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The Alamance Gleaner VoL LXVII GRAHAM, U. C., THURSDAY, JULY 10, 1941 No. 28 ?^ ? ? ? \ WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS By Edward C. Wayne 'Scorched Earth' and Guerrilla Fighting Is Soviet Answer to German Thrust; Revenue Bill for Defense Spending Provides Many Additional New Taxes 1 (EDITOR'S NOTE?Wkea **l?leu an iiiniul lj these eel a mas, they ere Ueee el Ike sews aaalyst ssS set aeeesssrUy ef this newspaper.) , (Relssssd by Western Newspaper Union.) mis a the scene m tne Brooklyn (?. x.> ieaerai conn as za mem bers of the Irate spy ring were arraicned by the government. Called "one of the most active, extensive and vicious" spy rints In the nation's history, 26 men and 3 women were arrested throat hoot the country. Most of them were of German descent. They were charted with transmittint vital defense information to a foreign government. Three men in foreground are lawyers. ORDEAL: By Communiques Following the first couple of weeks of the Russo-German war some wag of the airwaves referred to the con flict as an ordeal?for the public? by communiques. In the absence of any possible direct war correspondence, that is exactly what it developed into, ever lengthening communiques by both aides, so much at variance that the public could do little but guess. As the German columns advanced Premier Josef Stalin urged "upon his people a policy of "scorched earth" to be coupled with universal guer rilla warfare. He warned of the "grave danger" of the Nazi suc cesses and acknowledged the for ward movement of German troops. He asked his people to destroy ev erything that might be of value to Germany if it could not be saved be hind the retreating Soviet columns. Only at certain points did the reports of the two high commands coincide, and these were so excep tional that they were more to be hon ored by their absence than their presence. Speaking of an important town on the southern front, the Germans said, "We captured Lwow," and the Russians said, "We left Lwow." And even in that point of coinci dence there was a variance which left much to guesswork. Yet from the very names of places it was possible to take a map and see a picture of the Ger man (dan emerging, though it was impossible by the same token to pic ture the Russian defense. The picture was that of a giant clutching hand, with the wrist to the north and the fingers outstretched? though which way the Joints of the fingers would flex themselves could not be foreseen. Three fingers were stretching toward Moscow and Leningrad, and two were extending southward into the rich Ukraine. Two or three of these flye shafts showed signs that they might form pincer movements, snipping off and surrounding bodies of Red troops here and there along the battlefront. ? Already the Germans had claimed one such success east of Bialystok, stating that 100,000 Russian soldiers had participated hi a mass surren der, and that everywhere the Rus sians were on the run. The Red communiques stated that ' their lines were holding intact, and that at some points the Russians were fighting far behind the most outstretched German points, and that some of these actions might work out badly for the invaders. Yet, military observers pointed out, such occurrences were of the very nature of the Nazi blitz tech nique, and that in France, in Greece and on other fronts, including the town at Tobruk in northern Africa, groups of defending troops often were left behind In the swift ad vance, later to be encircled. The Greek army of the east was trapped in Just such a way, and though it held out and fought for considerable time, it was forced to surrender in the end. It was impossible, however, to see just what the Russians were accom plishing in their defense, for the "town name" reports showed con tinued German advances, and the capture en route at important points. TAXES: And Spending The tax structure by which the congress intends to raiy additional revenue to the tune of ft,500,000,000 during the coming fiscal year was practically complete. In addition to the huge amount expected from the new income tax structure, the congress' tax-makers had agreed that business would have to yield about $1,360,000,000 more than the $3,000,000,000 it is now rais taxes were to be increased by a 10 pair cent tax on electric fans, cooking appliances and simi lar articles; a 10 per cent tax on rub ber products not ?eluding footwear and auto tires or tubes, which are on other tax schedules; 10 per cent on electrical and metal signs; 10 per cent on washing machines for com mercial laundries; one-sixth of a cent a bottle on soft drinks (4 cents a case); 10 per cent on retail furs; another 10 on toilet preparations; a "use" tax on vending machines that pay off in tokens; $3 for vending machines which dispense articles; 10 per cent on optical instruments other than eyeglasses; 10 per cent on office and store machines. Thus the boil-down at the tax structure was this: Excise taxes (like the above) $867,000,000. Income levies including excess profits, $2,468,500,000. Estate and gift taxes $113,700,000. Giving a total of close to the $3,500,000,000 sought. This