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The Alamance Gleaner Vol LXVII GRAHAM, N. C., THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 1942 No. 49 WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS By Edward C. Wayne Manila Falls to Japanese Invaders Following Strong Last Ditch Defense By Greatly Outnumbered U. S. Troops; U. S. Bans Sale of New Cars, Trucks (EDITOR'S NOTE?When opinions are expressed In these columns, they are those of the news analyst and not necessarily of this newspaper.) he Western Ntwgnawr TTntrm 1 | MANILA: Falls Since the first detachments of Japanese troops had landed on the island of Luzon in the Philippines and had begun their push toward Manila, Americans had been hoping that the outnumbered forces of Gen. Douglas MacArthur would be able to hold out in their defenses outside the capital city. But despite a strong last ditch stand Manila finally fell to the in vaders. Dive bombers and tanks had smashed the American, lines. Greatly outnumbered, the Amer icans had fallen back as the Japs succeeded in gaining control of the air. In its communique telling of the city's fall, the war department said that all U. S. and Philippine troops had been withdrawn from the city several days before and all defense installations removed or destroyed. "The loss of Manila, while serious, has not lessened the resistance to the Japanese attacks,", the commu nique said. As it appeared that the Japanese, pressure on the Philippines was driving our Filipino-American de fending forces steadily backward, despite the arrival of a certain force of American planes as reinforce ments, the war of nerves was giving Tokyo the "jitters." Although there were no direct dis patches from the Jap capital, in the Tokyo broadcasts there was consid erable evidence of confusion, of an anxiety to learn what the Allied grand strategy was to be. President Roosevelt, in his press conferences, was mentioning re inforcements, plans that had been made in collaboration with all the Allies. He talked of Kamchatka, a penin sula which reaches down to within easy plane reach of Japan itself. Hie Tokyo radio was warning Japs to be ready for air attacks during the New Year period, was talking of an American effort to get planes to Siberia via the Aleutian islands. The news from Manila and the Philippines generally was creating great anxiety in this country, which GENERAL MacARTHUR 'Resistance . . not lessened.' wanted to see the islands success fully defended and to remain in close touch with Hawaii and the American mainland. But though the war news general ly was favorable, including both that from Russia and North Africa, the dispatches from the Far East told of increasing Jap pressure all along the line, and of a general repeated success for the invader's arms, though bitterly contested on all parts of the 5,000-mile front. General MacArthur, showing the effect of lack of air supremacy, had grimly acknowledged that Japanese dive bombers had gained control of all roads from both fronts, making the defenders' task still more dif ficult. BAN: On Autos Earlier than anticipated came the order from the government banning the sale of autos and trucks in the United States. The prohibition on these sales will remain in effect pending develop ment of a rationing plan which will place an estimated 450,000 vehicles now in dealers stocks where they will do the most good. Rationing will be directed by the Office of Price Administration, head ed by Leon Henderson. This office also administers the tire rationing formula which has established quo tas for every county in the country. RUSSIANS: Back in Crimea The southern Russian front, which had been subjected to extra German pressure while the Nazis were on the retreat in the central and northern sectors, suddenly turned the tide with the recapture of Kerch and Feodosya. \ The first-named port was opposite the rich Caucasus oil region, sepa rated from it only by two miles of water. These two miles the Ger mans had not been able to cross be cause of Black sea fleet activity. Feodosya is about 100 miles fur ther west, and landings were made simultaneously at both points, the Germans driven back, and an uncounted number of Nazis trapped between. The German high command ac knowledged the Russian landings "in force" and said that counter meas ures were being taken. Stalin com JOSEF STALIN "Free Crimee next." plimented his general on the south, and then urged that the advantage be grasped and pursued. "Free Crimea next" he urged his troops. The Russians still were holding on at Sevastopol, and Mos cow hoped that the successes far ther east would release pressure at Sevastopol and permit the garri son there, aided by sea-borne re inforcements, to take the offensive. The Crimea was held by a combi nation of German-Italian-Rumanian troops, admittedly not the hardest to beat if the Russians are able to get a high-pressure drive going. COMMANDO: A Heroes Tale A story of black-clad, burnt-cork faced Commandos on the North Af rica front was the most thrilling sto ry of the war thus far. It told of