The Alamance Gleaner 1
_ *
VoL LXIX GRAHAM, N. C., THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 1943 Na 18
5
WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS
Nazi Forces Offer Stiff Resistance
As Allies Continue Advances in Italy;
Russ March Across Northern Ukraine;
WFA Announces Control of Milk Sales
(EDITOR'S NOTE: When opinions are expressed In these columns, they are those of
Western Newspaper Union's news analysts and not necessarily of this newspaper.)
____________ Released by Western Newspaper Union.
News of Italy's unconditional surrender was greeted with open jubila
tion in the garment manufacturing district of New York, with celebrants
ankle deep in improvised confetti, etc., as shown above.
? r
ITALY:
Battlefield, After All
Italy's unconditional surrender to
the Allies did not spare that country
from becoming a bloody battlefield
in the war.
Trapped all along the Italian boot
when the Badoglio government gave
up the fight, German forces put up
stiff resistance as Allied armies
swarmed ashore to occupy the main
land. Bitter fighting occurred near
Naples and in Rome, where Ger
mans were reported to have seized
control to establish their own puppet
regime, in the name of Benito Mus
solini.
Meanwhile, Italian service men,
told to resist German attempts to
prevent them from giving up, ap
peared divided in their loyalty to
the Badoglio government. While Ital
ian soldiers were reported aiding
the Allies in the south, the Ger
mans claimed many others were
standing by the Axis in the north,
where the Nazis planned a last ditch
fight along the mountain range of
the.Po valley. >
Escorted by the British navy,
three Italian ? battleships and an as
sortment of cruisers and destroyers
reportedly were steaming for Allied
. ports in North Africa, there to join
in the fight against Germany.
Economic Problem
Though Italy's capitulation was of
unquestioned military value to the
ill!.. 11
nines, its uccupa
tion posed diffi
cult economic
problems. To Cal
vin Baldwin of the
office at foreign
economic co-ordi
nation will go the
task of straight
ening the situa
tion.
Urst, Italy is
deficient in coal,
iron and petrole
Calvin Baldwin
um, though it has quantities 01 mer
cury, bauxite and sulphur. Second
ly, the country's food production is
unbalanced, insufficiencies in grains,
meats, fish, oils and eggs offsetting
surpluses in fresh, citrus and dried
fruits, nuts, vegetables, cheese and
rice.
Thus, if use is to be made of in
dustrial facilities, raw materials
would have to be brought in; if ad
vantage is to be taken of her peculiar
agricultural production, some provi
sion of imports of other foods will
have to be made. ,
RUSSIA:
Regain Resources
Proceeding to shorten their lines
In Russia, made more necessary by
the collapse of Italy, the Nazis fell
back on the Dnieper river, surren
dering the vital Donetz industrial
basin as they retreated.
Farther to the north, the Ger
mans' withdrawal put Russia in re
possession of much of the fertile
farmland of the Ukraine, famed for
its wheat and cotton.
Although the Reds regained ac
cess to coal and iron and foodstuffs,
the Germans' destruction of the Do
netz's factories and their requisition
of tile Ukrainian harvests deprived
the Russians of immediate use of
these resources.
In Moocow, a 234-gun salute
marked the Russian successes.
CIVILIAN SUPPLIES:
Assure Stocks
Civilians were assured of supplies
of such items as lamps and lan
terns burning liquid fuel, bed
springs, radiators, furnaces and boil
ers under a directive issued to
manufacturers by the War Produc
tion board.
Under the order, manufacturers
will set aside a certain percentage
of their stock for civilian use. Any
attempts of the army, navy, mari
time commission or other govern
ment agencies to dip into these re
serve stocks will be referred to the
WPB, which will then determine
whether the orders are to be hon
ored.
WPB's regulation under which it
will review requests of government
agencies to get goods from civilian
stocks, was a modification of a pre
vious order, under which the agen
cies could only obtain such supplies
with a Triple-A priority rating, re
served for strategic needs of the
highest urgency.
