The Alamance Gleaner
Vol LXVII GRAHAM, N. C., THURSADY, JANUARY 22, 1942 No. 61
WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS By Edward C. Wayne
President Names Production Czar
And Reorganizes Defense Set-Ups
To Speed Up All-Out War Effort;
Report Submarines Off East Coast
(EDITOR'S NOTE?Whan opinions are expressed In these eelsmas, they
are those ef the news analyst and not necessarily of this newspaper.)
_____________ (Released by Western Newspaper Union.) ________
Leon Henderson, director, Division of Civilian Supply of the Office of
Prodnetion Management, trys out one of the "Victory model" bicycles
produced by manufacturers at request of OPM. This lightweight model
is constructed of less costly material, and shorn of all gadgets. The new
bikes will be built for both men and women. Photo shows Henderson
pedaling, and Miss Betty Barrett of York, Neb., in the luggage basket.
A sure way for the boss to get his secretary to the office on time.
NELSON:
Production Czar
As the United States moved for
ward into all-out war production,
Donald M. Nelson had been named
production chief, placed in sole com
mand over OPM, SPAB and all oth
er vital production organizations.
His position was compared to that
of Bernard M. Baruch in 1917. Mr.
Nelson had been, before his promo
tion to sole command, the head of
SPAB, the priorities control board,
and thus had been sitting with his
hands on the needle valve which
kept materials flowing smoothly to
defense plants.
His post also was compared to
that of Lord Beaverbrook in Eng
land.
He was given command by execu
tive order, and though the order
did not immediately make legally
clear how far his power went, there
was enough in President Roosevelt's
statement to show that it would go
far enough to put Nelson into sole
command.
A board, including Messrs. Knud
sen, Hillman and other chiefs of
various vital groups, was to work
under Nelson.
The President said, in part:
"Mr. Nelson will no longer serve
as director of the priorities division.
He will devote his entire time to
directing the production program.
His decisions as to procurement and
production will be final."
Thus Mr. Nelson has authority
over not only the industrialists and
labor leaders who were in Washing
ton to harness American production
to a program for victory, but also
over the army and navy them
selves, in a way, because his de
cisions as to what they might have
in the way of arms and munitions
would be final.
They would still have legal con- r
trading authority, but Mr. Nelson
would have to pass upon these con
tracts before they could go into ef
fect, and could, in effect, make them
larger or smaller, quicker or slower.
LUZON:
Defense
When the history of World War II
is written it will have become evi
dent that the defense of Luzon by the
American-Filipino forces under Gen.
Douglas MacArthur should be placed
alongside of other famous "last
stands."
Conceded only the slimmest pos
sible hope of hanging 6n until help
might arrive, the MacArthur forces,
entrenched in the Mariveles moun
tains back of Manila bay, had re
ported not only stemming an "all
out" Japanese drive, but that they
had driven the attackers back.
They had forced the Japs to re
move their big guns far to the rear,
out of range of the American bat
teries, had silenced 11 Japanese bat
teries, and had raised havoc with
charging detachments of tanks and
infantry.
Not in any way claiming that the
Japanese advance had been perma
nently checked, General MacArthur
reported to Washington that the 24
hour battle had shown definitely that
the American guns and gunnery
were superior to those of the enemy.
SUBMARINE:
Action
Navy planes and ships had a busy
time chasing enemy submarines re
ported lurking off the East coast of
the U. S.
Two ships were reported sunk by
submarine action off Long Island,
N. Y. The first was the Pana
manian tanker Norness which was
hit by three torpedoes about 120
miles from the coast. Next day
watchers on shore claimed they
saw a submarine sink another ship
about 23 miles from shore.
Meanwhile U. S. underwater craft
were also busy, but the location of
their action was not disclosed. The
navy reported that a 17,000 ton Jap
ship of the type used as a plane
carrier had been sunk by U. S. sub
marines in Far Eastern waters.
MALAYA:
Scorched Earth
The house of commons criticism
of the British Malaya forces in not
carrying out the scorched earth pol
icy was met by dispatches which
had been delayed tending to show
that the British had applied that pol
icy in the completest way possible.
An eyewitness description of the
British evacuation of Perka, Selan
gor and Kuala Lumpur, the latter
an important rubber city and the
capital of the Federated Malay
States bore this out.
A Durdin dispatch to the Times
from Seremban stated that in Perak
and Selangor alone millions of dol
lars' worth of rubber stocks and
rubber processing plants and mil
lions more in tin mine dredges and
tin ore processing machinery had
been destroyed.
In addition the destruction of pe
troleum products totaled several
millions of dollars.
