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The Alamance Gleaner VoL LXVIII GRAHAM, N. C., THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 1942 Na 28 WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS Red Communiques Admit Grave Peril As New Flank Attacks Harass Nazis; CIO President Proposes Peace Plan; Cargo Planes Get Qualified Approval I (EDITOR'S NOTE: When opinions are expressed In these eelnmns. they are these ef Western Newspaper Union's news analysis and net necessarily of this newspaper.) ? Released by Western Newspaper Union ???????? One of Uncle Sam's newest weapons for the armored force, the M4 tank, is shown on special demonstration at Fort Knox, Ky. Here the 28 ton tank plows through a barn to demonstrate its ability to negotiate obstacles. It has a 75-mm. cannon in a revolving turret and a completely welded hull. RUSSIA: Flank Tactics While Moscow's official radio was telling the Germans in their own language that the United States and Russia had come to their agreement on the creation of the second front in 1942, Soviet troops were busy with flank attacks on the Nazi forces all along the 300-mile Don river front. German drives had pushed far be yond Rostov, toward the Caucasus, but the Russians were claiming that their new flank attacks were netting a terrific toll of Nazi tanks and men. At Voronezh, northern anchor of the Don front, the Russians had been holding out doggedly while their col umns were being pushed back in the other sectors. If Germans in the homeland had been listening to the Russian radio tell of the coming of the second front, they heard too that their coun try would be confronted with 15,000, 000 men, 85,000 tanks, 100,000 guns, and 50,000 airplanes. But this was brave talk for even the official Rus sian communiques admitted the gravity of their nation's peril. Most feared was a Nazi break-through in the center of the Caucasus front. This would more than likely mean that the so-far orderly Russian re treat would stand a chance of being turned into a rout?a result that would be disastrous for the chuse of the United Nations. Soviet officials had other troubles, too. There were reports out of the Don valley that large rings of fifth columnists had been uncovered. Many of the spies in these groups were quickly executed as they were caught trying to co-operate with Nazi parachute troops who were dropping behind the Soviet main lines. Meanwhile, through England and the United States the cry was get ting louder for military officials to establish the much-discussed second front. From widely diversified groups and sections came the urg ing. There was considerable agita tion for this move for many people feared the United Nations would suf fer a most severe blow should Rus sia fail to last the year on the Euro pean side of the Ural mountains. ALEUTIANS: 10,000 Japs Breaking an official silence, a navy spokesman officially estimat ed that the Japanese have succeeded in putting "not more than 10,000" troops into the Aleutian island area and at the same time announced there was no evidence that the Pribilof island to the north had been occupied by the Nipponese. The statement came in answer to a report made by the Alaskan dele ?gate to congress, Anthony J. Dimond, that between 20,000 and 25,000 Jap troops were on the Aleu tians and that the Pribilofs had been occupied. Questioned about Dimond's re ports, the spokesman said that "we believe that not more than 10,000 Japanese are in the Aleutians, prob ably one-half ashore and one-half afloat." The Japs gained a foothold in the Aleutians on June 3. So far, the navy has confirmed the presence of Japs only on three of the islands: Attu, Agattu and Kiska, at the west ern end of the chain. The Pribilofs are in the Bering sea, and consist of four islands: St. Paul, St. George, Otter and Waldrus. The latter two are small and uninhabited. PEACE PLAN: For ClO-AFL A proposal that the Congress for Industrial Organization and the American Federation of Labor "ini tiate discussions regarding possible establishment of organic unity" was made by Philip Murray, CIO presi dent, in a letter to William Green, AFL chief. Peace proposals between the two organizations have been discussed for several months as a step toward speeding war production. In his letter, Murray proposed the estab lishment of a committee composed of representatives of both organiza tions, with an impartial arbitrator, to settle all jurisdictional disputes between the two groups. Murray named a committee of three to discuss the problem of "or ganic unity." He named himself, R. J. Thomas, president of the CIO United Automobile Workers, and Julius Emspak, secretary of the United Radio and Machine Workers union. BEEF: Two Varieties In butchershops from the Bronx to Boise there was considerable beef ing about beef. Beef was high. Beef was hard to get. What was the trouble? President Roosevelt told his press conference there were three main reasons for the current meat short age: (1) this is the off-season for beef; (2) people have more purchas ing power now, with which to buy better cuts of meat; and (3) around 4,000,000 men under