The Alamance Gleaner .
Vol. LXVII ? GRAHAM, N. C., THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 1941 . No.
WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS . By Edward C. Wayne
j Food Shortage in Europe This Winter
Means Thousands Are Doomed to Starve
In Most of Areas Occupied by Nazis;
U. S. Court Obtains Spy Confessions
(EDITOR'S NOTE?When eplniens are expressed In these eolnmns, they
are these ef the news analyst and net necessarily et this newspaper.)
. (Released by Western Newspaper Tini/wi i
What Price a Mad World!
The scene is s street in Uniondale, N. T. The country is not at war.
It is, however, arming for defense. Arming as never before. For the
menace, it is charged, is world wide. And so an army pursuit plane leaves
Mitchell field. New York, one day. A few minutes later it crashes in
Uniondale street. Ton see the wreck still burning. Ton don't see three
children burned whose clothes caught fire. The pilot of the plane bailed out.
INCIDENT:
V. S. S. Greer Attacked
When the news was flashed that a
submarine attacked the U. S. de
stroyer Greer while the latter was
en route to Iceland, the words "in
cident Of war" leaped to the thoughts
of many. Still, there were other
"incidents" and they did not bring
war. The Greer was not hit.
FOOD:
For Conquered
Most were agreed that the com
ing winter will And starvation walk
ing the lands of conquered Europe.
Germany took the bull by the
horns by stating her position clearly.
Not only, said Berlin, was Germany
not going to feed the hungry in con- j
quered Europe, but she felt at com
plete liberty to feed herself from
the stores of conquered countries.
If anybody was to feed conquered
nations, let Britain and the United
States, who control the seas, do it*
declared Berlin.
As long as this was the declared
Nazi policy, it was a certainty that
the United States and Britain would
do no feeding of these populations,
for if the food was sent over, Ger
many felt "at liberty" to feed her
self with it. The food would just
be going into enemy hands and do
ing no good to the starving millions,
it has been held.
' Assuming that the Russians in con
quered sections of the Ukraine had
not been able to flee, but had been
able to burn their wheat, as seemed
likely from general reports from the
area from both sides, then there
were a few million Ukrainians in
danger of starvation within the
shortest possible time.
Nor were the people in France,
Norway, and the low countries in any
better condition, and with the excep
tion of the Rumanians, the Hungari
ans and the Croats, reportedly fight
ing with the German arms, and the
Finns, coming down from the north
into Russia, most of Europe was
going to be hungry.
I talked with a Russian refugee
from Paris, who had been conquered
by the Germans but escaped to this
country by a devious route, and he
told of the French people eating
dogs, cats?any meat they could get
their hands on.
Starvation already was stalking
the land in August, he said, when
he escaped via Lisbon.
Medical men said this hunger
*ould not point definitely to revolt,
however, for starving people soon
lose their ability to fight or to resist
even the inroads of their own hun
Ser. Starvation carries with it only
apathy, finally coma and then
death, they declared.
JAPAN:
Full Mobilization
Ordering a full mobilization of his
country, and at the same time, ac
cording to rumor, bidding President
Roosevelt to visit him "in the Pacific
on ? Japanese battleship," Premier
Prince Konoye of Japan seemed to
be throwing a monkey wrench into
what little hope remained that Nip
pon might be peace-bound.
The tdmpest, which these sources
figured the Nazis were stirring up in
Japan on the question of the Si
berian port, was raging full blast
when Konoye issued his order of
complete mobilization of the coun
try.
Konoye said "Japan is facing the
greatest crisis in her history, and a
total mobilization of the nation is
necessary to overcome the emer
gency."
This statement was a far cry from
his July 30 position that all Japan
wanted was peace and prosperity in
the Pacific, to "close out" the China
affair, and to be friendly with the
United States. ,
Dispatches from Washington said
that diplomatic advices had been
sent to Tokyo, probably the cause
of Konoye's action, stating that this
country was going to "stand firm"
on its right to send lease-lend aid
to Russia through Vladivostok, and
to continue to send such aid as long
as peaceful relations exist between
Russia and Japan.
The same day Nichi Nichi, influ
ential Japanese paper, defied the
United States to "place any ob
stacle in Japan's rightful sea routes
in the name of freedom of the
seas." It continued:
| "Japan will not hesitate to take
steps against any obstacle such as
this."
Complicating the issue at about
the same time were two Russian
seaplanes.carrying 47 Soviet airmen,
flying over the Bering sea on their
way to Washington to join the Rus
sian mission to this nation's capital.
