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The Alamance Gleaner , M VoL LXIX GRAHAM, N. C., THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 1943 No. 6 WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS Meat Ceilings to Check Black Market; Bismarck Sea Triumph Forecasts U. S. Drive to Sweep Japs From New Guinea; Small Firms Get Billions for War Work (Borrows NOTE: When utaliu are anrMMi in thM? ttlanus, they arc those ?( Wasters Newspaper U aloe's saws analysis an* act necessarily of this newspaper.) i Released by Western Newspaper Union. ,, Even the most advanced air base in Tunisia gets its mail, as pic tared above. This photo of the mailman arriving and being welcomed at an advanced U. S. air base of Gen. Dwigbt Eisenhower's army, should be an incentive to those on the home front to write and keep writing to loved ones no matter how far away on Uncle Sam's service they may be. BLACK MARKET: Action on Meat Action rather than words was the keystone of a program sponsored by flie OPA and the department of ag riculture to smash the black mar kets in meat. First barrage laid down in this arfensive was Price Administrator Prentiss M. Brown's order imposing specific retail price ceilings on meat, beginning with pork products. Sec ond attack came in the announce ment by Secretary of Agriculture Wickard of orders licensing livestock slaughterers as well as those who boy and sell livestock for slaughter. Effective April 1, the meat ceilings were expected to check black mar kets and end an "unjust squeeze" en packers. Mr. Brown said they would also lay the groundwork for the start of meat rationing about April 15. Pork ceilings were to be followed by uniform regulations on beef and lamb. When red meat rationing is un dertaken, the order will include ba con, butter, cheese, lard and other cooking fats. With prices uniform throughout a community on all cuts of meat. Brown said, it would be difficult for dealers to get rid of illicit meat at higher prices. RUSSIANS: Repeat Old History Back over the snowy Russian steppes where Napoleon's army per long ago reeled the retreating German legions. While the collapse of Nazi resist ance at Rzhev had been of high im mediate strategic importance to the Red command it was prophetic of further Nazi reverses, for with the whole German salient west of Mos cow unhinged, the fate of Orel and Vyazma to the east virtually sealed. The rapidity of the Russian ad vance was indicated by the capture soon afterward of Olenino 35 miles west of Rzhev giving control of the railway running from Moscow to Ve Hkie Luki. While German spokesmen de scribed the Rzhev defeat as a stra tegic withdrawal to shorten Nazi lines. Allied military observers saw in it a threat to all Axis defenses from Smolensk to the Baltic sea. In the South the Russians had moved forward more slowly, imped ed by the first thaws of oncoming spring. But Red forces were re ported driving forward from recap tared Lgov, important railroad cen ter west of Kursk. WAR COST: Exceeds 43 Billion More than $43,830,452,651 was spent tor war purposes in the first eight months of the current fiscal year, it was disclosed by the treae wy department. The war department spent the most for war?$27,303,343,664. The ?svy spent $11,502,653,956, the mari time commission $1,685,143,236 and Ac war shipping administration $733,211,740. Expenditures by the government for all purposes during the eight month period totaled $47,600,944,727, while net revenue totaled $0,512,808, 407. The government's deficit for flie eight months was $38,064,682,608. SMALL BUSINESS: Good Netvs Ahead Good news for small business con cerns was forthcoming from Charles E. Wilson, executive vice chairman of the War Production board when he announced that war contracts placed with smaller companies "will run into billions of dollars by the end of the year." Wilson said that more than $30, 000,000 of work a week is being placed now with small business firms through the efforts of the Smaller War Plants corporation. The WPB's program for small business, Wilson said, includes: 1? An increase in the number of prime contracts placed with small plants; 2?Widening of WPB's lending poli cy to make loans to small business easier; 3 ? Certification of more small plants to handle war con tracts. BISMARCK SEA: Disaster for Japs Three facts of major significance to the future of the war in the Pa cific emerged from the stunning vic tory of General MacArthur's bomb ers over the 22-ship Jap armada in the Bismarck sea, approaching New Guinea. Fact No. 1 was that in sinking the 22 enemy ships and bagging 82 Jap planes, MacArthur's airmen proved that a force of land-based bombers manned by skilled pilots is more than a match for