The Alamance Gleaner i
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VoL LXVII - GRAHAM, N. C., THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 19-J1 No. 11
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WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS By Edward C. Wayne
Hitler's Spring Drive Into Balkans
Follows Usual Pattern of Nazi 'Blitz'
As Greeks and Jugoslavs Fall Back;
Axis Powers Register African Gains
(EDITOR'S NOTE?Wiin nliltii u? iqrnart li tkm talnuu, th?r
an ttm ?( Itl ?awa aulm aal 114 atnaallli ?! UJa aamaHi.)
"Imri by ? ?
EL AGHEILA, LIBYA ?Beyond this Nasi armored tank wares a swas- I
tika (ram a buildinj; In this Libyan coastal town. Since the Nails Joined the
Italian troops in the Libyan sector previous sensational successes by the [
British have been wiped out and much territory formerly won is now In
axis hands. ?
- J
BALKANS:
Nazi Power
The sudden onslaught of the Nazi
troops on five fronts against Jugo
slavia and Greece came with terri
fying swiftness and in the early
days of the conflict it was evident
that a delaying action was the most
that the Greeks could offer, and that
the Jugoslavs, prepared mentally,
but unprepared physically to resist,
could do little but harass the ad
vance of the invader.
Hungarian troops were also or
dered to enter Jugoslavian territory
separated from Hungary after the
war of 1914-1918.
Events moved swiftly in those first
few days. Immediately the city of
Belgrade, perilously close to the
border, and in the center of a plain,
was declared an "open city" and
that the Jugoslavs would not defend
it.
However, the first act of the Nazi
bombers was to deliver a series of
assaults on Belgrade, closely fol
lowed by similar attacks on Sara
jevo, Nis, Zagreb and other points of
, military importance to the invading
army.
The attack on Belgrade may or
may not have put the city entirely
hors du combat, but the immediate
effect was to shut off all communi
cation with the outside world, and
that caused the reports of the early
phases of the new war to be frag
mentary and conflicting to the ut
most degree.
One heard that the Jugoslavs were
invading neighboring countries, had
taken Fiume, were bombing Sofia?
and in the same, breath the Germans
claimed the capture of Nis, the ru
ing of Belgrade, the cutting of vital
railroad lines.
Only the British reports seemed
to carry conviction, together with
those from Athens. The former pre
dicted a general withdrawal, and the
latter told how that withdrawal wu
being carried out
But from the start H had been ex
pected by this country that Salonika
would be defended, and that the
British had 190,000 to 100,000 troops
in that general neighborhood, and
were prepared to make a serious de
fense of the port.
Then the British announced that
Salonika might fall, and gave rise to
the general belief that perhaps the
British forces were not so numerous
or so strong as at first stated.
Suddenly came the word that the
British had only 00,000 to 90,000
troops on the scene, and that they
were in the second line of defense,
"ready to veer to east or west u
the situation demanded."
This wu the' answer to the dis
patches of the first-few days, which
did not reveal the British in contact
with the enemy at any point. They
were, in this report, placed in the
vicinity of Katerine, which put them
somewhat in the center, between two
main forces of Greeks.
Closely following this dispatch
came a report from Berlin claiming
that their troqps had entered Salon
ika, and from Athens Itself came the
following terse, yet disquieting re
port:
"The German blitz has split Greek
forces in two with a wedge driven
down west of Salonika, trapping un
counted thousands of troops defend
ing the line of the Truma river."
Right on the heels of this report,
unpleasant to Americans who were
hoping that the Nazi attack on north
ern Greece might be halted, came
the weed from London "German
troops have entered Salonika follow
ing virtual evacuation ol the port I
by Greek troops. British troops
have not yet gone into action."
One of the five fronts on which the
Germans attacked was around
Skoplje, in southwestern Jugoslavia,
a vital railroad link between the
Greeco-British and Jugoslav forces.
