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?XHIAuimance Gleaner 1 ? ' _____CRAHAM, N. C., THURSDAY, MAY 11, 1944 __________ Wk U Jj WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS u. S. Forces Clean Up Hollandia Area; WFA Announces Dairy Subsidy Rates; Heavy Hog Shipments Glut Markets; Aerial Attacks Weaken Nazi Defenses Released by Western Newspaper Union. Italy Italian farmers are shown clearing vineyards of small volcanic ttsas fragments spawn by belching Mount Vesuvius. EUROPE: Invasion Awaited With huge concentrations of ship ping reportedly massed in British ports and the Allied aerial attacks continuing in unprecedented force, Nazi Europe nervously awaited the historic and heralded invasion. While the U. S. and Britain pre pared for hostilities in the west, the Russians were reportedly organizing strength for a new drive into east srn Poland, presumably to synchro nize with the invasion. As the Rus sians gathered their new forces, the Axis armies in southeastern Ruma nia stiffened resistance and parried Red thrusts along the Dniester river front. Western Europe found no rest by day or night as British and Ameri can heavy, medium and light bomb ers smashed at the Germans' vaunt ed concrete and steel Atlantic wall, French and Belgian rail lines over which the enemy could be expected to shuttle troops to meet invasion forces, and German industries sup plying the wehrmacht. AGRICULTURE: Hog Glut In the wake of the government's move to buy all corn in 125 mid western counties for sorely pressed processing industries, heavy hog shipments clogged slaughtering cen ters, resulting in embargoes in some centers, notably St. Louis, Mo., and Peoria, 111. The large shipments were believed also influenced by short feed sup plies after two years of extensive use of grain for fattening record numbers of stock, and the govern ment's plan for a minimum price of $12.50 per hundredweight for this fell. Taking note of the dwindling feed stocks. OPA announced that effec tive May 15, the ceiling price on hogs over 240 pounds would be cut to $14 per hundredweight, to discour age heavy finishing off. Dairy Subsidy To encourage conservation of grains during the pasture season to provide for heavier feed during the fell and winter months, the War Pood administration announced sub sidy payment rates for dairy produc ?fen for the next 11 months. Although rates during the next four months will range from 35 to ? cents a hundred pounds for whole milk and 6 cents a pound for butter fat, beginning September 1 and end ?g next March 31, rates will range between 60 to 90 cents for whole milk and 10 cents for butterfat. Estimated to cost between $300, ?".<*? and $400,000,000 annually, the ?hole program is dependent upon cpgressional appropriations for ad mmistrative expenses, WFA said. RATIONING: Wore Butter Because of record stocks in ware and freezers, 35,000,000 *m?ds of country butter will be I 'or civilian use in May at llMLnts P"1 Pound, along with ?ww,000 pounds of creamery but ?? 12 points. *t the same time, OPA announced h? ?m(!re and better ice cream will ^Produced in May and June, fol io Permission to manufacturers 1Mi? ase 0UtPul to 75 per cent of j n&ures, and to use a mix 1 to IdH Cen' richer in butterfat con addition, reductions in point val n,.. r.e scheduled for flank beef ?f tmri.3 and mutton, variety cuts ?ad a, a.nd veal- d"ed beef, potted meats, and sausages. FLOODS: Field Work Halted Floods and heavy rain sweeping the country retarded field work and rail shipments alike, in addition to causing extensive property damage and loss of life. In the middlewest, farm work was as much as three weeks behind schedule, with only half the oats sown in Iowa, and much of that acreage planned to be diverted to corn and soybeans in Illinois. Warm, sunny weather was needed in the winter wheat belt in the southern great plains area. Because of blight and excessive moisture, the south east feared for its potato crop. Vegetable and fruit produce en route to northern markets from the west and south was held up by flood conditions through the Mississippi river basin. A stimulus to the black market was feared through the pos sible diversion of crops to trucks. PACIFIC: Nearer Philippines Heavy U. S. bombers were within 1,400 miles of the Philippines with the Doughboys' capture of three airfields around Hollandia in northern New Guinea following a whirlwind inva sion, which Gen. Douglas MacArthur claimed sealed off 140,000 Japs. Reinforced by additional troops, British and native units in eastern India braced for a showdown strug gle with invading Japs, aiming for the Bengal-Assam railroad supply U I I 1 I I ,1 I i ing Lieut. Gen. Joseph Stilwell's Al lied forces, clearing a path for a new communication line to China through northern Burma. Encountering light resistance, U. S. forces cleaned up Hollandia in record time, extending Allied air and naval control far up the New Guinea coast and threatening the enemy's supply lines feeding bottled troops all the