The Alamancf gleaner !
I***** N. C., THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1944 No. 1
i [weekly news analysis ~~l
i -
Allied Nations Are Stunned by Storie.
Of Jap Atrocities to War PrUTr"
Reds Surge Forward Below Leningrad
Fifth Army Continues March to Rome
(EDITOR'S NOTE: Who ? Jlnl.a. u. , ..
1^???? ? ?
Beauty Parlor Ju.t like that, T-4 Jo.eph Dre.cher of Le.ritt.burg,
/Okie, dropped into thi. chic little talon on Bougainrille in the Solomon, for a
Lateral, thine And nUUCUTI.
JAP ATROCITIES:
'Death March'
"Death March on Bataan."
In these four ghastly words, the
late Lieut. Col. William Dyess, who
kd a party of officers and men in
escaping from Jap imprisonment,
told a still more ghastly story of hor
ror and atrocity committed against
the heroic U. S. and Philippine de
fenders of Bataan by the enemy.
On 85 miles of road leading from
Bataan to San Fernando, Colonel
Dyess related in a war and navy
department release, U. S. and Fili
C" 10 troops plodded along from dawn
dusk for six days, thirsting under
a piercing sun. Sick and delirious
were dragged from the straggling
columns and cruelly put to death. In
are instance, prisoners were forced
to bury three Americans and Fili
pinos alive at bayonet point.
Conditions in prison camps were
?dually atrocious, the army and na
vy report revealed. At one camp,
the death rate was 20 Americans and
150 Filipinos a day in the first week.
In the second week the rate jumped
to 50 Americans and 500 Filipinos
through starving and overwork.
Strike at Supplies
To make sure that there will not
be another Tarawa when doughboys
kfld in the Marshall^ astride our
wpply lines in the mid-Pacific, U. S.
bombers continued pounding defense
hstallations in the islands.
On New Britain, Allied bombers
?truck hard at shipping in the port
d Rabaul, which feeds barges sup
ifang Jap troops through coastal
depots.
With their bombers striking at en
?my supply lines, U. S. troops drove
father inland, both on New Guinea
? 00 Bougainville.
RUSSIA:
form Trap
lighting raged on two widely sep
??ed sectors of the 800-mile Rus
m kVj0nt' the Reds fanning
ad T? w k?ningrad in the north,
^ counterattacking to
^c^gthen their position 80 miles
e Rumanian border in the
the Reds surged forward be
Mes7lm.5rad' they chewed two big
the nnrtu Gem>ans' positions on
rthern and southern ends of
threatening to swing
itomj ?ther and throw a loop
"J?* the enemy's rear.
to the south, the Germans
A?v? ?, 11140 Russian lines
rnass^H D I!lanian border- ke?P
2?*?ed Red armies off balance,
Srtnu*0! attempting any real
^^WeneS
Mediation
?torn, to mediate Russia's
** reiert!!i^f ?' Prewar Poland
^ h" Reds, and the
HfeaW ^anVVen mor? ~m
dathouy Ph . F?reign Secretary
WBri^n* declaration that
Wy u^Um, ?>uld not recognize
mededinv
?feSS" COMe,,t 01 ^
W*Attioa XT*" of the U. a
md emphasized Stahm'a
?t Poto11? to deal with the prea
?Wefc ?*0Vernment - fa - exile,
accused of strength
SSJS5S
ITALY:
At Nazis' Rear
With their supply lines leading to
Cassino under fire of the Fifth army
advancing inland from their invasion
beachheads below Rome, the Ger
mans launched a series of counter
attacks in the new battle region
while their long-range artillery
sought to break up Allied troop con
centrations.
Near Cassino U. S. and French
forces moved through rugged Nazi
fortifications to ring that key to the
broad highway to Rome on two sides,
while farther to the south, British
units battered against the right fiank
of the enemy defense line.
By surging inland after their land
ings on the sandy beaches below
Rome, the Fifth army threatened to
cut off an estimated 100,000 German
troops in the .Cassino area, some of
whom were being withdrawn back
to counter the new Allied thrust. As
the Germans moved back to meet
the threat, Allied bombers roared
in to machine-gun the columns.
