The Alamance Gleaner
Vol. LXVII ) GRAHAM, N. C., THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1941 No. 42
WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS By Edward C. Wayne
Congressional Neutrality Act Revision
Permits Armed U. S. Merchant Ships
To Sail Through Belligerent Zones;
U. S. Faces Serious Labor Situation
(EDITOR'S NOTE?When ?pinions ore upiilMi la then columns, they
are those of tho news analyst and not necessarily of this nowspapor.)
ir?u??a by Western Newspaper >
?PHi'i^?i?limn mi muni 11 mil mi noil hhii si iiwiiwiii'iiM
Everyone in Soviet Rossis is learning the soldier's trade these days.
Even the students in school. Here an instructor is shown teaching sec
ondary school students methods of bayonet lighting. Note that girls as
well as boys are present for instruction in this class.
NEUTRALITY:
Revision Complete
When the house voted 212 to 194
to permit the arming of U. S. mer
chant ships and allow them to sail
through war zones into ports of na
tions at war it amounted to a repeal
of the neutrality act's main provi
sions. For as the senate had al
ready adopted the same measure,
the administration's battle on this
vital issue was over.
As a vote neared on the measure
a warning came from President
Roosevelt that its defeat would be
evidence to Hitler that "the United
States is disunited." For a while
there were strong indications of a
Democratic revolt in the house, as
many members were reported to be
demanding a firmer presidential
stand on defense strikes in return
for "going along" with the Roosevelt
. foreign policy.
When the President's warning, in
the form of a letter to Speaker Sam
Rayburn, was read before the house,
it was inferred that assurances were
being given that the strike situation
would be dealt with and many mem
bers were reported to have then fall
en in behind the White House revi
sion plans.
Marked by a hectic battle on the
issue, the principal fight centered
repeal of the combat zone and bel
ligerent port provisions. For ship
ping arming had already been ap
- proved by the house and senate
tacked on the controversial provi
sion when it passed the broader
bill and returned it to the house for
concurrence.
GERMANS:
Fighting Front
Frank admissions from Berlin
that the attack on Russia was en
tirely stalled no longer had been
withheld as the Germans were find
ing it necessary to explain to the
people the failure of their armies to
capture Leningrad, Moscow or the
defenses in the Donetz basin.
German press announcements
blamed entirely the weather. It also
was claimed that the Russian de
fenses, especially around Moscow,
were based on the knowledge that
the German mechanized army could
not operate over fields and through
woods on a terrain covered with
snow and rain.
One communique said:
"This has forced us to use roads
instead of traveling cross-country,
and these roads are literally mine
fields. especially the shoulders."
The defenses around Moscow were
described as extremely powerful
and intricate, including subterrane
an tank garages from which Red
tanks would dash directly into bat
tle and then circle and re-enter their
"bunkers" after firing a few shots,
and before the German attacking
forces could organize their defense.
This system really gave the Rus
sians movable fortifications. The
German communique also said they
were encountering flame throwers so
concealed in the ground that only
the nozzles were showing, and which
could be operated from a considera
ble distance with devastating effect.
The Russians thus have been able
to hold back the Nazi attack, Berlin
frankly admitted, though it was
claimed that at one point the as
sault had reached within 31 miles of
the borders of Moscow.
Nothing was said about Russian
claims that her troops were actually
taking the offensive at many points.
BRITISH:
Loss
Loss of the aircraft carrier Ark
Royal was admitted by the British
who said that the craft (claimed
many times as being sunk by the
Nazis) had been torpedoed in the
Mediterranean east of Gibraltar.
The 22,000 ton floating airfield was
sunk while in tow after a sub
marine torpedo had struck her.
STRIKES:
Galore
Highlighting the news of a trou
bled labor situation in the United
States was the strike called for De
cember 7, by 390,000 operating em
ployees of the nation's railway sys
tems.
