North Carolina Newspapers

The Alamance Gleaner VoL LXX GRAHAM, N. C., THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 1944 No. 81 WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS Nazi Armies Fall Back in France; Hitlers Hold on Balkans Shaken; Lend-Lease Totals 28 Billion Released by Western Newspaper Union. J (EDITOR'S NOTE: Wh?i opinions are expressed la these eels mas, tkey are these ef Western Newspaper Union's news analysts an* net necessarily ef this newspaper.) Carried on ox-carts, wounded Allied soldiers arrrro at Myitkyina airstrip, Burns a, for transfer to hospital plane. EUROPE: Nazis Pull Back As fast - moving Allied forces pushed the Nazis back throughout all sf France, German spokesmen hint ed that Hitler's high command planned a withdrawal to the Reich frontier so as to concentrate the greatest number of men on a short ?be. But even as the Nazis fell back, swift armored thrusts by the U. S., British and French continued to slash at the harassed enemy's flanks and threaten his encirclement from the rear, and clouds of Allied planes roared over the battle-lines to dip leer and gun-the retreating German columns. With the balk of their forces crowded In the area immediately north sad sooth of Paris, the Germans put ap their stiffest rearguard resistance In this re gion. In southern France, Ueot. Gen. Alexander M. Patch's Sev engk-army tanned out quickly In ?* directions, with only scat tered bands of enemy troops standing up briefly to slow the Allied drive. After capture of the great French Mediterranean port of Marseille, American engineers went to work quickly to restore facilities damaged by the Germans and enable the Al Bes to funnel supplies quickly to their armies in the south. Use of Marseille's installations would re lieve the troublesome practice of landing supplies on the sandy beaches in shallow-draft craft. Armistice arrangements for the German evacuation of Paris having fallen through, Free French armored columns were compelled to fight through a screen of Nazi defenders to liberate the city, with heavy U. S. howitzers backing up Gen. Charles de Gaulle's troops, and helping to break enemy resistance. Occupa tion of Paris with its 3,000,000 people in need of food and fuel for Milities, posed a supply problem for the Allies. turbulent Balkans With formation of a peace govern ment in Rumania, Adolf Hitler's un steady grip on the turbulent Balkans Crew unsteadier, with Rumania's de fection threatening to topple Gen many's whole southeastern front. As young King Michael an nounced his country's willing ness to accept Allied peace terms, Russia called for Ro mania's expulsion of German troops from her homeland, or a war against Hungary to clear the latter from Transylvania, as he price of armistice terms. Even as Rumania acted to quit Cermany, Bulgarian peace pro posals reportedly were forwarded to the Allies, who were said to have insisted upon the Bulgars' withdraw al from all occupied Grecian and Yugoslav territory as one of the armistice terms. To prevent any peace factions from obtaining a grip in Hungary, the Nazi-inspired regime dissolved nl political parties, including the conservative elements. fttus Pressure Figuring in the Balkan countries' awing toward the Allied camp was the Russians' power-bouse drive bearing down from northern Ru mania. As the Reds hurled their might at the enemy lines, they bored down an the Galati Gap between the Tran syivanian Alps and Black sea, bar ring the way to the heart of Ru mania and the Ploesti oil fields. From this region, there was short gshng before the Reds would reach An Bulgarian frontier. POSTWAR PEACE: Powers Confer Meeting in the quaint, old Dum barton Oaks estate in Washington, D. C., representatives of the U. S., Britain and Russia began momen tous conferences on preserving post war peace, with emphasis on the need of force as an ultimate re sdurce. China was to join the cdn ference after the Reds had finished tViaiv t e 1 Ir o fiflfi* Russia is not at war with the Japanese and is unwilling to discuss repressive measures against them. Accepting the in vitation of Secre tary of Statt Cor dell Hull to discuss postwar peace plans, Gov. Thomas E. Dewey sent John rosier uuues, rui aavisor on ior eign affairs, to the capital to con sult on the conferences. Hull issued his invitation after Dewey expressed concern that the major powers might overlook the interests of the smaller nations. Although the conferees were said to agree on the principle of employ ing force to suppress future aggres sion, plans under discussion called for the use of force only after meas ures for peaceful settlement had failed. ANTI-TRUST: Railroads Named Charging maintenance of non competitive rates, prevention of im provements and facilities of west ern lines, and suppressing develop ment of other forms of transporta tion, the government filed an anti trust suit against the Association of American railroads; the Western Association of Railway Executives; 47 railroads; and the