a sea borne invasion force. Fact No. 2 was that the victory removed the danger of invasion to the Australian mainland for the time being at least Fact No. 3 was that the enemy garrisons at Lae and Sala maua, New Guinea, would not now be reinforced, for it was estimated that 15,000 Jap troops perished when Yankee bombs sank their transports. Military observers believed that one of the immediate results of the Jap disaster would be an increase in pressure by General MacAr thur's armies besieging Lae and Sal amaua with the object of driving the Japs entirely from New Guinea. The clean-sweep character of the American triumph was summarized in General MacArthur's terse com munique: "We have achieved a vic tory of such completeness as to as sume the proportions of a major dis aster to the enemy." NAVY: Predict 10% Losses A navy "big enough to dominate all seas over the world" was envi sioned by Secretary Frank Knox, who added a warning that the Amer ican people must be prepared to ex pect a 10 per cent casualty rate in navy personnel before the war's end. Secretary Knox and ranking naval officials unfolded a program for building up personnel strength to 2,250,000 by July, 1944, in testimony before the house subcommittee on naval appropriations. Appropria tions totaling $3,818,000,000 to imple ment this program were approved by the subcommittee. The navy had 3.205 ships in com mission on January 1, 1943, accord ing to Rear Admiral Randall Ja cobs, chief of the bureau of person nel. This number will be increased to approximately 4,100 by the end of the year, he added. NORTH AFRICA: Rommel in Reverse As Allied troops continued their drive in Tunisia, it became increas ingly clear that Marshal Rommel's short-lived Kasserine Pass offensive had been a gamble. If he succeed ed, he would follow it up. It he failed, he would waste no time in re tiring. This was emphasized by the rapidity with which American and British forces had regained the ground lost in Rommel's first push. Reports disclosed that some units of the British Eighth army had made contact with American troops in the Gafsa area of central Tunisia after circling the Mareth line from the south and advancing through the Chott Djerid marshes which had hitherto been regarded as impassa ble. American forces pressing Rom mel's retreat from the Kasserine pass were reported well beyond Sbeitla on the way to the Faid Pass, the key to German north-south com munications. In the northern mountains west of Axis-held Bizerte heavy Nazi at tacks had bent the British lines back. The Allied air arm remained dominant over North Africa, how ever, and in the Mediterranean, sharp enemy losses to British sub marines were reported. Seven Axis ships were sunk and nine others damaged. ABSENTEEISM: Wage Docking Urged "Hit them in the pocketbook. If you dock their wages you are hit ting them where it hurts." This was the prescription for cur ing the problem of persistent absen teeism by war plant workers pro posed by Secretary of Navy Frank Knox. Testifying before the house naval affairs committee, Knox ad vocated remedial legislations cover ing both draft-age and non-draft-age workers. A large share of the absenteeism is caused by men safe from the draft, he told the committee which was studying measures to require periodic reports to local draft boards on absentees of military age. Best results in curing absenteeism would be to deprive such workers of earn ings for part of the time they were actually at work, he added. UKAf1 : Fathers Go Soon Draft boards will begin inducting fathers into the armed forces in many areas of the United States about May 1, informed officials in Washington indicated. These offi cials added that they expected draft ing of married men with children to be general throughout the coun try by early summer. Acknowledging that some married men with children have already been inducted, selective service officials declared that most of these had ac quired their dependents after De cember S, 1941. Other fathers, it was said, may not be inducted with out authorization from selective service headquarters. It was pre dicted, however, that such authori zation would be forthcoming this spring. PIPELINES: Relief for East Blunt-spoken Harold L. Ickes, pe troleum administrator, served notice that he had decided to build a 20 inch pipeline from Texas to the Mid dle West, despite the objection of PETROLEUM BOSS ICSES Midwest senators who had urged that any new pipeline construction should be instead, from the Middle West to the East Coast shortage area. This will be in addition to the recently completed 24-inch line. Mr. Ickes assured the Middle West senators in testimony ?efore a com mittee in Washington that he also hopes to