enabled the public to get a generalized sort of picture of what is coming to the American way of life, at least from a tax standpoint during the next tax year. SHOCK: To British Scarcely less shocking to the Brit ish than the arrival of Hess on Scottish soil was the news that Gen. Sir Archibald Wavell had been re lieved of his command in Africa and the Middle East. General Wavell had been Britain's Number One hero, the only man who had won tor the British an im portant victory and one which chal lenged the imagination. Waveil's* men had driven through Cyrenaica and bad taken it away from the Italians, capturing more than 100,000 prisoners on the way. True, the Nazis had come across the Mediterranean and had taken all~ this territory sway from him, in cluding the trapping of a number of thousand of the Wavell troops. It also was true that there had been a good deal of criticism of Wavell at this time. It also was being remembered that he had been given at least a part of the responsi bility for the disaster in Greece and Crete. Although the war ministry simply recounted that Wavell had been transferred to the high command in India and that his place had been taken by Gen. Sir Claude Auchin leck, a Scotsman, the general feel ing in Britain was that it was a shocking demotion. This notwithstanding the war min istry let out the rumor that perhaps Wavell was being given a more im portant task, the preparation of the defense of India should the Russian resistance collapse and find the Nazis blitzing in that direction. Army Tour No shot is too tough for the veteran billiard champion Willie Hoppe (right), who it tetting up a difficult arrangement on the wing of a giant bomber when he and Welker Cochran visited a San Diego, Califs plane plant, Hoppe it starting a tour of antly camps soon as a part of the war department recreation program. u?: 1 PLANES: A Slowdown? Observers on the economic and defense production fronts in this country seemed skeptical of the OPM outlook that "grand mass production" of medium and heavy bombers would be under way early in 1942. The OPM plan calls for the auto mjykers to build airplanes in a num ber of small sections, like wings, fuselages and tails, etc., and ship these sections to large assembly plants in Omaha, Kansas City and Fort Worth and Tulsa, where they will be put together in assembly line fashion. That was the motor industry's answer to large-scale production at bombers. Now those who feel that this ob jective will not be reached until som6 time in 1943 point out how the aluminum shortage can possibly play hob with the best laid plans. liiey say that when a plane weighs 10,000 pounds, it actually takes 13,600 pounds of ingot alumi num to do the job because of the weight loss through scraps. These scraps cannot be melted down into airplane metal again because of the number of different alloys required. The observers who feel that OPM is being too optimistic also point out that the scrap losses under the automotive plan of plane build ing are likely to be more than in regular plane factories, where the workers have more experience and will make fewer mistakes. They also feel it is going to be a huge problem 'for the big plane manufacturers to operate in cities as far distant from each other as Baltimore and Omaha, for instance, and still maintain a cohesive and clever organization. However, present plane produc tion, gloomy as this outlook might be, took a step upward when North American Aviation got back to its scheduled 10 planes a day, and the 1,900 soldiers who had been sta tioned near the plant were sent away to more distant points. The wage structure Anally decid ed upon turned out to be 80 cents for beginners for the first three months and then 79 cents minimum after that point, and on up to $150 an hour for more skilled workers. KNOX: And Hit Speech Secretary of Navy Knox, in his Boston address, stirred up an out break on congress which threatened to bring out an impeachment reso lution and found administration sup porters reportedly working under cover to prevent this outcome. In the address the navy secretary hinted that "the time bad come" for the navy actively to sweep the German menace from the seas, and spoke of the Russo-Germsn war, oc cupying Nazi attention, as a "God given opportunity" to insure the ar rival of lease-lend aid to Britain. Leading noo-interventionists, head ed by Senator Wheeler at Montana, leaped on this speech with all their power, declaring that the navy sec retary was stepping beyond his pow ers and seeking to get President Roosevelt to order a "shooting war" between the navy and the German submarines and surface raiders. The question, when Immediately put to President Roosevelt brought from him a denial Jbat be thought American participdSm was neces sary at this time, and holding ant continued hope that this country could remain out at the war. Write History In Washington Envoys of Warring Nations Confer Daily in State Department. WASHINGTON. ? A dingy, dim lighted corridor in the state depart , ment is the crossroads where wortd historymakers meet. Their footsteps echo across its black-and-white marble floor as they call on Secretary of State