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The Alamance Gleaner , ? . * * *?& Vol LXVII GRAHAM, N. C., THURSDAY, OCTOBER 30, 1941 No. 39 ? ? ? ?! ' ? , I*] WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS By Edward C. Wayne Shipping Losses and Kearny Incident Have Effect on Neutrality Act Pebate; British View Invasion as Impossible'; French Assassinate Two Nazi Officers (EDITOR'S NOTE?When eplnlens are expressed la these caimans, ther are these ef the news analyst and net necessarily ef this newspaper.) (Released by Western Newspaper * One of the most momentous steps in U. S.-Argentine trade relations took place in the historic white room at the government house at Buenos Aires as a new treaty was signed between the two governments. Picture shows ceremony at signing and pictured left to right are Dr. Carlos Ace vedo, Argentine finance minister; C. 8. Ambassador Norman Armour; Dr. Enrique Guinaxu, Argentine foreign minister. In the background are members of the Argentine government and D. 8. embassy staff. KEARNY: Starting Things The fact that the Kearny, U. S. destroyer hit by a Nazi torpedo, had been more than slightly damaged, had suffered the loss of some 11 lives and had several persons badly wounded landed with a jolt in a Washington already jittery in the midst of a debate on the Neutrality act. The navy refused any information except the broadest facts, pending a fuller report of the commander, and the incident left congress in a welter of excitement. On top of this had come two fur ther sinkings, those of the Bold Ven ture, former Danish ship carrying the flag of Panama, and the Lehigh which was flying the Stars and Stripes. The Lehigh was sunk off the coast at Africa, far from the combat zones. The impact of these three inci dents on a congress which was be ing asked to permit the arming of merchant ships was terrific. Im mediately measures were placed be fore congress ranging all the way from a complete repeal of the Neu trality act to a resolution asking for a declaration of war. This last was not actually intro duced, but certain isolationist sena tors said that it would be as a coun ter measure to the "pressure" being exerted from the White House. Out of it all emerged the second half of the Neutrality act legisla tion, the measure to send American ships into combat zones, and this had been reported to have received presidential favor as a matter of present business. Again; as the administration was meeting severe opposition on one of its measures, fate and the news played into its hands. RUSSIANS: Tough Battle Pressure shifted from one direc tion to another along the Moscow front with the Russians putting up a desperate light. There had been a sudden heavily reinforced attack, however, in the southern, or Orel district, and the Nazis had claimed the capture of Stalino, a city of 450,000 people, and described as "a leading armament center of the Donets basin." Stfll later the Nazis had announced gains on the Azov front and the'de fenders believed the Germans were shifting their attack to the south. There had been reports of Stalin personally in command at the cen tral front, his headquarters in an armored train. But the capital had been moved to a spot 550 miles southeast of Moscow. Russian sources had declared the picture at Leningrad to be the brightest of that on any part of the long front, with the defenders of Russia's second city Inflicting ter rific losses on the attackers, and still holding their defense lilies. INVASION: ,,,<, 'Impossibility i - British sources, following a pro tracted demand on the part of labor and certain sections of the press for an immediate invasion of the con tinent, officially declared this plan "stiD an impossibility." The R.A.F., it was stated, was still smashing the Reich territory on a 24-hour basis, however. 50 FOR ONE: Officers Shot The killing of Colonel Holtz, the Nazi commander at Nantes, France, by assassination was promptly avenged by General Stuelpnagel, occupation commander, by the kill ing of 50 French hostages. The commander said: "Cowardly criminals paid by Eng land and Moscow killed the field commandant at Nantes with shots in the back on the morning of October 20. Until now the assassins have not been arrested. "In expiation of this crime I have ordered, as preliminary measures, that 50 hostages be shot. Consid ering the gravity of the crime 50 other hostages will be shot if the assassins are not arrested." The general offered a reward of 15,000,000 francs for the surrender of the guilty parties. Four members of the gendarmerie at Nantes had been taken into cus tody, including the prefect of the dis trict. He and the mayor of Nantes issued an appeal for aid in (he ar rest of the killers. On that very day, however, in the neighborhood of Nantes, a freight train was derailed, a section of track having been removed, For other offenses four French men had been executed, and the total of hostages executed during October was said to have reached 134. Next day reports told of the killing of another Nazi officer in France. This time, a major. G.O.P.: Willkie Policy At the height of the neutrality debate more than 100 Republicans took part in an^appeal