The American Federation of La
bor trades in San Diego, 2,000 mem
bers of which had walked out, crip
pling navy and marine defense
projects, went back to work.
At the same time the C.I.O. chief
tains in the coal dispute in the cap
tive mines walked out of the confer
ence, and it began to look as though
the army would have to take over
and operate the mines.
In the steel-coal-mine strike, how
ever, after a quadruple plea by
President Roosevelt to John L. Lew
is had temporarily halted the threat
ened walkout of 53,000 workers and
had sent them back to work pend
ing negotiations before the hational
mediation board, trouble developed
as soon as the board decided ad
versely to the closed shop demand.
Lewis had set his deadline, and
only three days before that time the
board, on which Philip Murray and
other C.I.O. chieftains were sitting,
declined to vote the closed shop.
Murray and his aides had an
nounced that they were quitting.
WAR:
And Mr. Welles
Administration forces saw the ap
proach of America's entry into ac
tual hostilities as closer, not be
cause of repeal of the neutrality
act's main restrictive paragraphs,
but as a result of increased pressure
on this country by Japan and Ger
many.
Sumner Welles, undersecretary of
state, and President Roosevelt him
self, in their Armistice day ad
dresses, had issued most solemn
warnings.
Mr. Welles, in particular, said:
"Another war may be forced on
the United States at any moment by
Japan or Germany.
"The tides are running fast.
"The heart-searching question ev
ery American citizen must ask him
self is whether the world in which
we have to live would have come
to this desperate pass had the Unit
ed States been willing in those years
which followed 1919 to play its full
part in striving to bring about a new
world order based on justice and on
a steadfast concert for peace."
He said that President Wilson, dy
ing five years after he had laid the
groundwork of such co-operative ef
fort, "was laid to rest amid the
apathy and the sneers of those of
his opponents who hsd, through ap
peal to ignorance, to passion and
to prejudice, temporarily persuaded
the people to reject Wilson's plea
that the influence, the resources and
the power of the United States be
exercised for their own security and
their own advantage, through our
participation in an association oi
nations for peace."
Queen's Job
LONDON. ENGLAND. ?A
queen'$ job includes many things
and here the cameraman pictures
Queen Elizabeth of England hav
ing her shoes "fitted" upon visit
ing a shell factory. In order to
prevent accidents when entering
the "danger zone" of the factory
special attention must be given
to the fit and type of shoes worn.
ROME:
And Hostages
Italy, by arresting 150 hostages in
Jugoslavia as an aftermath of a
Serbian uprising in which a large
number of Italian soldiers and civil
ians were slain and wounded, had
placed herself in position to go into
the hostage-execution business in a
similar manner to that of the Nazis
in France and other occupied coun
tries.
In the official casualty list in
Greece and Jugoslavia issued by the
Italians since their armies occupied
those countries 179 Italian soldiers
had been reported killed, and 128
wounded.
It was the first time since the out
break of the war tha't the Italian
command had resorted to the "hos
tage method" of control or reprisal.
MEDITERRANEAN:
Battle Report
British warships, under the guns
of a highly superior Italian naval
force, had engaged a convoy in the
Mediterranean, and had sunk sev
eral freighters, also three destroy
ers.
The British admiralty announced
in a later communique that four
more Axis troopships had been sunk,
two sailing vessels sent to the bot
tom, and four other vessels dam
aged.
All of this was accomplished by
submarine action, the British assert
ed. It was considered possible that
the action might have been a pre
lude to activity by the British in
North Africa.
MARSHALL:
On Morale
Gen. George C. Marshall, head
of the army, declared there was in
progress a "sudden and wide
spread" attempt on the part of the
Nazis to "sabotage United States
munitions, utility and transportation
industries?also the army's morale."
Already, the general revealed,
there has been uncovered an Axis
propaganda attack designed to dis
rupt army morale.
This campaign, using "clever
methods" has succeeded already in
upsetting the families of soldiers
and has also misled some members
of congress.
