North Carolina Newspapers

The Alamance Gleaner Vol LXVIII GRAHAM, N. C., THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 1942 No. 42 You Have, Despite War's Growing Hardships, Today Something to Be Truly Thankful For Revolutionary War Brought Freedom People Now Take as Matter-of-Fact It was the successful completion of the Revolutionary War which resulted in the designation of a national day of thanksgiving for the benefits obtained during the year. One hundred and fifty years ago, George Washington recommended "a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Al- <S mighty God, especially by af fording them an opportunity to establish a Constitution or gov ernment for their safety and happiness." Just previous to this petition, in 1777, the 13 colonies, acting as one, celebrated a day of Thanksgiving when the British general, Burgoyne, was defeated. True, popular tradition, has it that the first Thanksgiving was held at Plymouth, Mass., when the Pil grims had gathered in their first harvest. But the significant fact about Thanksgiving is to be noted in Washington's recommendation for a national observance of a day of thanks because of the opportunity given the early colonists "to estab lish a Constitution or government for their safety and happiness." A national, truly sincere spirit of Thanksgiving was born out of the aftermath of the nation's first war. 'MOTHER OF THANKSGIVING DAY' The daughter of a Revolution ary war army captain, Mrs. Sarah Josepha Buell Hale, native of Newport, N. H., has the distinc tion of being the "Mother of Thanksgiving day." For years she tried vainly to mobilise governors of her time to have them all agree on one day which would be set aside as a day of Thanksgiving. Finally she prevailed upon President Lincoln in 1863 to pro claim Thanksgiving as uniformly a national festival day. Mrs. Hale, who died after 91 years of great activity, was the widowed mother of five children. She was an author, pioneer fem inist, and also editor of Godey's Lady's Book in Boston during the 1830s. You can imagine what the thoughts are of these two kids as they look at the giant turkey which has just been taken from the oven. It doesn't seem that they are convinced it is true?that they can believe what they see. Scenes such as this one will be multiplied thousands of times Thanksgiving day. Now, over a century and a half later, while the nation is nearing ' the end of the first year of another, but far more greater, war, it seems fitting that a renewed, revitalized spirit of Thanksgiving should be ob served by the people of the United States. To some it might seem extremely illogical to suggest the nation should be thankful for its blessings while engaged in a war which really is just beginning in its intensity. That is not the point. That is not the reason for being thankful for what we have, what we are still en joying in the way of worldly goods to a greater extent than are our Allies?and our enemies. The ' reason, for a true, more sincere SWING IT! ' The quartermaster corps of the United States army is also making sore the men in the army are going to have the best dinner possible on Thanksgiving day. Many of those who get leave to be bome with their parents on that Thursday will be doing the same thing these two Tanks are getting ready to do. Too bad for that tnrkey! observance of Thanksgiving is this: We are able to carry the war back to the enemy, and carry it. back hard and furiously to him wherever he is. , In the early days of the Revo lutionary war the soldiers, the officers, the great majority of citizens didn't have to ask: "What are we fighting for?" They knew. For the enemy was here, on this continent. They saw him. They fought him up and down the Atlantic coast. In addition to being practical men, these early colonists were dreamers. They dreamed the great dream which has been realized today with this nation stretching from one ocean to another?from our north ern neighbor, Canada, to our south em neighbor, Mexico, both of whom are now fighting a common foe with us. Rationing, increased taxes, sons and husbands in the armed forces? this is what confronts the whole na tion as the first wartime Thanks giving in almost a quarter century is observed. Those who ask themselves what they have to be thankful for will think at first that there is no an swer. But common sense and logic will prevail. A glance at almost any newspaper will convince the reader that freedom of the press is more than an expression in America. So greatly valued is this freedom of the press in occupied Europe that thousands are risking immediate execution by the Gestapo to print underground newspapers with mes sages for the unification of the op pressed. These newspapers, prov ing the value of a free press, are often no larger than a handbill, but the importance of their mes sage cannot be overemphasized. But maybe your mind doesn't run in such a channel. Maybe you still will not be convinced as you sit at the table on Thanksgiving day. There before you are mountains of food?turkey or goose or chicken; creamy potatoes, cranberries, all kinds of vegetables; cakes, pies, puddings, desserts. So much food that the plates, knives, forks. G. Obbler, caught in the act of broadcasting a "flee for your lives" warning to his unsuspecting kin-folk, heard that not only is he going to ! get the ax, but also thousands like , him. Be doesn't know it, but his "goose is cooked" in so far as his \ life on this earth is concerned. May- j be you'll see him on Thanksgiving | day. In a different pose. glasses and coffee cups