The Alamance Gleaner
V6L LXX GRAHAM, N. C., THURSDAY, JULY 20, 1944 No. 24
WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS
Allies Move Ahead in Normandy;
DeGaulle Visit to White House
Poses New Diplomatic Problem
Released by Western Newspaper Union. 1
(EDITOR'S NOTE: When opinions are expressed In these eelnnsns, they are these ef
Western Newspaper Unlen's news analysis and net necessarily ef thie newspaper.)
Saipan? Wires aid children of Japaaei* soldiers on Saipan island are
pidarsd after being rounded op by Doughboys from cares and jungles back
mi their lines.
EUROPE:
Yanks Gain
Developing their offensive on the
western end of the French battle
frant, U. S. troops drove through
marshy land to envelop the com
munications hubs of La Haye and
SL Lo against the bitter opposition
it an enemy taking every advan
tage of the soggy ground and hedge
rawed landscape. ?
On the eastern end of the front,
British and Canadian troops battled
large concentrations of German
forces on the approaches of the de
fensive pivot of Caen, from which
Field Marshal Rommel was sending
ant strong detachments in counter
attacks to impede the Allies' thrust
inland toward the important Paris
region.
As the Allies nudged forward in
Mormandy, Berlin announced the re
placement of Anti-Invasion Chief von
Rundstedt by Field Marshal von
n??e. who led the Nazi sweep
through France in 1940, and was at
the helm during the drive on Mos
cow during the first year of the Rus
sian war.
Other Fronts
Calling massed artillery into play
front dominating heights, the Ger
mans poured fire on Allied troop
movements in Italy to slow their
steady'drive up the long peninsula
ta the rich agricultural and industri
al regions of the north.
In Russia, German forces contin
ued to give ground before strong
Red armies massed along a 350
mile front in the north to escape
encirclement and destruction. Near
Wilno, the Reds milled on the thresh
old of the Baltic states, while farther
to the south, their pressure forced
evacuation of Kowel, bending the
enemy line farther back toward
Warsaw.
Focal point of German resistance
fc> Italy was below the famed port
of Livorno (Leghorn), whose cap
ture promised to give the Allies an
other good Mediterranean harbor for
te easier transport of troops and
supplies for the crucial fighting in
the north.
DIPLOMACY:
French Problem
U. S. support of the De Gaulle ad
ministration of liberated French ter
ritory without for
ma] recognition of
it as-a legal govern
ment was the latest
diplomatic problem
ap for settlement
ia Washington, D.C.
with De Gaulle's ar
rival in the nation's
capital for discus
sions with Presi
dent Roosevelt.
De Gaulle winged
Us way over from
? aatk A io
General
De Gaulle
" v ^ ? u nu ?*_? iw
seek approval of hi* negotiations
with Britain, under which his ad
ministration would take control of
Iterated territory, arrange for sup
ply and equipment of underground
fanes through lend-lease, and settle
disputed property rights caused by
transfers of ownership under Nazi
weeps toon aad Allied requisitioning
for military purposes.
Although long complimentary to
De Gaulle's Free French move
ment, the U. S. has been cautious in
recognizing it as the legal repre
sentativs of the people, declaring
that only an election could deter
mine their choice when circum
?Uacci oermitted.
TRAGEDIES:
Circus Fire
Overhead the famed Wallandas
prepared for their celebrated tight
wire act on bicycles as 6,000 happy
spectators awaited the performance
under the big canVas tent of the
Ringling Brothers and Barnum &
Bailey circus in Hartford, Conn.
Near a sidewaii of the tent, a
small flame was noticed. Suddenly,
it flared and leaped upward, with
great patches of burning canvas
falling when fire had seared them
off. The cry of "Fire! Fire! Fire!"
spread through the panic-stricken
spectators, and their frantic shouts
mingled with the din cf roaring ani
mals in the corral outside.
