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I The Alamance gleaner ___^^GRAHAM, N. C., THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 1944 No. 3 I^Tnews analysis Nazis Pour Troops Into Anzio Region As Battle for Italy Grows in Ferocity; Senate Studies 'White-Collar' Income; Aussie-U. S. Forces Join in New Guinea (EDITOR'S NOTE: When eptaleas utannul In Uese colnmna th,. .. ... Westers Newspaper Unien ? "I not nsesessrll, SP-V* tk*?e ?? - Released by Western Newspaper Union. newspaper.) LL 1 ' ' r in ? .?* w i Italy?Fir.t great armored battle of Italy raged near Anzio, where Nazi, itrore to knock ont Allied beachhead. ? * * ??r I nTT*\nTT\TTtrt MALI: ' Major Battle For the first time in the Italian campaign, major Allied and Ger man armored forces pnet on level pound to slug it out, as the great battle for the Anzio beachhead be low Rome raged. To the southeast, bloody mountain lighting continued, with the en trenched Nazis stubbornly resisting advancing U. S. and French sol diers, crawling through fierce ma chine-gun and mortar fire to root enemy units out of deeply dug de fenses. Determined to fight a major'battle in Italy far below the Po river val ley in the north, the Nazis poured thousands of troops in the Anzio region, and action rose in tempo after the enemy carefully probed Allied lines for weak points. Crowded into an area about 30 miles long and 12 miles inland, Al lied forces swung into the attacking enemy at close quarters, while their air forces roamed over German po sitions and communication lines, Wasting troop concentrations and supply deliveries. MEAT PRODUCTION: Record Levels Keeping well in line with govern ment predictions of record meat Production for 1944, January slaugh ter of hogs, cattle and sheep set ml-time marks for the month. Partly because of liquidations due to concern over the overall feed situation for the year, 1,141,081 cat tle were butchered in January, along wth 7,839,352 hogs and 1,932,987 sheep. Although the government estimat , a' meat production would rise L^^nt in 1944 to a record 26, ?w,WO,000 pounds, civilian alloca tions were set at the 1943 level of 131 Pounds of meat per person for the 'jr. with the services, lend-lease ether U. S. agencies obtaining increased output. Only if the auers needs were cut, could civil exPoct more meat, it was said. DEMOBILIZATION: Congressional Plan s*rit!.wate ^"oing of industry to orderly clvUian Production, and prevent posa ?' war material to ProDos(.rfUIi?etti.ng the markets, were policy e sel>ate's economic ^arAmeri^ COmmittee for tiomfu, comm'ttee'a recommenda sored he:Lembodi*d k a b*ll spon *urray (w"a^r8 ?*or*e <Ga> and tr.ent nu*it calling for govern or Drrw. !^Se of 811 ra* materials or extension of upon m?.' Pa. Payments or loans ^wntract cancellations. hiuf ,th? nation'8 $15,000, the comrn^H war PIants, *0 PrivatT ?6 proP?sed their sale u?e tCTesta' but n?t ? their The ?umK? 0v""?.xPand production, rubt*,. ? r uircraft, aluminum, Pipeline n]a??esiuin' ^P. steel and C, retained for postwar the scon. ^ should depend upon Apuld taken against >od ' markets with war goods t* prlce? ?d produc ?ad committee said, ?eU sSJh^n!^.8hould ** sought to taboo ?f aterial abroad. Organl *** '^mobilization board to mended' * ?ras recom 3UB31DUV5: Opposed in Congress Although facing an expected pres idential veto, the senate moved to join the house in outlawing govern ment subsidy pay ments to reduce re- | tail food costs. Senate approval I of Sen. John Bank head's anti-subsidy bill was scheduled after rejection of Sen. Francis Malo ney's amendment calling for the ex- f penditure of $1,500, mMm (en. Bankhead 000,000 for subsidies this year, and Sen. Robert Taft's compromise pro posal that the program be limited to $950,000,000. Countering administration argu ments that abolition of subsidies *Vii>ooton fVtn WUU1U uutan.u ?"v whole anti-inflation program by leading to demands for wage raises to meet higher retail food costs, Senator Bank head (Ala.) said that such subsidies would only save each family an av erage of 11 cents a day, and this at a ?imn nrVion inrnmps Sen. Taft and savings are at record levels. OLD TOPIC: White-Collar Wages Popular as a topic ever since the days of Charles Dickens' stringy Bob Cratchit, low wages for white collar workers now have come un der the consideration of a senate labor committee. Regardless of general salary in creases of 15 to 30 per cent for clerical workers and salesmen since 1941, current earnings of many groups of non-manufacturing em ployees remain relatively low, A. F. Hinrichs of the U. S. department of labor said. Although a survey in small towns showed store clerks have received boosts of 15 and 25 