Newspapers / The Alamance Gleaner (Graham, … / Aug. 10, 1944, edition 1 / Page 1
Part of The Alamance Gleaner (Graham, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
The Alamance Gleaner VoL LXX GRAHAM, N. C., THURSDAY, AUGUST 10, 1944 No. 27 WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS Nazi Crisis Heightens as Allies Break East-West Defense Fronts; ! U.S.Tightens Net on New Guinea i. Released by Western Newspaper Union. I ' " .vniTOB'S NOTE: When opinions are expressed In these columns, they are these of Western Newspaper Union's news analysts and net necessarily of this newspaper.) Normandy?- Having extinguished fire which destroyed ammunition truck at left, Doughboys resume charge under fire near St. Lo. EUROPE: Yank Break-Through With the harassed Germans hold ing down British gains on the east ern end of the Normandy beachhead, U. S. troops unloosed a powerful as sault on the western sector to" break through the Nazis' first-line defenses and force an enemy withdrawal along a 40-mile front. With heavy bombers preparing the ground for the big offensive with an earth-shaking attack that buried many of the German soldiers and showered dirt over their guns, U. S. armored forces then rode into bat tle to exploit the breach in the de fenses. As the enemy pulled out, U. S. fighters and fighter-bombers swooped low to shoot up the retreat ing columns. On the eastern end of the frqnt, Nazi Marshal Rommel threw in a succession of counter-attacks to cur tail the British advance south of Caen, with fighting see-sawing as one side would go into action when the force of the other's initial as sault had been worn off. i ? i As Lt. Gen. Lesley J. McNair, 61, watched the ground forces he had built up in action in Normandy, he was killed by enemy fire. Renowned for having reorganized the old "square" division of 20,000 men in to the modern "triangular" unit of 15, 000, and one of the leaders in the de velopment of powerful, mobile anti tank guns to combat the armored battle uagons, General McNair had received Gen. George MarshalPs praise as the "brains of the army." A soldier for 41 years and veteran of the Mexican campaign and World War 1, General McNair was commander of V. S. ground forces before being sent abroad recently on a secret assignment. While observing the North African fighting in 1943, he was wounded by <hell fragments. Near Warsaw Capital of old Poland - and deep inside the Germans' defense lines, , the ancient city of Warsaw rever berated to Russian guns as the Reds pressed their offensive on the central sector of the 800-mile east ern front. While the Russian spearheads pointed almost halfway across old Poland, Allied troops drew up in Italy for a grand assault upon the enemy's "Gothic Line," first of his defenses guarding the northern plains. Taking advantage of the mountainous terrain on the ap proaches to their new fortification system, the Germans resisted stub bornly in heavy delaying action. As German lines stiffened on the northern end of the eastern front, and Hungarian troops slowed up the Russ drive in the Carpathian foot hills in the south, the full weight of the Reds' advance was thrown into the central sector, where the open plains gave the Nazis no natu ral cover. DROUTH: Partly Broken Although varying rainfall broke an extended drouth in the Ohio and middle Mississippi river valleys to help bumper plantings along, the eastern coastal sector from New England to Maryland suffered from continuing dry weather. With corn tasseling and new ears appearing; soybeans starting to fill, and pastures drying, the wet weath er arrived in the Midwest at a criti cal time. Although the rainfall pushed the corn along in Kansas, an important part of the estimated 207,918,000 bushel wheat crop was threatened with ruin by moisture as it lay in the field because of a lateness in harvesting and shortage of facilities for moving the grain to market. PACIFIC: Japs Wilt Bringing all of their superior fire power into play, U. S. forces in the far Pacific continued to tighten their foothold on Japan's inner ring of de fenses around the Marianas islands, while farther to the south in New Guinea desperate enemy detach ments tried futilely to crack the iron ring General MacArthur has been fastening about them. As big U. S. naval guns tore into enemy emplacements inland to sup plement heavy artillery fire, U. S. troops bore down on Tinian island in the Marianas, while other American units broke up frantic Jap counter attacks to consolidate their hold on Guam, one of the first U. S. possessions to fall to the enemy after Pearl Harbor. By establishing beachheads all along the northern New Guinea , coast, General MacArthur succeed ed in trapping thousands of Japa nese troops in between, and many of these were attempting to upset the American lines before the steel noose could be drawn around them tighter. U. S. LAND: Disposal Program Government decision to auction off 8,000,000 acres of surplus farm land originally required for war pur poses, has created a mild tempest in Washington, D. C., with the