ARGENTINA:
Breaks With Axis
Declaring that a huge Axis spy
ring within Argentina was working
to overthrow the
country s self - rule
which previously
had deemed rela
tions with Germany
and Japan to its
best interests, Pres
ident General Pedro
Ramirez signed a
decree breaking off
diplomatic ties with
Berlin and Tokyo.
Argentina's action
followed U. S. re
Gen. Ramirez
fusal to recognize the revolutionary
government of Bolivia on grounds
that the new regime was linked with
a subversive movement in South
America designed to disturb Allied
relations.
Obviously delighted by the turn
of events, U. S. Secretary of State
Cordell Hull declared: "It must be
assumed . . , that Argentina will
now proceed ... to adopt other
measures which all of the American
countries have concerted for the se
curity of the continent."
SOLDIER VOTE:
Big Issue
Already a big issue of the present
congressional session, the question
of soldier voting in 1944 became a
bigger issue when President Roose
velt directly appealed to the legisla
tors to provide for federal supervi
sion over service balloting.
Declaring that a system of ab
sentee voting in which states would
determine eligibility and print com
plete ballots would involve too much
shipping and time, the President
asked that the federal government
be allowed to distribute blank bal
lots on which soldiers would then
write in the names of their election
choices or merely the name of the
political party they favored.
Champions of states rights as
sailed the President's recommenda
tions, standing firmly for state su
pervision over registration to assure
that each ballot is cast by the
registrant himself, and objecting to
the services' power to decide the
voting time because permission
might be given just before or in the
midst of a great battle, when sol
diers might feel that the country
should pull together behind directing
leadership.
FARM PRICES:
Supports Announced
Subject to congressional approval,
the War Food administration an
nounced support prices for 34 prin
cipal farm products, with the only
big decrease being the $1 per hun
dredweight for hogs effective Octo
ber 1.
Loans for corn and wheat would
be made at 85 per cent of parity,
and for cotton, rice and tobacco at
90 per cent of parity. Potato sup
ports would be pegged at 90 per cent
of parity compared with 92 in 1943.
On a per bushel basis, support
prices would be higher on soybeans
by 14 cents, flaxseed 10 cents, bar
ley and grain sorghums 10 cents and
aweet potatoes 10 to 20 cents.
Peanut supports would be raised
by $10 a ton, sugar beets $1.50 a ton,
and sugar cane 30 cents a ton.
NEW TAXES:
Only Hope Chest Spared
Only the hopeful young misses
stocking their hope chests got any
kind of a break from senators and
congressmen drawing up a compro
mise $2,000,000,000 tax bill.
With over $1,000,000,000 in so
called luxury levies agreed upon,
only silver plated flatware (knives,
forks, etc.) escaped taxation. Other
wise, the lawmakers decided upon a
20 per cent tax on jewelry.
In raising $1,000,000,000, the leg
islators recommended a 25 per cent
tax on cosmetics and toilet articles;
1 cent tax on every 5 cents of amuse
ment admissions; 30 per cent tax on
cabaret or night club bills, and $20
annual tax on pool tables and bowl
ing alleys.
It was also recommended that air
mail postage be boosted to 8 cents
and locally delivered mail to 3 cents.
TEiEFACT
LOWER DEATH RATE FOR MARRIED MEN
AGE
C#0V* it, _ A
-=srm
M-?> iiiii iiiia atua
bdl^<l|<?MWiMln)UNjlV|Mf
I
CIVILIAN TIRES:
Less Predicted
Because chemical difficulties have
been encountered in processing oil
into synthetic rubber ingredients and
military requirements have in
creased, a cutback in civilian tire
production from 30 to 20 million cas
ings for 1944 loomed.
Production of heavy duty tires for
busses and trucks also was expected
to fall below expectations, since a
mixture of natural rubber is re
quired for manufacture of these
casings and the natural rubber
stockpile has dropped to a low level,
partly because of the failure of South
American growing programs to fully
develop.
The rubber pinch also has affect
ed recapping plans, with the govern
ment again specifying reclaimed
scrap for retreads.