SOUTHWEST PACIFIC:
Doom Jap Bases
Allied troops surrounding the Jap
anese New Guinea bases of Lae and
Salamaua faced desperate last ditch
opposition as 20,000 enemy troops,
cut off from all supply from the
north, were confronted with surren
der or death.
American bombers pounded both
bases, and at Lae, paratroopers who
landed in the Markham valley to the
west, beat forward through jungle
brush to the outskirts of the town,
while Australian ground forces, put
ashore along the gulf to the east,
closed in from that direction.
At Lae, the Japs' main defenses
were built in two former plantations
on either side of the town. Ter
races and groves were fashioned
into formidable bunkers, and it was
against these that the Allies forces
surged.
Farther to the south, the doughty
Japanese garrison of Salamaua was
pounded from the sea, as well as
the air. Cruising close to shore, Al
lied naval vessels trained their big
guns on the waterfront, smashing in
stallations. Resisting to the last, a
handful of enemy fighters rose up to
challenge the bombardment, but two
were shot down and a third dam
aged.
MILK QUOTAS:
At Current Levels
In order to maintain production of
butter, cheese and evaporated and
dried milk products, the War Food
administration announced sales of
fluid milk will be controlled through
the establishment of dealers' quotas.
Quotas will be based on dealers'
current deliveries, permitting civil
ians to purchase more milk than
they consumed in 1942, but less than
they might if supplies were avail
able. Sales to hospitals, pregnant
and nursing mothers and children
will take precedence over other de
liveries, it was said, and sales to
homes also will receive special con
sideration.
In heavily populated urban areas
where the milk situation is particu
larly acute, the program will first
be established. Administration ex
penses will be paid by an assess
ment on milk handlers.
CHINA:
U. S. Air Force Grows
The Japanese have sent a new
Zero into Chinese skies, one with
? ?:i:?
? lllgllCI celling
and better diving '
characteristics,
but gradual re
inforcement of
the 14th U. S. Air
Force is making
it more and more
of a threat to the
enemy's defen
sive and econom
ic outpost on the
Chinese main
land.
Shipment of
T r? DO- a.
Gen. Clair*
Cbennault
11 1 liL A * B
^guuung r-ooa 1.0 inc itvn nnr
gives Maj. Gen. Claire Chennault a
speedy fighter to use in combination
with bombers at his command.
Although the 14th AAF has been
used in support of Chinese land ar
mies and for pounding Jap commu
nications, storehouses and industrial
installations set up in occupied sec-1?
tions of the country, it looms of
greater strategical importance as a
threat to the Japanese homeland
if northern bases are gotten.
AGRICULTURE:
Less Cotton
Continued hot, dry weather caus
ing considerable deterioration in the
western portion of the cotton belt,
was a contributing factor in the de
partment of agriculture's forecast as
of September 1 of a 1943 cotton crop
of 11,670,000 bales, 7 per cent below
the August 1 estimate.
Lint yield per harvested "acre was
indicated at 25.7 pounds above the
10-year average, but below the rec
ord 1942 figure.
Regions hit hardest according to
the department of agriculture, in
clude Texas, where production esti
mates as of September 1 were 375,
000 bales below a month ago; Ar
kansas, down 200,000 bales; Okla
homa, down 125,000 bales; Mississip
pi, down 120,000, and Tennessee,
down 45,000 bales.
Wheat in Loan
Because farmers are able to ob
tain more for their wheat on the
market than the $1.28 a bushel ad
vanced on loans by the Commodity
Credit corporation, pledges on the
1943 crop approximate half of the
total prevailing at this time last
year. Then, 94,418.000 bushels were
being held by the U. S.
On the 44,355,725 bushels in loan,
$56,964,137 was paid out,' the CCC
stated. Warehouses held 39,370,000
bushels, and 4,985,459 bushels were
stored on farms. Officials estimated
that the entire 1943 loan stock would
not exceed 200,000,000 bushels.