While Moscow disclaimed any
thing but a peaceful intent for this
trip, another Japanese paper, the
Times and Advertiser, took alarm
at it, stating it was "an effort to
establish a warplane service be
tween the United States and Rus
sia."
This newspaper said that Japan
felt itself now encircled by the Brit
ish and Americans on the south,
through these countries' aid to China
and the Dutch East Indies, and that
any "effort to encircle Japan on the
north" would be a matter for grave
study.
SPIES:
First Trial
News readers turned their eyes to
New York where 19 out of 33 mem
bers of an alleged German spy ring
went on trial on charges of espio
nage.
The other 14 pleaded guilty, which
made it improbable that the full
story of their guilt would be told.
. But the trial of the 19, prosecutors
in the federal court said, "would un
fold ramifications beyond belief."
U. S. Attorney Kennedy said that
much of the information in the pos
session of the prosecution had been
obtained from those who had plead
ed guilty.
Spy
Lucy Boehmler, 18, who plemded
fnilty in New York to chorees of
espionage for Nasi Germany. She la
said to be part of a ring which vis
ited various parts of the country to
obtaip military secrets.
LENINGRAD:
Near Siege
Despite what undoubtedly has
been one of the greatest defensive
actions in world history, the Rus
sian defenders of Leningrad had be
fore them the question of a siege of
the city itself, and the problem of
whether they could hold the attack
ers back until cold weather comes
to their rescue.
Like northern New England, Len
ingrad weather is described as "nine
months of winter and three months
of early spring," and this spring-tide
has now given way to the autum
nal rains, which will shortly be sup
planted by winter's heavy snows.
The Russo-Finnish campaign at
the beginning of the war demon
strated that mechanized warfare
doesn't pan out so well in the snow
and iee, and the Reds are hoping
that if they can hold out through
the rtst of this month, they'll get a
progressive breathing spell along
the whole front that will permit
American aid to materialize, and a
reorganization of their defense.
It was evident, not only from the
Soviet but from the German commu
niques that the Russians were put
ting up a magnificent resistance all
along the line, that Budenny's army
got across the Dnieper without being
completely knocked out as the Ger
mans had forecast, and that Gen
eral Timoshenko in the center is
carrying on a protracted and more
or less successful counter offensive,
while Voroshiloff on the north is hold
ing the attacking Germans and
Finns back as long as he can, while
keeping his armies generally intact.
Berlin dispatches told of Russians
"contesting every foot of ground,"
and halting the spearhead advance
of the Nazi forces to only a couple
of miles or so a day.
Moscow said that first reports of a
separate peace with the Finns were
premature and inaccurate, yet this
might have meant simply that the
Russian negotiations with Finland
had fallen down, and that the Finns
had decided to stick with the Nazis
and carry through.
Some observers had thought that
as soon as the Finns reached the
Russian frontier, and had recaptured |
all the old Finnish territory that
Russians had taken over at the be
ginning of the war, they would prob
ably quit, or be glad to negotiate for
peace.
GASOLINE:
Still a Fight
The gasoline shortage in the east
ern section of the United States still
was in the controversy stage, with
much of the muddle being discussed
in print, and revealing how hope
lessly confused lgislators, adminis
trators and oil oprators were with
regard to each other and the prob
lem "itself
Some filling station operators
wanted to close down, said they
were forced out of business. Others
wanted a price rise of a cent a gal
lon. Others wanted a govern
ment subsidy. Still others said they
were getting along O. K.
Some oil suppliers said there was
no shortage, others wanted barges
built, still others wanted 17,500 idle
tank cars used, and yet the Wash
ington authorities said they couldn't
find the cars.
The railroads offered to cut the
tank car rate 50 per cent, from 5
! cents a gallon to 2t4 cents, and the
big oil companies pointed out that
the tanker rate was one cent a gal
lon, though this was difficult to figure
because practically all the tankers
are owned by the companies them
selves and they need figure no profit.
Meantime, three pipeline proposi
tions were milling around, trying to
get ready to start, while several sen
ators and congressmen, including
Senator Walsh of Massachusetts,
charged "bureaucratic blundering."
/
'Morale for Defense'
Is National Problem
nasningum, i?. v.
If you've ever watched a slow
motion picture of a high-diver, a
professional golfer, or any other
trained athlete In action, the thing
that strikes you first is the perfect
rhythm. . . ,
If you come back to America s
peace-capital of Washington from
Canada's peace-capital of Ottawa,
the first thing you notice is the lac*
of rhythm.
As one just-returned American
who was comparing notes with me
remarked: "Canada seems^to be
taking the war in her stride."
Certainly Washington is not.