way down to the Solo mons to the east. Hollandia's fall also placed General MacArthur one step closer to realization of his vow to return to the Philippines. SURPLUS GOODS: Disposal Planned With government sale of surplus war materials already running at a rate of $12,000,000 a month, federal officials were reported to have agreed upon a plan for entrusting future large scale disposal of such goods to five agencies and 12 busi ness experts. Under the plan, the War Food ad ministration would handle food; the treasury buyers, textiles; the Re construction Finance corporation, land and factories; the Maritime commission, ships and related ma terials; and the war department, munitions. The business advisors would coun sel on how the various surplus goods should be distributed, but each agen cy would be asked to formulate its own policy of sale through negotia tion, auction or advertising. DUCKS: Population Up With mallards most numerous, the duck population now approximates 125,000,000, according to figures of Frederick C. Lincoln, chief of migra tory birds investigation of the U. S. Fish and Wildlife service. Mallards now make up 35,000,000 to 40,000,000 of the duck population, Lincoln said, with pintails second with 20,000,000, and bluebills third with 15,000,000. Marked increases also were noted for red-headed ducks and coots and mudhens. Because of the continuing de crease of woodcocks, however, it has been indicated that the season may be closed on them next fall, along with the Jacksnipes. BUSINESS: Oil Supply . Because a tremendous area of prospective oil territory remains to be tested and petroleum could be produced from enormous reserves of coal and shale, the U. S. need have no undue concern over future oil supplies, Edward G. Seubert, presi dent of Standard Oil company of Indiana, told stockholders in the course of a report on the firm's busi ness in 1943, showing profit of $50,591,371. At the same time, President Ralph W. Gallagher of Standard Oil com pany of New Jersey, in announcing profits of $121,327,773 for 1943, told shareholders that although the U. S. was assured of sufficient oil in the future, two principal problems existed, namely, discovery of more oil, and insitution of sound, world wide conservation policies to pre vent wastage in production. MAIL ORDER: Legal Battle Ground was laid for one of the U. S.'s most historic legal battles when the govern ment forcibly took over Montgomery Ward and compa ny's big Chicago plant following its refusal to accept a presidential order to obey a War La bor board's direc tive to extend a con tract with the ClO'a Mail Order, Ware SeweU Avery house and Retail employees Local 20 until the union's bargaining rights could be determined. Claiming that the WLB had no su pervision over Ward's because it cannot be classed as a war plant, Ward's 69-year-old President Sewell Avery stuck to his guns to the last, finally being carried from the plant by U. S. troops when refusing to recog nize the govern ment's occupancy. As both sides W. C. Taylor U?i4la TTnHarcA^t. squareu xut a cuuii uauic unuv.> retary of Commerce Wayne Chatfleld Taylor took over operation of the plant, lacking cooperation from some Ward officials standing loyally beside Avery. CIVILIAN GOODS: Increase Opposed While congressional leaders pressed for an increase in output of civilian goods in view of a surplus of certain materials and cancellation of some war contracts, government of ficials cautioned against any consid erable boost in production over present levels. War Production Czar Donald Nel son said military output must be in creased in the immediate future and maintained at high peaks until ac tual needs for operations in western Europe are established. Undersecretary of War Robert ! Patterson opposed any notable switch to civilian production on the grounds that it would create un founded optimism and lead to a rush from war plants to obtain jobs in consumer goods industries. QUEBEC: Overseas Service Paced by Nationalist Member Rene Chalout who declared that any fighting forces should be fur nished by the U. S., Britain, China and Russia because only they stand to gain anything from the war, the Quebec provincial legislature cast a 55 to 4 vote expressing disapproval of any move to send Canadian con scripts overseas. Said Chalout: "Conscription for military service in Canada was insti tuted because there was supposed to be danger of invasion. If federal authorities were sincere at the time, they should abolish it now since there is no more danger of an inva sion of Canada." The legislature acted after the Ca nadian national defense minister de clared draftees could be used over seas if appropriate measures were taken by the government Man Making Note* In a Night Club: Islands of celebs surrounded by joy-polloi. . . The off-key clatter of plates and ho-hum of conversation bruising the boogie-woo. .. Browsing from table to table, colyumists searching for paragraphs. Casting pearls before swine, ha ha. . . Dowa gers curdled