if Britain with the aid of the United States breaks the power of totali tarianism, liberates the occupied de mocracies and helps lead the world back alone the known paths which we have traveled. That belief and the assumption that it is the policy of which the majority of Americans approved in the last election and to which all Americans will submit, is the backbone of the President's pol icy now taking concrete shape. Another thing is certain: From now on you will hear tar leas from the New Dealers who sre the mouth pieces of the so-called reform meas ures. Their voices will be drowned out by the voices of the men run ning the defense commission; the secretaries of war and the navy; of the military advisors and the dip lomats. The President has frequently said it was the administration's purpose to "hold the social gains" rather than to try to advance the ban. He is now demonstrating this. The "quarterback," as the President used to call himself, is now more in terested in the "quarterdeck," and the factory. That seems to be the picture which is slowly being etched into the background of Washington as the third term is about to begin. ? ? ? Rooeecelt Holds Press Conference At ? recent White House press conference I thought the President looked very weary. Instead of the usual chit-chat with the first arrivals while the rest of the reporters are filing into the oval office in the ex ecutive wing of the White House, he' sat silent, nervously playing with a paper. I thought of the remark of a friend a few minutes earlier as we made our way up the winding drive un der the dripping White House elms. It was a dour day, conducive to pessimism. He said: "I wonder how much longer he will keep this up?" He meant how much longer would the President continue holding these semi-weekly meetings with . the press. I couldn't help recalling Woodrow Wilson. He introduced the idea of these meetings where any member of the press can ask the Chief Executive any question be wants to. And yet Mr. Wilson glad ly seized upon the excuse of the war to abandon his press conferences. As I stood looking at Mr, Roose velt, his hair much grayer now, I could see the lines of care which the presidency burns into any active In cumbent of that thankless post and I felt that he, too, might like to dodge these sessions. But by the time the conference was over, I was ready to change my mind. I heard his tired voice acauire its old rins and I watched Financial Exporta Exchange Viewt A new figure has appeared re cently in Washington who is con ducting a highly interesting shadow show in which conflicting viewpoints within the administrstion and out side, play highly exciting roles. The man is tall, quiet Milton Har rison, one-time familiar as a discreet lobbyist in congressional corridors, now editor and publisher of the Sav ings Bank Journal. He is gifted with an impish sense of humor as well ss a keenly ana i*. .'.i. ... ; the glint in hie eye when he had parried an embarraeaing query, not ed the deliberate aaaurance with which he told an apt parable to illuatrate a point he wanted to drive home. Mr. Roosevelt may not love the newepapera but I doubt if he la ready to abandon thia informal coo tact with their repreaentativea, no matter how much an inconvenience it may be, or how difficult it ia to get over hia aide of tho story to men not only trained to analyze every word, but ready to aee eoma hidden meaning in every look and every feature aa welL SPEAKING OF SPORTS By ROBERT McSHANE I by Waatom II..IPM W> J! 'T'HE 1940 rebellion of the Cleve * land Indians is a dead issue with their new manager, Roger Peckin paugh. A lot of baseball fans feel nothing but sympathy towards him. After I all, he's stepping in as manager of a group of players who revolted openly against Oscar Vitt during last year's campaign. But that fact doesn't dishearten Peckinpaugh. Why should it? He wasn't bothered with discipline trouble from 1928 to 1933, his former regime as Cleve land manager. Rather, he was troubled only once with the Tribe. It happened in 1932 when Pitcher Wesley Ferrell, Peek's see, was taken out of a tight game. Wes complained loudly, giving voice to a number of uncomplimentary re marks. Manager Peckinpaugh didn't lly off the handle. Instead, he thought the matter over, holding Ma Judgment in reserve until the game was ended. Then he gave Ferrell a 18-day rest minus pay. Quite a number of stories concern ing the rebellion have reached his BOGER PECKINPAUGB ears. But Peck isn't interested [ in last year. He summed up the situation not long ago when he said: A Fresh Start "Last season never happened so tar as I'm concerned. IPs none at my business. I don't care who was involved and who, U anyone, was at fault. We'll start fresh In IM1. I will ran the ball club to win games and I expect discipline. If the play ers want to play poker and the stakes aren't too Ugh, that's an right with me. If they want to play golf, that's ail right. They win have to get la early nights as asnal. I don't see why I should have any trouble." It is likely that the question of discipline won't arise to haunt him. But there are other factors of equal importance. Despite all of his trou bles, VItt brougnt the club home only one game out of first place. Any worse showing in 1M1 is apt to give the wolves a chance-to howl. Peckinpaugh is faced with almost the same conditions today that re sulted in his dismissal in the middle of the 1933 season. The major cause of his ouster, of course, was Cleve land's failure to win enough games. A contributing factor was the feel