PETROLEUM WAXES:
Waterproof ers
To help meet the military serv (
ices' crying need for water and other
proofing, the petroleum industry pro
duced 390,000 tons of waxes in 1943,
a notable achievement since certain
crudes have a wax content of only
three-fourths of 1 per cent.
In 1944, emphasis will be placed
on production of micro-cry stalling
waxes, which have proven especial
ly useful in packaging food rations
because thin coatings resist mois
ture and the substance retains its
flexibility in low temperatures.
Micro-crystallines are further useful
in proofing army shoes against mus
tard gases and protecting metal
parts from the elements.
WHISKY:
None to Be Made
Because industrial requirements
for alcohol in 1944 will approximate
632,000,000 gallons
and keep distilleries
operating at 150 per
cent of their rated
capacity, no whisky
will be manufac
tured this year, War
Production Czar
Donald Nelson de
clared.
Alcohol reserves
had dropped to 80,
000,000 gallons by De
cember, 1943, a dan
Donald NelMB
gerous level. Nelson said, because
synthetic rubber plants, arsenals,
powder plants and tank terminals
for lend-lease require a working in
ventory of 30,000,000 gallons.
Ta assure 1944 supplies. Nelson
said the War Production board was
seeking to secure sufficient molasses
and corn for distilleries, to persuade
the British to meet their own re
quirements by processing molasses
from the Caribbean, and rushing new
grain alcohol plants to completion.
Who's News
This Week
By
Delos Wheeler Lovelace
Consolidated Feature!.?WNU Rateaaa.
-?
VTEW YORK. ? After 1940 it
1 seemed that Rear Admiral Ross
T. Mclntyre had had official instruc
tions to look on only the bright side
Thia 3rd Tarmar
WillAlaoTaka4th crobes. In
If Votara Say So '40,afterthe
usual pokes
and taps and lab tests, he announced
that his White House patient wasn't
so good. In '41, however, he said
the subject was in grand health and
he said the same in '42 and '43. But
now, following that recent bout with
the flu, he is firm in his order that
the President coast for a while.
Mclntyre, chief doctor to Pres
ident Roosevelt for three terms
and a cinch for the assignment
if voters approve a fourth term,
is stocky, broad-faced, fuil
mouthed, bald and assured, as
all good doctors mast be. Born
in Oregon, he married and prac
ticed for a while before entering
the navy in 1918 as medical corps
lieutenant, J.g. Until be took
on the top-to-toe care of Presi
dent Roosevelt he specialised In
eye, ear, nose and throat mat
ters and was good enough to be
elected a Fellow of the Ameri
can College of Surgeons. He has
decorations from Brasil, Sweden
and Belgium.
When he went to the White House
he was a captain, but he was boost
ed over a lot of seniors into the
navy's surgeon generalcy and made
a rear admiral forthwith. His order
is that the President keep between
184 and 188 pounds, which cuts off
second helpings but allows an un
limited variety of food. He didn't
order but approves the President's
eight hours of sleep and breakfast
in bed between eight and nine. Din
ner he leaves to Mrs. Roosevelt
?
!/? INFOLKS seem to have guided
^ the hand of fate which brings
Leighton Goldie McCarthy now to
the post of first Canadian ambassa
Lefe Give All Dae u^S.^e^is
Credit to Kinfollu a top-draw
Of Amb. McCarthy er ?tates
man and
business man, of course; and tor
that may take some personal credit.
But consider his grandfather! A so
licitor back in Dublin, he came to
Canada because a partner left him
short of cash and Canada seemed
the best place for a fresh start. Mc
Carthy wouldn't likely be the new
ambassador except for that Irish
trouble.
Then there is the fact that his
family has long held a seat in
the Canadian house of commons.
Young Leighton, who was born
in Ontario, near blue Lake Hu
ron, helped his uncle win the
seat in 1891 and that, no doubt,
inspired him to run for the seat
himself in 189S. He held it until
19M. He has been Canadian
Minister to Washington since
1941.
Early in life he studied law in
an uncle's office in Barrie, Ont.
Relatives, again! He has represent
ed aluminum interests and is chair
man of Canadian Life, the oldest
Canadian life insurance company. A
humanitarian, he is a trustee of our
National Foundation for Infantile
Paralysis and visits the President
yearly at Warm Springs. They are
old friends.