investment houses of J. P. Morgan and Com pany and Kuhn, Loeb and Company. Focusing its attention on western rail operations, the government de clared that establishment of higher rates in that territory than in the east placed it at a competitive dis advantage, retarding its economic growth. The government also claimed that movement of perish able commodities has been delayed by unwillingness to speed up sched ules, and efforts have been made to stunt the development of truck and water transport,* , In naming J. P. Morgan and Com pany and Kuhn, Loeb and Company in the suit, the government charged that they controlled major railroad financing and possessed substantial industrial interests in the East. LEND-LEASE: Aid Mounts Declaring that continuation of lend-lease was essential for speedy victory until both Germany and Ja pan weA brought to their knees, President Roosevelt revealed that the U. S. share of such assistance approximated 28 billion dollars up to July 1, while other countries con tributed in excess of 3 billion. Of the 28 billion dollars, Britain received over 9 billion; Australia and New Zealand, 1 billion; Africa, the Middle East and Mediterranean, 3 billion; Russia, almost 6 billion; China arid India, ltt billion, and Latin America, 172 million. As an indication of the gigantic contribution U. S. industry has made to the war, figures showed that this country lend-leased 11,000 planes and 300,000 trucks and other vehi cles to Russia; 6,000 planes and 9,900 tanks to Great Britain, and 4,800 planes, 61,100 tanks and 72,000 trucks and other vehicles to the Mediterranean area. John F. Dalle* AGRICULTURE: Seek to Avoid Glut Looking forward into tha postwar world with all of its economic prob lems, the War Food administration has sought to develop a procedure designed to avoid the accumulation of vast stores of surplus foods which might constitute a market threat when hostilities cease. Under WFA plans, the agency now buys food only for foreseeable de mands, and declares tHht any com modities required for relief in liber ated countries will first be with drawn from surplus army and lend lease stocks before purchases are made in the domestic market. In establishing a surplus sales division, which is to sell current food stocks when demand is high to make room for fresh supplies, the WFA has set up machinery for fu ture disposals. World Plans Drawn up with the avowed ambi tion of improving the efficiency of farm production and distribution, and bettering the economic condi tions of rural populations, plans for a permanent international agricul tural organization have been sub mitted for approval to the 44 United Nations by their food conference committees. To act in an advisory capacity only, the proposed organization would consist of a governing body in which each nation would be rep resented, with efforts directed to ward promoting research, spreading information and offering recom mendations. Other objectives of the ? plan in clude the elevation of nutritional standards throughout the world, and the development of agriculture as a contribution to an overall economic expansion. PACIFIC: Bombers Active With thousands of Japanese troops stranded on the enemy's string of outer defense islands from the Solomons down to New Guinea, Gen. Douglas MacArthur's air command concentrated on the bombardment of shipping lanes through which sup plies might seep to bolster the sag ging garrisons. At the same time, Adm. Chester Nimitz revealed that navy planes continued their attack upon the stra tegic Bonin islands, which lie ap proximately 000 miles from the Japanese mainland and just above the U. S. occupied Marianas, in an effort to soften up these stepping stones to Tokyo. In pressing their bombardments, General MacArthur's airmen ranged over Mlndauiao, Important basing point for enemy shipping in the southern Philippines. Fatherly Marines Having been removed from hillside dug out on Tinian island in the Pacific, these native children were scrubbed clean by battle-hardened but fatherly V. S. ma rines, then outfitted with new clothes and sent to rear areas. WAGES: AFL Wants Boost Declaring that the President pos sessed the power to raise wages, and that the stabilization act call ing (or a balance in the nation's economy afforded him the gTounds for such a move, the executive council of the American Federation of Labor asked for abandonment of the "Little Steel" formula, limit ing pay increases to IS per cent of the January, 1M1, level. At the same time, the council char tered the International Office Work ers union, which would embrace a vast number of white-collar em ployees, who, as a class, have felt the squeeze of rising living costs more than any other group, since most wage increases have been en joyed in the heavier war-boomed industries. In appealing for higher wages, AFL President William Green de clared: "The working men and women of this hation have been made to suffer from a maladjust ment that exists between wages and cost of