complete a 20-inch pipeline from the Midwest to the East coast this year. Meanwhile, be insisted, building the western end of the second pipe line first would speed the Job and increase deliveries to the East coast of from 3,000.000 to 5,000,000 barrels during the most critical period at the shortage. This would provide the most effective method. Soldiers Trained as Weather Observers To Assist Army in Mapping Plans; $ Information Important to Bombers The strategic and tactical im portance of weather predictions, both short and long range, in waging the present war cannot be overestimated. This is par ticularly true in regions of the world where rapidly changing weather situations are charac teristic throughout the year. Over the Atlantic ocean and in Europe changing weather is prevalent in latitudes from the foot of Italy northward. In east ern Asia, significant and fre quent weather changes occur throughout the year in latitudes from Burma northward; while over the North Pacific ocean, this is true from a line running from Tokyo and Los Angeles northward. Both Berlin and Tokyo lie within the areas where the weather element is of im portance the year around. There fore, any successful strategy aiming a blow at the heart of our enemies must include the weather factor. To this end, courses have been es tablished to train personnel tor weather work in all parts of the world. Among these courses are those designed to train enlisted men as weather observers; enlisted men as forecasters to assist the weather officers; a weather reconnaissance squadron training course; and an aviation meteorological cadet course. In using the weather factor to de termine the effectiveness of the air ground team or the co-ordination of land, sea and air forces, the army air forces have evolved a few simple rules which have, in part, been veri fied from a study of the strategy and tactics employed by the enemy. I Clear Dry Weather Permits Attack by Air-Ground Team 1. In clear dry weather, the air ground team can launch an attack most effectively. Under these condi tions the attackers must have air i superiority. These conditions per mit the use of all types of air sup port, minimize the problems of ob servation and recognition of friendly and enemy aircraft and troops, and insure the maximum mobility of ground forces. 2. Dry weather with low clouds and good visibility permits limited air-ground operations. The types of attack by supporting aircraft are restricted. Thii kind of weather is fairly favorable to the operation of aircraft carriers even in areas con trolled by land-based aircraft since the field of vision of the patrolling aircraft is greatly restricted. 3. Dry weather with extremely low clouds and conditions producing rather poor visibility can be used ef fectively for the consolidation of scattered ground units or the move ment of ground forces into a posi tion for attack. These conditions, even with rain, are favorable for the movement of an aircraft carrier into a position for attack when the weath er improves. In both cases, the at tacking forces are relatively free from observation or attack. This war has shown that a de tailed knowledge of existing weather conditions over the theater of opera tions, over enemy territory, and fre quently over the friendly zone of , the interior may be of great value to officers directing or planning cam , paigns or movements of personnel, motor vehicles, aircraft, or supplies. Usually the future weather is of more value than present weather, in planning, but for certain types of op erations the current weather infor mation may be valuable. Informa tion, such as this, is needed to cor rect for weather effects on range and deflection of projectiles, drift of airplanes, and on the speed and di rection of sound travel. It is of use in handling captive balloons and in landing and take-off of airplanes. Reports Advise Army of Sudden Changes in Weather The primary purpose erf the army air force* weather service is to pro vide reasonable accurate forecasts of future weather. A knowledge of present weather conditions is, for moat types of operations of little value if sodden marked changes are pending and forecasts of the changes are not available. AH branches at the army need weather forecasts. An army that conducts operations without keeping its staff advised of prospective weather changes is imposing ? se The two men ere about to release a radio-meteorograph. This little In strument when carried aloft by the balloon will transmit radio readings of pressure, temperature, and hu midity to a station below. There is also a parachute attached to brine the instrument back. ' ' ' ? . / Hie weather forecaster mast al ways keep ia mind a chronological history