the attack on General Rommel's headquarters by a small band of British "suiciders," and of the killing of the Commando's own commander. Colonel Keyes, son of the man who originated the idea. The British Commando group hid in an arroyo during the night be fore the zero hour, within running distance of Rommel's headquarters. At the time when the whole im perial offensive was to flare up along the line, they dashed forward, roused a sentry who opened a door, shot him dead and entered the build ing. As Keyes, leading his men, threw open the main door behind which were Rommel's aides, he was shot dead, but a sergeant leaped over his body, hurled two hand grenades and then slammed the door shut, letting the bombs wipe out those within. By this time the shooting and shouting had roused the whole gar rison, who did not know what to make of it all. In the resulting con fusion most of the Commandos es caped, but only after fighting a two hour pitched battle. Rommel, unfortunately for them, was away at a birthday party, and was not killed. The whole of his staff who remained at headquarters, was wiped out, however. DRAFT: A Prelude Seen as a prelude to the new con scription, which was to produce a trained army of 3,000,000-plus men was the army order recalling into service troops over 28 years of age. First of these orders to be re vealed was that of the Third Corps area, which ordered all such men to be back at their posts January 31. Dutch sea and air arms under the command of Vice Admiral E. E. L. Helfrich, above, have inflicted se vere losses upon Japan's invading forces. He is chief of the Nether lands navy and air force in the Indies.* Lieut. Gen. Hein Ter Poor ten is cotnmander in chief of the armed forces. See below DUTCH: Steal Show The Dutch airmen and submarine crews continued to "steal the show" in the Pacific war, the fighting fliers ranging far out over the Pacific, largely in American-made planes, seeking Jap tankers reportedly load ed with oil stolen from north Borneo. The N.E.I, commander in chief, Lieut. Gen. Hein Ter Poorten, pledged America that the Dutch alone could turn the tide against the Japs in the south Pacific if only they could get more planes and more anti-aircraft guns with which to fight oft the Japanese warplanes. Apparently there was no lack of Dutch bombers, nor of skilled pilots *o man them, the shortage lying chiefly in fighter planes. The submarines, keeping intact their promise of more than one ship a day, had sunk four more. That they were faring far afield and not just protecting home shores was seen in the announcement that these latest sinkings had been Tar from Batavia, way up at the east coast of Thailand. The vessels sent to the bottom were troop transports, landing Jap soldiers for the fight against Singapore. In the meantime, the Dutch had sent a successful naval raiding party against the Japs near the central provinces of their own islands. The Batavia radio said several launches were destroyed, others were seized and that the Japanese living on the island were taken prisoners and in terned. When the British got out of north Borneo, they were said to have de stroyed all the oil wells, or damaged them so that they could not be used. The Dutch revealed, however, that several Japanese tankers had been seen leaving there loaded. The air force had been sent in pursuit, the Dutch pledging them selves to sink the tankers or not return. ^ HAWAII: 'Ready' Victims of the Japanese "sneak attack" which decimated their strength in a few hours, Hawaiians had rejoiced Anally that reinforce ments to the plane and ship garri son now had the islands ready to meet all comers. Although the exact nature of the reinforcements was kept a secret it was revealed that the army on the islands had enough planes to give any invaders a "lively reception." Hero of the December 7 attack, Lieut. George S. Welch, 23, of Wil mington, Del., who shot down four Jap planes though he had to drive 10 miles to get to his plane, said he was "itching for another Aght." He said: "All of us would like to see them come back." LIBYA: British Get Tanks The British were polishing off General Rommel's remaining forces in North Africa at a fast rate, aided by a "rash sally" made by a force of nearly 100 tanks. The British met this assault with such a withering Are from its mobile artillery and its American tanks that 22 of the enemy tanks were de stroyed and 20 others put out of ac tion with damage. It was a demonstration that Rom mel's retreat had been cut off, and that the sortie by the German tanks from the spot where Rommel's men were surrounded was a desperate adventure. The locus of the attack was given as Agedabia, a point about 100 miles south of Bengasi, the A*is' former stronghold, now in British hands. Grandma Tests Great Highway Adventurous Motorist Finds Pan-American Road Is Practical. LIMA, PERU.?Mrs. A. S. Hen ley, 58-year-old grandmother from Glendale, Calif., has proved to the world at large that the Pan-Amer ican highway, connecting the Unit ed States and Argentina, is some thing more than charts in govern ment