As the great sheets of burning can
vas fell on top of the milling crowd
below, adults and children struggled
to make their way to safety, but
scores were trapped, with some run
ning into the steel ramps through
which animals were led into the
arena.
As rescue workers dug into the de
bris, they extricated the bodies of
133 victims, mostly children, and
more seriously injured.
Miners Trapped
As scores of relatives of 64 miners
trapped in the Powhatan pit near
Bellaire, Ohio, waited hopefully at
the mine entrance, officials grimly
announced that the shaft would have
to be sealed off to prevent the flow of
oxygen feeding the raging flames
uinderground.
In one last desperate effort to free
the men entombed in a dead-end
tunnel when a rock fall broke a
high-voltage trolley wire along the
main passageway and sizzling
sparks ignited coal, skilled crews
prepared to drill down 350 feet to
open a shaft for lowering food and
water.
In a previous effort to free
the entombed men, rescue workers
were cutting a new 500-foot tunnel
through coal and rock to bypass the
flames and reach the victims, when
new fires halted their work.
Train Wreck
Climaxing the string of major
tragedies was the derailment of a
Louisville and Nashville train In
Clear Fork River gorge near Jellico,
Tenn., with early reports listing 25
dead and many injured.
Casualties on the troop-carrying
train resulted when the locomotive
and two coaches left the track and
plunged 50 feet into the gorge, and
two other cars overturned on the
edge of the decline and caught fire.
Although hindered by darkness,
rescue workers used acetylene
torches to probe the wreckage and
remove victims, while mountaineers
hoisted the stricken up from the
gorge with block and tackle.
CHINA:
Bloody Fighting
Fighting with their backs to the
wall, Chinese troops stiffly resisted
strong Japanese efforts to seal off
the embattled country's whole east
ern seacoast and strengthen their
grip on the Asiatic mainland.
Chinese forces far to the south
west sought to join 'up with Allied
troops driving through Burma to
open up a new supply-route to China
from India. Only 2S miles of moun
tainous terrain stood between the
two armies.
The 14th American air force Joined
in the savage battle in China, bomb
ing and strafing the enemy and drop
ping Sans of ammunition to the val
iant defenders.
PACIFIC:
Subs Take Toll
With the Allies pressing closer to
Japan's inner supply lines feeding
her booming war industry, U. S.
subs and air forces can be expected
to take an increasing toll of enemy
shipping, navy secretary James
Forrestal declared.
In reporting that U. S. subs re
cently had sent 15 Jap cargo ves
sels and two warships to the bot
tom, Forrestal said such losses
crimped the enemy's whole war pro
gram, since he must move about 75
million tons of water-borne freight
into the home islands yearly, in
cluding 75 per cent of his oil and
gas supply from the East Indies.
Despite heavy marine losses, For
restal said, the Japs have lightened
the effects through use of huge
stockpiles of materials built up be
fore the war, lessening of trans
port to encircled South Pacific
areas, and the utilization of surplus
prewar shipping tonnage.
LEND-LEASE:
Steady Shipments
Lend-lease shipments of food to
the Allies continued at a steady pace
during the first five months of 1944,
with some commodities being sent
in larger volume and others in
smaller amounts, with little net ef
fect on domestic supplies.
During the period, 9.3 per cent of
the total U. S. meat supply was
shipped under lend-lease, with the
major portion consisting of pork.
About 15.6 per cent of the nation's
pork was sent abroad.
The United Kingdom and Russia
continued to receive most of the
lend-lease food, with the U. S. sup
plying 10 per cent of British needs.
i i
'Black Widow'
Although military officials have
concealed details, a full and rear
view of the new twin-fuselage "Black
Widow" fighter plane with a central
cockpit, was released. Said to bo
the largest and most powerful pur
suit plane built, the "Black Widow"
la especially equipped for night fight
ing. Blank spots indicate censor's
deletions. ,.i
BUGS:
Man's Allies
Acting in conjunction with the
U. S. department of agriculture, the
nation'i farmers are turning preda
tory bugs upon destructive insects
to assure crop growth.