Today the one topic in the capital
is?"Morale for defense," how to
achieve it. And very few people
can say how. Morale by speeches
doesn't work so well because speech
is free and there are always un
morale" speeches, too. Morale by
committee doesn't seem to work.
There are plenty of committees.
They solicit funds for advertising.
Ads appear in the metropolitan pa
pers. One greeted my eye this
morning, the first line of which read.
"The next few weeks may decide
| what will happen in America in
these next weeks. You can make
people see the truth about the peril
you face, that your family faces,
I that this whole nation faces ? - ?
But can you? Or do you want to.
Civilian Defense Effort.
A few days ago, as some of you
may have heard me mention over
the air, I sat in a little group to
Washington where a very earnest,
very emphatic man was talking
about this very thing. He was an
army officer in a branch of the serv
ice that is tied up very closely with
the civilian defense effort. He is at
his desk from 7:30 a. m. to 6:00 at
night. I never heard a talk that
sounded less like what the average
person thinks a professional soldier
says when he "sounds off."
"If things go the way they are |
going," he said-(he referred to the
lag in defense production and the
lack of civilian support of our de
fense effort) "it will be fine for me.
I'll be a major-general. But you
civilians and your children will have
to pay for a bigger and bigger army
the rest of your lives In the end
there will be nothing left of life as
we have known it in America.
He went on to say that the time
had come to explain to the Ameri
can people that "H is no longer a
question of whether you like Brit
ain, whether you approve of the ad
ministration, what you think of the
President, but just what is going to
happen to you" if the United States
doesn't end dissension over defense,
and build up an unbeatable machine
right now which is stronger than
the potentialities of the Axis.
Need far Co-ope rmtien.
Objective observers here say that
the trouble with the defense pro
gram itself boils down to this:
civilian demands have been taken
care of rather than defense de
mands. You can't have r?r ???
and your butter, too. Nearly 3,000,
000 man-days have been lost by
strikes. Business that wants to help
the government has frequently been
given insufficient co-operation?that
is the government has not been
geared to tell Just what it wants.
that doesn't want to help
has not been forced to.
Back of it all is public apathy.
And that is the key note.
Washington can t be described as
apathetic. It is hectic. But there
isn't sufficient drive from the people
throughout the country to move con
gress into dynamic action. The lead
ers in Washington have not the suf
ficient assurance that congress and
the people are back of them so that
they can drive through their pro
^to^OtUwa there are no bands
playing, no soldiers on parade.
But there is some tension. An
Englishman Just over said to me
that, after spending two days in
the capital, he was worn
out and "longed for the tranquillity
of London." But Ottawa's tension is
merely the strain of a nation with a
relatively smal' population carrying
a heavy burden.
Excitement seems to vary to di
rtct proportion to the distance from
ST StoSST The poorer to the
{mot, the more folk saw wood and
Am less they say.
Would Aid Farmer
Have you been to the five and
ten cent (tore lately? I went down
in the basement of one the other
day and had some surprises. I
bought a cake knife. It was made
of plastic, but It was plenty sharp
enough to cut bread. There were a
lot of other things?fountain pens,
inkwells, automatic pencils?made
from plastic. So I began to wonder
if maybe the shortages in metals
caused by war was really begin
ning to absorb some of the farm
surpluses from which plastics can
be made. I asked a member of
the .department of agriculture.
"The use of plastics is slowly on
the increase," I was told, "but the
little gadgets you see in the stores
are Just the bridge from the test
tube to commercial production."
Already the aluminum parts on
certain machines are being substi
tuted with plastic. Washing ma
chines. Business machines. How
ever, so far these smaller articles
are chiefly synthetic, chemical plas
tics. They aren't touching the corn
stalks. They are as yet experi
mental.
Tung Oil Production.
In other fields, the war has cre
ated new uses for agricultural prod
ucts. War conditions have hastened
perfection of these uses. Formerly
we imported 10,000,000 pounds of
tung oil a year. This year we have
produced 9,000,000 tons from our
home-grown tung and we have
made great progress in producing
drying oils from other things such
as soy beans, linseed and castor
beans. Thorough tests have been
made of the use of soy oil in paints
and enamels and a report on that
subject is now available from the
department of agriculture. I'll be
glad to send you one.
The humble soy bean, once consid
ered good for little but to be plowed
under as fertilizer, is coming to the
help of Britain. Casein from soy is
replacing casein from milk, which
makes it possible to release more
cheese for England?cheese, and
dried milk, too, are two of the is
land's crying needs.
? ? ?'