The general's daily mail, he said,
reflects "German scheming through
letters from families who are wor
rying about their boys in the army,
who have been led to believe, for
instance, that the soldiers lack food,
proper shelter or medical attention.
"They come from members of
congress who have been similarly
misled."
He cited the various events indica
tive of disrupted morale which oc
curred during the summer.
ELEPHANTS:
Circus Tragedy
The sudden death of 10 elephanta
in the Barn urn Bailey circus at At
lanta was followed by a statement
from the management that it was
clearly a case of "elephant mur
der."
Autopsies determined what the
poison was, and that it was an "in
side job." Arrests had been prom
ised.
The story had much "human in
terest," and it was expected that it
would blossom out into detective Ac
tion. Most of the animals that died
were young for elephants, 30 to 16
years old.
197 Destroyers
Now Building
Construction Pace Equals
Combined Power of Any
Two Axis Countries.
WASHINGTON.?The speed being
attained in the construction of Unit
ed States destroyers to help keep
open the sea lanes vital to defense
is exceeding the highest expecta
tions of navy officials.
After subtracting the SO over-age
destroyers transferred to Great Brit
ain, the United States had in active
service at the end of 1040, 180 de
stroyers, 80 more than those pos
sessed by Japan, strongest Axis
naval power. And this numerical
superiority does not tell the com
plete story; military consensus cred
its this country's destroyer force
with a speed and hitting power su
perior to that of any other nation.
Japanese destroyers carry only six
to nine torpedo tubes, as against 8
to 18 on similar American craft.
Another technical achievement in
our favor is the fact that on our new
er destroyers the torpedo tubes have
been mounted upon the superstruc
ture to permit firing in heavy weath
er. The Japanese tubes remain on
the main deck. In both fleets the
destroyers' five and six-inch guns
have been set in turrets, but the
American turrets have additional
light armament. In some quarters
Tokyo's torpedo carriers and sub
marine hunters are deemed top
heavy.
197 Now 'Building.'
Two hundred destroyers were or
dered for the United States navy in
1940, and 197 are now listed as
"building." The speed with which
this progran^ is being carried out
can be deduced from the production
record set between January 1 and
September 30 of this year. By the
end of September the keels had been
laid for 57 destroyers, 10 had been
launched and 12 completed and
placed in active service. This is a
construction pace superior to that
of any two Axis nations combined.
An indication of the production
speed is provided by several de
stroyers recently completed. In
World war days the average time
for constructing a 1,200-ton destroy
er was nine months. When the Edi
son, a 1,700-ton vessel of more com
plex design than the World war
models, was launched, 8Vi months
after keel laying, it was deemed an
exceptional achievement. But the
Bristol and Ellysan, both 1,700-ton
ners of the same class as the Edi
son, slid down their Kearny, N. J.,
ways only 7H months after keel lay
ing.
The destroyers are part of the
production of 375,000 men in the
country's shipyards.
Cavalry of the Sea.
Another development which has
heightened the importance of our de
stroyer force is the nature of mod
ern warfare. Destroyers correspond
to the army's mechanized cavalry.
They are swift-moving and hard
hitting and are constantly being im
proved. American 'destroyers can
be controlled from so many different
protected places that the chance
of losing control through enemy
gunfire is negligible. United States
destroyers are the only ones in the
world which can be refueled with
out stopping at sea. How this is done
is a secret.
Latest reports which have reached
this country also show that the de
stroyer is well adapted to combat
the dive bomber. The speed and
maneuverability of the destroyer has
enabled it to avoid being hit by air
bombs in many Mediterranean and
Atlantic sea battles.
Town's Barbershops Are
Permitted 24-Hour Day
BURLINGTON, N. J.?Wives and
sweethearts protested when local
defense workers, toiling round-the
1 clock in the nation's rearmament
program, started to resemble un
shorn Samsons.