living. This maladjustment has broken and depressed their peacetime standards of living. ., NjEWS/Jj\ Rslussd by Wntern Klwipaptr Union. UNEMPLOYED BILL LACKS WASHINGTON.?The left wing po litical aggressors (the Pepper-Tru man-Hillmen-CIO crowd) tried to find Mr. Roosevelt for leadership and support when their Murray-Kil gore bill and its $35-a-week federal unemployment pension for war workers was sinking to defeat in the senate. He was nowhere to be located?on that subject at that time. He was traveling, or he was busy, or tele phone connections were busy. They never got him. At least so they now say in private. Their story leaves the burden for promoting that unpopular notion of a greater relief tor high salaried war workers than soldiers will get, upon the drooped shoulders of Senator Truman, the vice presidential candi date. Vice presidential candidates and vice presidents exist chiefly to take blame (see career of Vice Pres ident Wallace). It is difficult to believe a fresh vice presidential candidate would take such responsibility of fostering such legislation with out orders from the top, but Tru man is being quoted in the usual off-the-record way that always leaks out, to the effect that he alone was responsible. Whatever Mr. Roosevelt now says or whatever is done, the Murray-Kil gore bill, accordingly, is doomed to fate worse than death also in the house. The ways and means chairman, Mr. Doughton, will not take it, and yet he has been in no hurry about the George substitute bill which would make the existing social se curity set-up take care of postwar unemployment through state action (maximum payment about $18 a week, average $13 and $14). Less and less publicity is attend ing this major issue, probably be cause it will split the administra tion right down the middle, if it is pressed. BYBNES MAT RETIRE War Economic Administrator Jim my Byrnes may not have told the Doughton committee in executive session that he was quitting his right hand job to the President in anger, as has been reported by one news paper. Other papers did not pick up that possibly apocryphal story be cause they could not fully confirm it. His hearers seem agreed Byrnes at least said he would not be the postwar demobilizes although he now has that title by presidential award, and he sharply opposed the Murray Kilgore bill. Also, a South Carolina news man, friendly to Byrnes, earlier wrote for their native state pa pers that he would quit all his righthandlng for the White House January 1, and retire to private law practice, an amus ing suggestion for a man who relinquished a life term en the Supreme bench to be of war service to the President. Byrnes received personal treat ment at the Chicago convention | which has not yet been publicly ap preciated. He went to Chicago with more votes than anyone else had for the vice presidential nomination, including Wallace. Mayor Ed Kelly was privately for him. Boss Hague was willing, but Flynn was doubtful In the midst of promotion work for him (and he would have been nominated, in my opinion), he sud denly withdrew. < Observers blamed ClO'a Hillman and hit related Negro group, whose policy was that no Southerner could be chosen. It ia hardly conceivable to me that Byrnes would have re tired without instructions from the only man who to his boss. Thas to the way of the new aggressors ia polities, the CIO H 111m an leadership, meeting In aer defeat wtthta ths party of its ehates. Indeed, valid question now If ftriftnr whether Wllimnn eaa control the CIO, or whether his eversealeas - over-financed leadership may demoralise his own anion. At Salt Lake City, CIO locals 69 Bauer and (72 Toele broke from the Hillman leadership. Their members resigned from CIO-PAC. announc ing: "We feel that regardless of be longing to any committee, church, union or other organization, no one baa the right to demand that we vote the straight Democratic ticket. This action frees us to work and vote throughout the state for the candidates we feel aril] best repre sent ??? " English Regiment's Colors in a U. S. Army Post Chapel Recalls Day When Briton and American , Fought Side by Side to Win Historic Victory By ELMO SCOTT WATSON Released by Western Newspaper Union. RECENT press dispatches ? from the Italian front re corded the fact that the King's Royal Rifle corps was one of the units of the Seventh Armored Division, which had served so brilliantly under General Mont gomery in his victory over Rom mel in the North African cam paign and which was now a part of General Alexander's British Eighth army. To most Ameri can readers this reference to the Royal Rifles had no special sig nificance, although they might have been as interested in its progress in the campaign against Kesselring's Germans as in the fortunes of any regi ment in Gen. Mark Clark's American Fifth army. For the (act is that the Royal Rifle corps is intimately associated with the history of this country. It is the lineal descendant of a regiment which helped gain one of the most