Mr. McCarthy is a spare, polished
man, six feet tall. Although he is
75 years old now, it is easy to be
lieve that he once excelled at rough
tough lacrosse. Fishing, golfing and
riding are his present interests.
??
THE Russians can't be reading
King Carol's recent clippings.
When his expensive press agent was
hired the idea was to fill even Mos
_ . _ _. , cow's new
Red, Say There"re paperg ^
Still Kings a Cat stories of a
Wouldn't Look At ?orttodraw
a halo
around the head of Rumania's run
away ruler. A lot of pieces landed
in a lot of papers, good ones, too.
But here is Moscow calling Carol
a comic opera fellow and warning
that he will never, never get his
throne back.
Such stubbornness win dismay
Carol down in Mexico City's sub
urban Coyoaean whore bo Uvea
a simple Ufa intended ts^eon
is changed for the batter. A
Haheusellera em Me father's
side, kinsman of British royalty
on his another's, ha keeps to a
practically peasant routine. Ho
and Madame Lupuscu live in a
small ham with only one serv
ant, six dogs and In the mastoids
Tradition Gives Lincoln Three 'Birthplaces'
But Historical Research Establishes the Fact
There Was Only One; It's Near Hodgenville, Ky.
By ELMO SCOTT WATSON
llalMMd by Weatorn Nowapapor Union.
ONE of the most famous of
all newspaper cartoons, ap
propriate to the annual observ
ance of Lincoln's birthday, was
drawn by H. T. Webster while
he was on the staff of the old
New York World. It has become
a Newspaper Classic, i. e., annu
ally it is "reprinted by request."
It is:
HARDIN COUNTY, KY., 1809
r-r tn-!?-i*nfTu m>. <iw< r*
Vil. }<UIM ha6W? OONf I-'^I-H TOH ^
rMiMto?MN?NmM.^ai>MuN?
OUIKIKH WUAMAt
C*rUK?noirtf Wm. Mwn'fMw
arrnrec. NC,?weo*t?
A HCW BAffy oownr TtoM UMCOtM*?.
WWM^ M* NAmNl 0WT HOW* %*
W
a^yZ^Aid/W.**.)
If you go down into Hardin county,
Kentucky, today expecting to see
the place where the new baby was
born "down t" Tom Lincoln's," you'll
be disappointed. For you won't find
there the log cabin in which that
historic event took place. But if you
drive east into Larue county to the
little town at Hodgenville, the coun
ty seat, then go 2Vi miles south, you
will see, enshrined in a temple of
stone, this rude little structure and
you will be told that it stands on
the very spot where it stood when
Abraham Lincoln was born within
its log walls on February 12, 1809.
Why this apparent discrepancy in
the geography of Lincoln's birth
place? Well, the explanation is sim
ple. When Tom and Nancy Hanks
Lincoln became the parents of a
son, their home stood within the
boundaries of Hardin county. Years
later Hardin was divided into two
counties and the eastern part of it,
including "Tom Lincoln's place" on
Nolin creek, became Larue coun
ty. So there's some truth in the
statement that "Abraham Lincoln
was born in two counties," paradox
ical though that statement may
sound.
Other Inconsistencies.
Nor is that the only apparent in
consistency in regard to the site of
Lincoln's birth. Several years ago,
Rev. William E. Barton, one of the
leading biographers of the Great
Emancipator and the man who, per
haps more than any other historian,
has cleared up many of the mys
> teries surrounding the name of Abra
ham Lincoln, wrote an article un
der the title of "Three Places Claim
Honor of Being Birthplace of Lin
' coin." It reads, in part:
Homer had seven birthplaces; Lincoln
had at least three?according to diver*
gent Kentucky traditions.
First of the houses in which Abraham
Lincoln is said to have been born is the
Berry bouse at Beech land. Washington
county. Kentucky.
If we should go to Beechland. we will
And the house Is not there. It has been
moved to Harrodsburg. where it stands
as a kind of museum, not very Intimately
associated with Lincoln, who never is
his life was in Harrodsburg.