The workers pointed out that bar
bershops were closed after 7 p. m.
The bottleneck got so bad that the
city council repealed a seven-year
j regulatory ordinance?and the city's
M barbershops now may remain
open 34 hours a day to accommo
date 3,000 defense workers.
Nazis Skimp on Food of
Red Prisoners of War
BERLIN.?Russian prisoners of
war will receive food inferior to that
of prisooers of other nationalities,
the high command decreed.
This unusual measure was based
on the fact that Russia did not
sign the international agreement
covering treatment of war prison
ers and that in the high command's
opinion "there is accordingly no ob
ligation to grant Soviet war prison
ers rations corresponding to said
agreement as regards quantity or
quality."
Ruins in Alaska
Show High Culture
Industry, Commerce, Art and
Religion Flourished.
NEW YORK.?On a barren gravel
apit 130 miles above the Arctic
circle a highly developed and com
plex civilization came into being be
fore the dawn of history on the an
cient migration route from Asia
to America.
For a few thousand years it
thrived. Then it declined and ulti
mately died, leaving behind a
mystery as deep as that which once
shrouded the pyramids.
Relics of the ancient lost civili
zation, which once made Point
Hope, Alaska a place of animation
where industry, commerce, art and
religion flourished, were discovered
only two years ago.
A full report on what is known
about it became available when Dr.
Harry L. Shapiro of the American
Museum of Natural History released
details of discoveries made on the
site during the past summer.
Much as Dr. Shapiro and his
predecessors discovered about the
Point Hope culture, more remains
to be learned. Science does not yet
know what race laid out the ancient
city now referred to as "Ipiutak."
It only knows that the Ipiutak civi
lization was more highly developed
than either ancient or modern Es
kimo culture, that' the inhabitants
were deeply religious, highly artistic
and skilled in the crafts of daily
living.
In 1939 and 1940 members of an
American museum - University of
Alaska expedition located the vast
ruins of the prehistoric town. Dr.
Shapiro extended their discoveries
last summer.
He found that Ipiutak?which is
the Eskimo name of a small spit of
land near the site?had Ave long
avenues on which some 000 dwell
ings, since buried, housed about
3,000 persons.
Army Patriarch Retires;
Bounces Soldier a Day
FORT BRAGG. N. C.?Wild Root,
33-year-old army mule, which threw
a soldier a day for seven long years
and two the last day she was sad
dled?Just to show that she was not
weakening?was retired with full
military honors.
There was a formal review.
The orneriest mule that ever stuck
her nose into an army feed box stood
by Lieut. Col. William Clarke,
commander of the Fourth Field Ar
tillery battalion; Capt. J. O. Sea
man and other officers, as the bat
talion?her own?including 887 mules
and 117 horses swept past in full
pack.
Maj. Gen. Jacob L. Devers recom
mended the retirement as one of
his last orders before relinquishing
command of Fort Bragg to take
command at Fort Knox, Ky., of the
armored forces of the United States.
Over the time-hewn back of the
little, dun-colored "toughy" hung an
army blanket with service stripes.
There was little of hdr famed friski
ness as she took her honors. In
fact, there was a trace of boredom
in her apathetic eyes, where evil
was wont to dance.
Motorist Wasn't Drunk,
He Just Had a Glass Eye
ORANGE, N. J.?On the ground
that his glassy stare after an auto
mobile accident was caused by a
glass eye he has worn since 1911,
and not by intoxication, George W.
Thomas, 40 years old, was freed of
a charge of drunken driving in Or
ange police court.
Dr. Frederico Luong, Orange city
physician, who had pronounced
Thomas unfit to drive after the ac
cident, was asked on cross-examina
tion today, "Doctor, would It make
any difference if you had known
that Mr. Thomas had a glass eye?"
"Oh, yes, quite a difference," Dr.
Luong replied. "My opinion might
be chanced materially."