In Illinois alone, more than 40,000
wasps and flies were released to
combat corn borers threatening the
state's rich grain fields. No sure-fire
remedy in themselves, however, the
work of the predatory insects can
only complement clean farming
and deep plowing, agronomists Say.
When turned loose, the predatory
insects crawl through the corn
borer's tunnel in the stalks, with the
wasps penetrating its body to lay
eggs in it, and the flies depositing
eggs on the outside. As the eggs
feast on the borer even in the pupa
stage, they eventually destroy it,
while emerging themselves.
ROBOTS:
Inflict Casualties
With all Britain stirfed by the
robot menace which continued to
exact its toll of casualties and dam
age, Prime Minister Churchill told
the parliament that over 10,000 peo
ple had been killed or wounded by
the flying bombs and he could give
no guarantee about the future of
this form of attack.
Although declaring that the Allies
would not be goaded into diverting
attention from the Normandy bat
tlefront by the robots, Churchill said
that considerable numbers of U. 8.
and British planes have been ham
mering the French coast from which
the hying bombs are believed to be
launched.
Powered by fuel and compressed
air and automatically piloted by gy
roscopes, the robots have been buzz
ing over southern Fin gland at speeds
of 300 m.p.h. or more and altitudes
of about 1,000 feet, to suddenly break
off into a 30-degree glide and crash
to earth with an explosive force of
1.000 pounds.
The New York and
Hollywood Scene:
Facta About Glammerville: A)
Jolson spellbinding a squad of U. S.
Marines at the Beverly Hills Hotel
pool . . . Bette Davis and Sec'y
Morgenthau thrilling the uniformed
men at the Hollywood Canteen . . .
Dinah Shore thrushlng nine ditties
for them . . . Bonita Granville
showing Lt. Joe Wade the cine
magicians. He's all mended from
that New Guinea crackup . . . Ella
Logan's real tears as she micro
phoned "That Old Feeling" to the
China-Burma-India sector via the
Mail Call program, which isn't
heard by the public here . . .
Veronica Lake, tiny as a doll, float
ing to the rhythms of Emil Cole
man's and Phil Ohman's crews at
the Mocambo . . . Lovely Mari
anne O'Brien of the Warners' fac
tory surrounded by Marines in the
Clover Club . . . Miriam Hopkins
at La Rue with her constant com
panion, who never was itemed as
her favorite male. He's a Greek
biggie . . . Bob Hope and his John
ny Weismuller hair-do. "No
cracks," he warns with a threaten
ing finger, "I'm doing a pirate pic
ture."
Marshal Rommel (according to
Britishers who made their escape
back to our lines) has a sense of
humor, he thinks ... He made
several British offlcert attend his
frequent lectures, during which he
affected a pose that the Battle of
Africa was a sporting event. He
would give these prisoners a testi
monial dinner with all the pomp he
II.. J ? Ul.
iiiusKi uu uic ucoci i. in| cir
trances, place cards, introductions,
salutes and so on . And then,
while the German staff dined on ex
cellent cuisine, the British prisoners
were served a meal consisting of
their own K-rations captured with
them. Rommel also "delighted in
pointing out their errors and why
they were captives. He was asked
by a correspondent: "To what do
.you credit your success? How will
the enemy ever beat you?" . . .
With a gleam in his monocled eye
Rommel replied: "The German
Army is great because of its great
organization. I know exactly when
X will enter a town. One month
ahead I "know what suite I will have
in which hotel. If, however, some
day, I march into a place and go to
my suite and find another German
general?then I will know we are
Ucked!"
The "Oklahoma" east is reported
doing so much ad libbing that "they
are spoiling the show." Guild ex
ecs shrug and say: "Look at the
box office" . . . The New York Post
Office has broken all records in the
district. To date this year it has
done business totaling 103 millions
P*. . . The book now on FDR's bed
side table is "Rendezvous trith Des
tiny." The only comment on the
book appeared in a Chicago paper
briefly and a story in the Christian
Science Monitor. Not a single re
view has appeared on it yet . . .