brilliant victories ever won on the North American continent, thereby giving to American colonial history one of its greatest military heroes. Known originally as the (2nd Loyal American Provincials, the regiment was later christened the (Oth Royal Americans and this was the name it bore when its leader. Col. Henry Bouquet, snatched victory from what seemed certain defeat at the Battle of Bushy Run, marched on to raise the siege of Fort Pitt and gave the deathblow to Pontiac's Conspiracy. A New Era In Military Science. One thing which distinguishes the Battle of Bushy Run from all other engagements in our history is that here Colonel Bouquet established an American tradition of "tactical re > siliency and readiness to adapt meth ods to new requirements" which has culminated in the military innova tions of World War II, such as the new techniques of jungle fighting against the Japs and of air combat against the German Luftwaffe. In a day when battles were fought strictly according to rule, Bouquet, a superb tactician, dared to disre gard the rules and to "Improvise" on the battlefield, thereby marking the beginning of a new era In mili tary science. Bouquet was g soldier of fortune, bora in Switzerland in 1719. In 1754, at the outbreak of the war be tween France and Great Britain in America, he became lieutenant colo nel of the newly organized (2nd Loy al American Provincials, which was to become the (Oth Royal Americans three years later and eventually the King's Royal Rifle corps. He came to America in 1756, and served under General Forbes in the capture of Fort Duquesne, the French post at the Forks of the Ohio which was re built and named Fort Pitt. Five years later, in May, 176S, the con spiracy of Pontiac, the great Otta wa chieftain, broke like a storm along the frontier. One after an other thq chain of British poeta fell, either from treacherous attack or from assault by overwhelming forces of Indians. Only Detroit and Fort Pitt held out and if the latter poet fell, Pontiac might well make good hia threat to "drive the English in to the sea." In this crisis the Swiss adventurer was called upon to save the day? by marching to the relief of Fort Pitt. It is no overstatement to call hia expedition a "forlorn hope," for when he arrived at Carlisle late in June, he found there neither ade quate stores nor transport which he had ordered ? only panic-stricken refugees from the west He had a force of little mora than S00 men, composed of a detachment of his own regiment, the 0Oth Royal Amer "d portion' of two regiments, ^Wanders (the famous Black Watch") and the 77th (Mont gomery'.) Highlander., which had fhf mUL ^valided home from the West Indies. W"h this "army" Bouquet r*\C,hed Fort Be^ord. the first leg or his 200-mile journey, on July 25. I Th*fe a force of experienced rangers Joined him and they proved invalua ble as an advance guard against am hush. By August 5 he was nearing his goal. About noon of that day, after a forced march of 17 miles through the hot forests, he reached a P'efeceUed Edge Hill, 25 miles from Fort Pitt. Suddenly there were rifle ?hots ahead and screaming war whoops. The Indians had attacked his advance guard. The two light Infantry companies of the "Black Watch" went to their support and scattered the Indians. But they came swarming back im mediately and within a short time his little army was surrounded and lighting for their lives behind a has tily constructed defense on top of the ? nightfall Bouquet's losses. In killed and wounded, were more than 00 officers and men. A Desperate Sltaation. It was probably as desperate a situation as any military command er had ever faced. In the dark for est around him swarmed a force of savages three or four times the size of his. Flushed with their recent successes in cspturing the British posts and remembering how they had overwhelmed Braddock who had more than three times as many sol diers as did Bouquet, the Indians were confident of another great vic tory. Outside the little circle of piled-up supplies, which formed the walls of his "fort," lay the bodies of 25 soldiers, killed in the fighting that I afternoon. Inside there was suffer ing from undressed wounds and heat and thirst. For there was little wa ter to be had?except for a few pre cious mouthfuls, brought in the hats of some of the rangers who risked | their lives to creep down to a spring nearby to get it. The hot dawn of August 0. 