Cordell Hull or Undersecretary Sumner Welles. They are prime ministers, foreign ministers, defense ministers, as well as lesser diplomats. They all seek United States aid in a troubled world. Across the polished desktops in the rooms off the corridor these men discuss state secrets, often in low tones. Their conversation may in volve lend-lease aid for "nations re sisting aggression," assistance for moving goods across perilous seas to a friendly nation, or loans to help a "good neighbor." Then, again, they may talk of military problems, American use of Far Eastern fleet bases, defense of the Western hemi sphere, action against unfriendly es pionage or propaganda. Convoys Drop In. Australian Prime Minister Robert G. Menzies dropped in as he wings his way from shattered London to his quiet homeland; Chinese Foreign Minister Quo Tai-Chi calls en route from bombed London to bombed Chungking; The Netherlands For eign Minister Eelco Van Kleffens is on his way to inspect East Indies defenses; Canadian Prime Minister W. L. Mackenzie King discusses joint Candian-United States defense problems; Latin-American collabo ration is taken up with Argentine Foreign Minister Rulz-Guinazu, go ing home from his former diplomat ic post at the Vatican. Frank Aiken, Eire's defense min ister, seeks guns and ammunition to "poke in the nose" any nation which touches his homeland. Diplomats from invaded governments file a protest, for history and "the rec ord," against the aggressors. Halifax Calls Often. Most frequent' visitor is Lord Hali fax, Britain's ambassador and still a member of the war cabinet. He calls several times a week, stays an hour at a time. He freely gives re porters his impressions of the war in a soft-spoken voice. German cor respondents avoid these meetings. Halifax does not meet Gaston Henry-Haye, Vichy's ambassador. Nimble-witted attendants see to that. When minor members of the French and British embassy staff meet they are invisible to each other. Such is the power of proto col, or perhaps caution. Germany's Charge d'Affaires Hans Thomsen avoids the risk of unpleasant contacts. He never comes in. When he protested the seizure of Axis ships he sent the note by messenger, at night. It was left at a guard's desk at the en trance door. Italy's diplomat left his protest quietly, without discus sion, in an obscure office. Army Typewriters Change Clicks to Girlish Tempo LONDON, ONTARIO.?Almost ex clusively an inner sanctum of the masculine sex in the past, the cor ridors and offices of military district headquarters will soon resound to the click of high heels and the dainty touch of feminine fingers oa the typewriters. Plans are being made to employ female stenographers and clerks in the offices of the Corps of Military Staff Clerks, hitherto a stronghold of uniformed soldiers. The young women are being employed on a civilian basis to succeed male clerks who have gone on active service. This change of policy is said to be caused by a shortage of skilled male office employees. Women have been employed for some time at district headquarters in the old post office, but with one exception, wom enfolk have never before been hired at the main building. Arab Collect* 20 Strife la France; 21*t Unlucky VICHY.?Colonial dispatches from Algiers told th* tale of Abdullah, tha Aralb who wa* demobilized from the French army 21 time* without beta* mobilized once. Ho made a profes sion of getting out, and might have goo* on doing it indefinitely if pros perity hadn't turned his head. Twenty times, with the aid of false papers, ho was demobilized, and each time bo drew the usual 1,000 franc bonus. On the proceeds he bought 20 suits, 100 ties and other apparel. Police knew no Arab ever had such a wardrobe legally. They shadowed him, and as he was being demobilized the twenty-first time they arrested him. And ha was wearing a Croix de Guerre. Sapphire Mining Booms in Montana Gold-Panned Streams Being Searched for Gems. HELENA, MONT.?Montana, the land of the shining mountains, may become an important oog in the na tion's defense machine because of a little-known and long-ignored stone ?the sapphire. The gem, cousin of the diamond and exceeded only by it in hardness, abounds in the gravel bars of streams where miners once panned fortunes in gold. Men who "dug for gold in the rain and cold" are gone and mining camps are ghost towns, but the war in Europe may fill the treasure state's mountains again?this time with sapphire hunters. Because they are much cheaper than diamonds and only a little less hard and resistant to wear, the sap phire is widely used in watches, sci entific instruments of all kinds, gauges and airplane and navigation instruments. Once Montana sapphires began to assume some importance in the Swiss watch industry, but demand collapsed when a Frenchman de vised a better "mousetrap"?a syn thetic sapphire?in 1931. For seven years Montana stones were forgotten. Then came the war and the Western world was deprived of the French synthetic by the block ade. Then, too, it was proved the imitation stone was inferior to the natural sapphire for many indus trial uses. In 1938 prospectors and miners began to heed the increasing de mand for