Hepburn's newest interest, they say,
is a famed polo player . . . Add
ditty similarities: "Time Waits for
No One" and "Tales from Vienna
Woods" . . . Lana Turner won't
bark about it until she sees it here,
but those delicious canapes Ray
Bourbon served with cocktails the
other sundown were made from dog
food . . . R-R-Ruff-Ruffff!
The Late Watch: Shirley Rosa
and her husband, Kenneth Dolan
(who parted last season), are hap
pier than ever. They reconciled aft
er he was quoted here as saying the
fault was all his because: "I neglect
ad my wife Instead of my clients"
. . . There will be a copyright war
over U. S. rights to the song popular
with the troops, "Lili Marlene" . . .
Douglas Miller, who wrote You
Can't Do Business With Hitler,"
told OWI chiefs that the war with
Germany will last at least another
year and with Japan two . . . T.
Casey, the B'klyn Citizen editor,
has written two songs with Johnny
Tucker of Hook and Ladder Co. 117
in Astoria ... All major networks
banned the song, "Don't Change
Horses," which has nothing to do
with politics. It has been networked
since April. The euthors wrote
"Mairzy Doats."
Qsstotlss Marksmanship: Noel
Coward: The most terrifying thing
to a man is s woman who cries in
advance . . . E. Hemingway: The
saddest thing in the world is the af
fection at man and woman; the most
fortunate ending is by death . . .
J. Porter: She whines him around
her linger . . . Mable Bandy: Eye
lashes that could sweep the cobwebs
from any man's heart . . . L. Con
ing: Low clouds on the verge at
tsars.
v. 1
What Army Eats Isn't 'Chow' Nowadays; A
GI Meals Must Be Tasty and Nourishing
Quartermaster Corps
Tests Insure Purity
And Palatability.
By AL JEDLICKA
iUltAMd by WMttrn N?wspap?r Union.
Wherever Johnny Doughboy
may be fighting today, he's eat
ing his fill of good, nutritional
food.
Whether it's in the South Pa
cific, Europe or the Mediterra
nean, he's finding his fare palat
able and strengthening; maybe
not quite like Ma's home cook
ing, but just what a fighting man
needs to make him fight hard.
If Johnny Doughboy is eating well,
it's no accident. Rather it is the
result of careful scientific study of
the quartermaster corps' subsis
tence research and development lab
oratory in Chicago, which is chiefly
contributing to the army's conquest
of food problems arising from dif
ferent climatic and storage condi
tions throughout the world.
There was a time when the army
wasn't so exacting about food, when
fares were plain and repetitious. No
farther back than World War I vets
lost much of their enthusiasm for
corned beef and salmon because of
their constant serving. But thanks
to the sympathetic understanding of
Col. W. A. Point, who appreciated
the value of a nutritional as well as
a tasty fare for troops, the army
instituted a subsistence school in
1920, which spawned the research
laboratory in 1934.
When the laboratory was opened
that year, there were no indications
that the U. S. would find itaelf in a
world-wide struggle five years later,
fighting in jungles, mountains, des
erts and snowy steppes. But when
that day did come, the laboratory
- A MAJOR "go (he Qnartermaiter
Corps laboratory staff places cari
ous foods, such as navy beans, ba
con, raisins, plum Jam and butter
in a special testinc boa that can
simulate either aretie cold or trep
ic heat.
was ready to undertake the vast
task of adjusting the American sol
diers' food to the different embattled
regions.
No less than 31 army officers and
81 civilian* are at work in the re
search laboratory?chemists, bacte
riologists and vitamin experts, work
ing in approximately a half-dozen
different fields under direction of
Col. Rohland A. Isker. In addition,
there are an experimental kitchen
| for testing preparations and a dining
room where help la served new food
and asked to comment on its palat
1 ability.