Farm ers' Union insisting on the Farm Se curity administration's handling of the disposal as part of its tenant purchasing program. Under plans of Surplus Property Administrator William L. Clayton, the Reconstruction Finance corpora tion is to supervise the program, with appraisals submitted by local experts; sales made as promptly as possible without disrupting the mar ket ; former owners given opportuni ty to repurchase sites, and tracts broken up into individual units. Spearheading the Farmers' Union opposition, President James G. Pat ton declared that Clayton's plan would lead to dominance of the pro gram by the National Association of Real Estate Boards, with control over permanent resources by big in terests. Of the $59,004,006 worth of surplus property disposed of up to mid-July, no real estate was included. Air craft and aircraft equipment made up the bulk of the sales, the RFC reported. CIO: Political Power Prepared to raise up to $3,000,000 for the forthcoming elections, and planning to organize neighborhood politi cal groups with the assistance of union members, the CIO's Political Action com-, mittee looms as a powerful, influenc ing factor in the 1944 campaigns. Headed by Rus sian - bom Sidney Hillman, chieftain of the Amalgamat Sidney Hillman ed Clothing Workers Union, the CIO's Political Action committee calls tor: All-out aid to returned servicemen; full employment after the war at fair wages; good hous ing; medical care and schooling for all; equality of opportunity, and an adequate social security system. First objective of the committee is to register every eligible voter for the fall elections, and it reportedly has spent a substantial part of $300, 000 in this work, with another $400, 000 available for immediate use. "Love thy neighbor?and organize him I" says the committee. GOOD NEIGHBOR: Not So Good Charging the present Argentina government with offering friendly support to Axis establishments and scotching the solidarity of western hemispheric opposition to the ene my, the U. S. government reasserted its non-recognition of the new re gime. Indulging in no diplomatic double talk, the government, through Sec retary of State Cordell Hull, brand ed Argentina as a "deserter to the Allied cause," then went on to charge that the new regime assisted Axis subcontractors to bid on work utilizing American material, and also allowed distribution of imported newsprint to Axis papers attacking the United Nations' cause. TIRES: Less Heavies Because of the army's increased demands, and a shortage of man power in manufacturing plants, ci vilian allocations of heavy and small truck and bus tires for August were sharply reduced, while the quota for passenger use remained unchanged. Although the War Production board recognized that the present grave truck and bus tire situation may result in a curtailment of es sential transportation, it revealed that the army refused to consent to a diversion of its earmarked stocks to civilians. In tendering his resignation as Rubber Director, Bradley Dewey de clared that U. S. plants were now producing synthetic rubber at a rate of 83d,000 tons yearly, and that fu ture manufacturing costs may even tually be cut to 12 cents a pound. U. S. SENATE: New Faces When the next congress convenes, Senators Ellison "Cotton Ed" Smith vo. ana name Caraway (Ark.) will not be among the members. Dean of the sen ate with 36 years of service and famed for his champion ship of the farm ers, "Cotton Ed" was defeated for re nomination for a seventh term by Gov. Olin D. John ston, former textile worker. Besides his ardent support of agriculture. Smith also was known for his opposition to tar iffs, his upholding of states' rights and his advocacy of Senators Cara way and Smith "white supremacy" in the South. Only woman member of the sen ate, Mrs. Caraway was fourth in the Democratic primary in Arkan sas, where Representative Ful bright's failure to win a majority of the votes necessitated a run-off between him and Governor Adkins. ON THE HOME FRONT To prevent the diversion of ma terial into higher priced clothing, the War Production board ordered man ufacturers to channel about 50,000, 000 yards of cotton fabric into cheap and moderate clothing during each quarter of the year. ? ? ? At the same time, the WPB considered a further reduction in the release of refrigerators since 55,000 remain out of an original stockpile of 700,000 when production was stopped in 1942, and the present supply wonld be exhausted by the end of this year. ? ? ? With milk production in seasonal decline and the demand for export able dairy products rising, the War Food administration ended the inly ice cream holiday by again limiting manufacturers to 05 per cent of the milk they normally used and 22 per cent of their milk solids content. PRODUCTION: Army Sets Pace With the war department declar ing monthly war production goals were not being met, and output of materials was 0400,006,000 behind schedule during the present quar ter, the army service forces set the pace for increased delivery by put ting both its