Early in the conflict German panzer
divisions captured Skoplje, and
drove a wedge through the Vardar
valley. The Germans reported tak
ing more than 20,000 prisoners In
this action, and rAlioed photographs
showing long lines of truckloads of
Serb and Crotian prisoners going
along mountain roads, passing for
ward-moving Nazi divisions on the
way.
While the United States, led by
President Roosevelt's promises of
sympathy and aid to Jugoslavia and
Greece during this invasion, was
watching with anxiety and hope for
some more favorable news, the gen
eral tone of opinion was that the
story of Poland and Finland was be
ing rewritten before their eyes.
Americans interested in seeing
something like this happen again
scanned the news.dispatches in vain
for signs that the Nazi putsch was
bogging down.
The shock of the fall of Salonika
was matched by the shock to learn
that the British forces were rela
tively small, but the fact that they
were in a reported "second line"
gave some measure of hope to those
anxiously watching the defense that
"something might happen" when the
second line was reached and went
into action.
FASCISTS:
Move in Africa
The war was not only taking a
Nazi turn in Jugoslavia and Greece,
but in northern Africa as well with
combined Fascist-Nazi troops def
initely on the forward move again..
As in a football game, the British
had evidently "lost the ball," and
unless the Anzacs could hold the
Fascists "for downs," there might
be a drive to a touchdown in Libya.
It was odd that the reports of the
advances in Libya by the Italo
German forces should have coincid
ed with dispatches saying that Gen.
Sir Archibald WsveD and large num
bers of "picked troops" had been
sent to Greece.
Whether this was true or not could
not be learned, but if so, it was an
interesting coincidence that the
backward movement of the British
in Libya tallied in time with the ru
mor that Wavell was gone to another
field.
The British, in their forward
drive, had gone past Sidi Barrani to
Dema, and thence to Bengasi, the
Libyan capital. Photos of British
troops taking down street signs, put
ting up their own, and other reports
tended to the belief that Italy was
knocked out of the war in Africa,
and that it was "all over but the
shouting."
Suddenly Berlin reported a minor
success on the Libyan front, and
then, with equal suddenness Britain
began announcing that there would
be withdrawals, that Wavell'a
forces would pick their own line of
defense and fall back to that
Came the fall of Bengasi, and then
the fall at Derna, with the British
still back-pedalling and lighting a
rear-guard action all the way. In
Eritrea and Ethiopia, however, the
British continued their success,
making mass attacks on Massaua,
the sole remaining point of-military
importance.
'Royal' Eviction
OAKLAND, CALIF.?Otto do
Bourbon Hapsburg, 65, who
claims to be a pretender to the
French throne; his daughter, 32,
and two sons, 41 and 40, accord
ing to reports, were evicted from
their house in Oakland for al
leged non-payment of rent. Otto
Leopold, the elder son, is shown
above carrying part of his per
sonal belongings.
STRIKES:
Vew Turn
Strike news continued sensational,
lUt took somewhat a turn (or the
letter, with the Dykstra Mediation
loard settling the Allis-Chaliners
trike and making headway both on
he threatened walkout against U. S.
iteel and the big Ford strike at
liver Rouge.
But the news, while somewhat bet
er from the standpoint of the na
ional defense, was still disquieting
nough. Most sensational of the
tories was the claim that C.I.O.
hieftains had been canvassing local
inions throughout the United States
eeldng to find what sentiment, if
iny, there was for a general strike
( the Bridges deportation move
hould be carried out.
The Bridges case was in the hear
ng stage when this move was un
covered in Washington when Sidney
lillman of OPM was asked by a
louse committee investigating the
lational defense program to investi
[ate the report.
Mr. Hillman expressed surprise at
he question and said he did not be
ieve that any such move was being
carried out. Mr. Hillman said that
%ilip Murray, president of the
M.O. and chairman of the Steel
Vorkers Organizing committee,
rould not tolerate a strike against
he defense program.