Copra and coal docks were dyna
mited or burned. Dynamiters were
mining the country through which
the Japs were approaching closer
to Singapore, and this was evident
in the slowing down of the Japanese
advance.
Describing the evacuation of Ku
ala Lumpur, Durdin wrote that the
British had opened the larger stores
and had removed what stocks it
wanted, and then had left the stores
open to allow the population to take
what it wished.
The inhabitants seethed up and
down the streets which were littered
with refuse, carrying what they had
been able to get aboard rickshas,
on bicycles and on shoulders and
heads.
From every corner of the city
sounded the booming explosions as
the Punjab sappers and dynamiters
destroyed bridges, roads and other
communication links as soon as the
British convoys had moved through
the city.
Two large department stores were
completely despoiled of goods within
a few hours. Coolies who had nev
er tasted chocolate candy went
about with their arms full, giving
them away to others who had none.
The burning of the rubber trees
was not possible, buti since the
plants producing rubber and the rub
ber stocks were burned, the British
say it will be a long time before
the Japs dim get any.
'War Orphan No. 1'
"I am war orphan No. 1," Mid
Mrs. Helen Nelson, wife of Don
ald M. Nelson, Chicago, III*
whom President Roosevelt ap
pointed chief of war production
just recently.
AIR:
Supremacy Sought
There was every indication that
the battle for air supremacy in the
Far Eastern theater of war was
definitely being battled for.
The news dispatches had con
tained increasing reports of air bat
tles on all fronts, and though there
was still no indication that General
MacArthur had any sort of an air
arm, both the British and Dutch de
fenses were being bolstered by
American, Chinese and Australian
planes.
The Dutch early had said that if
the Allies would give them enough
planes, they could defeat Japanese
efforts to capture important strong
holds in their islands.
The Japs, on the other Jiand, were
continuing to capture some, includ
ing the island of Tarakan, a small
islet defended by about as many men
as had stood before the Japs at
Wake island.
The Dutch defenders finally had
to surrender, though more than half
of the garrison got away and lived
to fight another day. Before leaving
and before the remainder were
forced by the odds to lay down
their arms, they reported having
mined and blown up all the oil wells
on the island, an important small
producer of petroleum.
It still was not definite where the
high command had set up headquar
ters, save that it was somewhere
on the island of Java, but whether
at Batavia, from which most of the
dispatches were coming, or at Sura
baya, could not be learned.
An idea of what -the capture of
Tarakan meant, by the way, was
the Dutch figure on its oil output,
80,000 tons monthly of the finest
gTade of petroleum. The Dutch, in
describing the destruction of the
wells, said, simply:
"The Japanese have found that we
were not bluffing when we an
nounced that no oil installations
would be permitted to fall into their
hands."
PAN-AMERICA:
Opens Conference
Of vital importance had been con
sidered the Pan-American confer
ence of nations, which had opened
its sessions at Rio, with Sumner
Welles in charge of affairs for the
American state department.
There were really only two doubt
fuls on the list, but they were im
portant, and covered the southern
half of the continent?Argentina and
Chile.
Yet, as the conference met, with
the announced purpose of further
fulfilling the general blockade
against the Axis by a continental
breaking of relations with all Axis
nations, it was felt quite hopeful that
Argentina and Chile would come in
and enter the joint action whole
heartedly.
OUSTER:
Against Dye Men
Five of the principal operating
executives of the General Aniline
and Film corporation were summa
rily ousted from their position by
order of the treasury department,
which had been trying for several
months to establish that the com
pany actually was owned by the
Nazi firm of I. G. Farbenindustrie.
The men suspended, all natural
ized citizens of German birth, were
Dr. Rudolph Hutz, a director; Hans
Aickelen and William Vom Rath,
both former directors who resigned
within the past month; F. W. Von
Meister, general manager of the
Oxalid division, and Leo pole Eckler,
acting general manager of the Agfa
Ansco division.
They have been refused the right,
among other things, to enter the
premises of the company. Decem
ber 12 the treasury department
placed 17 of its operatives in the
main offices of the company.
^a
Expanded War Program
Will Touch Every Home
All Phases of National Life to Feel Effects of
Changes Brought About 'Colossal' Economy;
Tire, Car Curbs Are Mere Beginning.
By BAUKHAGE
National Farm and Homa Hour Commentator.
WNC Service, 1343 H Street, N-W,
Washington, D. C.
In less time than it takes to read
this column a new airplane should
be completed?that is, if the pro
gram outlined by the President in
his message on the state of the
Union is carried out.