military and civilian personnel on a 54-hour week in all establishments with unfinished work. There was no indication of how many of the army's 1,250,000 em ployees in arsenals and depots would go on the extended week with the civilian personnel paid time and a half for all work over 40 hours, but the order was expected to affect 50, 000 persons at all headquarters of the service forces. Army plants operating on three shifts were exempted from the or der. Where compliance would re sult in a surplus of labor, workers would be transferred to other Jobs. Anecdota Presidential Although the White House li the lest place In the world (except Grant's Tomb) you'd expect to find a gag-man, some of our Presidents have fashioned bon mottos that would have earned them berths on leading radio comedians' payrolls. Calvin Coolidge, generally accept ed as the tightest-lipped of the Chief Executives, has several nifties to his credit. A Washington correspondent questioned him about his reaction to Rupert Hughes' biography de bunking many of the legends about George Washington. Coolidge gazed out the window and then muttered nasally: "I notice the Washington Monument is still standing." In a discussion on the proper use of a word, Grover Cleveland was surprised to hear a Senator refer to his source as "Daniel Webster's dic tionary" . . . "But my dear Sena tor," said Cleveland, "Noah made the dictionary" . . . "Don't be silly," replied the Senator, giving him a scornful look. "Noah built the ark." 'IT CAN'T BE DONE' When Wilson was faced with se vere opposition on his League of Nations proposals, the objection, "It can't be done," was familiar to his ears. At snch times be wonld relate this story: A man was telling his son a bedtime sto ry abont an alligator. It was creeping np behind a turtle, with its month wide open. Finally it was within reach but just as its great jaws were snapping shut, the turtle made a spring, ran up a tree and escaped. "Why, dad," said the boy, "how can a turtle spring and climb a tree?" "Great Scott," replied the fa ther, "he had to!" I I A Congressional committee was meeting with President Wilson, and, as you can well imagine, many of the good Representatives were shak ing the walls with their loud, but un rational oratory. The Prez listened patiently for a while, and then re lated this story: "I am reminded of thf old Colored man down in Vir ginia who was riding a mule, and who was caught in a violent thun derstorm while passing through a dense forest. Although he trembled at the horrifying peals of thunder, he was thankful for the occasional flashes of lightning which enabled him to see his way. At last he prayed: 'O Lawd, if it's Jes' the same to you,(I'd rather hev a little less noise an' a little more light!' " Theodore Roosevelt had this legend on his White House desk: "The value of a smile?costs nothing?but creates much. It is rest to the weary?daylight to the discouraged?sunshine to the sad?and nature's best anti dote for trouble! Yes?it cannot be bought, begged, borrowed or stolen?for it is something that is no earthly good to anybody? until it is given away." A large Republican meeting was attended by a email boy offering for sale four puppies, so young their eyes were still unopened. "Get your McKinley pups!" he shouted, and enjoyed a brisk sale. Two weeks later, the Democrats had a meeting in the same town, and the little boy was again seen hawking an arm ful of pups. "Get your Bryan pups!" he yelled this time. "See here," said an onlooker, "didn't I see you selling 'McKinley pups' here a few weeks ago?" "Yessir," replied the lad meekly, "but these are different?they're got their eyes open!" Of course we can't prove it, but George Washington is alleged to have become wearied with an offi cial investigation which paraded a score of experts through his cham bers. "It is my opinion," be is quot ed, "that calling many witnesses to prove one fact is like sdding a large quantity of water to a small quan tity of brandy?it makes it weak." I At Teheran, Stalin drove home a point with a yarn that FDR is said to be chuckling over still. "The neighbor of an Arab sheik," related the Premier, "asked for the loan of a rope. T cannot lend it,' said the sheik, T need It to tie up my milk with.' . . . 'But surely,' replied the other, "you do not tie up your milk with a rope?' " 'Brother,' said the sheik, 'when ; you do not want to do a thing, one reason is as good as another.' " Committees for Economic Development Plan to Maintain Employment After War < Surveys Being Made In More Than 2,000 U. S. Communities A student from Fairlelfh Dickin son Junior college interviews the lo cal hardware and paint dealer on his postwar employment plans and sales expectations. The collece stu dents did the snrvey work In coop eration with the Bergen County, N. , J., Committee for Economic Devel opment. A Bergen County, N. J., house wife tells a college girl what she In tends to bay after the war In the line of home furnishings, and what the family plans are for remodeling or repairing the house, pnrchasing an