As of September 8, the govern
ment held about 127,000,000 bushels
of wheat, and was disposing of 1V4
million bushels daily for feed in def
icit areas.
RUBBER:
Synthetic Hopes High
It all of the necessary materials
going into the manufacture of syn
thetic rubber can be supplied in 1944,
production should approximate 850,
000 tons, Bradley Dewey, newly
named rubber director, declared.
Even as Dewey spoke, the War
Production board ordered 12 major
textile mills to devote their facilities
exclusively to the fabrication of cot
ton and rayon tire cords. Previous
ly, the mills had been making cot
ton duck for the army.
Production of synthetic rubber in
September will exceed 30,000 tons,
Dewey said, and tires made from the
material are equal to all but the top
grade from natural rubber. Next
year, a minimum of 30 million tires
will have to be made and distributed
for essential civilian driving, Dewey
added.
CONGRESS BACK:
Studies Draft, Taxes
The question of deferring fathers
and of raising an additional 12 bil
lion dollars in taxes confronted con- ,
gress when it resumed sessions.
Consideration of a proposal by
Sen. Burton Wheeler to postpone in
HnpRAn of rfada
until January 1
loomed in the sen
ate, while Rep.
Andrew J. May
declared he would
offer a bill to not
only prohibit
drafting of fa
thers ? but also
setting a limit on
the size of the
army.
Presid e n t
Rep. Andrew
Mit
Roosevelt's re
quest (or 12 billion dollars of new
taxes to raise total receipts to 90
billions a year is expected to arouse
bitter debate in congress over meth
ods (or obtaining the money. A
sales tax, preferably on manufac
turers, a spending tax over certain
exemptions, and increased income
and corporation taxes have bees
suggested as revenue sources.
To Get Bigger, Better Crops, Farmers Should
Toss Their Plows on Junkpile, Says Expert
<
By ELMO SCOTT WATSON
R?l*aaad by Vaatorn Ntwipapar Unloa.
THOMAS GRAY, the famous
English poet, has made im
mortal the plowman who' 'home
ward plods his weary way" and
for two centuries the plowman
and his plow have been the
theme of song and story, build
ing up the idea that they are the
benefactors of mankind. In
fact, "Venerate the plow" was
the motto engraved upon the
medals offered by the Agricul
tural Society of Philadelphia
early in the Nineteenth century
to stimulate agricultural experi
mentation, and more than a doz
en of our states have the plow as
one of the symbols in their great
seals.
In the face of this tradition it
may come as a shock to most
Americans to be told that in
stead of venerating the plow,
we should look upon it as an en
emy of agriculture and the tool
that is responsible for "all of
the erosion, the sour soils, the
mounting floods, the lowering
water table, the vanishing wild
life, the compact and impervi
ous soil surface" which have be
devilled the American farmer
in recent years. Yet that is ex
actly what an agricultural ex
pert tells us in a new book.
He is Edward H. Faulkner and
his revolutionary idea is developed
in the book "Plowman's Folly" pub
lished recently by the University of
Oklahoma Press. And lest it be
tnougnt tnat ne is only a tneorisx,
a "visionary" and a "book farmer,"
let it be added Immediately that he
is the son of a successful farmer,
that he was trained in agriculture
at Williamsburg Baptist institute
(now Cumberland college) and at
the University of Kentucky, that he
has been a county agent in Kentucky
and Ohio, a Smith-Hughes teacher
of agriculture and a soil and crop
investigator in private employment.
Moreover, he has carried on his ex
periments in garden plot and on a
farm scale on land which he owns in
Ohio and by his crop yields has
translated theory into solid fact.
