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The Alamance Gleaner Vol LXVIII - GRAHAM, N. C., THURSDAY,1 DECEMBER 24, 1942 NO. 4% WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS Hard-Fought Battle for Air Supremacy Holds Key to Control of North Africa; Italians Fret Over British Air Raids; Gains in New Guinea Mark Pacific War (EDITOR'S NOTE: When opinions are expressed In these column*, they are these ef Western Newspaper Union's news analysis and net necessarily ef this newspaper.) i Released by Western Newspaper Union. ???????J United States soldiers cross a stream in the Gona-Buna area of New Guinea. The occupation of Gona by Allied forces, directed by General MacArthur, left the Japanese pinned down in a narrow strip of coast in the Buna area, 12 miles south. NORTH AFRICA: Air Battle Grows Cheering word of ever-increasing Allied air strength in North Africa came from London and the Morocco radio as swarms of American and British planes in Tunisia provided cover for land operations. Press reports tell of ground com manders telephoning for air cover age "as casually as calling for a taxi." Chief battleground for the oppos ing forces had been Tebourba, a strategic junction 20 miles west of Tunisia and 35 miles south of Bizerte. Here a series of rapid ac tion tank battles took place, with the key town changing hands as battle fortunes shifted. Continuing efforts were made to extend and equip new airfields from which Allied planes could operate. Reports reaching the United States stressed the importance of the many American Commando transport planes now available. They are de scribed as 50 per cent faster than the JU-S2s and are capable of mov ing jeeps, small field guns and up to 98 soldiers. On the opposite side of Africa, the British Eighth army was report ed allowing Marshal Rommel's army no rest in the El Agheila area. The official communique spoke of patrol and artillery action. British military sources in London had warned that the "real" offensive was not yet under way and that when the Eighth army strikes, the blows will leave no doubt as to its strength. RUSSIA: Central Front Although Nazi forces have been hard pressed in Russia, military ob servers were quick to warn against undue optimism. Despite a grave strain on their communications, Ger man forces were said to be showing no signs of faltering in defensible positions. Generally speaking, news was good. The Red army drove seven miles deeper into enemy lines on the central front near Velikie Luki, recapturing 13 settlements, while the Germans failed in their drive to regain the initiative on the Stalin grad front. On the central front the Russians attacked with ski troopers support ed by tanks painted white. This front extends northwest of Moscow, roughly from Rzhev to Velikie Luki. Russian reports said the Nazis were trying not only to smash the Soviet offensive but also to start one of their own, evidently in the belief that the Red army is exhaust ed after their continuous attack. JAP DEFEAT: In South Pacific When Allied forces, directed by General MacArthur, occupied the Gona area of New Guinea, the Japs lost the northern anchor of their ever-diminishing beachhead in Pa pua, which already has been badly sliced by veteran American and Australian jungle fighters. This new defeat left the Japs hemmed in a narrow coastal strip centering on the Buna area, 12 miles to the south. First announcement of the Gona victory was made by Prime Minister John Curtin, who gave the news as he was conducting a review of the war before the house of representa tives in Canberra, Australia. His announcement was made 16 days after an Allied headquarters com munique had announced the origi nal Australian entry into Gona. The Japs had landed at Gona on July 22 and from that area launched their invasion drive which took them across the Owen Stanley mountain range to within 32 miles of the Al lied base at Port Moresby. COMPLAINTS: From Italy "Why do the British bomb our towns now instead of German towns? After all it was the Ger mans who bombed London." That was one of the many com plaints reported originating in Italy during the past 30 days. Well-in formed diplomatic quarters have re ported ever-growing discontent in It aly over the war. Mussolini's peo ple are weary. They do not like the arrogance of their German Al lies. Already they are dazed by re peated British bombing attacks. And every Italian knows the imme diate future is black. But the same sources also report that Italy has little chance of break ing away from German domination and seeking a separate peace. A steady stream of German air, anti aircraft and land forces, all under Gestapo supervision, is pouring into Italy. Most