automobile, traveling, and so an. The president of the bank In Roth erford, N. J., give* pertinent finan cial data to a college girt inter viewer. The figures en savings and demand deposits, war bond sales, personal loans and sales on credit, help the Committee for Eeopomie Development in forecasting the pur chasing power that win be available to buy goods when peaee returns. By AL JEDLICKA Released by Western Newspaper Union. In over 2,000 communities throughout the United States, people are laying their own plans for a return to a peace time economy when the war ends and the country's gigantic armament production ceases. Although these people are be ing guided by the Committee for Economic Development, they are no trained technicians nor market analysts nor economists themselves, but just plain Mr. and Mrs. America familiarizing themselves with the conditions peculiar to their communities and anxious to provide oppor tunities for its. prosperity in the critical postwar world. Citizens in towns and cities rang ing from hundreds to thousands in population have grouped to under take a problem that otherwise might be cast solely upon the shpulders of the government, and thus they have sought to apply democratic princi ples directly through themselves rather than through distant public officials. Recognizing the great business possibilities in the postwar world, and seeking to acquaint the people the country over with them so they might relieve any distress attend ing demobilization of the military establishments and industry, the Committee for Economic Develop ment, or CED, was organized in 1942 and began its operations in 1943, with the intention of assist ing in the creation of postwar plan ning groups in communities of more than 10,000. But with the realiza tion that only through a widespread organization affecting every eco nomic segment of the country could any movement be effective, the CED extended its activities to smaller cities as well, where the limited fields offer an even more thorough , application of the plan. Headed and supported by the na tion's biggest businessmen, the CED makes no bones about its ob jective of stimulating individual ini tiative to assist in the solution of the grave problems which demobiliza tion will present. But, in pursuing its goal, CED's organizers welcome the backing of every economic group within a community: the business men, the farmers, labor, public offi cials and any other persons who might be interested. Each City Makes Own Plans. In proceeding with their work, CED's organizers insist upon each community developing its own plans, on the principle that its members are more familiar with the city's circumstances than anybody outside of it might be. CED actively en ters the picture through its guid ance in organization, the distribu tion of findings of its expert research departments, and its establishment as a clearing house for the exchange of information gathered through its country-wide operations. As an indication of the grass-roots character of the communal post war planning, CED's records show that 19 per cent of the cities organ ized are under 10,000 population, and in the typically rural state of South Dakota, for instance, 110 out of 172 communities engaged in the pro gram have less than 1,100 people. The working of the program may be best explained by a study of its actual operation in one ot the imall cities, as described by Mr. Hermann C. Wehmann, CED.'s regional man ager (or the Ninth Federal Reserve district, embracing the Northwest. In helping to organize a town, Mr. Wehmann said, CED representatives contact some representative mem ber of the community, who then as sembles other active citizens to dis cuss the program. Expenses are negligible, since the local cham ber of commerce, etc., furnish the headquarters, and financial outlay is limited to stationery and postage stamps. To get an idea of the possible post war conditions in the community, ; various surveys are conducted, Mr. Weymann continued, with local in dustries canvassed as to the num ber of employees they expect they will be able to hire, and residents polled ps to the different kinds of merchandise they plan to purchase. Businessmen then figure on how many people they will need to serv ice the demand. Surveys also es tablish plans for postwar public works to take up any employment alack. To provide a solid basis for the business community to figure on, residents polled also are asked to reveal whether they Intend to pur chase goods out of current income, installment credit, savings or bank deposits, or war bonds. inrougn dbiuu, ouiiuing aiiu luau associations, postal savings and war bond sales, financial assets of the community are tabulated, to de termine the extent to which post war activities might be supported. Albert Lea, Minn., Snrvey. Typical of the consumer surveys upon which businessmen can pro ject their potential needs, Mr. Weh mann said, was the one conducted In the town of Albert Lea with Its population of 12,200, in Freeborn county with over 31,000 people, in Minnesota. The