At the beginning of "Plowman's
Folly," Mr. Faulkner says that his
book "sets out to show that the mold
board plow which is in use on farms
throughout the civilized world, is the
least satisfactory implement for the
preparation of land for the produc
tion of crops. This sounds like a
paradox, perhaps, in view of the fact
that for nearly a century there has
been a science of agriculture, and
that agricultural scientists almost to
a man have used and approved the
use of the moldboard plow. Never
theless, the statement made above
is true and capable of proof. Much
of the proof, as a matter of fact,
has come in left-handed manner from
scientists themselves. The truth is
that no one has ever advanced a
scientific reason for plowing."
He then proceeds to examine all
the reasons that are given for plow
ing and points out their inconsisten
cies and even absurdities. "Assum
ing plowed land to be better for
plant growth, we should find grass
growing more freely on plowed land
than on similar unplowed land near
by," he points out. "Weeds, too,
should show preference for plowed
land. Volunteer growth should take
over and develop more rankly after
land had been plowed than before.
Is this so? Observation is that, un
til plowed land has subsided again
to its former state of firmness, plants
develop in it quite tardily, if at alL
When dry weather follows the plow
ing, it may be weeks or even months
before either natural vegetation or a
planted crop will make normal
growth. The fact is that 'bare' land,
which notably erodes worse than soil
in any other condition, consists al
most wholly of land that has been
disturbed recently by plow or culti
vating implement. The only other
bare land is that which has been
denuded of typ soil by erosion or
other forces. There is significance
in the fact that erosion and runoff
are worse on bare land, and that
bare land is defined above."
The effect which plowing has upon
this top soil is the principal reason
why the author of "Plowman's Fol
ly" considers this instrument an en
emy, rather than a benefactor of
agriculture. In fact, the principal
thesis of the book is that it is wrong
to plow natural fertilizers deep into
the soil and that this natural fertiliz
er?crop residue and green manure
crops?should be incorporated into
the too.soil (which, as everybody
>?
'
This pretty firl seems
to be heedinr the an
cient injunction, "Ven
erate the plow," as she
examines what has
been preserved ot one
of the first three plows
made by John Deere,
the Yankee blacksmith
who invented the first
successful steel plow in
1837.
recognizes, is the really good soil)
just as Mother Nature does it in a
forest or a meadow.
Disk Harrow Better.
"We have developed some useless
theories in that field," declares Mr.
Faulkner. "Men tftve come to feel,
for example, that centuries are nec
for ?he development of a pro
ductive soil. The satisfying truth is
that man with a team or a tractor
torn th g0Od, haITOW can mix
into the soil, in a matter of hours,
sufficient organic material to ac
complish results equal to what is
accomplished by nature in decades."
!t ? the diak kanw, rather
?an the plow, which should be the
farmer's principal instrument in pro
ducfo^more and better crops. Here
The organic matter disked into the
*P 1104 decomposes
?nd adds to the fertility of the soil
but acts as a sponge to hold moisture
where it is needed. Faulkner be
lie vesthere is a capillary movement
of water upward from the subsoil
When the surface of the soil contains
ST&KE top Uyer not
e^.h?^W'tef-,but U able to fa*
ceive it from below. Conversely
when the soil has been plowed, the
loose layer at the surface loses its
capillarity while the layer of green
manure plowed under actually insu
lates the upper surface of soil from
the subsoil.
This "blotter" is often the reason
why a crop shows lack of moisture
wnen there is moisture in the sub
soil. The crop has used all the
moisture in the loose layer of top
Can get,no more from below
untilthe organic matter plowed un
der has become completely decom
posed and packed.
Although the author of "Plow
man's Folly" believes that the di.ir
harrow is the farm tool which should
m.or* end more replace the plow he
admits that it does have its limita
Ihu'mti difficult to handle on
side hills and it won't work so well
on stony soil. Nor is it the complete
answer to tte question of how to get
rid of weeds. He concedes that there
la no such thing as completely weed
less farming but he does believe thst
the system of farming which he ad
vocates tends tq get rid of weeds
while the plow tends to encourage
them For every time land is
plowed, seeds are buried for future
sprouting. Then when it is plowed
again some of the seeds are brought
to the surface for growth, while more
seeds are turned under to await their
torn to sprout, and so on, ad in
annum.