for the repeal of the Neutrality act, in the face of the recollection that this action in the last war was shortly followed by American entrance as a full partici pant. These were led by Wendell L. Willkie. who said: "Millions upon millions of Repub licans are resolved that the ugly smudge of isolationism shall be re moved from the face of their party. "At the same time he criticized the administration for the handling of labor relations, saying "the de sire of many in the administration to rewrite our social and economic life under cover of the national ef fort must be ruled out during the emergency." WICKARD: On Prices Secretary of Agriculture Wickard, calling the parallel between the present war and the last one too close for comfort, urged on congress the necessity of immediate price flx ing to stave off disastrous infla tionary tendencies. He declared himself in complete agreement with the provisions of the pending price-control bill, and said that the planned price-Axing au thority might not be necessary. The nation's agricultural produc tion next year, he predicted, will be the highest in history, and the in crease would be mostly in meats, milk and eggs. He recalled that of the 14,000 banks which failed most were country banks, and said be didn't believe the American econo my could stand a second siege like that. Low-Down-on-Low-Bid Appearing before the Senate ? defense investigating committee, Sidney Hillman, OPM associate director general, is pictured at he declared that low bid by a CIO contractor for a Michigan housing project was disregarded because its acceptance, might re? . suit in stritces and open violence involving the entire construction industry in Detroit. The com mittee teas probing charges that OPM shows favoritism to AFL. LABOR: Civil Strife An internal war within the C.I.O. organization was revealed when a strike at a Detroit steel plant .was suddenly halted. - The public was treated to the unr. usual spectacle of a union leader telling his members to go back to work because the amiy had been ordered to take over the plant "un less," and being roundly hissed. There were yells of "bring on the soldiers." 1 --- The union leader, John Doherty, said: "The United States army already has received orders to move in. The government has notified our union that this strike will not be tolerat ed." The men, who claimed that their, own union leaders had "sold them out" in wage negotiations, hissed and catcalled, but they went back tQ work. There were hints of sabotage in this strike, and the open charge by Federal Conciliator Dewey that he was looking for a "sinister purpose" in the walkout. Dewey had been in the conference which resulted in this particular steel company signing a contract with the SWOC. MEXICO: Releases Aliens Latin-America and the .United States had been puzzled by a. report from Mexico stating that close to 000 Nazis and Fascists from the seized Axis ships had been re leased and returned to their former status of foreigners legally in the country. American circles could nol up4pr stand why President' Camgcho took this action, as it 'was believed cer tain to complicate Mexico's espio nage problem, already quite com plex. It had been pointed out that, prior to their seizure, these Nazi and Fas cist ships had been hotbeds of prop aganda, and that one of them, the Orinoco, had maintained a printing plant aboard, and that in addition to flooding the country with material - along the Nazi party line, had given many entertainments aboard for Mexicans and had shown many propaganda, movies. BRIGADE: ? Of Heroes The British official reports of the Dunquerque episode were filled with many stories of heroism, but none' of them more poignant than the story of the lost brigade 'of Calais. ' This Was a group of 3,800 British soldiers who held the French port, vital to the use of Dunquerque as 8 debarkation point, for all the days while the evacuees were crouched on the beaches, vulnerable to at tack, thus permitting their brothers in-arms to escape. Of this body, only 47 ever returned to England. The commander, was Brigadier C. Nicholson, and after standing heavy bombardment-and with the town he was defending in flames, he received this terse com mand : "Every hour you continue to exist is of the greatest help to the B.E.F. The government therefore decided that you must continue to fight We have the greatest possible admira tion for your splendid stand." Belgians Assail Nazi Cruelties . * Cite Killing of Family atad Boy Who Called Soldier Dirty Hun.' NEW YORK.?fearon J.. van der Elat, counsellor to the Belgian em bassy in Washington, and the Bel gian commercial counsellor's office, at 630 Fifth avenue, made public the text of a cable from hii gov ernment in London, charging acts of (cruelty and injustice against the ? Nazis occupying Belgium. . ? . ? The cable, signed by Paul Henri Spaak, foreign minister of Belgium, 'presented two instances of German conduct in Belgium, with' the facts presumably obtained secretly from -intelligence sources inside Belgium. 