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? i, " "" ? ' ? The Alamance Gleaner Vol. LXVII GRAHAM, N. C., THURSDAY, APRIL 3, 1941 No. 9 WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS By Edward C. Wayne Pro-Axis Jugoslavia Rule Overthrown | As 'Boy King' Peter Assumes Throne; Mediation Board Acts to End Strikes In Industries Delaying U. S. Defense [(EDITOR'S NOTE?ffhta eplnlons Ui expressed 1b Ihiu colamna, they ut U*M ef the news kulyil and net aieciurlly of this newspaper.) _____ (Released by Western Newspaper Union.) ________ The American flag flies from a police car overturned by workers during the strike of workers at the "parentf plant of the Bethlehem Steel company. (See below: Strikes) Here is Wendell Willkie (right) tvith MacKenzie King, Canada's Prime Min ister, as the G. O. P. 1940 presidential candidate stopped in Toronto. (See below: Willkie) YUGOSLAVIA: Coup Joining the Axis powers by the government of Jugoslavia was one thing Getting the people to swal low this action was another. The sign-up, following periods of governmental collapse and revivifi cation, was the signal for demon strations over the entire country, created and given its autonomy aft er World War I by the Treaty of Versailles. Serbs, Croats joined in the out burst, and thfcre were parades through Belgrade with young fellows carrying what American and British flags they could find, vocally and loudly criticising the government for failing the public in its "hour of need. Then, two days after the signing of the pact came the dramatic report of a coup d'etat by which the army overthrew the evident pro-axis gov ernment of Regent Prince Paul. King Peter n, not yet 18 years old, assumed the throne and a gov ernment was sworn in which was pledged to defend Jugoslavia's in dependence. The nation's army was immediately massed and dispatched to battle stations along the country frontiers. Britain and Greece hailed these reports as "great news" and Adolf Hitler immediately demanded ? a statement of the new government as to their attitude toward the pact the two countries had signed but 48 hours earlier. But from Bulgaria came reports that the Naiis were not waiting for a reply to Hitler's demand. Ger man forces in that country report edly began a swift movement toward the Jugoslav frontier. Gen eral sentiment in Sofia, Bulgaria's capital, was that the installing of a pro-British and pro-G|eek govern ment in Jugoslavia would precipi tate a general Balkan war. As the war fever rose steadily in Jugoslavia and as the people cheered .the new regime that had its army lined up in defiance of the Axis, the ever-stormy Balkans took the spot light of World war Q. No matter what the outcome Jugoslavia had at least tendered a serious diversion to the timetable of Adolf Hitler. De feating Jugoslavia would be no simple task, many military experts predicted. It was assumed that the great northern plains of the nation would have to be abandoned as they would offer easy going for the swiftly moving mechanized Nazi legions. Real battle would come, it seemed, in the mountain terrain of central and southern sections of the coun try, Jugoslavia has a comparatively good army, and is considered the best of the small Balkan nations. It numbers 1,300,000 men. The U. S. reaction to the new gov ? ernment in the tiny Balkan nation was immediately favorable. The state department assured Jugoslavia that it would assist that nation in resisting any aggression. | STRIKES: And Night-Stick The resumption of work at the Harvill plant, bottleneck of Pacific plane building, provided no respite Utr Uncle Sam's headaches in pro duction spasms, for Washington frankly was expectant of strikes in 12 more vital plants. No. 1 was not long in coming, for the main plant of the Bethlehem Steal company, in Bethlehem, Pa., was next The big polls got busy and found that the public was con . jjjj _ - % siderably inclined to blame labor leaders rather than management for the enormous increase in strikes. The present strike held in its grip more than a billion in war orders, including a large percentage for home defense. Police nightsticks clubbed the strikers into submission at the outset, permitting non-strik ers entrance through picket lines, but it was evident that this was only the start of a widespread labor movement to fish for higher wages through the moment df public ne cessity. Chief lack of sympathy with this attitude was seen in the ranks of relatives and friends of those taken in the selective service. These lads, moat at them working for $21 a month and food and clothing in Un cle Sam's uniform, were resentful of labor striking for increases from 80 to 7# cents an hour as at the Harvill plant. They said so, in letters home, and parents and friends joined enthusi astically in the protest. Uany con gressmen and senators reported re ceiving such letters and telegrams. Polls showed public sentiment al most unanimous against such strikes, and blaming laigely the la bor leaders rather than the plant owners. The new national mediation board, headed by Dr. Dykstra, just moved to it from selective service, seemed to have the Bethlehem strike as the