per cent and bank tellers increases of 5 to 10 per cent since 1941, straight time earn ings of many groups remain less than 50 cents an hour, Hinrichs said. This averages less than $24 for a 40 hour week, and earnings are even lower in some other occupations, Hinrichs asserted. SOUTHWEST PACIFIC: Gain in New Guinea Joining hands near Saidor after more than a month of fighting through rugged jungle, Australian and American forces prepared to lunge northward toward remaining Japanese positions on New Guinea's eastern coast. First Allied objective was the base of Madang, feeder peint for the Japs' inland positions, then Wewak, oft-pounded air base from which the enemy has sent up planes to harass Aussie and U. S. forces operating on New Guinea. ? On New Britain island to the east of New Guinea, U. S. air forces con tinued to smack at the major Jtp air and supply base of Rabaul, and at the port of Kavieng on New Ireland to the northeast, also a cen ter of feeder operations for barges stocking enemy strongholds in the surrounding area. CIVILIAN TIRES: More Later t??ClUSe re<'uirernents for mill and tires are ex pected to lessen later in the year .Director Bradley Dewey civ r an increase in supply for civilians after July 1. infTua"Se ?f the restrictions on driv greate?rf 8kS- rationi"g the g eater care being given to tires mUlforTt !?tal suPP'y of 18 or 24 fici!ent trt'reS !?r 1944 Should be suf ficient to meet essential needs, Dew vLr K ?veraU Production for the year, however, is 6,000,000 below earlier estimates. Although the synthetic rubber pro S ? 8 a]coho1 and petroleum oMOOO onnP?eak production at a rate ot 1,000,000 tons annually by August, the shortages of manufacturing cortforh* 3nd sigh tenaci?y rayon "rd for beavy duty tires is slowing said 1116 program' Dewey UP to July 1, there will be monthly production of 1,000,000 tires *"0,000 available for rationing and 250,000 kept in reserve, Dewey reported. ' RUSSIA: Reduce Threat Russian forces whittled down the Germans' toehold in the lower Ukraine and sought to remove the threat of an enemy encirclement drive in that sector in major action ?ng Ibe 800-mile eastern front. ?u ?ning ^erman defenses slowed the Reds' push in the Baltic, with .u ,en,em.y bitterly holding the threshold into Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Chewing deeply into Nazi lines before these states, how ever, the Russ forced the Germans to withdraw in many places to pre vent entrapment from the rear. Down at the southern end of the long front, strong Russian forces were beating the Germans back from the lower Ukraine, where they have been holding a long lick of ter ritory at the back of the Red armies surging into prewar Poland. By rolling up the Nazi lines here, the Russ were removing the threat of a possible German thrust at the rear of General Vatutin's armies. RECONSTRUCTION: Lumber Needed Some idea of the tremendous de mand for lumber for postwar recon struction can be obtained from Great Britain's inquiries for 5,000, 000,000 board feet in the first year after the war for rebuilding dam aged towns, Dr. Wilson Compton of the National Lumber Manufacturers association told the fifty-fourth an nual convention of the Illinois Lum ber and Material Dealers associa tion. Normally, Britain buys 250, 000,000 board feet yearly. Although only 7,000,000,000 board feet of lumber are to be allocated for civilian use in 1944 for farm con struction, war housing and repair and maintenance work, the supply may be cut still further by increased demands for boxing, crating and dunnage. Each soldier requires 300 feet of lumber for packaging and other sim ilar uses when shipped overseas, Dr. Compton said, and an additional 50 feet a month for supplies. Exploiting war conditions by un scrupulously upgrading lumber is in jurious to the whole trade in the long run, Dr. Compton said. STRIKES: Up in'43 Although 3,750 strikes were staged in 1943 involving 1,900,000 workers, their short duration resulted in only a loss of .07 of working time, the U. S. labor department reported. Nevertheless, strikers were out an average of 7.1 days in 1943, com pared with 5 days in 1942, when Strike* la U. S. lMl-'43. ^ 5750 ? 