'The first case was that of a Bel gian family of three allegedly exe cuted because they sought to hide a British airman. The second was that of a 10-year-old Belgian boy who called a Nazi soldier a "dirty Hun" and was shot for it. Family Pot to Death. The text of Mr. Spaak's message * follows: "In a case that came before a German military court in Belgium re cently, several Belgians were ac cused of having given refuge to an English airman, whose machine had been shot down near Maesyck. One evening toward the end of May, a Belgian named Meltior knocked on the door of the house of the Fraipont family, in a suburb of Liege. The daughter of the family, Lucie Vis, opened the door. Meltior, telling her that he was an old friend of her mother, Constance Fraipont, asked her to give hospitality to an English airman who had made a forced land ing in the neighborhood and who was there with him. The airman was not injured and hoped that, with the help of Meltior, he could avoid being taken prisoner. Lucie Vis said she would take the airman in, and her parents helped her to frustrate the search for him made .by the German authorities. "Despite the secrecy which sur i rounded the place where the British airman was \adged, the fact came to the knowledge of the Germap po lice, who, In thes^oursepf-a-aearch through the house^-dttcovered him and arrested him, together with the members of the family: Lucie Vis, her mother, Constance Fraipont, and her father, Emile Fraipont, a manu facturer of Liege. Defense Plea Fntlle. "These three persons and Mrs. Meltior, whose husband had mean while fled, were brought before the military court. The counsel for the defense pointed out that Lucie Via and Mr. and Mrs. Fraipont had been moved to act by human senti 1 ments. The court reasoned that feelings of this kind could not be taken into account. Lucie Vis and her parents - were condemned to death. "At ' Mont-sur-Marchienne, near Charleroi, on April id a 10-year old boy, Maurice Van de Castel, was playing with two little playmates on the slope of the railway, which was . guarded by German soldiers. One of the German soldiera chased the children away in a rather rough way. As the three children left (he spot, one of them turned around and shouted at the German: 'A dirty Hun you are!' , ?? "The soldier turned around and flred point blank at the little fellow, who fell dead. This happened at only a hundred yards from We spot where, 24 years ago, Yvonne Vieslet, a little girl, was killed by the 'Ger mans because she gave bread to a French 'prisoner;" - Boost Per Acres Crop Yield To Meet Defense Demands CHICAGO. ? How farmers can "enlarge" their farms to meet in creasing defense demands without incurring the hazards of pverexpan sion was described in a statement made public here by the Middle West Soil Improvement committee. "The secret lies not in buying mora land but in. making the pres ent acreage <do a better production job,'' the statement declares. "Jhia means following a soil management ' program that Will raise Sie land's fertility level. "Even in the most productive areas die average farm can ifsually be enlarged the equivalent of M per cent, and sometimes as much as SO per cent, through intelligent soil treatment. "Tn combination with other sound farming practices the use of fer: tilizer containing nitrogen, phos phorus and potash is essential in stepping up the soil's productive capacity. Such a practice not only has an immediate result in increas ing the per acre yield of crops need ed in the nation's defense effort, but represents an important long range soil conservation measure." ?* Smuggling Is Down; Cattle Rustling Up Patrol on Canadian Border Has New Problem. OGDENSBURG, N. Y.-No more are narcotics and gem smugglers the quarry of the United States cus toms patrol on the Canadian border, but instead cattle rustlers. Usually considered only a prob lem in the badlands of the South west, the detection of cattle smug glers is an important job. The rea son is that often the stock are in fected with Bangs disease, which the United States is trying to stamp dut to protect domestic herds. "The war in Europe undoubtedly has cut down on smuggling of all types, including precious stones," explained Capt. Archie Denner, in charge of one of the largest terri tories in patrol jurisdiction, from Lake Champlain to Cape Vincent. "Reduction of duties on most precious stones has' been another factor in ending smuggling of that type. Narcotics smuggling todpy is virtually nonexistent. "Smuggling is down. Smugglers are discovering that it doesn't pay in the long run." This condition contrasts with pro hibition days when the customs men were busy night and day and often could get only 10 hours sleep a week. The most sensational smuggling case along the northern border re cently was an attempt in June, 1940, to carry $280,000 in silver fox furs across the line at Detroit. The plot failed and the pelts were seized. Silver fox is the only fur with a heavy duty now, according to Den ner. Standards for the men of the patrol are kept high. They must stay in top condition and be excel lent pistol shots. Teams from the' local service have won many tro phies for their marksmanship. Bear Bags Boat; Killed With Oar After a Battle BINGHAM, MAINE.?Game War den Fletcher Hale reported a wil derness battle in which three men and a