first pitched into its lap, and what it would do with this situation chal lenged public attention from the out set. This board moved swiftly in the Allis-Chalmers strike at Mil waukee which has been holding up much defense rearmament. It or dered the company to summon its 7,800 force back to work immedi ately. Chief public indignation over the strikes was directed at C. I. O. or ganizations, with Congressman Dies claiming that the labor troubles could be traced directly to "Beds." This also was the public focus after William Green, head of the A. P. at L. organizations, disclaimed any anti-defense attempts, and proved it by sending his men through C. I. O. picket lines in one instance. WILLKIE:" Keeps Hand In Wendell Willkie, avowedly keeping his eye on the next presidential race, was keeping himself before the pub lic by making a personal goodwill tour of Canada. He was greeted with wild enthusi astic in Toronto and in Montreal, his first two stops. In the first he appealed for all American ships, naval and mer chant, for Britain that can be spared, and "that means giving until it hurts." This remark was cheered to the echo. In Montreal, the next day, he was showered with ticker tape and given a triumphal entry into the city. In Montreal his theme was simi lar. He said: "Give Britain ships until the air planes start to roll and give Britain superiority in the air?then, good-by Hitler, you're on the way out." He said further: "This is a test as to whether the democratic enterprise system can outproduce the totalitarian enslaved method of production. Well, I put it up to you, now. I put it up to the business men of America to prove it. I think they can. If I did not think they could, I could not believe in liberty." ' ir'Wnl^ * *. , . > J.' ,i. ., . 'Femailman' LONDON, ENGLAND.?This , pretty London girl it wearing the new uniform of the British post women. They used to wear skirts but the government has sanc tioned trousers if the wonOen prefer to wear them. NAZIS: Spread Sub Zone A spreading of the submarine active zone to include Iceland and a considerable portion of the North Atlantic westward toward the shores of the United States was another sen sational announcement that caused watchers on the "when shall we get in" front anxious moments. They started making maps of the 42-degree line of longitude, and showed how close it is to the Amer ican neutrality zone area. It did not touch yet, but was coming perilous ly close. It meant that if American naval vessels took up the convoying of aid to-Britain ships to the end of the neutrality zone, they would be within a very few miles (as oceans are reckoned) of the lines where they might expect action from German submarines. One news analyst, after a tour of western plane factories, reported that heavy bombers, at the rate of four or five a day, were being flown across the continent and thence to Britain under the lease-lend bill, and that still more than these were be ing delivered to the army, but that it was thought a good portion of these were going overseas as well. There was little danger to this type of shipment except from ad verse weather and mechanical fail ures over the ocean. But Ameri cans were concerned over what was going to happen to American ship ping and to foreign bottoms carrying aid to Britain. The British, losing heavily at sea, were issuing a request to the Nor wegian government to turn over to it about 100 vesstls now plying American and Latin-American wa ters, so that they could be added to the transatlantic trade. First ship to leave this country for Iceland following the announce ment of the additional blockade zone was the freighter Godafos from New York. The New York-Reyjavik run was started after the German in vasion of Denmark cut Iceland off from her parent country. Three small freighters and three small passenger steamers now operate on i that voyage. Whether they would continue or not remained to be seen. I DEFENSE: 42 Billions With the passage of the $7,000, 000,000 bill implementing the British aid bill by a vote of (1 to t, total moneys allotted in one way or an other for national defense or British and democratic aid in Europe reached the staggering total of 42 billions of dollars. Most of the floor debate (seven hours) on the seven billion bill was devoted to explanations by various senators of why they had voted against British aid and now were switching to vote for the bill giving the bill the funds President Roose velt asked. OPM, the Office of Production Management, furnished the figures. The direct government outlays, in cluding the seven billion, reached the total of $39,100,000,000. In addi tion came British orders of more than three billions, bringing the grand total to past the forty-two billion mark. Of these huge sums not more than 3% billion actually have been spent. But an enormous pert of the whole has been contracted tor, and factories the length and the breadth of the land were being built or were "tooling up" to carry out the coo tracts. In fact, of the 41 billions, OPM says that nearly 10 bUUens already have been appropriatedcontract the budget allowance for lMt % Salt Mine Is .. Ideal Refuge