of the land forces are said to have been drawn from the few reserves in Germany. Russia's new offensive makes withdrawals from the Eastern front practically impossible. The almost incessant bombing of Turin, northern Italian industrial center, continued unabated. The smoke and fire of one raid was not dissipated before another wave of British bombers returned to spread new destruction. It was evi dent that the RAF did not intend to give city authorities even time to restore public utilities. HIGHLIGHTS ... in the week's news WASHINGTON: Newspaper men coveting this wartime capital now naed a boot 40 press passes to get them into the various buildings and offices around the city. Up until stricter measures were taken?to guard against spies, saboteurs or traitors?one pass, that admitting the bearer to the White House, would get newsmen almost any where they wanted to go. CHICAGO: Three Nazi sympa thizers, under sentence to die Janu ary 22, were granted a stay of exe cution while the U. S. circuit court of appeals studies the findings of their recent trial. They are Hans Max Haupt, father of Herbert Haupt, executed Nazi saboteur; Otto R. Wergin and Walter O. Froehling, friends of the Haupt family. STRATEGY: Nazis First Much interest throughout the Unit ed Nations has long centered on the broad or general plan for defeating the Axis. Always there have been theories advanced which often seem to have little basis in fact. Others again have a highly legitimate tone. One of the most recent explana tions of such strategy, and one of more plausible presentations of it I is that advanced by Prime Minister i John Curtin of Australia. In a cur- , rent statement he declared that ' President Roosevelt and Winston Churchill decided even before the ' fall of Singapore (February 15, 1942) I that the most necessary job was to | beat Hitler and then take after . Japan. Thus the campaign in the South Pacific and on the Australian con- 1 tinent becomes one of a "holding" I action. He warned his countrymen ? that they might have to endure strong air and sea-borne attack from the Japanese forces based on the island of Timor. He urged them , to further prepare themselves for i such action. He pointed out that the closest i co-operation exists between the Aus- i tralian government, General Mac Arthur and Admiral Chester Nimitz, commander of the U. S. fleet in the Pacific. CANNED FOOD: New Restrictions America's housewives are finding less and less use for their can open ers. Many canned foodstuffs are elimi nated for civilian consumption for the duration upon a new order of the War Production board. The order was designed to save large quanti ties of tin, steel and rubber for war purposes. The saving in rubber would be made through fewer truck deliveries under the reduced output program. Canned foods henceforth eliminat ed include apples, applesauce, apri cots, numerous types of berries, grapefruit segments, orange juice, dehydrated vegetables, powdered skimmed milk, bacon and other meats, fruit for salad, okra, suc cotash, various fruit juices, white asparagus, chili con came, meat loaf, Vienna sausage, sausage in oil, frozen and storage cream, various fats, syrups and sea foods. CASUALTIES: Total War Well into the second year of World War II, U. S. citizens were ponder ing the official announcements from Washington which reported for the armed forces during the first 12 months of the fighting. There were 58,307 such casualties in that period according to the Office of War In formation. This total includes killed, wounded, missing, interned in neu tral countries and prisoners of the army, navy, marine corps, coast guard, merchant marine and Philip pine Scouts. War department reports showed that army casualties totaled 35,678 and of this number 2,009 (including 480 Philippine Scouts) were killed; 3,332 were wounded; and 29,000 (in cluding 10,500-Philippine Scouts) are missing in the Philippines and the Dutch East Indies and 1,119 are missing elsewhere in action; 112 are prisoners of war, not including those missing in the Philippines; and 106 are interned in neutral countries. Six hundred and nine of the 3,332 wounded have returned to action. As the majority of the army's miss ing were in the Philippines and Dutch East Indies, most of these are presumed to be prisoners of war. Navy department officials said that they had reported or were in the process of reporting to the next of kin 22,629 casualties for the year. Broken down here is the picture: Navy?dead, 4,532; wounded, 1,579; missing, 8,636. Marine corps?dead, 1,129; wounded, 1,413; missing, 1,926. Coast Guard ? dead, 40; wounded, 11; missing, 119. Merchant Marine?dead, 482; wounded, none; missing, 2,762. According to Japanese and Ger- . man figures 3,138 U. S. civilians are interned, said the OWI report. 