woman alew a belligerent blgck bear with no other weapons "than a pair of oars and a hunting knife. The battle was fought Saturday on isolated Clear Pond, near Pleasant Ridge, where Mr. and Mrs. Earl Howes, and Ernest and Clarence Andrews, all of Madison, were fish ing. The bear, according to Hale, burst through a thicket t>n the shore of the lake and spied the fishing party in a small boat. Splashing through the shallows, the bear lunged at the occupants. The men snatched oars and pounded the animal, which ripped a gash in Howe's hand. The bear, Hale said, then attempted to tow the boat ashore, but a blow with an oar stunnedlt. The coup de grace was administered with a hunting knife. Airport U Sinking in Spots; Experts Puzzled NEW YORK.?New York's munic ipal airport, officially known as La-, Guardia Field, Is slowly sinking in some vitally important sections ana no one appears to know when it is going to stop. This was admitted by Maj. Elmer Haslett, director of the airport,- and Joseph A. Meehan, chief- engineer.. They described means by which the $1,900,000 administration building nerve ceqter of "the biggest and' busiest airport in the world," is be ing prevented from sinking farther into the-Ailed- in portions of Flush ing bay that comprises a large part of the airport. Cracks started to appear on the building several months ago. The problem is not confined to the administration building. Major Has lett said some of the runways-are now from a half inch to a full inch lower than they were when the air pprt was opened early in the sum-, nter of 1039. Thankful Land Owner Repays County's Bounty MOBILE, ALA. - Flabbergasted .was the word for the county board of roads and revenues when it re ceived this letter from Joseph S. Jives: "My land was so poor it wouldn't even grow cactus, but when you put s road through it, those 10 acres became the richest plot in the whole county, thanks to a combination grocery store and Jook joint I have erected . . . "Enclosed you will And a check for $142.22, which you will please have credited to the county's road and bridge fund. This sum represents I per cent of the unearned incre ment and my appreciation for the service the county has done me." Mentally Healthy Soldier Needed for Modern War High Selection Standard Required in Supplying Army Wjth Men Equipped to Meet - Hazards of 'Blitz' Tactics. By BAUKHAGE National Farm and Homa Hour Commentator. WNtJ Service, 1343 H Street, N-W, Washington, D. C. At a recent White House news conference the President was asked whether he thought there ought to be a lowering of the physical, mental and educational standards for ad mission to the army. The question came up at the close of a long dissertation by Mr. Roose velt on a report from the army which seemed to reveal a shocking state of the national health. It was based on figures which shpwed that nearly 50 per cent of the selectees rejected for service were ineligible because of deficiencies in these three categories. It did look as though Americans, as a people, were pretty sick. The President's answer to the question of lowering the standards of admission was an emphatic nega tive. Very little attention was paid to this response at the time and the stories which went out over the air and the wires that day were chiefly concerned with the program for healing the physical ills of selectees at government expense. But that part of. the picture, as I learned when I talked with a promi nent psychiatrist, is only half of it? or less, Lowering the standards of mental requirements would, in case of war, mean a terrific psychopathic casual ty list, the taxpayer would hat* 4 terrific bill to pay and the efficiency of the American fighting forces would be immeasurably impaired. Record of Last War Let'* look at the record ot the la*t war, when the mental hazard* were only a fraction of what they are today with a thousand machines harnessed for destruction. Briefly, the story is this: Itie government ot the taxpayer has paid out nearly a billion dollars for the beneflt and care of mental cases among veterans of the last war. This sum represents 20 per cent of all benefits paid to veterans and their dependents. There are 92,231 such mental cases and a third of all veterans confined to hospitals are mental cases. It is true that same 21,000 of these men cannot prove that their plight is traceable to their military service, but they are on'Uncle Sam's expense list Just the same, and they would not be if they had been kept out-of Jhe army in the first place. Of course, all of these 9,000 mental cases could not have been spotted by the draft boards in 1917 and 1918. Not all cases of mental weakness or potential weakness can be spotted now. But thp. army pow fjas a wealth of experience on the subject and the Veterans-Administration is co-operating with many local boards In this effort. Twenty years study has made these government doctors expert in discovering hidden weak nesses in the human mind. Some of the nation's greatest psychiatrists have offered their services to the aftny. * Today, of cousse, there are many reasons why mental qualifications count more than in the last war. In the first place, modem warfare re