The bouse today bears little resem
blance to its former self. Fortunately,
however. It was photographed while on
Its original site. In this house, the
home of Richard Berry, the President's
perents, Thomas Lincoln and Nancy
Hanks, were married by Rev J esse
Hud. Jun? 12. UW.
Washington county paoplo hm a for
mldahia croup of affidavits from old and
truthful people who declared that Abra
ham Lincoln uraa born there: that hia
people did not remove to Hardin county
tin ha waa a lad several yeara of afe;
and certain ullnamn affirmed on oath
that they aew him at a child piayinf
about the door ef the Berry bonne.
My own tanpra anion In that these peo
ple were tnrtbfal end that they may
have aean the little lad. Abraham Lin
coln. playing about tMa bauao. The par
ents of Abraham I lariM wan married
In thfa heuae; ha fultliii slatted it In
Ma early fMMhood and may have lived
I several months f nth m roof, but wa
meat l^k lUiahtai ttr Ms Mrjbplaoe.
we wlah^b*eac la hat ataudtttt. but wa
Uncota* wm^'bora^tMnlv imf^wha_wtu
tbey are ahowlaf us la the plans where
Thomas and Nancy Lincoln apwit their
honeymoon, end bvef Jnimjfaa.
attwUeSrShrah. was hens
The cabin that mond here wan the drat
heme adittlMaf as the birthplace ef
Abraham Uneoln and the gltttui la
avfl ?w. It wu first photofrapbed.
apparently, for "The Cimptlfn Docu
ment," In which William M. Thayer. In
1304. told of the "Character and PnbUc
Services of Abraham Lincoln." But
Thomas Lincoln did not build this cabin,
and Abraham waa not bora there and
never llvsd there The last eeatiga of
this cabin has disappeared.
The actual birthplace of Abraham Lin
coln was a log cabin which, after many
removals, now stands not far from Its
original site on Rock Spring farm on
Nolin creek. Sit miles south from where
the village of Hodgenvllle now la. in what
was then HaMln and now Is Larue
county. Kentucky.
A Romantic History.
This cabin, which was the true
birthplace of Lincoln, hag a roman
tic history. It stood on a'tract of
300 acres, known as the Sinking
Spring farm, which Thomas Lincoln
bought in December, 1808, for 88%
cents per acre. Here little Abe Lin
coln lived until he wag four years
old. Then his father abandoned the
place because of litigation involving
a flaw in the title and moved his
family 10 miles northeastward to
another farm of 30 acres on Knob
creek, which he had previously pur
chased.
Several years later (two different
dates, 1827 and 1833, are given for
this event) a certain Henry Brother
bought the Sinking Spring farm and
lived in the Lincoln birthplace cabin
for several years. Then, according
to Beveridge, who quotes J. T. Hob
son's "Footprints of Abraham Lin
coln" as his authority for the state
ment, Brother tore down the cabin
and used the logs for firewood. The
accuracy of this statement, however,
is doubtful and, as will be seen later
in this article, it has been refuted.
There seems to be good reason to
believe that the cabin was still stand
ing on its original site in 1860 when
Lincoln was elected President. Soon
afterwards it was purchased from
the man who then owned the farm
by George Rodman who moved it
to another farm about a mile and a
half from the Sinking Spring farm.
There it remained during the tur
moil of the Civil war and after being
used a number of years as a shelter
for Negro families and as a tenant
house, it was used as a school house
in 1872 and 1873.
A certain John Davenport mar
ried the school-teacher and they
lived in the cabin from 1873 to 1804,
when it was bought by A. W. Den
nett and moved back to its original
site on the Sinking Spring farm.
The cabin was not destined to re
main on its original site long, how
ever. Soon afterwards it was bought
by Rev. J. W. Bingham who took it
down and shipped the 143 logs in it
to Nashville, Tenn., for a centennial
celebration there. Next it was
moved to Central park in New York
city where it was on exhibition for a
time and in 1901 it was exhibited
at the Buffalo exposition. The next
owner was David Greer, who stored
it in the old Poffenhausen mansion
in Long Island City, N. Y.
Bought by Collier.