This report by Mr. Hillman came
ust one day after Mr. Murray had
nade a surprise visit to the White
douse at the invitation of President
Roosevelt, and then had made a fly
ng trip to Detroit, and later had an
nounced that the projected strike
igainst U. S. Steel would be held in
jbeyance for a time, ostensibly to
permit work by mediators and con
ciliators to avert the strike entirely.
The report came from a mediator
in New York that part of the coal
itrike difficulties had been settled.
He said that the reopening of other
mines had been delayed, and appar
ently the main difficulty was a dif
ference in attitude between northern
end Southern Appalachian mine op
erators concerning the demands of
he United Mine Workers.
The mediator said:'
"We are trying desperately to ef
fect a complete accord and to sta
>ilize this backbooe industry for a
eeriod of two years." He also said
hat the schism between the two geo
[raphical portions of the operators
[roup eras causing the chief dif
Icnlty.
In the meantime there were signs
hat the mediation efforts In the
Pord strike were bearing fruit, when
Governor Van Wagoner of Michigan
eired President Roosevelt as fol
ows:
"Please do not approve certifies
ion of the Ford strike to the Defense
Mediation Board before I hare talked
sith you. I am in conference now
with Philip Murray and Jamas
Dewey (the conciliator)."
This made it look, at least fqr the
moment, as though some settlement
jf the dispute, which has tied up
>130,000,000 in defense material,
might be at hand.
SHIP AID:
On Move
The ships-for-Britain end of the
sid law was well on the move, with
the President formally seeking from
congress the right to takgnoesss
lion of the St Danish-oeerdSahttnen
now in American srdters. N
Mr. Roosevelt said his advisers
were convinced they bad every righ)
to take over the German and T taiga
?hips, regardless of the protests of
the two Axis governments.
French Gold Is
Safe on Island
Story Is Now Told of How
Treasure Was Spirited
To New World.
VICHY.?Here ia an authentic ac
count of an escape with $1,000,000,000
in gold.
Tlie treasure was shipped across
the Atlantic?the richest cargo any
ship ever carried. It was the entire
gold reserve of the Bank of France
?gold in 14,000 little gray sacks
weighing 120 pounds each. It was
aqd still is the second largest gold
pile in the world, second only to the
United States hoard at Fort Knox,
Ky.
This treasure had the narrowest
of escapes both from the German
army in France and the Canadian
authorities at Halifax, but it is safe
now, as safe as such a prize could
be on a little volcanic island above
the coast of South America?Marti
nique.
Baried in Mountain Top.
The French gold, worth exactly
$945,232,344, is buried under a moun
tain top at Fort St. Louis de Saix,
Fort de France, under slabs of con
crete, guarded by guns from the old
battleship Jules Ferry, which can
fire 23 miles to sea.
The story of how it got there was
given in detail. It was this:
When the war began, the Bank of
France decentralized its gold and
hid it in secret places in the prov
inces. When the Somme line broke,
and it became apparent nothing
would stop the Germans, the gold
was gathered at vaults at Le Puy,
in the volcanic fastnesses of the
Auvergne central highlands. The
day the German armies crossed the
Seine at Vernon, bank officials de
cided to move the gold to America
secretly.
There was a wild race -to Brest
with the gold sacks. On June 12
the whole stock was embarked on
the cruiser Emile Bertin, in charge
of Comd. Battet, who was given
sealed orders. Watchers knew that
if the cruiser turned north the gold
was going to Britain, if it turned
south the gold was bound for Dakar,
Africa. But it went straight west at
30 knots and on June 1$ arrived at
Halifax, N. S.
Gets New Orders.
That same morning the ship's
radio brought new orders. French
Marshal Philippe Petain was asking
for a separate armistice and the
gold must be rushed to the French
possession in the Lesser Antilles.
British officials came aboard and
said special trains were waiting to
speed the gold to Montreal. Battet
stalled, pretending to await more or
ders. He had to resist increasing
British pressure. Then, the night
of June 19, while Halifax slept, Bat
tet started the gold-laden cruiser
back to sea.