Waste Found
But No Craft
Senator Truman, Democrat of
Miaaouri, has been checking up on
how efficiently the defense program
was being run. Among other things,
he reports that a million dollars
have been wasted because at lack of
plans tor training the huge force of
men which was inducted into the
army. This applies specifically to
housing the soldiers.
As a matter of fact the army
wasn't expecting any such number
as was suddenly placed on its hands.
They had to hurry, and haste makes
waste. But there is one consola
tion. The senator found no graft.
? ? V
Checking Up on
Air Propaganda
When I wai broadcasting the ear
ly day* of the war from Germany,
it alwayt gave me a strange feel
ing to sit in the government-con
trolled radio station in Berlin and
listen to the foreign broadcasts com
ing in. I knew that it meant penal
ties as high as death for the German
citizen to listen to what I was hear
ing. Of course, German radio of
ficials monitored the stations.
Today the American government
is monitoring foreign broadcasts.
Not because they care whether the
Americans listen or not?not very
many do?but because, to quote from
a statement by the Federal Com
munications commission: "Today
almost every political, diplomatic or
military move is presaged by shifts
in propaganda treatment. Conse
quently through study of propagan
da trends, it is often possible to
predict such moves ... the al
tered tone of foreign broadcasts
gave the first indication that Ger
many was about to invade Russia,
and that Japan intended to occupy
Indo-China."
Propaganda by air, the FCC says,
uses "the old devices of exaggera
tion, suppressions, distortion, ap
peals to selfish prides and interests,
and exploitations at prejudices and
jealousies."
Remember that when you tune in
on a foreign broadcast.
? i i.
Lack of Rhythm Marks American Efforts to
Arm; Wider Use of Plastics in Industry
Would Benefit Farmer.
By BAUKHAGE
National Farm and Homo Hour Commentator.
WNU Service, 1343 H St., N. W., I Uae of Pltutiea
Berlin Is Using
Trees as Shield
Planted Atop Buildings to
Fool R. A. F., Says U. S.
Minister to Greece.
NEW YORK.?Extensive camou
flaging is being carried out in Ber
lin, with trees planted atop con
spicuous buildings to shield them
from the view of British bombers,
Lincoln MacVeagh, United States
minister to Greece, reported on his
arrival here recently.
Describing the safeguards being
taken in the German capital, Mr.
MacVeagh declared:
"Evidently they are expecting
something big. Along the bicycle
roads to Potsdam and such places
everybody uses bicycles and the
track is as wide as a room. The
tracks, which were white, are now
being painted green.
"On the outside of Berlin the
ponds and sheets of water are being
covered with reeds so that they will
look green. On the tops of conspic
uous buildings like the stadium,
where they hold the flower show,
they are planting live trees."
Lack of War Enthusiasm.
Referring to the feelings of the
natives of Berlin, Mr. MacVeagh
said:
"On the Sunday that the Russian
war broke out there was no enthu
siasm shown by the people. They
apparently had expected Russia to
come to some sort of agreement at
the time Turkey did. But when the
Russians did not the Germans ex
pected that war would come."
Mr. MacVeagh and his wife and
daughter were in Athens while the
Nazis made ready for their inva
sion of Crete. Preparations for this
campaign began immediately after
Greece fell, he said. The Mac
Veaghs left Athens on June 5, went
to Berlin, proceeded to Basle, Switz
erland, from the German capital,
continued to Barcelona and then to
Lisbon. They made the overland
journey by train and automobile.
He described the food situation in
Greece as "a progression toward
famine." Disruption of communi
cations also had upset the country,
he added.
Characterizing the Greek spirit,
even in defeat, as "magnificent," he
declared:
"I'm proud of that country. They
are not whimpering a bit. They
are defeated but' unconquered."
Greeks Cheer R.A.F.
During British air raids over
Greece at night, he disclosed, the
Greek people cheered the R.A.F.
from streets and rooftops, despite
Nazi admonitions that such demon
strations would lead to arrest.
Another passenger, Michael Gut,
a United States citizen, who worked
in Gdynia, Poland, since 1922, dis
closed that that port was used as a
naval base by the Nazis. He said
he had seen 40 German subma
rines there six months ago, and
added that the German liners
Deutschland and Cap Arcona were
among the ships moored in the har
bor.
Henry Kahn, 86-year-old United
States citizen, born in Alsace-Lor
raine, who is a Chevalier of the
French Legion of Honor, and a vet
eran of the Franco-Prussian war of
1870, arrived with Mrs. Kahn. He
predicted that "within a very few
months you'll See blood running in
the streets of Paris as tbe French
people rise in revolt."