seem to be in the way. 1 Food, and plenty of It before 1 you. Enough food there to feed 1 at least eight times more starv ing Frenchmen, or Poles, or 1 Russians in territory under Hit ler's oppression. Something to be thankful for? there it is! What do you suppose Hitler's "Master Race" in Germany would say about the "New World Order" if they had half the food in front of them that millions of Americans will have on Thanksgiving day. Another thing: If you don't like what your congressman is doing you are free to say so. You might even write him a letter and tell him just what you think, and what you think of him. If you don't like the way the war is going you say so. You'll argue in public with someone who disagrees with you about national, state, or local political activities. Suppose you had this inherent right taken away from you. You'd be thankful for it then. So why not now? Put yourself in the place of a conquered people or imagine yourself living in an Axis coun try. In those places freedom of speech is limited to saying, "Yes, yes" when permitted to hear the master's voice. Suppose the only church service you were permitted to attend was that one in which the "gospel" of j the dictator was spouted by a party sycophant. Suppose your church was no longer the house of worship you remembered it, but a meeting place, a club for those who were members of the dictator's gang. Suppose you couldn't worship your God the way you wanted to, because THOUGHTFUL This young native of Thanksgiv ing, N. C., has paosed for a mo ment before beginning decapitation ceremonies. He feels that he )ust couldn't possibly deprive the old gobbler one last meal. that way was against the "ruler's" theory. Suppose your friend's house of worship was entered by the "lead er's" mob, sacked, religiohs articles destroyed, and then the building burned to the ground? That is what has happened, and is still happening, too many tMes in Europe since Hitler began "sav ing the world." Something for you to be thankful for? There it is: Freedom to wor ship your God as yon see fit. This Thanksgiving day will be re membered as being an excep- 1 tional one. It will be remembered ' as the day when Americans were fully thankful for the many rights which in the past have been taken for granted. I By VIRGINIA VALE Released by Western Newspaper Union. MARSHA HUNT has learned how to find a movie actress in a big city. Recently she and Ann Rutherford were both in New York, and both on personal business trips, so they hadn't jiven the M-G-M office their ad dresses. So, though they wanted to meet, they couldn't locate sach other. The day before return ing to Hollywood for "The Human Comedy," Marsha, besieged by fans asking for autographs, asked one if le knew where Ann was staying. 'Sure?right on thfe floor above rou!" he replied. ?* And, speaking of autographs?Vir jinia Weidler's new picture, "The youngest Profession," is about hem. In it William Powell will ap pear as himself; he's Virginia's screen idol, and her efforts to get ais autograph lead to a series of ailarious situations. ?*? Success Story; in 1940 Margaret flayes was voted the best artists' ?nodel, then the best photographers' model. She's made some pictures ?had the feminine lead in "In Old Colorado" and a featured role in MARGARET HATES "New York Town," and Goldwyn picked her for a principal support ing role in "They Got Me Cov ered." Now she's in New York for three radio shows and a Broadway stage production! ?* Dick Powell teaches a elass in navigation between Ms scenes in "True to Life" at Paramount. He's an expert yachtsman, and some of the younger members of the com pany who are preparing themselves for flying and marine service in the war asked Mm to do it. ?* Neither Claudette Colbert nor Rudy Vallee cares for eggs in the raw?but for a scene in "The Palm Beach Story" they each were to swallow three "prairie oysters," con coctions of raw eggs, Worcestershire sauce, etc. The property man prom ised to fix up something that would look like the genuine article but avoid the raw egg difficulty. He did ?but the substitute was apricots in root beer! ?*? It looks as if Warner's "Air Force" might turn into one of those star-maker pictures. John Garfield and Harry Carey are the only time tested stars of the production; the youngsters of whom Director How ard Hawks has hopes are Gig Yonng, John Kldgely, Arthur Ken nedy, Charles Drake, Bay Mont gomery, Ward Wood and James Brown. The first two have an edge on the others. ?*? Arch Oboler, writer-producer of the weekly show "Lights Out," has a new book of radio plays, "Plays for Americans." As he's a top-notch writer for radio, aspirants can't do better than get a copy and study it. Sponsored by the Association for Ed ucation by Radio, the plays, through agreement with Oboler, are avail able to any group tree of royalties tor the duration of the war. ?*? Jack Pearl used to sign his name to letters, and beneath it "World's Greatest Liar." Now it's changed to "World's Second Greatest Liar." In explanation Jack says, "I couldn't be champ with Adolf around." Phil Baker ends notes with "Bye-bye. Buy bonds!" ?