2968 B 11F 1941 1942 1943 there were 2,968 walkouts. In 1941, each striker lost 9.8 days, and 4,288 walkouts were staged. In the pre war year 1939, the average striker stayed out 15.2 days. In 1943, four coal strikes involv ing 400,000 miners resulted in 8,500, 000 idle man days, or an average of 20 days per worker. About 20,000 industrial disputes were settled by U. S. agencies in 1943 without work stoppages, 16,000 by the department of labor, and 3,996 by the War Labor board. Who's News This Week ?r Delos Wheeler Lovelace Consolidated Features.?WNU Release. MEW YORK. ? Incentives to American girls and women to join the U. S. Cadet Nurse corps are less numerous than the blessings USCNC Chief Ha, t?m Inducement That on the battle Should Fill Rank, fields ?f ^ world and in hard-pressed, under-staffed civilian hospitals. Still, they are numerous enough: free education in a well paid profession, a shortened train ing period, living expenses, spend ing money while training, a distinc tive insigne, uniforms. But Lucile Petry, director of the corps, seeking 27,000 more recruits, offers still an other inducement. The prospects for | marriage in the nursing profession are, she points out, excellent. This corner agrees after view ing the fetching new uniform. The petite, erect, gray-haired, fresh-as-a-daisy Miss Petry is even prettier in uniform than in civilian dress. On leave of ab sence as dean of Cornell Univer sity New York Hospital School of Nursing, she has been helping the government since 1941. She was named director of the nurse corps immediately after its cre ation in 1943. Before Cornell she taught and supervised at the University of Minnesota. Earlier there was an immense amount of study. Graduating with honors from the University of Dela ware in 1924, she entered Johns Hop kins Hospital School of Nursing. Aft er graduation there she was awarded a scholarship and took a master's at Teachers' college, Columbia uni versity. Daughter of a small town school principal who believed that children should accept re sponsibility, Miss Petry worked In a dry goods store, a canning factory and a broker's eBce while still "the Utile Petry girl." T F Lieut. Gen. Omar Bradley runs 1 true to form his maps of coastal France are being worn thin. He wiil lead invading American ground Not Oat for Victory ^ ^miig Through Needless big push, Blood Sacrificee ^ to know as much of the battle terrain as the enemy, more it possible. Usually he hops into a jeep and looks the country over, then studies its maps far into the night. Since he can't very well tool a jeep through Nazi defenses beyond the channel the maps must do double duty. Fifty-one, Bradley is a Mls sonrian who has made his way in the army against the handi cap of a singular modesty. Be fore this war started be was notable as one of the army's crack rifle shots, one of its best mathematicians, probably the best commandant ever in charge of the Officers' Candidate school at Ft. Benning, and a tactician who usually did a little better in maneuvers than his opponent, i When he took over in General I Pattern's wake in North Africa only the army found his name a familiar one. His score at Gaf sa, Hill 609, Mateur and Bixerte turned the international spot light on him: Bradley's military books are dog eared from much reading but for fun he likes detective stories. He likes also to talk with his soldiers. And above all he dislikes the rec ords of such generals as that Frenchman who, in the last great war, was said to butcher his divi sions to gain a victory. ? WHEN historians turn to the ex citing story of this era they will note the use of special envoys as a I characteristic of the long adminis We've Another Old ''^coiid Sea Dog Who Is Roosevelt. An Adroit Diplomat * ? Glassford who performs the very special task of laying American aims and plans before the obstreperous Gen. Charles de Gaulle. William A. Glassford Jr. is a vice admiral in the navy, and it Is common practice to look npon all our admirals as bluff old sea dogs but among them is included a handful et deft diplomats. The vice admiral is one et these for all that he can seem bluff enough at times. He seemed so a few months before we got into the war. Speaking then before a uh.f.yh.1 audience of American business men, he declared blunt ly that Britain was en the odgo of a Hcktng and our turn would eeme next. I Marine Sergeant Who Was King Of 12,000 Natives on Voodoo Isle ?? Yank Was Believed Reincarnation of Faustin I. By ROBERT H. MYERS Rcleaaod by Western Newspaper Union. (Through courtesy of THE LEATH ERNECK, the magazine of the U. 8. Marines.) ONE dark, gloomy night in the year 1848, on the tiny tropical voodoo isle of La Go nave, black King Faustin I sud denly and mysteriously disap peared. Years crept by and King Faustin I was never heard from again, but a legend was born that some day a descend ant of his name would return to rule this West Indies island. Some three score and ten years later, in 1920, a creaky sailboat lurched across the choppy waters of the channel from Port au Prince and scraped up on the sands of La Gon ave. Bounding out was a strange collection of occupants; chattering black natives, bawling cattle?and Gunnery