That seems like a large order. It
is. But this is what the President
has planned for 1942 : 60,000 new
planes, 43,000 new tanks, 20,000 new
anti-aircraft guns, 8,000,000 tons of
merchant shipping. Since there are
only 8,760 hours in the year, if the
OPM is to meet the President's
goals, planes will have to roll out
of the factories at the rate of one
every eight minutes, tanks at the
rate of one every 11 minutes, anti
aircraft guns at the rate of one every
23 minutes, and shipping at the rate
of IS tons a minute.
America's resources may be un
limited, but human comprehension
is not. Ever since that message was
delivered in congress, Washington
has been straining in an attempt to
comprehend those colossal figures.
Already some of the effects are
being translated in terms of human
experience?you know if you have
tried to buy a tire or an automo
bile. Other even more painful ex
periences are ahead. One of them
is the unemployment which is com
ing while the civilian industry is be
ing converted to defense production.
Small Plants Hit
It means that some 133,000 small
plants will close their doors for good,
They are too small to be converted.
Their workers and supervisors, if
they are competent, will be able to
find employment elsewhere.
It means that thousands of sales
men who sell, not merely refrigera
tors, ice boxes and juke boxes, vac
uum cleaners and electric toys, but
other things which we once thought
were necessities will stop selling.
They may have to take off their
white collars.
A survey of some thousand middle
sized manufacturing concerns now
turning out defense products has
been made by the labor department.
It revealed that three-fourths of the
plants were working on three shifts
already. Remember that was be
fore the President tossed off his new
production figures and the OPM
"raised its sights" to meet them.
But in these plants it was found that
the second and third shifts used
only half the man-power employed
in the first shift. Right there is a
50 per cent increase in employment.
These were plants selected as typ
ical.
Someone will have to fill those ex
tra shifts and a great many others.
It will mean that a lot of "brain
workers" will have to work their
hands. When a nation suddenly
turns over 50 per cent of its income
?to defense production, it means that
the man in search of a job has less
than half a chance at getting any
other kind of work.
In our homes, the effect of war
measures has already made itself
felt. Wool is rationed already. That
is because even with all our sheep
we depend on Australia and the
Argentine for wool. We haven't the
ships to bring it here. And we are
getting ready to clothe an army of
5,000,000 men. Other restrictions
will come.
In his budget message, the Presi
dent hinted that we might have to
carry ration cards the way the Euro
peans do before the war is over.
That is more of a threat perhaps,
than a prediction but it is worth
remembering before we get too
complacent.
Fertilizer 'Rationing'
Already the farmer is being ra
tioned though he may not realize
it. Take fertilizer, for instance:
First, the nitrates. All synthetic
nitrates have to go into munitions.
The one word nitro-glycerine re
minds you of that. Natural nitrates
have other things in them, so the
army is after those, too. But since
they come from Chile, they have to
come in ships. And there are few
ships for this purpose.
Second, phosphates. They come
from Florida, Wyoming and Idaho.
But they come in rocks. You
can see a whole pile of these rocks
right over in Baltimore. But it takes
sulphuric acid to "digest" them.
Sulphuric acid is needed for muni
tions.
I ?
Third, sprays. Formaldehyde is
a vital part ol many sprays. Also,
it is needed to disinfect stored grain
and to remove smut and fungus
from grain before seeding. But for
maldehyde is necessary in the pro
duction of plastics to dissolve the
woody material. And plastics! They
are needed as substitutes for many
essential metals.
Fourth, copper sulphate. There is
no need to comment when you con
sider the part copper plays in war.
When it comes to rubber, the
farmer, like everybody else is af
fected. The difference is that some
farmers are going to be making rub
ber the next few years.
Out in California the climate pro
duces the best Gayule plants. And
there will be acres and acres of
these plants cultivated. It takes
some time?but some are already
growing. A two-year-old crop will
produce 900 pounds of very good
rubber per acre. The trouble is
that you have to dig up the plant
to get the Jatex?it comes from
the roots.
Then, Of course, there is "synthetic
rubber, but I am not allowed to re
veal the figures, which are going
to play a lot more important part
than many of our enemies think in
our victory production. There are
also the big cultivated rubber plan
tations in Brazil and Central Amer
ica run by Ford and Goodyear, there
is the wild rubber from the Amazon.
And most important of all, there is
the contribution that the most auto
minded people in the world are go
ing to have to make?the privilege
of not buying tires for America's
27,000,000 pleasure cars.
The privilege of "not buying" is
going to be extended. There will be
no more gadgets and there will be
a lot less money to buy even the
necessities when we pay our share
of the bill for building the greatest
war machine in history. A machine
so big and so destructive that per
haps it will destroy war itself.
? ? ?