Judge Philip Singer then ruled the
defendant was "not so intoxicated
as to render him unfit to drive,"
and dismissed the charge.
12 Reds Cite Lives to
Kill Thousands of Foe
STOCKHOLM. ? A squadron of
Russian living bombs?old airplanes
loaded with dynamita which crash
on their targets with the pilots still
at the controls?sank 12 German
ships off Russia's Kronstadt naval
base, the Soviet radio said.
The radio report, published here
in the newspaper Aftonbladet, said
that "the Red army sacrificed 12
old planes, several thousand pounds
of dynamite and 12 pilots, but the
Germans lost thousands of men and
12 ships and a large amount of war
material." The report said a Ger
man assault on the Kronstadt area
was beaten oft largely as a result
of the heroism of the suicide squad.
Three-Way Pulling Match
Builds Defense Log Jam
Washington Sees Conflicts of Authority, Effort
And Viewpoint as Threat to Satisfactory
Carrying Out of Program.
By BAUKHAGE
National Farm and Home Hour Commentator.
WNU Service, 1343 H Street, N-W,
Washington, D. C.
There is a log jam today holding
up the defense program that is go
ing to take dynamite to blow up.
Whether there is the courage and
the unity and the understanding to
do the job remains to be seen.
It will take understanding be
cause the men who make the
charges will have to know the facts
and realize the conditions and the
traditions which have created the
evils.
It will take courage, for a pre
mature burst may damage a
lot of innocent bystanders.
As far as can be judged from in
formation leading out of the cracks
in the defense machine it is a three
way pulling match. The difficulty
in analyzing the situation is the dif
ficulty in classifying and identify
ing the opposing forces.
The usual classification is: One,
the New Deal group. Two, the dol
lar-a-year men. Three, certain army
and navy officials.
But this is a very misleading
classification because there are
some dollar-a-year men who are
working with the administration.
There are some members of the
administration charged with play
ing into the hands of the dollar-a
year men. There are some army
officials who are co-operating with
the so-called New Deal element.
Roughly?the Charge*
Roughly the charges are these:
Those sympathetic with the view
point of the New Dealers say that
some army officials insist on favor
ing the dollar-a-year men who man
age to steer defense contracts to
big business, block sub-contracting
to the smaller firms.
Some of the army and navy of
ficials say that they are not going
to let amateurs run their affairs,
that they have dealt with certain
firms for years who know how to
do what they want done.
The champions of the small busi
ness men and congressmen who
have attempted to help them say
that priorities assignments are
sending essential materials to the
| big business firms?(and they men
tion the utilities in particular).
Small manufacturers and public
projects like rural electrification
which is bidding for precious cop
per for its power lines, are being
passed by, is the accusation.
The dollar-a-year men say that
they are protecting free enterprise
and that those opposing them are
trying to turn business over to gov
ernment control.
These bitter conflicts of author
ity, effort and viewpoint naturally
prevent the co-operation essential
in the tremendous undertaking
which the Office of Emergency
Management is attempting to carry
out.
This Is one reason for the log
Jam. There is another. In Wash
ington itself criticism is growing.
This is not new. It is criticism
of the overlapping and conflicting
authority among the officials of the
OEM.
Theoretically, Vice President
Wallace is the responsible head of
all defense effort and in that capac
ity ha reports only to the President
but the money he requires to carry
out his functions is controlled by
Jesse Jones, head of the RFC as
well as secretary of commerce.
That Is Just one example of similar
anomalies right down the line.
The strange thing about it all is
that everybody in Washington
seems to know all about the log
Jam except the President himself
who is the only man who can
S straighten it out.
? ? ?
'A BCD' CoantrUs
In Nm Trad? Pact
The "A B C D" countries havs
Just drawn up a trade agreement
which bottles up a large share of
the raw materials.of the world. The
ABCD's (America, Britain, China
and the Dutch East Indies) control
a large share of the things that do
not or will not grow anywhere else.