arms are now eating much more meat than they ever ate on their own dinner tables at home. Meanwhile Agriculture Secretary Claude Wickard reported that there may be some relief in the temporary beef shortage this fall when more cattle are brought in off the range. But other sources looked with dis favor on what effect this would have on the normal spring beef market. GIANT PLANES: From Shipyards There was a new answer to the shipping problems of the United Na tions looming on the horizon. It was an unofficial agreement from the War Production board to give the "green light" to plans of Henry K. Kaiser, West Coast shipbuilder, to build giant cargo and troop trans port planes in nine of the nation's shipyards. First hitch to be overcome in the suggested set-up was the granting of authority by military officials to re lease engines and other parts need ed in the building of aircraft for the army and navy. Donald Nelson, WPB head, ap peared to be willing to proceed with the plan if these materials could be obtained without hampering the war effort. This came as a surprise as WPB first voiced skepticism on the plan. Kaiser's idea calls for the conver sion of three shipyards on each coast to produce 5,000 flying boats a year. The ships would be of 100-ton de sign fashioned after the 70-ton fly ing boat Mars, now in active use. Support of Glenn Martin, Baltimore bomber builder, Tom Girdler, steel magnate and all others with knowl edge of production problems of plane building would be sought, ac cording to Kaiser. AIR MONSTERS: Things to Come Reading like a tale from the pen of Jules Verne, the story of two super-gigantic cargo planes was un folded in Washington by aviation en gineers. Senate committees heard the stories. Details of a huge plywood plane were disclosed by Dr. W. W. Christ mas, technical aviation engineer. The plywood carrier, weighing 1,120,000 pounds, would be both a cargo and battle plane. It would be a 60,000 horsepower, two hull plane with 400 foot wingspread and with wings 16 feet thick, with a speed of about 350 miles an hour. It would carry 3,000 men. It would carry a rack of torpedoes weighing 20,000 pounds. Dr. Christmas pointed out that the torpedoes would have a striking force of 19,000,000 pounds when dropped. "A battleship deck would be like wet paper when one of these bombs hit it," he said. The second plane was a revolu tionary type of amphibian flying cargo plane, which would be lifted and propelled by a combination of engines, helium gas and air tunnels. The engineers are Horace Chapman Young and Eric Langlands of the Aerodynamics Research corpora tion. A single wing combination cargo fighter-carrier, the plane would have a flying deck of approximately 200 feet, from which 12 fighter planes could take off. It would carry enough helium gas to lift 36 tons and with its engines could lift 70 tons. Four tunnels would run through the wing. Engineers in these tunnels would create a semi vacuum, whose suction would sup ply pulling power while the propel lers gave it thrusting power. Its speed would be about 200 miles an hour. LADIES: Of the Navy "Waves" is not a new word to U. S. navy men but in the future sailors will have to think twice be fore using it. For this is the name being given to the Navy's woman's auxiliary, counter-part of the army's WAAC. Now officially organized, the Waves plan to enlist 10,000. First call was for 1,000 women, prefera bly bachelor girls, to volunteer as officer candidates. Miss Mildred McAfee, 42, presi dent of Wellesley college, Wellesley, Mass., is being chosen head of the feminine navy unit and will hold the rank of lieutenant commander. While there appeared to be a pref erence for single girls, married women are not prohibited from vol unteering. Unmarried women will have to agree not to marry while in training?a one-month period. Waves will be assigned to desk or administrative jobs to release men for active sea duty. Rationing Student John Leigh, gas station attendant in Washington, is pictured studying rationing rules. When Price Admin istrator Leon Henderson ran out of gas, Leigh refused to All a can for him. Henderson later proved that such an act would not be a violation of the regulations, but his proof came too late. He already had been forced to take a taxi. MISCELLANY: COUSINS: Conklin Mann, New York genealogist who discovered last month that President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill are eighth cousins once removed, an nounced that he had found the Presi dent to be a sixth cousin once re moved of Gen. Douglas MacArthur. MARKETING: U. S. farmers in the first half of 1942 marketed prod ucts totaling $9,773,000,000, accord ing to a department of agriculture estimate. This compares with $4,012, 000.000 for the same period in 1941. Aliens Receive Help on Coast Prohibited and Restricted Areas Set Up in Winter Are Abolished. SAN FRANCISCO.?Several thou sand German and Italian aliens who were required to move out of pro hibited or restricted areas set up in California by Attorney General Bid die in late January and early Feb ruary will be able to move back into or work in those districts un