with age cruising in like battleships that have just been launched. . . Bores anchored at tables waiting for the check to be picked up. . . Nibbling on a side dish of hope, flops sitting alone twiddling their thoughts. . . Pretty gals wrapped in tight gowns that put every curve in italics. .. Drunks riveted to the bar making private tragedies public. In secluded corners, lovers jug gling happiness at the tip of their hearts. . . Biggies draped across chairs acting as if they were thrones . . . Movie stars making entrances like a parade of one?walking over an invisible carpet of stares. . . Members of the lifted-punky set greeting each other with snubdued expressions. . . Cigaret gals who are lovelier than many of the famed beauties around them. . . Trouble makers trying to create a bonfire of scandal by rubbing two ugly whis pers together. . . The monologue of a visiting Hollywood producer punc tuated by the expressive eyebrow of his listeners. The Magie Lanterns: Packed with more action, "Buffalo Bill" is a swift biografilm of a fabulous American during the pioneer era when a man's best friend was his six-shooter. Joel McCrea stars. Linda Darnell and Maureen O'Hara's beauty are as ex citing as the gun play. . . The Big Town in its knee-pants days pro vides the background for "Knicker bocker Holiday." Nelson Eddy's baritone contributes a bouquet of tunes in full bloom. . . The pungent anti-Nazi short yarn, "Address Un known," becomes a vivid film study of the present Nazi degeneration. Paul Lukas adds to his acting laurels. . . "Raiders of Red Gap" buzzes out of Movieburg's B-hive with more sting than honey. . . "Hot Rhythm" is what Hollywood can turn out in its sleep. Listing the cast would be more of an expose than publicity. The Networks: Fred Allen's comi crack about the fellow wearing an overseas cap, a sports jacket, khaki pants, suede shoes, etc., because "he's just turned 26 and doesn't know if he's coming or going" was first rate. . . Radio jesters have re versed a show business tradition. Stooges used to be the butt "of the comic's quips. Now radio's stooges are given the most generous por tions of the punchlines. . . Norman Corwin, one of the few radio writers who drape radio drama with long pants, deserves a salute for his inde pendence. lie informed an inter viewer that he has turned down sponsors for fear they won't allow him to write what he thinks. . . Nothing is impossible. On Info Please this week erudite John Kieran admitted be didn't know. The Intelligentsia-.When the Her ald Tribune changes Moscow corre spondents (which is not frequently), only the man leaves Moscow. Behind him he leaves a lease on a com fortable apartment, grocery requisi tions, an old fur coat and a sec ond-hand sedan. All these must re main in the name of the newspaper . . . Paul Porter heard that George Jean Nathan, the critic, laughed during a new show. . . "The cur tain," obseiyed Paul, "must have hit some actor on the headj" . . . Sophie Tucker's autobiography will be Doubleday-Doran'd. The title: "Some of These Days," naturally . .. In one London humor mag there is a cartoon of a British officer walk ing with a WAC. The caption: "Say, Pam, can you get your teeth into the idea of middle-aisling it with meT" . . . The Overseas Press Club is fed up and will start fighting for the many newspaper and radio men at the fronts, who are not allowed to wear campaign ribbons. Mid town Vignette: Several sea sons ago an orchestra leader com posed a bundle of good tunes. . . Naturally, he put his name on them. . . Which his rivals pigeon holed when song-pluggers brought them around. . . When the com poser finally sensed the reason, he resolved to use a nom de handle. . . After a long interval he wrote "Take It Easy," now being thrushed by the Crosbys, the Sinatras, the Shores and many leading orches tras. . . "Take It Easy" is regis tered by "Albert de Bru"?Senor Cugatl The American Farm Family Is Now "Enjoying the Conveniences and Benefits of Prepaid Hospital | Care Through Blue Cross Hospital Service Plans f M? By ELMO SCOTT WATSON Rttousd toy Western Newspaper Union. THIS is the story of "th? fast est growing movement in the country"?one that is adding to the health and peace of mina of millions of Americans. Seven years ago there were fewer than 600,000 of those Americans. To day there are more than 14,000, 000?more than one-tenth of our whole population?and it's like ly that by the end of the year that number will have risen to 18,000,000. This movement is group hos pital insurance which, under the stimulation of wartime condi tions, has become a $100,000,000 a year business. And, as the re sult of the Blue Cross Hospital Service plan, sponsored by the American Hospital association, Mr. John Q. Citizen, one of these 14,000,000, has the assurance that, should illness or accident make hospital care necessary for him or some member of his family, his pocketbook will not be suddenly and devastatingly depleted. And the peace of mind which comes from the assur ance