The agreement has a two-pronged
purpose. One is a horn of famine,
one is a horn of plenty. The horn
of famine is pointed today at Japan
as a threat to keep her within her
own domain. The horn of plenty
is a peaceful promise. Its purpose
is to provide a working arrange
ment so that all nations may share
is the riches of the earth, the
precious raw materials of which the
"have-nots" say the "haves" are
depriving them.
We do not realize how much of ?
"have-not" nation the United States
is. I did not until I saw the report
of Carter R. Bryan of the depart
ment of commerce. It1 was a story
of his visit to a country store.
Mr. Bryan looked over the goods
on the shelves and counters and
hanging on hooks against the walls
and then began to trace them to
their origin. I haven't the space
to mention more than a few but the
next time you go to the store you
will be able to use this list as a
starter and surprise yourself.
List of 'Haom Hots'
Of course be began with tea from
China and coffee from South Amer
ica and then went on:
"Among other things were binder
twine, made of sisal, which comes
from Yucatan, and halter ropes,
made of hemp from the Philippines;
brushes, made of hog bristles from
Mongolia, soft drinks containing
coca leaves from Peru and kola
nuts from Jamaica, and tapioca
from The Netherlands Indies or the
Dominican republic.
"Cocoa beans from South Amer
ica are used in making cocoa and
chocolate. The same is true of the
chocolate bars in the candy case.
Even those penny peppermint candy
sticks," he continued, "are made of
sugar, which probably came from
Cuba, and peppermint oil from Rus
sia, and that chewing gum was
made of chicle from Central Amer
ica or Mexico." ,
Then of course there are spices?
"And spices," be pointed out, "have
played a big role in history before.
Columbus wasn't looking for Amer
ica when be sailed west; he was
looking for a new route to India
and spices in the days when another
barbaric horde interfered with
trade."
After noting several large bunches
of bananas from Central America
and pineapples from Cuba, he con
tinued:
"One whole section was given
over to bottles containing cod liver
oil from Iceland, old-fashioned cas
tor oil from India and Brazil, hay
fever and asthma remedies con
taining Ma Huang (Ephedra Vul
garis) from China, purgatives con
taining psyllium seed from India,
ipecac from Nicaragua, senna from
the Levant, and aloes from The
Netherlands West Indies, that, in
valuable cold and malaria remedy,
quinine, from The Netherlands In
dies, camphor oil from Japan and
iodine from Chile, horebound bom
Spain, and other medicinals from
every part of the earth."
As I said, this was only a starter.
Bryan named at least 100 other arti
cles right in that one country store,
I all or a part of each shipped in
from foreign lands. If this country,
with its wide range of climate and
mighty resources has to depend on
foreign countries for these products
used in our daily life it ia easy
to see how dependent all nations
have become, one upon the other.
Trade barriers must go down if
civilization is to continue to go up
ward.
?? ^ ? ? ?>
Birds, Trdfic Sign of ?
And Early Risers
Some people here In Washington
have been living dangerously before
you and I start our day.
They are up and doing before the
traffic signals begin their rhythmic
cycle of red, yellow and green. It
is a period of comparative freedom,
the lights flash yellow?a warning
to be careful, not a command to
stop. To some of the mad, pre
dawn motorists the flashers are not
warnings at all. Tltay are simply
lures for the hurtle as autos dashing
at the intersections like moths at a'
candle flame.
That makes it stimuiatingly dan
gerous for early folk arhoae reveille',
has sounded long before our bacosv
sizzles. They have to be wide
awake. Except the birds?one of!
the few forma of life, feathered,
furred, or pajamaed, whose waking!
is pleasant to hear?the plaintive
peep that gradually swells hi a soft
crescendo to a cheerful chatter.
And tha birds are about the only
living creatures who can risk an
early start tor they can croaa the.
street without regard for the train
1