Sergeant Wirkus of the United States marines?whose first name was Faustin. Thus was forged a link in one of the strangest stories that ever came out of this storied, superstition bound island. For Faustin E. Wir kus, a blue-eyed, square-chinned Yankee from the state of Pennsyl vania, who had never heard of King Faustin I or about his mysterious disappearance from La Gonave, and most certainly was no descendant of the ebony emperor, eventually was crowned King Faustin II and reigned virtually singlehanded over the 12,000 natives for nearly five years?between 1$21 and 1925. He's Asked About "Queen." He became famous as the "White King of La Gonave," and as he goes about more commonplace du ties in the marine corps today, he still gets numerous inquiries about his years in Haiti; about the broad and beaming native woman. Queen Ti Memenne, who had chosen him to rule the island. Queen Ti Memenne, of course, was not really a queen, nor was Wirkus truly a king, because La Gonave was merely a province of Haiti and under the administration of the Hai tian republic and its president. But the stormy little country had been the scene of a bloody uprising a few years before, starting in 1915. Marines had been sent in to settle it, and a picked number had re mained to train and run the native Gendarmerie. Gunnery Sergeant Wirkus was one of these men, and by congressional permission, was on detached duty with the Gendarmerie and held the rank of lieutenant in the force. As signed to La Gonave, he was official ly a subdistrict commander. Today Wirkus is a warrant officer, in charge of the marine aviation de tachment at the navy's pre-flight school at Chapel Hill, N. C. But to go back to those years of yester day Soon after enlisting, he landed in Haiti with the first outfits of ma rines that went down to settle the trouble in that country. His was the old Twenty-second company, led by Capt. Alexander S. Williams, and his battalion commander was a man later destined for world fame, Gen. Smedley Butler. Five Tears of Boshflghting. Off and on for five years, the ma rines were busy bushflghting the treacherous "cacos," knife-wielding natives whose tactics were bloody if not successful. Wirkus engaged in many scraps?he killed seven cacos in one bitter engagement?and grad ually gained recognition as an effi cient and straight-shooting non-com. Once in Port au Prince be took a handful of native gendarmerie and broke up a secret voodoo ceremony and captured the ringleaders. This he accomplished with not a man in jured. Voodoo meetings were often hotbeds of trouble. During these years Wirkus kept hearing tales about the island of La Gonave, 40 miles north of Port au Prince and about 300 square miles in area. Voodoo ism was rampant .on the island, and . fearsome were home of the tales. A white man, so it was whispered, was not safe on La Gonave. No one wanted that out post duty. Ghosts and spooks, they said, haunted the place. But Wirkus made one visit to the island and decided he wanted it as a sub-district command. He scoffed at voodoo scare tales?and still does ?and figured it would be a good place as a one-man job. Hunting and fishing were good, the climate was no barrier, and Wirkus was ambitious to make a name for him self as the key man in running the subdistrict. It was his responsibility to regulate travel and traffic, pre vent smuggling, exercise control over the prison, enforce harbor and docking regulations, sanitation re quirements, dnd see that lands were properly allotted and taxes paid. Natives Suspicious. When Wirkus arrived on brooding La Gonave, he found the natives suspicious of all white men, which was hardly surprising. For years they had been exploited and cheated. Their lot was a poor one, to say the least. Wirkus set out to correct these conditions, and behind his suc cess was a genuine affection for the native population. As sequester, or administrator, he not only handled his official duties, but went out of his way to help the people. He showed them better ways to till their lands, for the main industry was ag riculture. He repaired their antique equipment and modernized it where possible. Mothers were astonished but grateful when he came to their aid in bringing up their offspring. They didn't know it, but he bought a book, "The Care and Feeding of Children," to help him with such problems. He surveyed the lands and divided, eliminating bitter dis putes, and he reduced taxes for some and boosted it for others, many of whom had enjoyed favoritism from corrupt local representatives of the Haitian government. It took a full year for Wirkus to gain the trust and friendship of the islanders, and particularly Queen Ti Memenne. The "queen" was