der a new proclamation just issued by Lieut. Gen. John L. DeWitt, Western defense commander. Guiseppo DiMaggio, 69-year-old father of Joe DiMaggio, the base ball player, may return to Fisher man's wharf to keep an eye on Joe's restaurant and reminisce with his old cronies, many of whom like wise had been barred from that pic turesque district. Hundreds of Ital ians who had to leave homes they had occupied for many years in in dustrial Pittsburgh may now move back. General DeWitt abolished all "pro hibited and restricted areas within the Western cfefense command" as established by the attorney general, thus making available a substantial number of farmhands and fruit pickers for work in California's fields and orchards situated within those areas. Help Truck Farming. Italian aliens had been an impor tant factor in truck farming in the Half Moon bay district near San Francisco. They had been barred also from considerable farm land in Monterey county as well as in South ern California and elsewhere in the state. Although General DeWitt's procla mation thus should help the state's economic situation, this considera tion was not a motivating factor in his decision, according to observers. A spokesman explained the situa tion this way. The attorney gener al's orders, which cleared the pro hibited areas of German and Italian aliens by February 24, were issued before a long-range pattern for deal ing with the enemy alien problem had been worked, out. They were thus looked upon as a stop-gap meas ure to protect the coast from possi ble sabotage and fifth column activi ty until there was opportunity to de velop a broad program. When General DeWitt received, under presidential order, the right to deal with the Japanese, German and Italian situation as he deemed best consonant with requirements of "military necessity," he retained all the prohibited and restricted areas as designated by Mr. Biddle. Some Places Proscribed. But, it is understood, retention of these areas would not follow the present pattern of dealing with ene my aliens. There are still certain places into which an Italian or Ger man may not go, and all these places are guarded by physical barriers and sentries. They are along wa terfronts and near military and na val installations. In addition to providing some ad ditional farm labor in needy areas. General DeWitt's proclamation will make available more workers for in dustry, because, in some plants en emy aliens are not barred from the payrolls. The new order had the effect of restoring almost normal family life to thousands of Germans and Ital ians, but compliance with curfew, residence and travel restrictions is still required. German and Italian aliens in California must, in spite of the relaxation of the earlier or ders, remain in their homes be tween 8 p. m. and 8 a. m., may not travel more than five miles from their homes, and must obtain per mission from a federal attorney be fore changing their residences. Followed Dad's Trail And Had to Pay Fine VERNE, MINN.?Roger Sherman, second grade, recently asked his fa ther for SO cents to pay a fine Im posed by school authorities. "What's the fine for?" demanded the father. "For carving my initials on a desk," the boy answered. After listening to a stern parental lecture, Roger said: "But I saw your initials there, Dad, so I thought it would be nice to have mine below them." P.S.?He got the 50 cents. State Police Return To Horse Patrol Duty SYDNEY, N. Y.?It took a war and gasoline rationing to do it, but old Dobbin is coming back into pop ularity with the New York state police. The once-prominent Troop C Rough Riders again are using horses for patrol duty after a lapse of several years. U. S. Pioneers Go At 'Em With Knives Army Training Most Heavily Armed of All Soldiers. FORT LEWIS, WASH ?A super fighter from the combat engineers is being trained by the United States army to become one of the most heavily armed soldiers in the world and even more versatile than his British counterpart, the Commando. If a soldier of the Mikado's army suddenly sees a black-faced, knife wielding warrior jump out of the jungle one of these days, he prob ably won't have time to realize that he is about to become a victim of an American Pioneer, the name of the super-fighter. The hard bitten Pioneer will be called upon to do the initial work of a battle or campaign. He is taught to fight with machetes and wicked, curved bush-knives as well as with Tommy guns and rifles. The Pioneers are armed with rifles, Tommy guns, 30 and 50 cali ber machine guns, 37 mm. cannon, axes, bolo knives, machetes, saws and an ample supply of TNT and other explosives. Officers training the Pioneers here said that the Pioneer would be sent into enemy territory to establish bridgeheads, to demolish enemy in stallations and to prepare paths, roads and bridges for the infantry advance. Officers said the Pioneers were not expected to do their fighting with wicked machetes, bolo and bush knives, unless they had to. But ask a Pioneer which he would use?his knife or his rifle?if he ran into a few Japs in the brush. He will wet his fingers, cautiously run it down the