The cruiser swung around Ber
muda and reached Fort de France
June 22. The gold quickly was car
ried ashore and buried at the fort.
The British have blockaded the port
since but Adm. George Robert, Col.
Emile Quenardel. Maj. Yvon Vaneig
and their 2,000 troops at Forts St.
Louis de Saix and Tartensen guard
their treasure.
French officials believe a chapter
in history still may be made with
this gold and the island where it Is
stored?an island that was discov
ered by Columbus, where the Em
press Josephine was born, and
where, in 1902. occurred one of the
greatest disasters of all time?the
eruption of Mont Pele, destroying
the city of St. Pierre and killing
40,000 persons.
Get* $6,000 if He Skuas
Drinking, Smoking Girls
L06 ANGELES ?Girls who drink,
smoke, or twr slacks in public arc
not proper companions for his is for*
its grandson, George Lemuel Love
Joy wrote In his will lesving 16,000
to the boy.
If Qe grandson, MiwfVf of the
grandfather, doesn't smoke or drink
he may have the 16,000 when he is
U. Young George is 11 now.
After expressing the hope George
would not go with girls "who drink,
smoke or wear slacks," the grand
father advised the boy to "pick out
a good, neat mother, who knows how
to cook, and marry her daughter."
Allergic to Exertion,
Drafted for Class One
CHESTERFIELD COURTHOUSE,
VA.?A draft registrant returned his
questionnaire with the notation that
he should be placed in Class 4 (un
fit for service) because "I sm hyper
?metttve-tQdust, dampness and ex
( The board/ gave the case sympa
\j thetic consideration, but the regis
1 trant went fat Class 1, which gives
the army a pretty good chance of
! curing him of his last named af
fliction. '
Classify 5,000,000
For Defense Jobs
One in Five Shown Trained in {
Some Skill.
WASHINGTON.?A report on how
America'! man power is being mo
bilized for defense production, just
made public by Sidney Hlllman, as- !
sociate director general of the Of
fice of Production Management, cov
ers the activities of the national de
fense advisory commission's labor
division under the title "Labor
Speeds Defense." The division was -
established last J *
In seeking to tap the nation's hu
man resources for defense the divi
sion arranged for the United States
employment service through its
1,800 employment oflftea td classify 1
more than 8,000,000 unemployed
men and women according to trades
and skills. It was found that there
were about 1,000,000 workers who, on
the basis of their work histories,
were suited for skilled jobs.
Employers have been using the
lists furnished from the study to fill
their personnel needs and to drain
oil the unemployed in their locali- 1
ties.
In co-operation with the program
it was said that the civil service
commission "tapped the reservoir"
of older skilled workers by raising
the maximum age limits from 48 to
62 years in army arsenals and navy
shipyards.
"Under the auspices of the civil
service commission more than 250,
000 civilian workers had been placed
in all army and navy establish
ments," the report stated.
"Many skills useful for defense in
dustries have thus been 'combed
out' from behind store counters and
filling-station pumps where they had
been driven by the depression. As
defense production expands, those
workers will return to their former
skilled occupations." ***?
Prison Schools Growing .
Steadily Throughout U. S.
NEW YORK.?Education and vo
cational training to rehabilitate In
mates of American prisons has
swept through the country in the last
year, transforming many into virtual
schools, according to a report of
the American Prison association.
Out of 136 national and state prison
institutions, the survey said, 123 uti
lize educational training aa an in
tegral part of their systems today.
Three-quarters of them give expert
vocational training to inmates as
well.
Forty-four state prisons, with a
combined population of 86,367, report
ed 13,829 inmates attending part-time
schools, and 6,789 attending full time.
Seventeen state reformatories with
17,524 inmates had 4,728 in part
time and 3,427 in full time school,
the survey showed. Nearly half the
inmates were using their idle time
to train for gainful employment when
they a^e free.