the leading figure in a group of matri archal societies which dominated affairs of business and society on La Gonave. During his early months there, Wirkus had made it a point to humor the fat and friendly queen, and she soon began to accept his advice and help. Summons From Qneen. One day Wirkus received a sum mons at his newly built home on the coast. Messengers from the queen delivered it They were very sol emn. The message asked that Wir kus hasten inland and up into the back mountain country to the queen's village of whitewashed mud huts. The queen very urgently want ed to see the young American, who was then not quite 25. Wondering what it could be about, Wirkus accepted and started off on horseback. The trails up the moun tain were crowded with natives, all heading for the queen's village. When he finally reached the village he was ushered, still somewhat mys Warrant Officer Fa as tin W irk us as he looks today. teriously, into a dwelling especially reserved for him. It was late after noon and the queen's emissaries informed him that his presence would not be wanted before Queen Ti Memenne until late that night. Already drums were slowly beating in the village center. Still wondering what it was all about, he calmly un dressed and went to sleep. Khaki-Clad Monarch. Later the marine sergeant, dressed in his usual khaki and put tees, entered the queen's house, stepping into a tiny room. Squat ting in close array on the floor were members of the inner court. Ti Memenne, barefoot and dressed in a gaily colored robe, sat at the front in regal fashion, her black face shadowy in the sputtering, Vague rays of candles. Queen Ti Memenne must have been in her forties or more, and, while a friendly woman, she had a way of commanding and getting respect. The marine found out why he had been summoned before the queen. He was to be crowned "King Faus tin IL" "At first I thought it was Just a way they had of telling me they liked me, but later it developed that Ti Memenne and her people were in earnest about the matter. They had discussed the thing for days, and had agreed to name me as their 'white king.' " The ceremony, weird in many ways, lasted nearly three hours. Out side the drums rolled and pounded, all but drowning out the bleating of a young goat scared to the tip of his tail, which was brought into the royal chamber and offered up as a blood sacrifice. Wirkus was seated on a small, short-legged chair, and at the queen's command, an attendant came from the next room bearing a * heavy, ornate crown. "I now crown you 'King Faustin H,' " proclaimed Queen Ti Mem enne, and she placed the crown? the same crown, so it was said, that once had adorned .the head of King Faustin I?on Wirkus 1 "Two huge blacks then picked me up and carried me outside. As soon , i as I appeared the drums beat out the king's salute?four ruffles and three taps. I knew that this was no empty honor they were paying me." 'White King ef La Oonave.' Thus was crowned "The White King of La Gonave," a title that was to bring Wirkus, the marine, fame In many countries. William B. Seabrook made him the featured ro mantic character of his book, "Mag ic Isle," and later Mr. Wirkus him self wrote a book which he called "The White King of La Gonave." With the fame, however, also came envy and jealousy from cer tain quarters. Haiti's president a few years later, Louis Borno, hardly relished the popularity of La Gon ave's subdistrict commander, or the thought that a "king," official or un official, was in charge of one of his provinces. So eventually Wirkus was transferred to another West In dies station. Before that happened, though, the adventure - loving leatherneck proved himself a good and kindly administrator. The natives greeted him with "Bon soir, Roi," or "Good evening, King," and he was forever amused at the intense interest the natives took in his everyday affairs. Often they stood around his home. Just to watch him dress. As "King," of course, be had no more authority than he had before. In the eyes of his marine associates in the Gendarmerie, he was still merely subdistrict commander. He received no pay for his kingly title, and his stay on the island was as routine as before. To him, it was Just a high compliment. Ia lfitt Wirkus Was transferred to another station in the West Indies. It was s sad occasion when "The White Una of Le Gonave" bade his people gobdby. The natives teed the that! and cheered aa Queen 11 Mi iseniis gravely prophesied: "iscr cu,^ wSrs?teck aqd nils the island of La Goeave."
The Alamance Gleaner (Graham, N.C.)
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Feb. 24, 1944, edition 1
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