quires greater self-discipline on the part of Bib Individual. Special Training Needed la' the old army the squad, com posed of seven or eight men, was a unit The squad has now been abolished.' Modern ordnance?small and heavy " arms?is much more Mknpltcatod. Bach man must be specially trained for a special task and ? frequently the responsibility formerly relegated to a group, falls oiv the individual. Greater akin to operate modem arms and equipment is necessary. Also, the idevastating effect of mech anization assets* a greater mental strain. An example of this Is the terrorizing effect of the noise ot dive bombers. When the French troops first heard the sfufcqa.they -threw down their arms and feu flat on the earth. As Dr. Martin Cooley, consultant of the Veterans Bureau in Washing ton puts it: "When one considers how the war fare of today has stepped up in in tensity and tempo with the stuka divers, the panzer divisions, the ele ments of deadly surprise and audac ity and the dropping of bombs of high explosives weighing as much as a ton, it becomes evident that com bat troops will have an immense strain on their morale, and it must be expected that a man with un- j stable nervous system or a flaw of ' character ' will crack under the strain." In the last war an effort was j made to weed out the men, who, from their medical histories or ax a result of examinations, were consid ered unable to stand up under the strain of service. Strangely enough, it was the medical officers rather than the line officers who were in clined to be lenient in accepting questionable cases, and the medical. department of the army records that 8,640 cases of record were discov ered and the men retained in the army against the advice of the neuro-psychiatric Officers. Many of these men broke down when they reached camp before they heard a gun fired. With this rec ord staring them in the face, it is no wonder that responsible war de partment officials are anxious that there be no let-down in the stand ards for admission to military serv ice. ? ? ? Pan American Child Congress War and politics are no respecters of children. Bombs and shells spare neither nursery nor school. And politics, frequently, like the bad Samaritan, goes by on the other side, even in peace-time. The Pan-American Child Con gress, whose purpose is to build sturdier, happier, wiser future citi zens of the Americas, was estab lished in 1918. Plans are now under - way for its first meeting since 1935 which is to be held next spring in Washington. four times during the last six years, the meeting of the congress ' has had to be postponed. The first came in 1938 when Nicaragua found ' that it could not gb ahead with plans ' for being host to the conclave. , Then, when the delegates were all ready to take the boat the next year for Costa Rica, where the postponed . congress was to meet, it was can celled again, indirectly because of war. The real reason for this last postponement, perhaps, was indicat ed in a headline in a San Jose, Costa Rica, newspaper, which read: "Is this a Pan American-German Con gress'" Germany had announced that it would send exhibits and take part in the meeting and presumably Nazi influence in Costa Rica was - strong enough to make it unwise for the local government to protest. In any case, the meeting was again cancelled. ? ? ? On Cray Day? Meditation, Repot The other day I sat on a bale at straw in a stable with the measured crunch and stamp at horses around me, waiting tor the rain to stop. I watched the slanting drops with mixed desires. The earth was so thirsty tor these few drops that it seemed more than selfish to hope the watery benediction would oease. At last a' rooster crowed and the . rain thinned to a mist. The whole . countryside seemed to look up in damp gratitude for its short cup at pleasure. There eras lite and move ment everywhere. The dog dog hi . the softened dirt tor no particular reason. When I passed ho looked 19 at me with mud on his whiskers and a foolish, happy grin an his ; face. Chickens energetically pulled . at worms that they hadn't seen for ' weeks and then, suddenly, there was ; a bright flash of color before me. i Eight bluebirds appearing out of the air like a bright light suddenly turned and alighted on the top rail of the fence Back in the city, skies were still j gray, but the same muted feeling of ? relict that I had felt in the country \ spread along fha streets. There is always to me a beauty 1 fat gray days. I feel as though I had, stepped from a garish world into a quiet cloister?I hear sandalled feet on cool stone, the light, subdued, comes through stained glass win dows. It Is time for meditation and repose. ? ? ? . C Rep. John W. Gwynne of lows has a plan whereby automobiltf license A plates would be good for a five-year ? period in order to couaeive steel for national defense. The congressman estimates that adaption of such a ... plan would save ABO toas of steel annually in Iowa alone and would also save the taxpayers of that stata *44,000 each year.
The Alamance Gleaner (Graham, N.C.)
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Oct. 30, 1941, edition 1
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