*? Brenda Marshall and Osa Massen, of "Background to Danger," each has a parent in a country occupied by the Axis. Miss Massen's moth er, sister and brother are in Den mark. Miss Marshall's father was managing a plantation in Ne gro* when the Jap* moved in. Second Front in Africa Points North to Italy Underground Anti-Fascists in Italy Want Strong Brand of Democracy for Aiding the Allies; Seek U. S. Pledge. By BAUKHAGE Netos Analyst and Commentator. WNU Service, 1343 H Street, N-W, Washington, D. C. According to a number of people in Washington, of whom your cor respondent is one, the most star tlingly important event of the war may be taking place and nobody, including the enemy, will admit it. A second front has been opened, the first carefully planned and meticulously timed offensive against the Axis since the war started has begun in Africa. There are diplo matic developments as well as mili tary which, some believe, indicate that the path to victory will lead through Rome. Of course, you couldn't get even a whiff of official confirmation for such a presumptuous assumption from anyone higher than a first ser geant. Nevertheless, there seems to be quite a bit of circumstantial evi dence to support the observation of such a development. At the same time certain happenings in the diplomatic field add their touch of verisimilitude to what the military might say was a bald and unwar ranted, if not unconvincing state ment. Such military information as 1 might offer, which has not been a part of official statements, would not be wise to print. Bat H Is permis sible to recall that the Germans claim that the British have a million men under General Alexander's command In Africa. The official accounts of the number of American flown planes in almost continuous activity over a huge area indicate that the American air force in Egypt is not inconsiderable, even in these days of giant armies and armadas. Apprehention in Tunisia There are diplomatic reports of 1 apprehension on the part of the j populace of Tunisia, a vital strip of territory lying along the coast of the narrow waters that separate it from Sicily, the Axis stepping stone from Italy to Africa, which hint that activities may extend even further I west than Libya. These are some of the outward signs which are there for all to see. From a military standpoint Italy is the weak sister of the Axis partnership. From the standpoint of anti-Naxi-Fascist internal subversive organisation she Is perhaps the strongest ally for the United Nations. An Af rican offensive might logically end in an invasion of Italy. The recognition of these anti fascist underground organizations as important elements in the gen eral Allied offensive against the Axis can be taken as a straw show ing which way the tide of war may be flowing. And they are being rec ognized. > One very significant development 1 was a recent statement from Lon don, which at first blush simply seemed to dampen any hopes that the king of Italy might be a force in bringing about a separate peace with Italy. But this negative sug gestion, when taken together with certain other indications, has quite another meaning. The London re port indicated that the king was no longer the "prisoner of Mussolini" he had been pictured, but really the friend of Fascism. This seemingly gratuitous statement may well have been offered as a piece of firing data 1 for the diplomatic marksmen indi cating that they must change their ' sights. And an inkling of just what must be done in order to obtain the support of the elements in Italy which can be of service to the Allied cause comes from an objective re port on the underground in Italy. This report, originating with anti fascist sources in the United States, clearly analyzes who these people are, what they have already accom plished and what must be done to get their co-operation. A realistic program is laid down by inference which will not be at all palatable to the conservative or the conven tional masters of official intrigue among the United Nations. According to this report from anti fascist sources the underground in Italy is now composed largely of young men, bora and educated in Fascism, who are working entirely from within its framework. They are members of the party because they have known no other party and no other government through their mature years. They are members of the armed forces because they are loyal to Italy. ? According to the report which I mention, made by supposedly authentic and authorized repre sentatives of the anti-Faseists, the underground movement in Italy is powerful and effective; it has accomplished a weaken ing of civilian and military mo rale; publishes a large and ef ficient anti-Fascist press; has organized political meetings and combat groups ta nearly every Italian town; has brought about unity for the first time in Italian history between the working class and the intel lectnals. It has caused general inefficiency in the army, caused sabotage in the campaigns of Greece, Albania and Libya and effectively sabotaged war indus tries. The members of these groups, the young men who grew up under Fascism, are not revolting to bring about a status quo ante?they are revolting against the status quo for definite aims. They want a new democratic order. Italian Anti-Faacist Demand* The members of the Italian un derground are thoroughly deter mined to overthrow Fascism wher ever it exists. But they demand a concrete, complete, sincere state ment of the program of the anti Fascist forces before they will join them, since they risk everything in revolt and think they might sim ply gain new chains for old if they faced a typical political peace. They want, specifically, a clear cut statement of the peace aims of the United Nations. They want these aims stated without equivoca tion or couched in the fine generali ties of the Atlantic Charter. And they want to be sure that they have the guarantee of the United States as the administrator of those terms with freedom to build the kind of an Italy they