Weather Information
And Broadcatting
The highly interesting yearbook
just issued by the department o( ag
riculture 4s devoted to climate and
weather. It appears just when (or
the first time in American history
it is worse than a crime to discuss
the weather?that is if you talk loud
enough to be overheard by enemy
ears. A few weeks ago the navy de
partment released an official com
munique severely blaming a com
mentator who mentioned the weath
er in Dakota. He gave out informa
tion which the navy said may have
been the cause of increased subma
rine activity in the eastern Atlantic.
In Washington we are not permit
ted to mention even yesterday's
weather on the air. This ruling
seemed a bit far-fetched to me. In
commenting on the fact to an official
I told the story of what happened
to me when I was broadcasting from
Berlin just after the war broke out.
On a beautiful moonlight evening I
blandly announced over the short
wave that "it was a fine night for an
air raid." Nobody objected to that
There had been no air raids and the
question had never been raised. But
the next night it was different. No
more description of the current
weather. I was told by the military
censor?"You can talk about last
night's weather but not tonight's,"
he said.
I asked my Washington friend
why, if Berlin let me talk about last
night's weather I couldn't do the
same thing here. "Weather," he
answered, "moves from west to
east. Berlin's weather moved off
where it didn't matter in 24 hours.
Washington's weather moves right
into the eastern Atlantic where
knowledge of it might benefit raid
ers."
? ? ?
"Without disparaging in the least
the huge metropolitan dailies, with
circulations running into the hun
dreds of thousands and occasion
ally into the millions?and I say
they are the best daily newspapers
in the world?it is to the weekly
newspapers and the small-town
daily newspapers that I, myself,
turn for information, guidance and
inspiration, especially in the case
of problems and questions affecting
the public welfare."?Sen. Arthur
Capper in the U. S. senate.
Open New Mine
Of Manganese
South Dakota Ore Tested in
Plan to Find Supply
Of Vital Metal.
CHAMBERLAIN. S. D?The first
step toward development of an al
most limitless supply of domestic
manganese was taken recently when
production was started at the fed
eral bureau of mines experimental
plant near here.
F. D. DeVaney, metallurgist in
charge, estimates that an average
of 500 tons of crude ore will be
processed daily until freezing weath
er, and again in the. spring. The
ore will be shipped to government
refining plants at Boulder, Nev., and
Provo, Utah, where it will be used
in experiments.
Admitting that the South Dakota
ore probably is. too low-grade for
use in normal tunas, Mr. DeVaney
said the government expects to de
velop an important emergency
source in the South Dakota field.
Manganese is regarded as one of
the most important strategic min
erals in which the United States is
deficient. About 14 pounds are used
as a hardening agent in the manu
facture of a ton of steel. In re
cent years the United States has
imported 95 per cent of its require
ments, chiefly from Russia. The re
mainder has come from small de
posits in Arkansas, Montana and
Virginia.
Enough for 1,300 Years.
According to the metal resources
board, the nation has only a 10
month supply of manganese on hand,
and imports have virtually ceased
despite efforts of Cuba and Brazil
to tap reserves and send the ore to
the United States.
The South Dakota deposits are be
lieved to be the largest in the coun
try. A report of the South Dakota
Geological Survey this year esti
mates the deposits at 10,000,000,000
tons of low-grade ore, enough to sup
ply the present steel industry* in the
United States for 1,300 years.
Engineers in charge of the experi
mental plant near here are not opti
mistic about large-scale produc
tion, but explain that even the 500
tons of ore being processed daily
would produce enough manganese
for the manufacture of 800 tons of
steel.
The 800 tons of steel, they say, are
equivalent to the amount used in
building 640 automobiles. A 30-day
run at the experimental plant would
produce enough manganese to manu
facture the steel used in a 30,000
ton battleship of the South Dakota
class. ,
To use Pressure Method.
The new plant, using a system of
screens and washers with an oil
heated drying kiln, will separate an
average of 50 tons of 20 per cent
manganese from each 500 tons of
material handled.
Construction of a second experi
mental plant, designed to handle 250
tons of ore a day, has been started
near here. This plant will operate
on the principle of an explosive
shattering plant like those used in
manufacturing or processing puffed
grain cereals. Ore will be placed
in a steam cylinder under high pres
sure. As the pressure is released
suddenly the ore nodules will be sep
arated from the shale and clay in
which they are imbedded when
mined.
Both plants were authorized un
der funds made available by con
gress for acquisition of strategic
minerals. About $80,000 is being
spent on the two plants.
Development work in manganese
also is being conducted in Arizona
and Minnesota, where there are low
grade deposits of smaller extent. A
large extraction plant has been pro
posed for Minnesota.