Half Century It Behind
Tetter of Air Rifiet
PLYMOUTH, MICH?Many peo
ple think of retiring when they get
to be 66 yean old, but not Arthur
Burden, the "one-man army." He'a
having too much fun at hit job.
Burden haa juat completed 90
yean as a teeter of air rifles. The
fact he'a fired 169 tone of BB a hot ,
through 10,000,000 weapone haa not
materially lessened his initial en
thuaiaam as a lad of 16, when he
got his job.
Burden says he was bouncing tin
cans with an air rifle behind the
plant when the company manager
asked If he wanted a Job as tester.
"I Juat blinked and said, 'And get
paid for it?' " Burden reports
Boya think Burden is the world's
luckiest man, and adults call him the
"one-man army." It looks as if the
Burden family will be testing rifles
lor a long time, too. Burden's two
sons and a grandson art working
under him.
Haro, by Chance, Gets
Two World War Medals
CINCINNATI, OHIO ?Robert L.
Hauck, trackman for the Cincinnati
Street Railway company, mlght-nev
er have received two World war dec
orations if he hadn't lost his silver
victory service button.
For when Hauck requested a du
plicate from Washington he received
back, to his surprise, the two new
awards. One was the Purple Heart !
decoration which is kwardsd for j
"singularly meritorious action" and
the other the silver star medal for
rescuing a wounded soldier.
In looking up the duplicate service
button for Hauck, the adjutant gen
eral's office discovered that he had
never been given the two decorations
awarded him.
Hauck previously had been award
ed the Croix da Ouerre.
Capital Housing Problem
Vexes District Officials
School and Water Supply Facilities Are Also
Seriously Taxed by Influx of
Defense Workers.
?? By BAUKHAGE
Notional Farm md Homo Hour Commmlotor.
WNU hrriN, IMS B Street N. W.
Washington, D. C.
WASHINGTON.?Millions for ds
fonee but not enough sense to coa
trfouU (uffl^ut foods to the Dis
trict of Columbia budget. That is
the Washington city government's
present oharge against congress.
The other day I sat in the offlce
of one of the district commissioners
and an army officer who had been
drafted to help work out the city's
housing problems, and they seemed
pretty helpless.
"We haven't got the money to
meet the emergency situation that
is growing in the district as a re
sult of the defense program," was
the burden of their song.
Washington is run by a commis
sion?three men?our three "may
ors," if you will, appointed by the
President. Our board of aldermen
*rq the district committees of the
house of representatives and the sen
ate. The federal government bears
a share of the expense of running
the city?but not enough, say the citi
zens of the district. All they can
do is "say," for they have no vote,
either locally or nationally.
The emergency is bringing thou
sands of new workers here. From
June, 1930, to January of this year
nearly 23,000 new government em
ployees moved in. The figures for
February, due to be released in a
few days, are expected to show a
big increase.
The Washington Board of Trade
estimates that 66,000 new residents
have moved into the District of Co
lumbia in the last year.
Qaestiea of Schools.
In addition to these extra beds
and baths that must be provided,
there is the question of schools. The
commissioner with whom I was dis
cussing the situation, cited one ex
ample.
"Down there between Boiling field
which will soon be the center of
American aviation and the naval re
search laboratory," he said, "the
federal government has built 600
family units. It will probably be
increased to 1,000. These are just
for* the navy yard workers. Right
there will probably be enough chil
dren to fill one schoolhouse alone."
A million and a quarter dollars,
it is estimated, should be spent on
schools alone in Washington as a
result of the influx of residents. This
is to say nothing of the next most
pressing need?facilities to increase
the water supply. The Canal Zone
is not much hotter than Washing
ton in the summer. People take a
lot of showers. We have a Potomac
ful of water but we need more pipes
?nrf pumps.
The greatest portion of the city's
expense, however, goes to taking
care of the homes and the offices
and people which make up the fed
eral government.