'aulkner'a plan of using
the diak harrow rather than the
Plow, the weeds are mixed ut> into
the top sotl and their seeds are
never very for below the surface
when such seed grows into a pi?-t
and the plant is cut, then there is
no reservoir of seed far under the
?rtace to take its piece. Gradually
a field may get rid of weeds entirely,
?n??r-u*r*J!ut Mort mature!
although, of course, there will aV
,y*y.'..b' .*??? we?da grown from
?ee^that is blown or carried into the
Not a New Idea.
But the problem of weed control
Is, after all, of lesser importance
than the problem of preparing the
?oil so that it will be mora produc
tive. In advocating his plan, Faulk
doe? not claim that it is new
. n?w ^technical discoveries are
to be aired here," he says In his first
chapter. "The discussion is con
cerned wholly with reducing to prac
tical terms, employable in any
body s backyard or an any
the scientific information possessed
for decades but hitherto not put to
any extensive use."
Moreover, he does not just advo
cate a theory but he cites his own
experience to prove that his theory
is practicable. For example, there
was the way be demonstrated its
validity with the tomatoes which be
transplanted, even though he shocked
some of his neighbors with what they
considered his "careless methods."
First he harrowed down a crop of
rye that had grown three feet tall,
mixing rye and soil until hardly a
trace of vegetation remained. Then
he marked the land off in rows,
using an instrument he designed
himself to pack the worked soil of the
rows firmly. This was done to patch
the soil back together so nature's
capillary action?carried on by the
plant root system?could keep on
elevating moisture to the surface for
his tomatoes. He cleaned all the
dirt from the roots of his tomato
plants and laid them along the rows
on the surface. He covered the roots
with rich soil and packed it down
by foot
By late afternoon every plant set
in the forenoon was pointing toward
the sky and "by the following morn
ing every plant without exception
was standing upright" No water
was used in transplanting, and that
was sufficient evidence that nature's
own watering system was at work.
Prise Tomatoes.
Not only did the tomatoes live,
but his neighbors who had been du
bious of his "careless" methods had
to admit that his was "the finest
field of tomatoes in the neighbor
hood." There was further proof of
the fact when he sold his tomatoes,
for he received as much as 2S cents
a peck above the top price in the
Cleveland market "One reason for
this was the exceptional weight of
my packed pecks," Mr. Faulkner ex
plains. "Fifteen pounds is the stand
ard weight of a peck of tomatoes.
It was not unusual for a peck of my
tomatoes to weigh 16 pounds and
many weighed 17. Most local to
matoes that year weighed from 10
to 14 pounds to the peck."
What the author of "Plowman's
Folly" did with tomatoes, he also
did with sweet potatoes, cucum
bers and beans. And lest it be
thought that his methods apply only
to "garden truck," let it be recorded
that they apply also to field grain.
Several years ago he began "nudg
ing" the United States department
of agriculture to experiment with his
theory of "surface-incorporation."
Finally one of the leading agrono
mists of the department set up a
demonstration.
"Perhaps the intent was to dis
prove my theories," writes Mr.
Faulkner. "On the contrary, the
outcome of the tests completely con
firmed them . . . The results of
this official experiment proved that,
by working organic matter into the
surface instead of plowing it in,
the resulting grain yield could be
as much as SO per cent greater. The
very first year of this trial showed
such a result."
And these are only a few of the il
luminating facta to be found in the
161 pages of "Plowman's Folly." But
they all lend emphasis to its author's
contention that "the sooner we make
ancient history of many of our pres
ent farm practices, the earlier ere
will realize that the Garden of Eden,
almost literally, lies under our feet
almost anywhere on the earth we
care to step. We have not begun to
tap the actual potentialities of tbs
soil for producing crops."
Waahiugtea, ?? C.