Trip to Moon? Yes, by
2041, Says Scientist
LOS ANGELES.?A trip to the
moon may not be as fantastic as it
sounds. Our great-grandchildren
may make the first one, in the opin
ion of Dr. Dinsmore Alter, director
of the Griffith Astronomical observ
atory.
Dr. Alter predicted that man's
first visit to the moon would take
place "some time within the next
100 years?if not sooner."
The first flight, he said, depends
on the development of a new ele
ment, known as Uranium 235, now
being studied at the University of
California at Berkeley.
"It's possible to send objects to
the moon right now," the scientist
said. "It is'almost a matter of fuel
and cost. It has been estimated
the cost of a rocket to span the
232,000 to 253,000 miles would be
about $100,000,000."
Ha revealed that once on the moon
there would be no trouble leaving.
The takeoff would be simple because
the planet's gravitational pull is only
a sixth that of the earth.
i
Navy Opens Field
To Small Industry
Many Contracts Are Given
'Depressed Areas'
WASHINGTON.?A new system
for the distribution of contracts was
announced by the navy as a means
of bringing help to the country's
"depressed areas." A relaxing of
specifications was being ordered
wherever possible, it was stated, to
spread the manufacture of defense
materials.
The program, as described by the
navy, is designed to facilitate deliv
eries of essential material and to
widen the heretofore limited field of
manufacturers who could produce
according to the former specifica
tions.
New systems also are being
worked out to ease the method pf
issuing first contracts for small
manufacturers whose efforts to ob
tain contracts heretofore have been
reported as handicapped by red
tape.
The effort to assist various areas,
navy officials said, had already
brought substantial results. Among
communities whose manufacturers
received first contracts, it was said,
were Manitowoc and Sheboygan,
Wis.; Grand Rapids, Mich.; Mans
field, Ohio, and Holyoke, Mass.
From these centers are being ob
tained such diverse articles as mill
ing machines, parachutes, canned
corn, cranes and steel bunks. This
type of work-spreading has hardly
begun, but is expected to develop
into a major factor in the procure
ment program.
The other direct step to bring new
manufacturers into the supply pic
ture has involved a re-survey at
hundreds ,of articles purchased by
the navy in order to relax specifi
cations which were rigidly main
tained in peacetime but are not now
as essential as speed in production.
Boy, Aged 14, Argues Case
And Wins on Fine Point
SHERIDAN, WYO.-No, sir, when
14-year-old Calvin Davis gets into
trouble he doesn't need to hire a
lawyer. He just does a little argu
ing himself.
Calvin appeared in court charged
with killing a duck from a public
road. At his request he was allowed
to be his own counsel.
Testimony brought out that Cal
vin shot the duck, which he said he
thought was a wild fowl. It devel
oped the bird was domesticated and
the owners brought charges seek
ing damages.
In pleading young Davis said he
offered to pay, for the duck, but "my
offer was refused." ?"*
He first argued that the state
owned the water upon which the
duck was swimming. After failing
here Calvin proved he was on a
six foot strip of state property
between the road and creek when he
fired.
Thus, on a technicality, he won
his first case.
Sitting Bull Just Sat,
Declares Indian Agent
SALT LAKE CITY.?Military his
tory to the contrary, Sitting Bull
did not win the battle of the Little
Big Horn?better known as Custer's
last stand.
So says Clarence M. Groshell, a
Salt Lake man whose hobby for
years has been Indian research.
Groshell says Sitting Bull was a
mediocre fighter. Not only that?
he arrived on the scene of the mas
sacre when it was nearly over. The
chief really responsible for the Lit
tle Big Horn debacle was named
simply Gall, Groshell says. But he
had able assistance from Red Cloud
and Rain-in-the-Face.
Chief Sitting Bull's role was not
unimportant, however. The old chief
was a wily politician and strategist,
and he kept the Indians at fighting *
pitch.
But When the actual bullets began
to fly, Sitting Bull was doing just
that?sitting.
Private Deserted by Army
Stays at Post 30 Hours
BALTIMORE. ? Private Victor
Golas, who obeyed orders literally
and became a "forgotten soldier"
through 30 hours of traffic directing,
got a pat on the back and a de
luxe ride home.
Maj. A. H. Kratzke, commander
of the military police detail with
which the Camp Edwards, Mass.,
selectee was serving, told Private
Golas "you are to be congratulated"
and "in the army, an order is an
order and must be obeyed."
So Golas, who stuck by his post
at a railroad crossing through rain
and gloom of night long after die
last truck of his motor convoy had
gone by, received a train ticket to
Massachusetts. He also managed
to catch up on his sleep?13 hours'
worth?at a military police dormkt
tory.