3-CENT COIN: May Avert Shortages If mint officials have their way new 3-cent coins may jingle in your pockets some day in the not distant future. Officials asked authority to make such coins in case the copper short age becomes so acute that there < won't be enough pennies. The house passed legislation authorizing the new coin and returned it to the sen ate for action. Director of the Mint Nellie Tayloe Ross has asked the nation's school children to undertake a "help win the war" campaign by putting idle coins, especially pennies and 5-cent pieces, to work meeting business de mands, and thus save many tons at vital metals. News of 1942 Tells of Churchbells in England, Gray Hair, 'Steaming Stars,' and a Breath Holder By CLIFF LANGE Released by Western Newspaper Union. During the past year news of the Allies battling the Axis, war production, conscription, wage price-labor control measures, all have shoved many stories to the back pages. Stories that might have been "played up" more if they happened during peacetime. The following is a quick summary of some of those many news-shorts, and human interest stories. ( ' i JANUARY Dr. Howard E. Wilson in an ad dress in New York city said that most Americans are guilty of "geo graphic illiteracy" and that Hitler's successes were made possible be cause of" his knowledge of the geog- ' raphy and economics of the nations he intended taking under his "pro- - tection." Later on two Boston, Mass., ] doctors, Herbert D. Adams and ] Leo V. Hand reported that a j man, operated on for a long ail ment, whose heart had stopped | beating for 20 minutes, was ] brought back to life and in good i condition. They had kept his brain and the rest of the body , supplied with oxygen. I FEBRUARY , I Many of you have seen in the mov- 1 .es, or heard on the radio the per sonality known as the "Voice of Ex- i perience." He was Marion Sayle Taylor. "Was" is the correct verb, for he died February 1 at the age of < 53, from a heart attack, in Holly wood. In a middle of the month meet ing, Dr. John W. Studebaker, U. S. commissioner of education, told a meeting of 1,500 educators in the East that schools must modify their course of studies. Schools should add technical courses, stress health education and Latin America. Down in Puebla, Mexico, the As trophysical congress was told that the Milky Way system is 180 mil lion billion miles from the sun. Sci entists meeting at Columbia univer sity, New York, were told by Prof. Roger Williams, University of Tex as, that an abundant supply of vita mins promotes "intellectual keen ness" and also are "capable of fos tering morality." MARCH Hold your breath on this one: Eugene J. Frechette Jr., H, New Haven, Conn., Junior at Wesleyan university, Middle town, Conn., brought honors to his Alma Mater by establishing a record by holding his breath for 20 minutes, 5 seconds in a These are said to be the (rases of four of the six Nasi saboteurs who landed on Long Island and Florida beaches. Neither friends nor rela tives claimed the bodies. laboratory test. OK, let oat your breath now. What did your wife say when yon told her that one? A New Jersey building contractor, Claude Habberstad, tried out some new wooden tires he had made. He drove 75 milea an hour on a con crete highway and said the tires should last for 12,000 to 15,000 miles if the speed was kept down. APRIL Somehow or other, as the flies are scanned of this year's news, it seems that vitamins received more than usual amount of news-coverage. For instance: The para-amino-benzoic acid of the vitamin B complex known as paba, (easier to say, too) was given to 30 gray-haired prison inmates. It restored the original col or of the hair in more than two thirds of the eases in eight months. The "libido" in almbst all of the cases, varying in age from 29 to 57, was greatly increased. "In a marriage between Ger man and Jew the German would get by tar the better of the bar BSM CASOUNE RATION CARD X ar St. ~~ ? I FOR ESSENTIAL UW II you haven't cut one of these sards, yon aren't driving your car? it least legally. rain." That Is what Dr. Ashley Montague, Philadel|ihla, had to say before a meeting of anthro pologists at Harvard. Another blast at the Nasi racial theory "myth." MAT Here are a few of the Pulitzer Prize winners, as announced by Co lumbia university: Meritorious pub lic service by a newspaper prize went to the Los Angeles Times; best national reporting award went to Louis Stark of the New York Times; local reporting prize to Stanton Del aplane of the San Francisco Chroni cle; Ellen Glasgow's novel, "In This Our Life" also took first award. On the 