In the absence of Colonel Isker,
; who was on a mission in Europe,
Dr. Jesse H. White was in charge
of the laboratory, and it was he who
' escorted this" Western Newspaper
Union correspondent through the
: premises.
A retired army' colonel who re
turned to duty ank? research labor
atory without asJhmlng his old mili
tary rank whan the war's pressing
I events forced a need for trained
men. Dr. White has been associated
with the quartermaster corps since
1907, and always in the forefront
1 of the drive* tor progressive proce
dure. Originally a mdht Inspector
for the navy. Dr. White first under
took the Study of canned fruits, vege
tables and other items for the army,
and participated in Colonel Point's
special subdstenoe schools.
| * Boneless Beef.
Although Dr. White has been in on
the whole* gradual development of
' the army'g scientific food program,
meat Still remains bis first interest,
, and to hini must go the credit for
the acceptance of boneless beef.
It was only after Dr. White's In
sistence that the army experiment
ed with boneless beef during the
maneuvers of 1938, eliminating the
per and expensive cuts and wastes
in the carcass. In 1*80, the army
went still further with boneless beef
under Dr. White's leadership, utiliz
ing the entire carcass (or roasts,
stews and sausages. Though the
conservation of space was a factor
then, if did not assume the tremen
dous importance it did with the out
break of World War II, when the long
supply lines imposed a severe strain
on our transport system.
As a result of Dr. White's sharp
ness, the army achieved additional
conservation of space through his
suggestion for cutting pork loins in
two and fitting one end in the slope
of the other, thus forming a single
package of half the former size.
As a fruition of the effort to pro
vide a variety of food to troops,
three times as many meat items
have been developed under the di
rection of the research laboratory
than existed during the last war.
Before'the wir, packers professed
difficulty canning pork luncheon
meat in large'-Containers, but care
ful research dvwjkpme the problem.
Formerly, the laA^in pork sausage
had oozed from the meat and col
lected around the wahs wf-tHe?can,
but this liqueflcation was also'cor
rected. Heading off the inevitability
of complaints' front's continuous
serving of Vienna sausages, a
coarsely ground, ipeht spiced frank
furter was developed for variety.
With the extension of the fighting
to the tropical climates, preserva
tion of fats and oils have presented
a difficult problem..but under the
direction of the research laboratory
remedies have been developed.
?Army-Spread."
Most noteworthy of these develop
ments, perhaps, is the ' socalled
"army spread," a combination of
butter, cheese curd and milk pow
der. It was produced following a
search for a palatable fat to replace
the old "Carter Spread" composed
of butter and hydrogenated cotton
seed flakes, which tasted tallowy and
stuck to the roof of the mouth. Al
though "army spread" has filled the
bill for an appetizing fat, it is of no
U9# as s shorten in if or in frvincr
Due to icientiflc methods in the
preservation of lard and other short
enings. troops afield now profit from
the availability of high caloric bis
cuits. The celebrated hardtack of
old was nothing more than flour,
water and salt, since no stable
shortening had been discovered. But
through the use of antioxidants, fats
and notably lard have been so treat
ed that they would stay fresh and
usable from six to nine months.
Working in conjunction with proc
essors, the dairy products section
of the research laboratory under
Lieut. Robert J. Remaley has de
veloped an evaporated milk with a
concentration of 3.1, surpassing the
old figure of 2.1. Of value to the
army in the economy of space, the
new product should prove of equal
advantage to women shoppers in the
postwar world. * ?
Advancements also have been
made in the production of dehydrat
ed cheese. Previously sold primar
ily to bakers for fillers, spraying,
etc., the cheese retains its essential
flavor.
Lieutenant Remaley's department
also has been active in the prepara
tion of vanilla ice cream mixes,
shipped in the form of dried powder
to the various fronts, where fruits or
other flavoring agents may be
added.
Sea Water far Baking.
Technologists in the research lab
orators baking department are en
gaged - in various experiments on
cereals and other components of
breadstuff*. One experiment con
cerned the use of sea or ocean water
in the production of bread, since
there are many military baking Jfa
stallatiaq^'in the various arar thea
ters where fresh water is limited.