Catacombs Beneath Detroit Could House City's Entire Population. DETROIT. ? Industrial Detroit, center of defense production, has a huge, ready-made air-raid shelter. Hidden 1,100 feet beneath the busy streets of the nation's fourth city are 20 miles of crystal catacombs which could house the entire popula tion of 1,000,000. These catacombs?little known to the average Detroiter despite the fact they are located within the city limits and only a stone's throw from key manufacturing plants?serve to day as a great salt mine, second largest in the United States. One vital problem would have to be solved if the mine?a glittering, white-walled mineral palace?were converted to defense purposes. Al though it is so large that automobiles drive down its corridors and 40-ton power shovels tear giant mouthfuls from its sides, at present there are but two shafts to the depths, and only 85 men descend in the cable elevators each day. Makes Meal Shelter. If additional entrance^ solved the problem of transporting large num bers of persons into the mines, how ever, it would make an ideal shelter ?one which experts say no high ex plosives could penetrate. Workers report living conditions would be pleasant below: ventilation is ex cellent, crystal floors dry, the salt air healthy and the temperature per manently at 58 degrees. The story of this mine and sodium chloride deposit under South Detroit near the Ford River Rouge plant goes back 400,000,000 years, scien tists declare. "Geologists say this was part of a tropical sea," explains Foreman Norman M. Laidlaw, 34 years in the salt business. "Gradually the wa ter disappeared and salt became in creasingly concentrated. When all water evaporated this rock salt de posit was left, evidently in the sea's deepest section. It was in 1904 that workmen be gan digging the mine shafts and Ave years later production began. To day the International Salt company takes 350,000 tons out annually? from 1,300 to 1,800 tons a working day. Fabulous Experience. A visit to the depths provides a fabulous experience. Descending 1,137 feet in an elevator normally used to bring six-ton salt loads to the surface, the visitor comes out in a brightly lighted machine shop cut from solid salt. Bustling workmen repair equipment as if unaware they are a fifth of a mile below the earth. Beyond the machine shop are un derground corridors lighted only by occasional overhead bulbs. Fifty feet wide and 23 feet high, the cor ridors were blasted from M.3 per cent pure salt. Their walls are white but for occasional streaks of impurity?calcium sulphate. Other corridors open at right angles from the main roadway, separated by salt pillars left intact to support the rock and earth above. Down the key passages stretch eight miles of electric railway track, used to carry salt to the cable elevator. Regularly trains laden with tons of salt rumble past. Occasionally one of the two automobiles drives past on. the salt roadbed, creating an eerie sensation so far under the ground. Beyond the worked-out portion are sections where production is now under way. There workmen, car bide lamps attached to their caps, do the actual mining. Semibombproof Home b Sot Up in 23 Minutes NORTH HOLLYWOOD, CALIF? Semibombproof houses of three rooms and bath that can be set up in 21 minutes are being demon strated bare to defense housing au thorities. The walls, partitions and roof ara prefabricated and trucked to the desired site. There the foundations and floor have already been poured in 15 minutes or so. A huge truck crane lifts the upper pieces into place, with welders sealing up the corners and partition connections a few minutes later. Church Isn't Dormitory, Deu Tells Congregation BOSTON.?Dean Edwin i. van Ettan of tha Cathedral Church of St. Paul (Episcopal) complains that soma persons come to the church to get out of the cold, others to aat their lunches and some to find quietness. Chiding Us congregation, the dean said the cathedral "is not primarily a hutch counter and a J MB mi II na ? " q o rTn i to ry 9 . ... . h Indians. Volunteer For Defense Army Members of Tribes Enlist For Active Service. WASHINGTON.?Hundred* of In dians from every part of the Unit ed States are voluntarily joining the armed forces of the country, accord ing to reports received by John Col lier, commissioner of Indian affairs. In addition to these, many others are preparing for defense service in technical capacities. A typical incident reported is that of nine young men of the Sioux, em ployed as carpenters on a govern ment building project in their reser vation. They heard an announce ment of the draft. They snorted de risively and one said: "Since when has it been necessary to conscript the Sioux as fighters?" Whereupon they laid down their saws and hammers and reported at once to the nearest recruiting of fice. They are now in training with the hospital detachment at Hamilton Field Air Base at Roes, Calif. In Oklahoma, 30 Comanches were selected from many applicants to form a unit apparently unique in military history. They are to be part of a special detachment to make use of the Comanche lan guage. because it is so little known, Tor code purposes in communication. The idea for this unit was suggest ed by an experience of the A.E.F. A front-line artillery unit, which was having difficulty in preventing the enemy from intercepting and decod ing its messages, used two Indian operators. They spoke in their own language and the enemy never suc ceeded in decoding the unintelligi ble sounds which came over the wires. The device was used effec tively in last year's war maneuvers. 