of the weather passing his station. This soldier is looking oyer the weather aiape to obtain a pie tare of what has taken place la the previous U hears. ^???? Here (be mea are ebtainiac tem perature aad hnmidity rtUbp. The man ea (be left b whJrOaf a alter paychrometer ia arte to determiae the relative humidity aad dew poiet. nous handicap on itself. The per sonnel, equipment, and supplies of a field army are usually not well pro tected against inclement weather. A squall, a thunderstorm, a heavy rain, or a strong wind seldom passes over a temporary army camp or bivouac without doing damage. Freezing weather, coming on sud denly, generally causes damage to equipment and supplies and discom fort to personnel. The Influence of weather may fre quently be present in military ma neuvers seeking to gain surprise in their execution. In air operations, restricted visibility and adverse westher conditions serve to provide cover for attacking aircraft during the aproach to the target, and aid suprise assaults. An effective cloud layer at an altitude suited to the type of attack which is planned pro vides an ideal cover for approach ing aircraft Weather affects the planning and execution of all aircraft missions. Lack of weather information may cause frequent failures of missions and many leases of planes and per sonnel. In general, every time a flight mission is conducted the flight commander should have an accurate knowledge of weather conditions to be expected during the flight, other wise both personnel and equipment may be subjected to unnecessary hazard. All army air forces weather tore casting stations furnish medium and short range forecasts. Short range forecasts are the most accurate type of forecasts made. Therefore, they should be given to every flight com mander just prior to his take-off. These forecasts should give the weather conditions to be encoun tered, including state of the weather, that is, whether the sky is overcast or clear or with broken or scattered clouds; the type and intensity of pre cipitation; the height of the ceiling; the visibility; the wind speed and direction, both at the surface and aloft; any hazards to flight, such as fog, icing areas, fronts, etc.; and any special phenomena, such as torna does. Medium range forecasts are ' used for planning flight operations. Also short and medium range fore casts are necessary in the case of a very long flight requiring 8 to 10 , hours or more for completion. For long flights, if the weather is at all uncertain or changeable, the flight commander should endeavor to ob tain, if possible, one or more addi tional short range forecasts by ra dio, especially for the period of land ing and for the terminal of the flight. Pilots must know the ceiling, amount of cloudiness, and types of clouds to be encountered on a flight for the entire route in order to plan and execute the flight properly. If a cloud ceiling exists, the pilot must either fly underneath it, fly on instru ments in the clouds, or climb through and fly on top of the clouds. Fly ing at low altitude is usually haz ardous and particularly so at night or in hilly or mouiftainous country with low visibility. Low ceiling or instrument weather at the point of takeoff should ordinarily be no hin drance to individual planes, provid ed the weather at the final destina tion is suitable for safe descent. However, instrument weather offers a very definite handicap to a for- , mation of planes. The types of clouds also should be considered if instrument flight is to be made, as they will indicate the smoothness or roughness of the air. Instrument flight in clouds where thunderstorms or icing may be encountered' in- ! volves a hazard to the aircraft that must be balanced against the mili tary importance of continuing the mission. Thus, the pilot is much concerned with the ceiling and clouds to be found on every flight. ai ens _ a*. . ? _ at . . J a wear weamer is neeaea For Reconnaissance Aviation The primary mission of observa tion and reconnaissance aviation be ing to observe and report, their operations are facilitated by high ceilings and excellent visibility over the area where they operate. Recon naissance aviation must operate great distances over enemy terri tory where weather conditions may or may not be known. Whether or not this weather is known will de pend in a large measure upon the reconnaissance aviation itself since one of its missions will be to make weather reports from points over enemy territory. Bombardment avi ation will also make a certain num ber of weather reports, and if these are sufficient in number and cover enough territory, it may be possible to make fairly accurate forecasts of weather for the following day. The capabilities