After careful experimentation with
ocean water provided from the coun
try's eastern and western coasts, it
was discovered that the variation fa
salt content of ocean water was not'
sufficient to require any change fa
? I
the regular army bread formula oth
er than the omisaion of salt. Prior
to the experimentation, however, the
ocean water was trpated with cal
cium hypochlorite on the basis at
0.9 grams to 31 gallons of the water!
against possible content at algae,
sea weed, etc.
Proceeding on the principle that
flour is the most important and the
one indispensable ingredient to the
production of baked. products, the
quartermaster corps tests samples
from each car offered before ac
ceptance. Made from either hard
spring or winter wheat, the flour
must produce bread with good vol
ume, grain and texture, - creamy
white crumb color, and pleasing fla
vor and taste, according to Technol
ogist Paul V. Holton. Containing
about 13 per cent protein and one
half per cent minerals or ash, the
army flour is enriched with thiamin
(vitamin Bl), riboflavin (vitamin
B2), niacin and iron.
One of the outstanding develop
ments was the production of a gran
ular dehydrated yeast for use over
seas because it will keep well for a
year if under refrigeration of tO-SO
degrees F. and show no appreciable
loss in baking sUeugtb if stared at
70 degrees or below for six months.
If kept at higher temperatures, how
ever, the yeast quickly Ibaes Its qual
ity. Other factors favoring granu
lar dehydrated yeast, which is man
ufactured in pellets and packed in
two-pOund size, moisture proof cans,
are its quick action during baking
and its greater leavening power per
unit of weight.
VARIOUS chemical and physical
tests of food samples are conducted
constantly in the Quartermaster
Corps laboratories, to determine
their stability under differing cli
matic conditions and other influ
ences that would affect their whole
someness.
THE FOOD m Maj. W. E. Harp
er'! plate la nilnlte .te. Ml te
contained te tea ttttl* package*
anal m tea taMc.
Canned Rations.
To meet the needs ef our soldiers
under the varying conditions trf war,
rations have .been developed. For
instance, when establishing a beach
head there is no time for the prepa
ration of a meal. The "K" ration
which may be eaten celd, is de
signed for such an exigency. The
"C" ration is intended for later use
when the beachhead is established
and the tension is not quite so great.
The "C" ration which may be eaten
cold but may be made more palat
able by heating the canned compo
nents, requires a minimum of prep
aration. For scout troops or just
baek-of-the-line eating, the 10-in-l ra
tion is preferable. The "D" ration, a
high calorie chocolate bar, is carried
by the soldier to be used only in an
emergency. Each of these rations
has been developed only after the
most careful research. They must be
nutritionally adequate, of excellent ,
keeping quality (at least six fhoaths
under varying conditions of cli
mate), easy to carry, and palatable.
One of the research laboratory's
biggest tasks was in the improvisa
tion of packing to suit the various
climatic conditions encountered. In
early South Pacific fighting, many
different types of packages deterio
rated on the tropical beaches un
der the elements of rain and heat
Through careful research, howev
er, various protective coatings and
waterproofing materials, such as
waxes, were developed, not only to,
guard against -exposure on the
beaches but also to enable many of
the packages to be floated ashore to
facilitate unloading operations.
The laboratory has a cooperative
project called the Guinea Pig Club,
of which every employee ee well ee
every officer in the laboratory is e
?*- ?- ? "fc ?
member. At noana, midmorning, or
lanplet of .proposed
ration items act served.. The tasters
are instructs*. to tits rt? ot two
items, to choose the 004 which they
prefer. If only rate, item is voder
S^h^eta'SSM ^
whether be 11**$ the Item o* not and
why. Figure* iff tfxiteM stetia
41.. - H. ani| |A? ^ an M^Mwn
wemny, arva me popuwriiy or u iwui
may thus scienttftcaQy be obtained.