25th anniversary of his consecration as bishop, Pope Pius broadcast to the world, appealing for peace. He said, in part: "The family is sacred; it is the cradle not only of children but also of the nation, of its force and its glory. Do not let the family be alienated or diverted from its high purpose assigned to it by God." JUNE According to the U. S. census bu reau, more than 35 million persons 25 years old, or older, completed at least eight years of grade or ele mentary school. More than 18 mil lion in the same classification had finished high school. And another thing, said Dr. McLaughlin of the University of Michigan, "exploding" stars don't actually explode. They Just merely "let off a little steam." At the end of this month the na tion faced a shortage of 50,000 teach ers, especially in mathematics and physics. The draft, higher wages in industry were the cause of many schools deciding to close in 1043. JULY Russian composer Shostakovich's Seventh symphony which he dedi cated "to our struggle against Fas cism, to our future victory, to my native city, Leningrad" was heard for the first time in the U. S. when played By tne wbu sympnony or chestra conducted by Arturo Tosca nini in New Yorjf city. Dr. Grinnel Jones, and co-work er Dr. Juda, both of Harvard, an nounced the perfection of a new flre sisting chemical Which can be sprayed or painted on wood to make it practically fire-proof. OK for plastic planes? AUGUST This sounds as though it is not meant to be, but it is all in earnest. A witness, known only as Mr. Mur ray, testified before a senate mili tary sub-committee on making con crete cargo-carrying submarines to save steel. In case you have doubts, remember that Sen. Josh Lee said he is convinced of the plan's feasi bility. Yale university announced the award of It scholarships to ta bor union loaders. They'll start to school next February and un dertake a research project w the development at trade unions. There was no statement as to whether the "continuous mem bership" and "check off" clauses were in the awards. SEPTEMBER Along comes this month and you are told, according to London AP reports, an unpublished Sherlock Holmes story, "The Man Who Was Wanted," was found by Adrian Co nan Doyle, son of the writer. He said his father didn't want it pub lished because it just wasn't up to "scratch." You old-timers remember the Po lice Gazette, don't you? It has been barred from the mails by the post office department. Lascivious, lewd material was the reason given. OCTOBER The Sister Elizabeth Kenny meth od of treating infantile paralysis by hot applications, massage and ex ercise, which has caused so much furore in the medical world, is to be taught in six New York hospitals. Sister Elizabeth Kenny, an Austra lian, is director of a University of Minnesota clinic. NOVEMBER As for Stalin, over in war-torn Russia, things might have seemed a little brighter when he was told that Sergei, acting Patriarch, has conferred the official blessing of the Russian Orthodox Church on him. Sergei is a native of Polish terri tory taken over by the Russians. Joeef Stalin was called "the divine ly anointed leader of our armed and cultural forces." Celebrating the British victory in Egypt, church bells in England rang between 9 a. m. and noon on Sun day, November 15. Some of them rang for the first time since Dun kerque in June, 1940, when it was decreed that they should be rung only as an invasion warning. DECEMBER Charles Van Hefty, a Chicago war plant engineer, served as aa example to hundreds el ether motorists in that city, and cities all ever the nation. He had hoarded 95 gallons at gasoline Jnst before the recent gas ra tioning went into effect. Neigh bors kicked. Police Investigat ed. Firemen supervised his pouring the gas down the sewer while they shot streams el wa ter alter It. Hefty was out 19 bucks. Amazing Ways to Do Amazing Things Shown in Record of 1942 Accidents In the to pay turvy year of 1042 one bit of Americana re mained unchanged. Unusual accidents kept on happening as ? 