offices, or mule trails through jungles and over mountains. > Nearly a year ago Mrs. Henley started driving from Rio de Janeiro on a pleasure trip. Today, after having explored much of Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia and Peru, she figures she still has ahead of her four months of driving through Ecuador. Colombia, Vene zuela, parts of Central America, and Mexico before reaching home. The adventurous Califomian, who learned how to drive when she was 43, and who never has been east of the Mississippi in her own coun try, has become quite a booster for the highway. The idea of using her trip to advertise the highway was first put to her by United States Ambassador Claude G. Bowers in Chile. Since that time she has spoken in public and'over the radio, written for newspapers, and, in gen eral, become one of the hemispheric road's leading promoters. Highway Practical. current opinion maugns me highway," she says with some heat. "The general impression is that it is very difficult. We are finding that it is not difficult, but very prac tical, especially if you stick to the highway." Mrs. Henley can proudly claim that she knows South America bet ter than most South Americans do. She has "rounded the Horn" by automobile, taking a side trip to the world's southernmost settle ment of Aushuaia, Argentina, far below the Straits of Magellan. She has crossed the 15,805-foot summit of the world's highest highway near Ticlio, Peru, on the way to Lima. She has motored through the flow ering Brazilian tropics, across the rolling cattle plains of Uruguay, through the heart of the Chilean lake country, and over the wild Bo livian Andes." No Flat Tires. So far, Mrs. Henley estimates that her 1940 American station wagon has covered about 20,000 miles of South American roads. In all that distance she has had no punctured tires, although she had two punctures driving from her home in Glendale to New Orleans where she boarded a ship for Rio. She has had no motor trouble and no accidents. She had a new set of larger tires put on her car to raise it higher off the road, and had the brakes relined twice. Since Santiago she has done all the driving. The only time her nerves fail her is when she reaches a large city. She then moves over and lets Hector Burr, her traveling companion, take the wheel. She said the trip so far has been neither unduly expensive, nor dan gerous. Gasoline, in most places, costs no more than in the United States; frequently it was cheaper. Hotel accommodation and garage space expenses proved extremely reasonable. Freshman Coeds Storm Citadel of Engineering SEATTLE. ? Only four women have been graduated from the Uni versity of Washington's college of engineering in the last five years? but that doesn't discourage Alice Johnson and Peggy De Merchant, two optimistic freshmen co-eds. Miss Johnson enrolled in electri cal engineering and Miss De Mer chant in aeronautical engineering. If they get any encouragement, It will be from their freshmen engi neering advisor, E. R. Wilcox. His daughter was graduated from the engineering school and now is a junior engineer in the army. Childless Monkey Wins Fight to Keep Kitten MACON, GA.?Fannie Simpson, a childless but maternal monkey, came down to earth but wouldn't give up the gray and white kitten she's adopted. L. H. Colquitt, garageman, gave Fannie to a friend, but two days ago she returned, carrying the kit ten, climbed high into the rafters and refused to come down. Then she played around the ga rage with the kitten but fought oil all human moves toward her foster child. The kitten seems perfectly happy, so Colquitt has decided to give up the rescue efforts. e / Average U. S. Ship Is 19.7 Years Old Merchant Fleet's 'Age' Up Slightly From 1940. NEW YORK. - Despite the in crease in merchant ship construc tion during the last year in the United States, the average age of vessels in the American merchant fleet is higher than last year, ac cording to the latest bulletin issued by the American bureau of shipping on the subject. A breakdown of age figures on the 1,123 ships in United States ocean-going merchant service on October 1, 1941, shows that 79.2 per cent are more than 20 years old. Only 39.9 per cent of the vessels owned by other countries are past the 20-year mark. Eleven per cent of the American ships are less than five years old, while 17 per cent of the foreign craft are within this class. The average age of merchant ships flying the United States flag is 19.7 years, one-tenth of 1 per cent more than at the time of a similar survey completed on Octo ber 1, 1940. These figures do not give a true picture of the potential quality of our merchant fleet, however, and it is expected that as the long-range emergency shipbuilding programs of the United States maritime com mission progress this country will, have a first-class fleet of cargo car riers, with a gradual inerease in the number of new vessels. On the basis of these age figures it is difficult to realize, for exam ple, that the number of ocean-going steel merchant ships completed in the first 10 months