the blue gem and once more began to work the bars and gravel beds that once produced the famous Yogo sapphires. Today electrical manufacturing companies and makers of scientific precision instruments are turning to Montana for a supply of blue stones. New Mexicans Win Fight For Water for Dry Farms HOPE, N. M.?Man's fight to carve fertile farming fields from the dry, dusty desert lands of this southeast ern New Mexico country is nearing a final victory after a 38-year battle. A new (80,000 retard dam on Pe na^co river, nine miles west of here, soon will be storing .up valuable ir rigating water to supplement the rest of the state's conservation sys tem for this section. The new structure, 482 feet long, with a maximum height of 32 feet, will increase by 1,900 acreage feet the supply to almost 3,200 acres of cultivated land which not so many years ago was arid. When the new dam begins stor ing up the water of the Penasco, a struggle which began in 1903 to ob tain a water storage or detention structure to supplement to failing ir rigation water supplies, will have ended. About 40 farm families will be benefited by the additional wa ter. Financing of the structure was made possible by $90,000 in federal funds and $10,000 raised by the Hope < Water Users' association and by merchants in nearby towns. Cost of Death in War b Mounting Dizzily TARENTUM, PA.?The coet of killing a aoldier has increased from $50 In the time of Julius Caesar to ! between $50,000 and $75,000 in the present war, according to H. V. Churchill, an industrial chemist. Churchill told a meeting here the expense of war-tun# killing has risen steadily through the centuries, with a tremendously great advance oc curring between the World war and today. ? By the time of Napoleon, the cost had become $1,500 for each man killed, the chemist said, and during the World war the figure was about $$,500. He added that Napoleon's advisers and allies thought the cost far too high in their time. Churchill cited as the reason for the huge Increase in the cost the fact that war is now fought with machinery?which adds greatly to the cost?although manpower still is the backbone of war. Professor Finds That Autos Habit-Forminf STATE COLLEGE, PA.?Automo biles are habit-forming, Charles S. Wyand, assistant professor of eco nomics at Pennsylvania Stat* col lege, believes. Wyand is making a study in an attempt to determine what makes people trade in their old cars for new ones. "It is easier to postpone buying one's first car than it is to postpone replacing an old one," Wyand said. "The new buyer is more likely to fear depressions and economic in security than one who hat owned a ___ ?? car.. Russian Help Welcomed Despite Communist Bogy Problem of Defeating Hitler Held Paramount; Dykstra Returns to Wisconsin University; Train 1,520,000 Defense Workers. By BAUKHAGE National Farm and Homo Hour Commomiator. WNT Service, 1343 H Street, N. W? Washington, D. C. WASHINGTON.?It waa one of those Washington mornings when the clouded sky above lets in the damp, heavy heat and an aching glare on wall and pavement even though it shuts out the sun itself. The German armies were smash ing through Poland and into the Ukraine. With the Luftwaffe roar ing eastward for a change, British bombers were blackening sides and shaking the-' earth of northern France and industrial Germany. A British military and economic mission, we knew, was sitting down with the Soviet leaders in Moscow, offering them utmost aid in their fight against Germany. The papers were crying over a drop in American airplane produc tion, still reporting strikes in defense industries and, very casually, at his press conference, the President had announced that the United States would aid the Soviets as much as possible. Later, I sat in the office of a per turbed government official. "How," I asked, "can you recon cile to the American people the anti communist feeling in this country and aid to Russia?" He paused and looked out over streets, black with staggered shift of government workers on their way home?in another hour there would be another echelon of hurrying men and women, in another hour, an other?recruits in the army of de fense. Americans Limite lomimumm Finally, be (poke: "Of courie," he answered, "that is the problem we have to face. We know that moat Americana feel as unsympathetic towards Communism as they do toward Naziism. And the subversive activities of the Commu nists in this country have aroused strong hatred against Moscow. Our attitude on that score has been plainly stated." Then my friend quoted the state ment made by Undersecretary of State Sumner Welles, shortly after Hitler's speech declaring war against Russia. Mr. Welles had stated: ". . . doctrines of Communistic dictatorship are as intolerable and as alien to our own beliefs as are the principles of the Nazi dictator ship . . . but the immediate issue that presents itself to the people of the United States is whether the plan for universal conquest . . . which Hitler is now desperately try ing to carry out, is to be success fully halted or defeated." Then the man across the desk from me said: "In other words, when your wagon gets stuck in the mud, you