1703, I brought a renewal of the Indian at tack. Slowly but surely their plung ing Are cut down the number of defenders on the hill. At last. Bou quet, seeing that destruction of his command was inevitable if this un I equal kind of fighting continued, re I solved to attempt one risky maneu ver and wager everything on oae desperate chance. If he could get th. enemy out into the open long enough to give his Highlanders an opportunity for a bayonet charge one such decisive stroke might end the affair. Explaining clearly to his men what he wanted them to do, so there would be no mistake and no confu sion when the crisis came, Bouquet ordered the two companies of High landers to withdraw suddenly from the line, retreat rapidly across the hill until they reached a little ra vine which ran along one side at the eminence. They were then to ad vance down this ravine and be ready to attack from it when necessary Meanwhile the Royal Americans J w* to extend their line acroa the hill to replace the Highlanders. kflted ScoUmen withdrew, the Indians, seeing this maneuver and believing it to be the beginning of a retreat, came screeching out from their hiding places like a p?k into the open they strode the thin land weakened line of the Royal Americana which began to waver under the force of the savage onset* For a moment the issue bung in the balance with disaster just ? hairsbreadth away. Then?the Roy al Americans stiffened their resist ance?just long enough.'. Out of the _ ravine came charging the Highland ers who poured a volley at point blank range into the flank of the red mob. ? The Finishing Touch. Although greatly surprised, the In dians faced about and returned the fire. But before they could reload, the Highlanders were bearing down upon them with their bayunetted guns and the red men realized that they were trapped. Then Bouquet put the finishing touch upon his dar ing maneuver. Once more taking a desperate chance, he again broke his line and threw two companies out of the cir cle on the other flank of the enemy. The flying Indians, retreating be fore the grim-faced Highlanders, ran squarely into the Royal Americans and withered away before the vol ley which swept their line. A Jew moments later the savages had fled, tearing Bouquet and his men in full possession of the fleld. It had been a dearly bought vic tory. Fifty of his men had been killed, 80 wounded and five were missing, a total casualty list of 116. nearly a fourth of his entire force. But Bouquet had saved his army. Fort Pitt and Pennsylvania. It took him four long days to march the remaining 25 miles to Fort Pitt. But the Indians had had enough. They had suffered a loss of more than 60 killed and many more wound ed. There was little opposition to his advance and when he reached that outpost and raised the siege, it sounded the death knell to the high hopes of the great Pontiac. Within a year the Ottawa's confederation ad tribes had collapsed and the last threat to English occupation of North America was ended. The next year Bouquet scored an equally brilliant success in an ex pedition into the heart of the Indian country beyond the Ohio. With two Pennsylvania battalions he cut a road into the wilderness of the Mus kingum valley. There he summoned the Indians to a council to demand, not merely ask, that they cease their raids upon the English settlements. Moreover, he demanded and secured the release of more than 100 white captives who were restored to their families. Bouquet'* brilliant campaigning brought him the thank* of the King and the colonial astemblies of Vir ginia and Pennsylvania. He was promoted to brigadier-general but he did not live long to enjoy hia honor*. He died of the yellow fever at Fort St. George (Pensacola, Fla.) in 1760. The great commander of the 60th Royal Americans might die, but the regiment lived on. After Bouquet's death, British troop* in the South wera commanded by Augustine Pre vost, another Swiss adventurer who had become lieutenant colonel in command of the 60th in 1761. Dur ing the Revolution the regiment waa in the expedition led by Prevost which marched north to the con quest of Georgia and the first bat talion took part in the successful defense of Savannah in 1779, against a combined French and American force. In the Revelation. Parts of the regiment fought with Lord Rawdon at Hobkirk's Hill and were with Lord Cornwallis at the Battle of Guildford Court House. It was also with that luckless com mander when he laid down his arms and surrendered to Washington at Yorktown in 1781. But whatever en mities, growing out of the Revolu tion, there may have been between Briton and American they have long since been forgotten. Today there hangs in the Chapel of Saint Cornelius the Centurion on Governors island, New York, the colors of the 60th Royal Americans (pictured above). They were pre sented to the chapel in 1921 by Field Marshal Lord Grenfell on behalf of the officers and men of the King's Royal Rifle corps, lineal descendant of the 60th Royal Americans. At that time they were the symbol of a tradition shared by the British army and the American army?the tradi tion of Britons sad Americans fight ing and dying side by side while fighting a savage foe in the forests of western Pennsylvania one hot Au gust day back in 1783. Today those colors are a symbol of the same tra dition?the tradition of Britons and Americans fighting and dying side by side In Tunisia. In Italy and in Francs. *?. - '--aJ COL. HENKY BOUQUET Colon of the Mth Royal Ameri cans la the Chapel of Saint Cornelias the Centurion, Gore mors bland, New York.