In 1908 Robert J. Collier bought
the Sinking Spring farm and pre
sented it to the Lincoln Farm asso
ciation, "a patriotic organization
formed by American citizens for the
purpose of preserving as a national
park the farm on which Abraham
Lincoln was bom." The president of
this association was Joseph W. Folk,
governor of Missouri, and its
trustees were a group of distin
guished citizens, including Mr. Col
lier, who also bought the Uncoln
cabin. The logs were shipped to
Kentucky, accompanied by a guard
of honor sent by the state, for a
homecoming celebration in Louis
ville and then taken to As Lincoln
term.
"The cabin, I am reliably in
formed, originally stood near to As
spring," writes Barton. "After its
first removal, H was reelected en
As top of Aa slops tending up tram
the spetog^i When it was taken down
marked by a post; and whan Aa
s>.
| cabin was purchased and rebuilt, it
w.a* greeted around the poet which
?till stands in the middle of the cabin
floor."
The Lincoln Farm MiwHatinsi. by
popular subscription, not only raised
an endowment at 130,000 to maintain
the homestead but provided an im
pressive memorial at a cost of near
ly $223,000 to house the little log
cabin. In 1018 the title to the farm
was transferred to the United States
government which, in accepting the
property and the administration of
the endowment, agreed to maintain
the farm, preserve the cabin and
I never charge an entrance fee to
the public. Thus the farm became
a national park.
Sep?i?ber* 1818' President
Woodrow Wilson Journeyed to Hodg
enville to accept the new n??inyni
shrine on behalf of the nation and on
that occasion declared that it was
an altar upon which we may for
ever keep alive the vestal Are of
democracy as upon a shrine at
which some of the deepest and most
sacred hopes of mankind may from
age to age be rekindled." Unfortu
nately, however, the government did
not keep its promise Ik far as main
taining the farm property was con
cerned. During the nest 10 years
the place was permitted to fall into
disrepair, owing to a lack of mainte
nance funds. Then in 1928 Rep. U.
H. Thatcher of Kentucky reported
as a "national disgrace" the fact
that "the Lincoln memorial farm is
now grown up in bushes and briars,
gullies are being washed across the
land and at times the approach to
the memorial is covered with sev
eral inches of silt. The spring where
Lincoln drank as a boy and which
supplied water for the household is
flooded in rainy weather so as to
foul the water . . . Yet, this is one
of the greatest shrines in the coun
try, and the government of the Unit
ed States, having taken over this
property, is under at least a moral
1 obligation to provide for its mainte
nance."
As a result of this disclosure con
gress passed a bill providing $100.
000 for the rehabilitation of the farm
and authorizing future appropria
tions as may become necessary for
its preservation. One of President
Coolidge's last official acta before
leaving the White House was to sign
I this bill.
The Legend Lives On.
In the meantime the legend that
the logs in the rebuilt cabin in the
stately memorial were not the origi
nal logs, would not die down. In
1920 the Kansas City Star published
a story about the Lincoln memorial
at Hodgenville which brought from
Judson S. West, justice of the Su
preme court of Kansas, this state
I ment:
In Ausuot. 1ST*. I visited the
I ktacoln'o birthplace a fear mite. from
HodsenvlBe. Kjr., and drank from the
beautiful stream which flows oC the
ledfe of rocks. The cefahi In which Ifr
Lincoln was born had then been burned
tor some One and from the ashea of the
debris where the Bra occurred. 1 nth
ered up soma rapes to take Wane. No
ST ortstonTCTMo'h'e^'' i
In reply the Star declared it "has
DOw???2:lio5ato.0<,er 011 ?"? MtoT7
published. The log cabin in which
Uncokt was bora stands on the spot
where it was originally built, en.
shrined in an imposing building of
granite." It then tails of thewozk of
the Lincoln Farm association, men
****** nM? who were
trustees aad declares "It is hardly
possible that citizens of their stand
ing would allow an imposition in
the matter of Lincoln's birthplace "
Tlie statements of suoh a careful
hi*tori*n ** Rev.
William K. Barton seem Is ha ?*
Sclent verification of that aaeniHim
and Americans who visit this "shrine
^dero^acy" at Hodgentffle today
Nutlet Ot hrievwta..
^?
In this log cabin near Hodceaville, Ky., Abraham I tnnaln was bora
sa February It, IMS.