Coed* Display Driving
Talent for Army Work
HARTFORD, CONN.?Connecticut
coeds soon may be driving army
trucks?bearing out a prediction of
Motor Vehicles Commissioner Mi
chael A. Connor that "properly
trained women could safely and ef
ficiently operate heavy army trans
port trucks ranging in weights up
to 2% tons."
Connor's conclusion was formed
after an experiment conducted at
New Britain Teachers college.
Woman students who had complet
ed a safe driving course conducted
by the motor vehicles department
took part in the test.
"The general performance was
such," said Commissioner Connor,
"that we were satisfied carefully
selected women, properly trained,
could well substitute for men in the
operation of these types of army
vehicles."
Army Get* Double Milk
World War Men Drank
WASHINGTON.?The soldier in
the American army today is retting
twice as much milk at his World
war predecessor. The war depart
ment estimates that his rations in
clude a pint ot milk daily.
The daily pint usually is divided
equally between milk served in nat
ural form and milk used in cooking
or served in pcoieasid foods such
as cheese.
? ? ??
Iceland Is Key to
Weather Forecasts
Reports Jealously Guarded
By Great Britain.
CHICAGO.?United States' occu
pation of Iceland isn't going to help
the weather man a bit?despite the
fact that the rocky island is the
key point for long range forecasting
for the entire North American coast
line.
Dr. C. G. Roseby, assistant chief
of research from the Washington
weather bureau, points out that
Britain has been keeping reports
from Iceland's weather stations "a
jealously guarded secret" since oc
cupation of the island.
And Britain would be foolhardy
not to do so, says Roesby. "The
reason is simple. Icelandic reports
would aid in plotting long range fore
casts for eastern America, but they
are of vital importance for day to
day European forecasts.
"When I worked for Sweden's
weather bureau," he said, "Iceland
ic conditions were the first thing
we'd look for on the chart in mak
ing up our forecasts."
Rossby, who will remain on leave
of absence from his Washington
post until September to serve as di
rector of the University of Chicago's
new institute of meteorology, is the
leading exponent of the air mass
theory forecasting in this country.
He believes that within the next 10
or 15 years the U. S. bureau will bo
able to extend accurate long range
forecasting to 30 days, or so.
Long range forecasting, he ex
plained, is concerned?not with pre
dicting each day's weather?but
with assaying temperature and rain
fall anomalies that will occur in
each area.
"The five-day reports now are be
ing used for agricultural and vari
ous industrial purposes, and even
tually, when these and other uses
become more widespread, man may
become so adjusted to this long
range forecasting that be will con
sider it a necessity."
Hobby Yields 200 Ingots
Of Aluminum for Defense
SUFFERN, N. Y.?A mysterious
stranger with a mysterious hobby
drove to the community aluminum
bin in this village and deposited 70
pounds of pure aluminum molded
into about 200 cakes the size of muf
fins.
The stranger, who was about M
years old, gave his name as Ed
ward Strysko of Suffern, and said
his hobby for the last 10 years had
been to collect old aluminum and
melt it down in his furnace into
small ingots. When the nation-wide
drive for aluminum opened he de
cided to contribute his hobby to
national defense.
However, when village officials
decided to inquire further into his
hobby, they were unable to find any
trace of Strysko. He is not listed
on the tax rolls of the village or of
Ramapo township in the outlying
areas and he seemed to be unknown
in Suffern.
Parachutist Strategy
Dates From Franklin
WASHINGTON, D. C.-Benjamin
Franklin had the idea at parachute
troops back in 1783
"The Command and General Staff
School Military Review" prints tat
its current issue the following ex
cerpt from volume nine of Frank
lin's writings:
"Five thousand balloons, capable
of raising two men each, could no*
cost more than Ave ships of the
line; and where is the prince who
can afford so to cover his country
with troops for its defense as that
10,000 men descending from the
clouds might not in many places
do an infinite deal of mischief be
fore a force could be brought to
gether to repel them?"
Name English Woman, 33,
As Only Female General
LONDON?Slim, 33-year-old Mrs.
Jean Knox took over control of
the Women's Auxiliary Territorial
service branch of the army.
With the rank of major general
she sits at a big desk in the war
office. The mother of a 14-year-old
girl and wife of a Royal Air force
squadron leader, she is the young
est general in the British army and
the only woman general.
Elk Forget Manner* to
Woo My Lady Nicotine
SOUTH BEND, WASH. ? Gun*
Protector Josh Allen would be hap
pier if his herd of North River elk
hadn't taken up with Lady Nicotine.
Not that he minds their moral
delinquency, he said?but they've
become a traffic hazard. Allen said
that elk now were in the habit at
going oil to the highway at all hours
to "mooch" cigarettes from motor
tats