of that fact has been pur chased by John Q. at an aver age cost of less than five cents a day! However, the significant fact about this story for readers of this newspaper is that the group hos pital service plan has spread to the rural areas of the nation and is rapidly becoming as common as it has been in metropolitan centers. Of course, it has always been true that farmers and members of their fami lies get sick or have accidents just as do factory workers. The same is true of employees of business firms in villages and small towns. In fact, both classes need help and often are less able to pay hospital bills than are the middle class or low-income groups in the big cities. So there was quite as much reason for their having the benefit of low cost planned and "prepaid" hospital care as for their city cousins having it. The principal reason why they didn't get it sooner lay in certain factors which are the very heart of the planned hospital care idea. Of those factors the word "group" is the key. First of all, enrollment of mem bers in such a plan has to be through groups and these groups have to be large enough so that, as in any in surance 01 uus one type, uieir mem bers are "good risks." With the popu lation so scattered in rural areas, it seemed that it would be almost im possible either to enroll people or to make collections from them. It seemed also that groups would be so small and so few that each sub scriber would be in effect an "indi vidual" subscriber, hence a hazard ous risk. Then, too, it was believed that the people of rural America, especially farmers, are such todi : vidualists and independent thinkers that they could not be enrolled in hospitalization groups large enough to be self-sustaining. Comes the 'Bine Cress.' For these, and other, reasons the earliest plans for hospital cars were concentrated in the big cities where large industries, whose em ployees were numbered by the thou sands, offered the best opportunity for handling such insurance on a group basis. Then came the organi zation of the Hospital Service Plan commission of the American Hospi tal association to sponsor the "Blue Cross" movement. "Blue Cross" is a general term which identifies ths 77 group plans for hospital cars which meet the standards of com munity service, professional spon sorship, non-profit organization and financial solvency and which have been approved by the American Hos pital association. Not only did the Blue Cross move niVnt expand the planned hospital care idea in the cities but it was chiefly responsible for Its "moving out into the country." It spread to the smaller cities and towns first and then out to the farms. It's true that farmers are "independent thinkers" but, as one of the pioneer workers in the rural field has stated, they are also "shrewd buyers and era quick to take to something once its value has been proved." So now farmers are being enrolled through bunks, with which they do business and which are willing to cooperate, through their farm bureaus, their granges, their farmers' unions, co operatives, creameries, and -other well-organized farmer-business asso ciations. In the cities, workers who are buy ing hospital protection pay for it by payroll deduction. Farmers, who en roll through banks, authorize those institutions to make periodic deduc tions from their checking or savings accounts to pay the required fees. Where they enroll through cream eries or cooperatives, periodic de ductions are made from theircream or grain checks and those who en roll through the grange, farm bureau or farmers' union pay their fees on a quarterly, semiannual or annual basis, mostly the latter two. How the Plan Works. Although there are 77 different group plans for hospital care and they differ from each other in some minor details, here is the essen tial method of their operation: The hospitals in a certain region?city, county or state?guarantee hospital service to Blue Cross subscribers, whether they are members of groups in factories, city offices, edu cational institutions, clubs, union organizations or farm groups, who have agreed to pay a certain amount for this service at regular intervals. This amount varies somewhat ac cording to the group plan. Mem bership costs from $7.20 to $10.20 a year for one person and from $19 to $24 a y?SV for the member and his family, including his wife and all unmarried children under the age of 18. In Minnesota, where the pioneer ing work in farm enrollment was done, there is a plan which offers a man complete coverage for himself and 90 per cent discounts for his wife and children at $12 a year, plus $3:for each adult dependent. In return for these payments the insured, or member of his family, who has to go to a hospital gets a semi-private room, his meals, gen eral nursing, anesthetics, special diets, dressings, laboratory tests, X-rays and operating room charges. (This does not include, however, the physician's or surgeon's fees.) He can enter any one of the country's approved, registered