ing of fans that he didn't show enough enthusiasm. In direct contrast to Vltt, he is quiet and retiring. Vltt spent a great deal of time baiting aspires. In fact, H was one of his favorite ferass of recreation. The bleachers loved it even though the player* didn't. The Beginning Peck started his baseball career on the sandlots of Cleveland and caught on with the old Cleveland Naps in 1910. His boyhood idol was Larry Lajoie and he later played shortstop beside the great second baseman. Since 1910 he has had only one job away from the diamond and that job kept him in close touch with the game. He had a promotional assignment with the American league which he relinquished to take command of the Indians. Already tho new manager has talked about trading for outfield power, and perhaps another pitcher. He can spend hoars discussing the pitching ability of Bob Feller, who ho rates as one of the game's truly great hollers. "I don't expect to work Bob more than any other pitcher," said Peck. "Of course, it's always a tempta tion in a close game to toss In a fel low like that as a ninth-inning relief man. "I remember Clark Griffith had that temptation while he was man aging Walter Johnson at Washing ton. Griff used to solve the prob lem by pitching Walter in the first game of a. aeries and then sending him home so he couldn't weAen and use him in relief roles." ROBOT PLANE 8CORE8 HITS WASHINGTON.?No military se cret ia more closely guarded than a sensational new robot airplane now being tried out secretly by the navy in both Hawaii and Langley field, Va. Navy experts have been working tor more than 10 years to develop a reliable "pilotlass" plane operated fay radio control. Observers who have witnessed some of the latest tests, pronounce the device as near . miraculous. A robot bomber takes oil, discharger its bombs over a dis tant target, returns to base and lands without being touched by a human hand. The distance of the target is cal culated in advance, and when the robot reaches it a device automat ically releases the bombs. Nat urally the aiming is largely a mat ter of chance, but in the tests a num ber of direct hits were scored. The cruising radius of the robots is lim ited only by.fuel supply and the radio frequency range. While most effective at short dis tances, the robot can be used f"~ long-range bombing in conjunction with piloted planes or by a so-ca-co system of "relay cotrol," that is, by radio stations along the line of flight. So closely is the invention guarded that navy officers have been warned that any talk about it will be casa sidered a violation of the Espionage act, and make them subject to court martial and dismissal ? ? ? DEFENSE 'INFLUENCE* There was a hidden brickbat in that sharp warning issued fay Assist ant War Secretary Robot Patterson that no one has an "insids track" in the awarding of army defense contracts. What the mild-mannered former U. S. Circuit court judge didn't say was that be is planning to insert a little clause in every army contract, requiring contractors to swear they paid no commissions or any rther fees to obtain the order. Penalty tor doing so is cancellation of the con tract. Under the law Patterson is legally responsible for the entire industrial mobilization program and passes on every large army contract. The boasts of certain lobbyists and higb pressure promoters that they can get army orders through "inside influ ence" are. therefore, a direct reflec tion on him. He doesn't like it ana bit and has no. intention of putting up with it. Some of the "influence" operators have even told officials of cities they could deliver defense projects which had already been located elsewhere by the war department for strategic reasons. ? ? v DUTCH PRINCESS Inside story of the expected White House visit of Crown Princess Juli ana of The Netherlands is that she and Mrs. Roosevelt have kept up a correspondence ever since the prin cess arrived in Canada six months ago with her two baby daughters. The visit to Washington might have come sooner, but the princess put it off because she didn't relish a round of extravagant entertain ment. She wants to avoid being dined and wined while her own peo ple, now under German domination, ore living on rationed food. The princess, with her two chil dren, has been living in a rented house in Ottawa. Her husband, Prince Bernhard, is in Louden as aide-de-camp to Queen Wilhelmina, and her brother is t sported to be hi a German concentration camp. In Ottawa, the princess has net entertained, has amused herself by walking and playing tennis. She will be a White House guest tar two days, beginning December 18. ? ? ? CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS The man responsible lor the light sentence given the eight divinity col lege students who refused to register for the draft was not the New York - court, but Attorney General Robert Jackson. The young men, who were stu dents of Union Theological seminary, were about to receive a three-year I sentence. But as a result of Jack son's intervention, they got a year and a day. Jackson polled the judges in ad vance of the decision and found they were all in favor of e king, stiff .sentence. Partly tar humanitarian reasons, and partly because he didn't want the boys to become mar tyrs who would arouse wide popular objection to the taw. Jackson in structed U. B. Attorney Cahill to ask tor a short sentence.
The Alamance Gleaner (Graham, N.C.)
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Dec. 12, 1940, edition 1
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