blade, grab the han dle with both hands and wave it over his head. Sweetheart of Soldier Write* Cards to Herself CAMP ROBERTS, CALIF.?Miss Marian Bauer of Mallortown, Ont., Canada, became discouraged over failure of her boy friend to write. In one of her letters to Private Nor man Shadley of Camp Roberts, she enclosed two post cards, on which she had placed her own address and then on the correspondence section had written: Darling, I'm O. K. I miss you. I love you. I'm too busy to write. I'm too sick to write. Transferred again. Norman. He was instructed to check the appropriate statements. She saved him the trouble of signing his nam*. Two Indian Tribes Sue U. S. for $40,000,000 WASHINGTON.?Two Alaskan In dian tribes?the Tlingits and Haidas filed suits in the court of claims against the United States, seeking $40,000,000 for alleged illegal occu pancy of their lands by white set tlers. In separate actions, the two na tions contended they are "the own ers of and entitled to the immediate and exclusive possession of all of southeastern Alaska east of the 141st meridian." The Tlingits asked $35,000,000 damages for occupancy of the land up to June 19, 1935, the date con gress authorized the two nations to sue the government. The Haidas, claiming ownership of a smaller portion of the area, asked $5,000,000. Too Many 'Baby Books' Given in USO Campaign NEW YORK.?Less than half of the 10,200,000 books received by the USO are fit reading for men in the armed services, John F. Hickey, treasurer of the campaign, said. He said there were too many of "the care and feeding of babies" variety of books being pulled out of the comers and given to the USO. "Don't dig In the cellar," he urged donors. "Give the book you'd like to read yourself." Technical books, best sellers and current and recent magazines are particularly desired, he said. Japs Plan Railroad From Shanghai to Singapore TOKYO.?The Japanese-controlled Central Chinese Railway company is ready to study means of opening a 4,750-mile direct railway service between Shanghai and Singapore, Nichi Nichi reported today from Shanghai. The proposed rail route would wind through Chekiang and Kiangsi provinces, where the Japanese now are fighting for control, thence down through Indo-China, Thailand and Malaya, Nichi Nichi said. It would take a year to link all the routes, it was estimated. History's Biggest Tax Bill Can't Meet War Demands < Required Savings, Smaller Tax Exemptions Seen as Partial Solution to . Inflation Threat. By BAUKHAGE News Analyst and Commentator. "Why don't you commentators quit trying to wake the people up to the war and try to wake Wash ington up?" That's a question which repeats it self in my listener mail day after day. So help me, I know the people don't need waking up. And who am I to decide whether Washington is snoring or ]ust breathing deeply? Let me say, first of all, that I know that a large part of "Wash ington" is awake and burning the midnight oil. And remember that means 2,000 business men drafted into service as well as the govern ment officials the MAJORITY of whom are non-partisan men who have worked through both Republi can and Democratic regimes. But let me go on from there and talk about some of the slumberers whom you nor I nor Big Ben nor an air-raid alarm could wake up if they had gone to bed after six cups of coffee and the radio on. I am talking (again) about what Washington is talking about today? speciflcaly the tax bill now in con gress, and inflation, in general. The biggest tax bill in our history any calm, cool, instructed thinker thinks isn't nearly big enough. Why? Well, some say because the fiscal policy makers of the nation don't seem to be much more war con scious than the home guard before Pearl Harbor. ? now let s get a tew tacts straight. There are men in the treasury de partment and sitting on congression al committees dealing with fiscal matters who know their monetary onions as well as a farmer knows the rows he hoes. But let us proceed from there. About a year and a half ago, Leon Henderson who, no matter what you may think of his neckties, his man ners or his tactfulness, is pretty good at foresight, echoed the thoughts of perhaps a hundred other men in Washington when he warned against inflation. One of the many brakes on inflation is taxation. Taxation, of course, is an ancient process. Another meth od, not so ancient, is compulsory savings. Henderson favored compulsory savings. So did a lot of others. He said so. He tried to convince Mr. Morgenthau but Mr. Morgenthau shuddered. That was totalitarian. Regulate prices (what you pay out) all right, but don't tell a free Ameri can citizen what he has to put in his sock. That's totalitarian. Hen ry Morgenthau never said those words to me, but one of his close associates did. Well, Henderson in one of his tact less moments a year and a half ago, commented on Mr. Morgen thau's opinions on compulsory sav ings (not for the record). He said, in effect: "Henry is perfectly will ing to have me put a gestapo in every grocery store but he thinks it's Hitlerism to force people to save or buy bonds." Those weren't his exact words but those