of reconnaissance aviation in the executions of its tasks, are definitely limited by weather, particularly in the matter of visibili ty and wind. Their effect must, therefore, always be considered in planning missions to determine radi us of operation and number of air craft required. Bombardment aviation has proba bly the greatest need for weather in formation. Bombardment units may, and frequently will, be called upon to pet form their own reconnais- , sance. tike reconnaissance units, they may operate over great dis tances and return to their home airdromes with gas tanks nearly empty. A forecast before take-off of weather to be encountered upon return is essential. Bombardment aircraft may pass through much bad weather en route to and from their objective, but to avoid wasted ef fort it is very important that the weather be suitable at the objective for bombing, and that this be known before take-off. Objectives should be chosen, when possible, baaed on the weather forecast; that is, objectives should be chosen for which weather will bt most fuhtbli. Who's News This Week Delos Wheeler Lordaes CeneebdateS tatuna?WXU ?atom. NEW YORK.?The bluest tenth of the 1943 Red Cross War Fund is being raised by Chester X. Colby who knows as well as Morgenthau . how to males Irs in tn? Cordt the money That ColbyUTop roll In. Rod Cross Quota ^ for $123,000,000 is now on in full swing and the Colby assignment is to find just a nip under $13,000,000 in New York city for Americans an all the fighting fronts. Thirteen makes a let if mil lions, and more when they boy blood plasma, not to const lesser , benefits, bit Mr. Colby roes aft er them without blinking. Over 28-odd years in an aseeadinr i spiral that finally reached the chairmanship of the board of General Foods corporation, he has learned to deal easily with They may fill his day, hot come evening they have small chancw against Lincobnana or, for lighter hours, a crossword puzzle. Just the same he will probably work flay and night for die Red Cross since the money is all for the army and navy, and tradition joins the Colby family with both services. Mr. Colby, fit new and hand somely gray, was a major in that littler World war although oddly, ha was horn at tha Naval Academy and was yractieaBy raised en sea water. IBs father was Bear Admiral ChaMsr M. Cathy and bis son. third to bear tha name, to in the Naval Air sarviec. Fresh out of the army, Mr. Colby was mulling over three p? uttered jobs when a fortune teller said that she saw him at the head of a big food concern. He joined the aid Postum Cereal company shortly, and deftly pyramided that into Gen eral Foods. ? COME day the world may wuiiy J over geologic-politics as it wor ries now over the geo-politics of Maj. Gen. Prof. Doktor Karl Hausboffer whose rare Geologic Politics bit of Heart To Control World lands, Crooe Peaco?Prof. Loith W,U* ' Offshore Islands gave Hitler dreams, and all the rest of us nightmares. If this happens, another professor, bony C. K. Leith. may gat chief praise, or blame. He comes up mw to take the Penrose Medal for "emi nent research in purs geolofcr," but ha has been broadcasting the polit ical virtue of his subject for a quar ter of a century. As (u back as ISIS at Paris be was still to the Asaerieas Commisstoa to Negettato Peace, aat every vsrt he let to! asset have packed political dysaasite. Next be said, aad probably wishes he hafe't, that lack at sre tor steel pt rsssessUj re moved lapaa as a was Id war menace. Later he asiasd, arete wisely, that world pease was sadly sndsagarad by pribtbl i tioas against the tree sawak tor asteerals. These days, a? advi ser to the s 1stWataaIlia hi Washington, he laalsts that by the dtaiscracies eaa eta tret the peace. The professor is 17 years old. His Ace in repose is severe, but his full tips meet lightly as lips do that smile easily. Born in Wisconsin, ha was graduated from the state uni versity and has taught there tor 4$ years. His wife and S sons con> plete his family. I F THE United States should, after * peace, nip Britain in a race for sea power. Sir Archibald Hurd'a quarter-century and more at worry Wants Britannia 52* Ti?dl" fs About to Pass His warn HorTridoottoU. &*.??? nla is about to pass her thousand year-old trident across the Atlantic" is only the last of a long aeries ad warnings. As he sees it surely, the United States will be stronger all around, in men-of-war, in ships, to airplanes. Sir Archibald to 73 years eld _ U yen age, bnt cvaa bctore j? qsiot when W wished to speak, f . nsagsef sebleeU as wide as the |
The Alamance Gleaner (Graham, N.C.)
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March 18, 1943, edition 1
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