2,350,000 Babies Born in United States Last Year WASHINGTON.?An estimate that 2,350,000 babies were born in the United States last year, the highest number since 1(80, came today from the census bureau. This was approximately 100,000 greater than the 1(89 total and lifted the national birth rate from 17.3 to IS for every 1,000 of population. The rate was the lowest in 1933, when it stood at lt.S. Nevertheless, the bureau said that the long-range birth rate trend still was downward. It attributed the 1940 rise largely to the fact that persons born of marriages during the immediate post-World war peri od?which saw a sharp upturn in weddings?had reached the repro ductive ages. Another possible factor, the bu reau said, was the increase in mar riages which normally accompanies better economic conditions. The increased birth rate was ac companied by a decrease in the in fant mortality rate from 43 to 47.9 deaths for each 1,000 births. How ever, the overall death rate in creased from 10.3 to 10.8 deaths for each 1,000 of population. Editor'* Hobby Yield* Profit in Autograph* JEFFERSON, OHIO.-The auto graph collecting hobby of E. C. Lampoon, Jefferson editor, has tak en on the aspects of big business. Lampson's attic-rummaging has yielded him as much as *790 in a single afternoon. He earned this amount when he found a bundle of letters written by John Brown of ; Harpers Ferry fame. He specializes in Presidents' auto- 1 graphs, however, of which his col- < lection now has 31. 1 According to Lampson, letters < written by Benjamin Harrison are ' among the most valuable. Depend- ' ing on subject matter in them, |1 prices range from $10,000 to $30,000. 1 A letter from James Buchanan, 1 written while he was postmaster at, * Baltimore, also is highly valued. I On the other hand, George Wash- 1 ington's letters have sold for aa lit tle as $2, Lampson said. Surprised Sheep Herder Learn* About the Draft GLOBE, ARIZ?"The draft? I never heard at it," said Sylvester P. Voll, 20-year-old sheep herder when he returned to town for the first time in many months. Voll explained to the Gila county board at supervisors that he had been herd in* sheep on a ranch near Hayden and had not seen a paper or listened to a radio in many months. Voll not only had never heard at selective service but he doesn't even know whether he's an American ctt isn. After the Selective Service act was explained to him, Voll said he guessed he'd register "right away." \WBEzm?m?Bmk National Gallery of Art Is New Capital Attraction Wide Array of Great Works Placed on Display; Late Andrew Mellon's 'Dream' Realized In Recently Opened Exhibit. By BAUKHAGE National Farm and Homa Hour Commentator. WNU service, 1M3 "H" Street N. W? Wuhii|t?, D. C. WASHINGTON.?A slight, white haired man walked into one of the narrow little houses that line die west side of historic Lafayette square opposite the White House and which he had Just rented for him self and his staff. He looked it over from cellar to attic, indicated where he had planned to sit and watch the dream of a lifetime come true. His staff moved in and worked there for four years. A few days ago they locked the door and moved into a $15,000,000 building, which the man who had dreamed about and paid for. as a gift to the nation, nev er lived to see. The building is the National Gal lery of Art. The man was Andrew Mellon, who died only a few months after the ground for his "dream" was broken. He had hoped to sit at a desk in Lafayette square, only a few blocks from the art gallery, with his son, Paul Mellon, and with David Bruce and Donald Shepherd, directors of the trust which turned the gallery over to the government. Congress accepted the gift and es tablished it as a bureau at the Smith sonian institution, the other great museum which was turned over to the government by an individual. The day after the President at the United States dedicated America's new temple of art, I walked down the corridor toward the fountain be neath the rotunda on the first Boor. About me moved same 2,000 other visitors who came from towns and cities and villages, all over America. And from other places, too. As I stood there on the marble floors that are like Mack mirrors, I heard a woman murmur, "Magnifique." I looked at her and saw a refined French woman whose eyes spoke spontaneous tribute to the beauty about her. I had no doubt that she had seen the Louvre with its "Winged Victory" and its smiling "Mona Lisa"; the Luxembourg with its masterpieces of Rodin. But here she found something different. Here were the priceless paintings and sculpture of the old and the new world in a temple, which, despite its shining corridors and its great dome, eras a friendly human place. Unlike so