Anyone who thinks the life of a
government worker is all roses,
frankincense and myrrh in these
days needs only to listen to the local
director of the Housing association
who says:
'DeuMlag Up* Complaints.
"Frequent complaints of doubling
up in apartments and rooming
houses come to us. One bath for
U to 66 parsons is a common
griovanoe. Throe to six unrelated
roomers in the parlor of a once fine
private residence is not uncom
mon N
Tory bad, say the health authori
ties, for sanitation. Very bad tor
morale, too.
And than Washington has on its
periphery a number of army camps,
cantonments and torts. By July the
boys an laave will ba flocking fe
foam an army of nearly a hundred
thousand man. Their welfare and
amusement have to bo taken care
of, too.
The district government, there
fore. is struggling with the congres
sional committees, attempting to
convince them of Washington's
needs. A bill is now being consid
ered which would Increase the pro
portion wtrich the federal govern
ment contributes to the federal city,
but the officials cannot bank on the
money until it is in hand.
i ? ? ? ?
An efficient secretary laid a news
Sum (U^Tmafltaught iTfotter^
closing a magazine article from a
farm-woman listener.
The newspaper clipping said:
"The housewives of the United
States are soon to receive tbe moat
thorough education jp how to fsod
their families ever provided by any.
nation in the world ... the Ameri
can housewife is going to learn a
great deal about vitamin B and
about all the other vitamins . ...**
I ran through the magarme arti
cle. It was written by Vebna Car
ton 12 years ago and in it she re
marked on what a misapprehension
most city people have concerning
the modern farm woman. The au
thor told how a companion hi a Pull
man made some pitying remark
about a woman they passed who
was hoeing in a garden. Miss Car- , ?
son said:
"I explained that quite hkrty fee
pathetic creature wa iseenfly had
passed would be in a chiSoo dreaa
by afternoon, powdered with, the
same brand Lady What's-HerDime
has indorsed, marcelled into shining
waves, and driving her car to a
meeting where a professor from the
state university would give latest
gossip on vitamins?a subject SO fas
cinating to farm women aver aline
they have discovered hidden forces
in the old familiar 'greens.' As one
progressive, earnest, white-haired
lady said to ma once after a hams
demonstration agent*s lecture, "Well
I always fed my family on just what
wa had on the farm?milk, hotter,
eggs, cheese, and vegetables, apd
such. It sure was a piece of luck
these things all had vitamins.' " '
Flop/ndb
For tka Nary
Whan the cooks of the XL B. S.
Wyoming?or any other ship with a
complement of 1,200 men?get their
pancakes, it la quite an undertak
ing to provide them Down at fee
navy department you can ate a* cook
book with recipes just Oks any cook
im dU pl&A W?Z
mint prtpmrm fimffck* if Ike >i skill
/?rlr let/en.
book?but tho H|gnt aro WML -
I looked at tho recipo tor taplicH
tho other day. Bar* It la:
1M Ike. tar ttttaahert
11 taaa ta
M Ike. sugar Ilka. ara|ir?til
THtahaktag mm
?H Ms. aalt
The aaaaa man who dtapoaa of this
order ot cakaa In one day wffl oat
UN potmde at (Mb meat, UN
pouada at tah. vegetables, IJM
pound* of freak tat and ISO dona
??>. to aay nothing at the canned
? ? ?
Soar* Cat 'Friumdiy
Im Natmmal Parks
The bears hi oar national parte
are getting too pally with tourists,
aa the national park service has in
sued a warning.
It ????? that when begin
fraternizing with a bear the bear be
gins to treat them aa equals. This
tareen a mother boar and her off
spring, ma cheese him out of tho
well-aimed swat in the process
"Bear incident" is the govern
ment's name for damage to proper
ty and injuries to persons as a re
sult of tho public's disregard at rules
against getting too familiar with
Moral: Don't treat bears as equals.
i":