ALLIED CO-OPEEATJON'BETTER
Officials who have attended all the
big strategy powwows?Washington,
Casablanca, Washington again, and
Quebec?declare that there is pro
gressively better Allied co-operation,
and a gradual disappearance of the
friction which beset earlier confer
ences.
In the dark days just after Pearl
Harbor; the British were plugging
for an all-out war against Hitler,
while the U. S. officers, outraged
over Pearl Harbor, were out to snip
the Japs.
The decision to swing our weight
with the British was made only aft
er President Roosevelt had exer
cised his authority as commander
in-chief and overruled ambitions
U. S. plans for the Pacific.
After that decision, there came
disagreement about where to strike
in the European theater. U. S. army
staff officers argued in favor of a
cross-channel operation, but Chur
chill and the British staff shrank
from spilling blood against the steel
and-concrete shoreline of France
and the Low Countries.
Instead, Churchill wanted the U. S,
army sent to North Africa, to aid in
the reconquest of die Mediterrane
an. Again. Roosevelt supported
Churchill against his own military
chiefs, but not until after strong de
bate in the inner councils.
Another issue was the question at
aid to Russia and Britain, winch
U. S. army and navy officers wanted
to cut down from the Roosevett-Hop
k ins-Churchill estimates. The Rus
sian cause was upheld against all
comers by Harry Hopkins, and Maj.
Gen. James H. Bums, executive at
the munitions assignment board.
Burns' favorite remark is. "Thoan
Russians are kiTling mare Cti
than anybody else, and they might
to have the equipment to keep up
the good work."
The major decisions that have
come from all the controversies
have now borne favorable fruit. The
Mediterranean is cleared. U. S.
forces have been tested tmder fire,
landing operations have had fun
dress rehearsals for the bigger job
of crossing the channel, and the
Russians are "keeping up the good
work." i
So when foe British and Ameri
cans get together now, there is much
more warmth than at one time
There still are some friendly differ
ences as there must be when strong
men sit down together, and it is re
ported that U. & military leaders
still chafe at lack of action across
foe channel. But on the whole, suc
cess is making the road easier.
? ? ?
MILK SHOKTAGE
Most serious food problem facing
the civilian population at the mo
ment is' the threatened shortage at
milk.
White House farm advisers vara
that we will have a very real and
acute milk famine on our hands un
less the War Food
and the Office of Price Administra
tion act quickly to adjust the prica
of feed grain for dairy cattle.
Due to higher feed costs, dairy
farmers, especially m the East, are
unable to sell their milk under OPA
price ceilings and stay in badness.
Dairy farmers in Pennsylvania and
other Eastern states, hard hit by the
drouth, have been *~*"g as much as
$33 per cow because of lack ef pas
ture. As winter draws on, the pas
ture problem, plus higher feed costs,
arill vitally affect milk production all
over the country.
So far the War Food administra
tion, under its new chief, Marvin
Jones, has done nothing to meet
this pressing problem. B$it unless
he does the President wfll be urged
to take matters fat his own hands
and arrange for feed price subsi
dies through legislative action. Fail
ing that, he can, by an executive
order, provide feed funds from the
Commodity Credit corporation.
? ? ?
CAPITAL CHAFF
C Adm. Ernest J. King, commander
in-chief of the U. S. fleet, has tiro
residences in Washington?a spa
cious home at Observatory Circle,
and the yacht Dauntless anchored
at the Navy yard. The admiral
lives on the yacht, and his family
lives at the Circle.
C After the Ramirex revolt, the
Nazis closed down their short-wave
efforts to Argentina. But now that
Ramirez has proved to be so friend
ly, the broadcasts have been re
sumed in full force.
^ Madame Chiang Kai-shek eras
vary sick on her homeward airplane
trip, by way of Africa and India,
The pilot aaid, "The weather was
rough as (he devil and da was Is n
pretty bad way. She dkfot say n -
word the entire trip." (
?