1 A usual. -w A roundup by the National Safety Council. Chicago, Dl., of dizzy mis haps for the year reveals that war or no war, a lot of people found time to do amazing things in amazing ways. For instance: Saleslady Bessie 8 wan* of' Bridgeton, N. J., tried valiantly to Bt a small girdle ea a plump customer. She tagged so hard the was taken to the hospital with a severe back injury. The easterner took the girdle. Eugene B. Grabbe of Denver has never been a circus trapeze per former, but he could be. Washing windows on the seventh floor of the U. S. National Bank building, he started to fall as the buckle on his safety belt gave way. Grabbe hurled himself backward with such foros that he floated through the air with the greatest of ease, cleared a IB foot space and landed on his feet atop an adjacent four-story building. He broke both legs, but considered him self lucky. Joe Konecny of Great Bend, Kan., had stored his car in a garage al Little Rock, Ark., to make an auto trip with a friend. As he and hit friend were driving along neat Mountain Home, Ark., their car col lided head-on with another machine. Both cars were wrecked. When Ko necny crawled from the wreckage and looked at the other car, he taw that it was his own. It had been stolen from the Little Rock garage. Joe got legal "revenge." WHO'S NEWS This Week B, LCMCI F. PirtM Cluster About Peak With a Faith That Saoes Mountains CouolfcUUd fcatura.?WKU Raleu*. XT EW YORK.?Critics <rf Maxwell *? ' Anderson, the playwright, have i sometimes suggested that he has his head in the clouds. That might ac count tor his persist e n c ? in string High Tor, I si TS.U uie ni^uesi cxiiAii?3Ui.c ui uic rau sades? making the world safe for cloud-fanciers and rainbow fans. However, he doesn't make the mis take of Ibsen's brand, which led his people up so high the; froze to death. High Tor is to Mr. Anderson the symbol of resistance against totali tarian quarry companies which would grind the cosmos through their rock-crushers, and also the symbol of certain ideas with which he garlanded it in his play, "High Tor," of 1937. It has high visibility and has rallied behind Mr. Ander son citizens far up and down the Hudson, and we know that remotely heard thunder is not Rip Tan Win kle's elfin bowling team. As head ef the committee to save High Tor, Mr. Aadersen to eagaged in an efwt to pesve himself a poor peephet. In Ms play, he prophesied that .the man who owned it altimstely would sell it to the qaarry com pany, to bo hacked doom. Old Elmer Ordea. the owner, died last April and High Tor was thrown oa the market. Mr. An derson's neighboring poets, art ists and playwrights are maim ing oat of their remote kideeets to save the moeatain. Among them are Amy Murray, much beloved poet, who two years ago published a book of verse, poignantly beautiful, much of it about the mountain, and worthy of more attention than it received, and Henry Poor, the artist. Mr. Poor's painting of the mountain hangs in the Metropolitan museum. He and Miss Murray head the fund-raising subcommittee to buy the mountain ' and turn it over to the Palisades Interstate Park commission as a permanent bird and game sanctu ary and a high hurdle for hikers? for Pegasus, too, it would seem as many a chaplet of verse has been hung on the mountain. Somewhat farther dewa toward tea level, Mr. Aadersan is pre motiac a prizefight tar the Fight- t lac French Relief committee. Be , seems always to he ishlf him self "What price clary?" M now he is Catherine to slathers ef money from Us Ut ptoy, "Etc af St Mark." rinctoc np S3M.SS* for the marie richto alone, and such story always drives him to anfereseen en deavors. When he hits a Jack pot he Is apt to lommon reto tives and friends and say: "Have a farm or an ednestton on me." Mr. Anderson and his fellow craftsmen at the arts have led the old-timers up oar way to conclude that poets and artists are all right if they behave themselves. The lat ter meet them halfway. There has been a new community solidarity in Rockland county, New York, which has stirred it to more than its population share of *ar-wmmn| ac tivities. Mr. Anderson has mads Hich Tor a symbol of a common endeavor. ? \W ITH college boys being pulled ' * out of school, business men are sent back in. It is Dean Donald K Shakespeare's 7 ???,? Ages Fall Into a veraity busi N,w Sequence ^ Harvard to ISO business executives, between the ages of 3S and 40, tor a tuition-tree course to retrain busi ness executives for war work. Ha says the aim is to aid in the "pro duction of goods necessary to wto the war." In 1921, Harvard university set up a consulting stall in Europe, which included Sir William Beve ridge ad i | London, for guidance of business u , the reconstruction years. Sir Wil liam has been working in this field ever since, and is just now out with t ten-pound report and recommends ? tion which is mainly a conclusion > that there won't be any buamean after this war?all will be social ixed. Nothing like that far Harvard university this time. Dean David, who was named head of the business school last May, has staked out his eurrieutom en [ the old ground rales and the [ tradition that the pursuit af an . hsnost dollar stiD will ha a stbn
The Alamance Gleaner (Graham, N.C.)
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Dec. 24, 1942, edition 1
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