many of the musty muse ums of the old world, it seems as hospitable as it was spacious. Even its size, by the clever design of the architect, has been disguised with interrupting archways, with gently sweeping lines which give its classic dimensions a warmth and intimacy. The visitor feels at home. The pic tures on the walls are leas exhibits than a part of the decoration of a beautiful living room. There are upholstered couches in the galleries. There is a smoking room and even (shades of Raphael and Rembrandt!) a very modern cafeteria. In ? simple office, I met David Finley, director of the gallery. He roee from a great leather chair that all but engulfed his dynamic figure. He is a slight man who served in the last war and later became a lawyer. He was a member of the war loan staff of the treasury and later assistant to the then secretary if the treasury, Andrew Mellon. The :wo became friends and Finley went 10 London as honorary counsellor to ha embassy when Mr. Mellon was imbassador. Ha was one of Mr. Melton's confidants from the time' he wealthy Pittsburgh banker be [an planning the gift of the gallery o the nation. Mr. Finley believes that the Ne ional Gallery of Art will become a mwerful force for bringing about a ova and an understanding of art imong all Americans, not merely >ecause it belongs to the people of he nation, but because it is located n the national capital. New York, le pointed out, has its fine galleries, >ut visitors to the metropolis go here chiefly for amusement People xme to Washington to see the his oric spots of the nation, to visit wildings ? which are themselves ; nonuments. But few buildings, save fount Vernon, with its treasured tossesstons of our first President contain things which have a patri- i die and a cultural value. i Mr. Finley looks forward to the i ime when the pictures and the stat ins in the National Gellery of Art \ an ha brought to the homes of the I leople through television. Mean rhils, he hopes through the gallery's i .... . publication*, to carry knowledge at the paintings and the sculpture, their history and facts cqpcerning the art ists to the people to order that the treasures under his care may be shared with the schools and the in dividuals of the nation. There are two publications avail able now. One is the preliminary catalogue containing a descriptive list of the collection with notes. It sells for 90 cents which can hardly cover the cost, yet it ccntatos 04 pages, toe last It at which are brae tiful black and white reprudocttoas of some of the paintings. The book, which is to sell as cheaply as pos sible, is paper bound, but beautifully printed, containing brief Isngt^hit* of the artists, descriptions at toe works and factual inhumation about them. The other volume to a ph4ma book. It sells for one dollar and a reproductions of an the collection totalling 54* illustrations- The title, date and name of author are given but no additional text. If any naiin* of tola column would like to buy either of toaee books, 1 suggest that you write tost to ascertain toe postage wgiiitd I shall be glad to give you that to have them. They are aaf printed at a profit. They are part at ton which some day you wfil probably visit. - j Gallery of Art. yen win ndatoal why the Preaitont spoke of toe sins ttolmma^ upfa4t,"?nd of toe vnrid armies now are risnT^*." ^ Farm Bmy, Dmmd P~t. Ami a Wmlkmf Stmt This is the story of a poor (arm stick. I first saw the boy ska ha was half a century ysoag aat hy His name is Riehnp and he Isahs like oae. | first saw the stick the alhsr the club which is always iwtnsi for "Boh." The poet John Boyle (XKaUlay. I knew for oae verse of Us which I learned by heart for tag first Iowa.'. It foes like this: "Oh. the red rase breathes of passion And the arhita rose breathes at love. The red rose is a falcon And the white rose ia a dove . . 0 Reilley, a wild Irish lad. n bom in County Heath, Era, a ha drad years ago. Ha caaaa early to America, (ought his fights, burned with his love lor the Ould Sod, and wrote his poems. Today he standi. in Boston, his adopted city. ? The year the poet died, or than a touts, a little fellow to a Taaaa yil it as only youth caa yearn lor a ban Lack lingered, the bay grew to never married, but never alone. Never very long alone, lor "Biah" loves dogs, children, people. He also loves walking sticks nl is never without one. But he never owned a blackthorn. This morning one at those many friends of hia brought this fins old heirloom black, powerful, sprouting its strong thorns like Ireland aroused, its head worn smooth and gentle as an Irish heart, by the hand of John Boyle OReilley, who corriod it tor moay years. The friend told it affectionately to Bishop's h..wU And then "Bwh" told m, with n j reminiscent twinkle in hh eye but a note to his voice that belied K. about the balloon and tbo age-old ocha. "Now." ha said, caressing Ua now prizs, "John Boyle O-Railley'a caaa has mora than made up tar it." 1 think the poet looked down and
The Alamance Gleaner (Graham, N.C.)
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April 3, 1941, edition 1
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