of this year is nearly double the total for the same period in 1940. On October 1 of this year, 1,011 vessels were under construction or contract to the bureau's classifies-, tion. On November 1, 1940, there were only 302 ships listed. Rut* Levy Special Tax . On Unwed and Childless MOSCOW.?The Supreme Soviet has levied a special tax on unmar ried persons and childless couples, the Moscow radio said. Those affected are men from 20 to 50 years of age and women from 20 to 45. Exempt from the tax, whose amount was not given, will be those serving with armed forces, students and pensioners. Metal-Shy France Now Grabs Ancient Jalopies VICHY.?Because of the lack of metal all automobiles of models manufactured prior to September 1, 1925, unless used as trucks or busses, must be sold to the govern ment, which will salvage all the met al they contain. Owners who fail to comply will be lined and their cars confiscated. Absent-Minded Burglar Pays for Mental Lapse NEW YORK.?This burglar had an idea but suffered a mental lapse. He removed the door lock on a pharmacy, replaced it with one of his own, and went in. A policeman tried the door and entered as the man was gathering up $1,000 worth of fountain pens. He had forgotten to snap the lock. Blacksmith for Fire Generation* in Family NEWMARKET, N. H.-It seems there will always be a blacksmith named Lain*. Frank E. Laing, 77, retired after 55 years work in his smithy and auctioned off his tools. But his son Harold?the fifth generation in the family to be a blacksmith?is carry ing on the trade. 'Anglicized Jazz' Bring* Hamburg Orchestra Ban BERLIN ?The Hamburger Tage blatt said that a well-known cafe orchestra had been deprived by the authorities of its right to give pub lic performances because it played "Anglicized Jazz music." Hundreds of phonograph records of similar music were reported confiscated in Hamburg cafes. Ants in His Pants? No! It Was a Bee! Really YELLOWSTONE PARK.?A fat, middle-aged gentleman suddenly re moved his pants in front of the Mammoth hotel. "I was taking a picture when sud denly a bee flew up my pants leg," he told Ranger Frank Kin. "Mod- i esty had to be shoved aside." 1 Farm Labor Situation Is Given Careful Study Government Devises Plan for 'Complete Utilization' of Local Workers to Aid in Nation's Food-for-Victory Campaign. By BAUKHAGE National Farm and Home Hour Commentator WNC Service, 1343 B Street, N-W, Washington, D. C. As the New Year starts, reports are beginning to come in to the Fed eral Security administration here from supervisors of farm place ment, in the 48 states. These reports state just what the farmers in each state are going to need in the way of labor this spring, and how these state supervisors who are on the ground studying the question, feel the problem ought to be met. Meanwhile, Washington has been working on a general program whose goal is the "complete utiliza tion" of all local labor. This means that every conceivable reservoir/of man-and-woman-power is to be tapped to make this good earth of ours yield its utmost for the food for-victory campaign. Students, members of the CCC and the NY A and every other group, organized or unorganized, is to be called upon to keep the chow line going for democ racy at arms. Nobody knows better than the folks who are out recruiting for the farm battalions that you can't just push a man through the barn door or into a pasture and call him a farmer. It takes training and that is part of the master-plan which is now being worked out. But meanwhile there are a lot of people who have had farming ex perience who are available, skilled or semi-skilled. And then there are some jobs which don't need skills, but do require' mass employment for short periods. An Oregon Plan Take what happened out in Oregon this last fall for instance. Oregon ians have already taken hold of this "farm placement" idea and made it work. Along came the snap-bean crop and a drastic shortage of hands. They were found in every walk of life. It meant temporary closing up of a lot of shops and busi nesses and other enterprises but they got the crop in and they didn't paralyze the communities. It couldn't have been done, though, with the best of will, if there hadn't been a sound plan behind it. The farmer! now have two com petitors for labor, the factory and military service. Industry has al ways offered higher wages. But present farm wages are up higher than they have been in 11 years. So the farm hand can't complain on that score. And the real patriot is the one who does what he can do best for Uficle Sam. Then there are still a lot of farm trained workers who have drifted to to the cities where they have not secured employment or they have found themselves misfits. The Unit ed States employment agencies are going after these people and are going to lure them out of their flats back into the fields. ? ? ? Aa a Nation Want to War As the new year begins and I look back at the notes I wrote down after that climactic Sunday when we re ceived word that the Japanese had made their surprise attack on Hawaii, they seem very dull and