don't look too closely at the man who helps pull you out." What the government would like, I suggested, would be to have the Nazi gingham dog and the red calico cat eat each other up. "Perhaps," he laughed, "that erould be the best solution. But H Isn't as simple as that The pop seems to have so much stronger Jaws, in this case, that we believe it might be wise to fttrnish the cat with an extra claw or tsro." The trouble, I suggested. Is selling that idea to the American people. He agreed; but he added that there were certain things which ought to be understood in regard to subver sive Communist activities in this country. Subversive Activities Overestimated. "Let's take for granted," he said, "that we erould have nothing to do, if we could help it, with the fellow who is helping us pull our wagon out of the mud. But we do want to get the wagon out, so there isn't much choice "Now, as things are today, a Com munist is not likely to do as much harm as ere may fear," the official went on. ' "There are three reasons for this statement: In the first place the government has subversive ac tivities under much better control than is generally known. "In the second place, pressure is now being brought to bear effective ly on the labor unions to promptly remove all members of any subver sive organize Hons from their mem berships. "Thirdly, in all probability, now that Russia needs our help, the Party line will probably order any obstruction at the American de fense program to cease. Comma nist leaders here have already in dicated that this is their new pro gram. "And then, it can be deflniteiy stated that the Communist situation in this country has never been as bad as certain publicity-seeking gen tlemen have painted it," the gov ernment officials seated across the desk concluded. n n m ? Dykstra Returns To Wisconsin University C. A. Dykstra, president at (he University of Wisconsin, has gone back to his campus and his clois tered halls beside that shining lake in the Middle West He did a historic job here in Washington, aa director of the Selective Service sys tem and first bead of the Ra tional Defense Mediation board, two great jobs that ie<|uiied all, as Ste venson put it, that a man has of fortitude and delicacy. Mr. Dykstra, as readers of this column know, did not get his knowl edge of men and government solely from books. He ems a miii as fill city manager of Cincinnati, he held positions of civic responsibility la Cleveland, Chicago, and Los A? geles. But he was chosen to head the draft hecanse id his deep ai sympathetic understandmg at Amer ican youth. When he left Waahmg ton, I asked Mr. Dykstra tor aa aa chisive two-paragraph valedictory. Union readers. This is what he mid about his esperience as head at selective service: service convinced mi thai the fmg men of America are nailtwi aslk aar indifferent. They can he coatosd upon to lire a good arewart of them selves Moreover, public n ept ance of selective service has pwnf to be mocfa more favorable tfaaa was anticipated." Dykstra is an optimist, bat oat one who can't see the hole ao weB as the doughnut. "My experience oa the Mniiattsn board," be told me, "makes me optimistic that labor and masigs ment are developing a better mdaa> standing and a more co-operative approach to a developing industrial jurisprudence. On the whole there has been a minimum af recald tranrv nr KntK *!%> hifmiti ment at Davis is absolutely right."* ? ? ? Train Worker* \ For Dofomm ImJmatry One record at achievement to to* defense program has come oat over ? hundred per cent better then promised, end yea hear very little about it. Much of the credit goes to e little, dynamic man, from oat where the tall corn grows. He is John Studebaker at Iowa, commisswner of education, and he is the drive behind the federal pro-, gram of training for defense todue tries. Commissioner Studebaker prom ised congress last October that the vocational training groups of the na tion would produce TOO.OIH woshara trained for service at laths or huh by June 30, 1041. Ha now iopiate that 1,320,000 have actually been trained. Moreover, although the one-third more than the regular pro gram was undertaken, the cost M the Washington end was only shot 1 per cent, and less money eras uaad tor the entire project than con gress had originally appropriated an achievement in these days! Hie average cost of training, par man hour, was 21 cents, and tl par cent at the total amount at money spent in the training was spent In the local community. That waa part at the Studebaker idea?keeping the training decentralirsd using the lo cal schools, shops, equipment and teaching force?leaving foe running of the program to labor, industry, and the local school officials. This not only proved efficient but It served to bring labor and industry together on a thousand advisory committees which were formed all over the country. Labor and indus try each furnished 3,500 memberref these committees. The rest were made up at consultants. Five hun dred systems provided the machin ery to carry Out this task, and toay worked 14 hours a day to do it. * s ? iImM
The Alamance Gleaner (Graham, N.C.)
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