hospitals, that is those hospitals recognized as meeting the standards of the Ameri can Medical association or state and local agencies. If for any reason one of these hos pitals can't take him in because of lack of room, some of the plans pay back double the year's premium, but many of them provide cash pay ments for home care equivalent to the amount that the hospital care would have been worth. However, there have been very few instances when a Blue Cross member couldn't get into a hospital becaue the num ber of these institutions which par ticipate in the plan is 2,900 with 80 per cent of the bed capacity of all the hospitals in the United States open to the public. Reference has been made to the pioneering work done in Minnesota in rural enrollment in hospital plans. It began in 1938 under the auspices of the farm bureau in Hennepin county with 42 family contracts for a total service coverage of 90 per sons. Since then farm bureau mem berships in that state have Increased to 6,200 contracts with 22,400 per sons covered for hospital care. These, in 329 local units in 01 coun ties, have found the plan highly suc cessful and satisfactory. There are 87 counties in the state and a total of 1,200 farm bureau units so that three-fourths of all the counties in Minnesota now have units enrolled in the Blue Cross and more than one-fourth of the units are already protecting themselves against sud den hospitalization costs. Fran Minnesota farm bureau sponsorship of prepaid hospital car* has spread to other states notably Kansas. Missouri, Nebraska, North ? ? Dakota and Oklahoma, until now ' ' there are 19 in which farm bureau, federation members may taka ad vantage of Blue Cross plans through their unit groups. In December, 1942, the American Farm bureau at its annual meeting in Chicago wrote into its nationwide program of work a strong indorsement of the non profit group hospital care plans and other rural health developments that lend themselves to farm family, unit action. However, the farm bureau is not the only agency through which the hospital plan is being carried to the farms of the nation. In Hillsdale county, Mich., the Farmers Mutual Fire Insurance company, a co operative, was used as the already established group through which to put the hospital plan into operation. In northern Illinois, the Northern Illinois Hospital service, serving 11 counties and their smaS towns,'' ranging in population from 300 to 1,900, have worked in co-operation with Rotary, Kiwanis and Lions clubs, with women's clubs, PTAs, Veterans of Foreign Wars posts and churches, farm bureaus, home bureaus and granges. As a result in these li counties more than 4,500 farm families, representing 13,900 individuals aqe Blue Cross members. yi. kl m n ? n vomdinea diuuicsj uroups. In North Carolina a great many of the small groups in the small towns are enrolled as combined business groups. This type of enrollment means combining many small busi nesses into a group, getting 73 per cent or more of the employes in these various small concerns to be come members of the Blue Cross. In some of these combined groups, as many as 800 persons Join. These groups consist of drug stores, gro cery stores, warehouses etc. The FSA has also been active in cooper ating with the Blue Cross plans in North Carolina and other states in bringing prepaid hospital care to low income families. ( Indicative of the way in which small toWa- dad rural America is enlisting under the Blue Cross ban ner are these facts taken at random from many examples. In one Iowa town of 982 population, 445 or 73 per cent have enrolled in a hospital care plan and in another town of 4,403, a total of 2,214 or 60 per cent have joined. In one Wisconsin community the local power company acts as collector and remitting agent and the people of the community who have enrolled pay for this insur ance along with their monthly elec tric bills. This town has a popula tion of 1,000 and out of a possible 450 persons employed in the town, 153 have enrolled, there being 106 family contracts and 41 individual contracts. Such instances could be multi plied indefinitely. Prom all of which it is evident that rural America is Indeed "shrewd buyers and quick to take to something once its value has been proved." As for proving its value, ask the Blue Cross member in New York state who was recently hospitalized for S3 days. hi? con tract covered him for >3 days of one contract year and 28 days of the new year, a total of 61 days. His total hospital bill was 8300.55. When he was ready to be discharged from the hospital, he was handed a hospital service credit of $28>J6, That meant he had to pay in cash to the hospital only $12^5. "If s a thrill that comes once is a lifetime," he said. And then, quite naturally, he added, "I think hoe nital service is a great idea." * ii i iiHSi.lMitiMH
The Alamance Gleaner (Graham, N.C.)
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May 11, 1944, edition 1
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