survey showed that residents of the town expected to buy 1,156 automobiles at $1,217,268, and farm ers of the county 1,140 cars at $1, 105,800. People in the town hoped to buy 442 new houses at an average cost of $4,068, while farmers looked for ward to the construction of 150 homes at $3,150 each. Repairs averaging $514 were planned for 714 houses in Albert Lea, while similar work averaging $800 was anticipated on 540 farm homes in the county. In addition, farmers indicated they would build 360 barns at an average coat of $1,473, and 360 silos at an average price of $539. Farmers also expected to pur chase 780 tractors averaging $826 each; 810 prefabricated small build ings averaging $566, and 810 electric services averaging $325. With businessmen thus abla to fig ure upon their possible employment needs, and with surveys of local in dustries determining their future op erating prospects, communities can partly visualize their postwar con dition. New Iadastrlee Encouraged. Towns that may be faced with a surplus of employables can be en couraged to explore the possibility eg developing a new industry after con sultation with economic experts at their state universities. In cases where such development may be de sirable, consideration may be given to some industry which might be based upon a local agricultural crop. After extensive field work, Mr. Wehmann has set up a chart of the employment prospects of towns which have undertaken communal > planning within his region, and as evidence of the value of the survey, consultations with Governor Thye of Minnesota have resulted in the state's consideration to locate public works projects within those areas where labor surpluses may develop. In organizing communal planning the country over, the CED does not hold that such preparation will be a sure-fire cure for the employ mint and business problems that will develop upon military and in dustrial demobilization after the wgr. The CED does.not overlook the importance of industry quickly re converting to civilian production to absorb the mass of employables, nor does it ignore the fact that any solid stability can be expected un less agriculture is assured an ade quate market at a fair price. On the question of reconversion, CED stands for the swift settlement of cancelled war contracts to pro vide industry with funds with which to finance the switch back to civilian goods. At the end of the war, CED figures that about 10 billion dollars of claims will be entered against the government, of which probably 2 billion dollars will be subject to dispute. Government Surplus Sales. Besides reconversion, CED also advocates the orderly disposal of surplus war material, so as not to repeat the mistakes that followed marketing of such goods after the last conflict, with the subsequent disturbance of normal channels of production and distribution. In this respect, the government already has established an agency for handling surplus goods, with emphasis placed upon a maximum return for any material. In a recent address, Paul G. Hoff man, chairman of the board of trus tees of CED, declared: "Private business cannot by any means do the entire job of provid ing postwar employment. But it is aware of its obligation to make its maximum contribution to that end. With labor and agriculture, it hopes to see reestablished after this war a free and growing American econ omy . . . "What is America's postwar goal for civilian employment? The Com mittee for Economic Development places that figure at from 63 to 56 million jobs. That is 7 to 10 mil lion more than in 1940, the banner year in all our prewar history . . . "It is clear that private busi ness?in which I include agriculture, and the professions?must provide employment tor the overwhelming proportion of those Americans whs after this war wilt be seeking jobs. No governmental employment yet planned?let alone blueprinted?can take up more than a fraction of the unemployment slack that would exist if private employment were not able to go full steam ahead when the war ends . . . Opportunity for Profit. "Meanwhile, the Committee for Economic Development is com mitted to these beliefs: "The American economy after this war must be predominantly one of private enterprise, in which the opportunity for a fair profit will en courage businessmen to expand present operations and to undertake new ventures. "The American economy after this war must be an expanding econ omy in which more wealth will be created and consumed year after yaar, and in which the American standard of living will steadily rise. "The American economy after this war must be such as to give every encouragement to the small busi nessman, for small business, and particularly new enterprise, pro motes competition and flexibility in our economy, and thus furnishes pro tection against monopolistic prac tices which maintain prices and re strict production . ,e
The Alamance Gleaner (Graham, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Aug. 10, 1944, edition 1
1
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75