were his sentiments. I quote 1 them, not because Mr. Henderson knows everything, but because he I talks with a punch. I might also add that there appeared a year ago an article from the pen of Reserve Board Chairman Eccles entitled, "Price Ceilings Are Not Enough," in which he expounded the thesis that money must be taken out of the easy spenders' pockets or infla tion would result. One-Third of the Way Today we have a tax bill which stands, seven months after Pearl Harbor, as incapable of meeting the exigencies of war as Manila or Singapore were. It is true that expenses have shot up more rapidly than was expected (although many say this should have been foreseen). And now we are lucky if we can pay one-third of our way. Daniel Bell, undersecre tary of the treasury, said that 24 bil lion dollars of the national expendi ture would be handled with borrow ing (not all from the banks) this year. Secretary Morgenthau had re fused to answer a question on that point in the senate committee hear ings when Senator Taft put it to him, but turned it over to Bell. Taft protested that he wanted Morgen thau as the policy-making head of the department to answer. Morgen thau then said he would stand be hind Bell's prediction. It is true that the house cut the tax bill as submitted by the treas ury. The treasury asked (or $8,700, 000,000 and got $8,200,000,000 from the house. The senate is being urged to restore the cuts. But the treas ury program itself was far too small, the experts say. At present calculations, the government's in come (or the fiscal year 1942-43 will be around 24 billion dollars, whereas its outgo will be in the neighborhood of 77 billions. If after Pearl Harbor the govern ment had asked for the maximum it needed the country would have been only too glad to submit. As my correspondents say, the coun try didn't need to be waked up, Washington does. Critics of Mr. Morgenthau and his program say, "too little and too late." They say "too little" because the difference between outgo and in come for the fiscal year ending in 1943 will be at least S3 billion dollars. Non-NegotiabU Bond* They say "too late" because in sufficient measures have been taken to check inflation and one way infla tion can be checked is to get right alter the spending money and make it saving money by forcing the peo ple to invest in non-negotiable bonds that can't be cashed in until after the war. A lot of people are going to need spending money again when peace comes until industry is con verted back from war production to civilian production. As one man connected with the Federal Reserve board said to me: "There is one thing that very few people realize. When the govern ment or anyone else borrows from the bank, new money is created; that makes inflation. There is plen ty of money in existence now to pay war expenditures and avoid the fatal error of borrowing from the banks. "The difficulty now is that the dol lars which are the most dangerous in bidding up prices and causing in flation are the dollars in the pay en velopes of the workers of industry. And these dollars are not, as far as we can estimate, the dollars that are buying bonds. "And another thing. The taxes don't reach these dollars, either. "What we may as well realize is coming, though not coming as soon as it should, is: One, compulsory savings although we won't use that unpleasant word compulsory. It will probably be a requirement to buy bonds not redeemable until after the war and so staggered that they won't all hit the treasury at once. "Two, a smaller tax exemption so that we will get the loose dollars from the lower income brackets. There are more of those dollars to get. "Three, there will have to be some leniency for the fixed salary man who is already saving; the av erage middle class that puts money into savings regularly in the form of mortgages on homes or farms or plants, money into life insurance pol icies, money into pension plans. That is savings, it is not creating infla tion. But that man with the high taxation those in his income brack ets have to pay has to go to the bank and take the money from the savings which he has there to turn it over to the government. "Canada has faced this problem. The United States will have to. War production is ahead of schedule, fis cal thinking is lagging behind." We can see, a year alter Mr. Ec cles said so, that "price ceilings are not enough." Increased costs are such that the packers, as the can ners before them, have announced that they just won't stay in business if they have to operate at a loss. The price of the finished product has a ceiling but the raw materials and wages have no ceiings. Some body has to corral those dollars. ? ? ? Urban residents rank highest in the proportion of college graduates in the population with 5.7 per cent as compared with 4.2 per cent for rural-non-farm and 1.3 per cent for rural-farm groups, according to in formation collected by the depart ment of commerce in the 1M0 census.
The Alamance Gleaner (Graham, N.C.)
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Aug. 13, 1942, edition 1
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