want. TL ___ 1. At-1 ? _ A .11.1 mere is sumeuung ox a parauei between these Italian demands and the revelations, or what the con servative diplomats would call the indiscretions, of Wendell Willkie when he called for assurances of the non-imperialistic designs of the United Nations. Willkie, as is his wont, used a blunderbus instead of a scalpel to obtain his end, but he did clear up the atmosphere on the subject of what Russia and China thought about the need of extending the scope of the Atlantic Charter. The realistic Jan Smuts, prime minister of South Africa, echoed this senti ment a few days after Willkie'e re- i port to the nation. Others are re peating the demand for a full state ment of peace aims. Strong Brand of Democracy Another point upon which some of our allies, and particularly our po tential allies in Italy, want recog nized by us and emphasized is the < belief, many times Ptpted but very seldom elaborated, narh^ljr);' that we don't expect to go back to things as they were. They expect democracy, bat they make It plain they expect It to be economic as well as political, aad they want a brand that may prove stronger medi cine than every coo might care to take. The groups la Italy, like those In other countries, have forged their political phlloeophies In the Ire of perse cution. The revolt against the physical brutalities of totalitarianism is likely to carry them far in the opposite direction. They demand an ideal of democracy hard to attain. It becomes, therefore, a vital task of the American statesman, in as suming the necessary leadership of the United Nations as their supremo physical effort approaches, to ta rn ulcte a post-war world peace ideal. If, as seems possible, file second front will touch Italy, Hotrie of Fascism, before it reacht* the Nazi borders, the attitude of Italy's anti-Fascists must be clearly under stood and taken into account WHO'S NEWS THIS WEEK General Brereton Supplier Complete Dramatis Perronae By LEMUEL F. PARTON Consolidated Features.?WNU Release. "M' EW YORK.?News of our partici pation in the Egyptian offensive against Rommel has not been highly personalized, but an occasional pass t i on of Maj. Gen. Levis H. Brereton makes up (or the general lade of a d/amatis personae. He's a whole cast of characters all by himself, as he commands our air co-operation in the attack with the widest and readiest grin, one of the stillest wal lops and unquestionably the moat flexible vocabulary in the army. Ha swears in four languages, with rare improvisation and m a rasping voice which is said to be miraculously ef fective in hopping up lighting men. He is the commander of the U.&A. Middle Eastern air forces, trans ferred from India last July. One might call Was the Larry MacPhail af tha Amy, as ha is both sestfal sad exaltast with a fight sw, or the chance far a fight anywhere in the dag. He par ticolarty seemed to enjoy eom mandiag America's first offea sive hi the war to the Far East. That was aa April 2. Headtog the bembtog ailirisa fna India to the Japanese-held Andaman Islands, he Jockeyed Us B-n right into the thick af the fracas and by all accounts had the hap piest day sf his Hie, as the Jap anese were given a handsome pasting. He hit toe road to glory arts a stiff jolt. He had Just been trans ferred to the command at Clark field in the Philippines when the Jape nese came, with no time to get things air-shape. The blasting at his planes and men in the hopelessly uneven contest was terrific and Gen eral MacArthur, ordering no mora sacrifices, sent him to Australia with his air force and then to India. From his new base, he swarmed all over the battle area, fighting with Gen eral Chennault's Flying Tigers and. all in all. made a magnificent isms back. From Pittsburgh, he west te (he Naval academy ia IN) aai transferred te the xigual corps, oar fledgling air service, a gear after his graduation la 1M1. He fought ia the air at V'erdaa, was shot down at St- Mihiel and came out of the war with the Distinguished Service ernes, the Purple Heart, the Legion of Honor ribbon and the Croix de Guerre. Last September, ia baa or of his exploits ia the Paeifle, there was added te these the Distinguished Flying cross. D AUL C. SMITH, quitting the OWI to join the marines, hits this en terprising outfit with a fast running start and should catch their cadence Halley"i Comet ef N cwipaptrdow Is speed - ball Now Uathernack San Francisco, a West coast mar vel of the last few years, who not only supercharged the San Fran cisco Chronicle, as its general man ager at the age of 19, but outahoaa many of the graybearda at the town in labor mediation, civic enterprise and battles for the public weal to general. He Jeiaed the OWI ia Deceae ber, 19*1, aad became chief ef Ha aews bareaa last Aagast. It was te he expected that ha weald jota the m arises. He saw maay of the global aspects af this war loag before H started. The m arises go places, globally, aad that's always Ma big Idas. Mr. Smith, the Bailey's oomet ef recast newspaper decades, ?ever west te college. Fist Ms takeoff at Seattle, Ms heme town, he worked h lumber camps, coal mines mad as farms la the northers United States aad Canada aad later form slat ed and applied mnch af (Ms ex perience in newspaper work. In 1928, when he was 10 years ! old, he made a few cautious plays In the market, did well enough, and ! ventured into investment banking in San Francisco and New York. This turned him toward financial writing and his first connection with the San Francisco Chronicle. He became its financial editor and Its general man ager fc 1937.