drab. But some of the memories are very keen. This in spite of the tact that ever since then life has been running at such a rapid rate each day, each hour and frequently each minute, that it has been dif ficult to see anything but the very vivid present I have a memory of Sunday, of a brisk, sunny winter day. Then lei surely breakfast, the morning pa pers, the radio, the preparation to lose myself in the outdoors for a few hours?a walk which might have made me miss those first dramatic moments at the White House. But I stopped to chat with my .father who lives near me. The phone rang while I paused, hat and coat already on. In the span of a few moments, I was standing with a half a dozen other reporters, hurriedly haled from their Sunday rest, in the office of Stephen Early in the Executive Wing of the White House. "First," said Early very seriously, "are there any correspondents of German or Japanese newspapers here?" There wd|a not. He read us a few details of the Hawaiian at tack which he had Just received from the President hastily, pencilled on a memo. The first announce ments, which he had received at his home, he had phoned to the press associations and radio networks; and then he had hurried to the White House. As soon as Early's brief announce ment was over, we rushed out of his office, across the lobby and into the press room where the press asso ciations and the radio companies have private telephone lines to their local offices. A little later an NBC engineer had a microphone at tached to one of our lines and I was able to make the first news broad cast ever sent from the White House. From then on I hardly left my chair, except for moments to relieve my assistant and one of the NBC newsmen, who were keeping in touch with the state department across the street and later interviewing members of the cabinet and con gressional leaders at the front en trance of the White House. The White House press room is arranged to accommodate about a dozen men who are regularly sta tioned there. Within a few hours after the first announcement of the Japanese attack it was jammed with 50 or more people?reporters, radio men, messenger boys. The noise was so great that the micro phone had to be stepped down to avoid catching the roar and confu sion, and I was forced to speak in a low voice?this gave the effect of suppressed excitement which was greater than I really felt, although the events were exciting enough. Outside the crowds were solemn, quiet. The sidewalk immediately in front of the White House was roped off and the side streets were closed. The crowd edged as near as it could, peering at the lighted windows across the wide lawns. They could see nothing, but they were satisfied to watch. Only very late, as they began to break up, did they begin to sing. Their emotions needed an outlet then. I watched America go to war seri ously, but not as I had seen France and Germany go?sadly, resentfully and with a sullen and deadening apathy. * ? ? ? Washington'* Bridges And a Hobby Every time I cross one of Wash ington's "beautiful bridges" these days my thoughts go back to a slim young man who was a sophomore in college when I graduated. He dis tinguished himself by winning the Julius Rosenwald medal for oratory ?no mean achievement for a for eigner. And this young man was a foreigner. About a year ago he visited me. It was the first time I had seen him since college, and I never would have recognized the fat little man in glasses as the slim Jiuji Kasai. member of the Japanese diet. He put his arms about me and called me "dear college-mate." It was quite touching. And he produced a real "Pooh-bah". bow as he present ed a delicate little fan to my wife. Then he disappeared for a long time and I didn't hear of him again until he turned up in Washington with a shower of good-will interviews 1 in the local papers. Just before his wily colleague, Mr. Kurusu, ap peared on the scene to operate his famous shoe-string play, Kasai hur ried back to Japan. Kasai was a great student of America, of Theodore Roosevelt. He was supposed to love America deep ly. I have no doubt be admired us. He certainly wait to great lengths to interpret this country to his own. I have no means of knowing what he really thought, but the point of this story is an incident which seems so utterly incredible that it is an excuse for all misunderstanding of the Japanese. It is simply too good to be true and yet it is. Kasai, on his last visit, was call ing at the house of a mutual friend in Washington who asked if he could do anything to make Mr. Kasai's visit more valuable: "Oh, yes," Kasai replied, with his little eyes sparkling behind his glasses, "some time I should like to have you take me about in your car and point out some of your beautiful bridges in the capital. You see, my hobby is photography and I should like to take pictures of them." So far the beautiful bridges are still hare. , .JL*
The Alamance Gleaner (Graham, N.C.)
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Jan. 8, 1942, edition 1
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