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The Alamance Gleaner Vol LXX GRAHAM, N. C., THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 1944 No. 42 WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS . Win Strengthens F.D.R.'s Hand; Germans Fear New Allied Drive; Storms Slow Pacific Warfare Released by Western Newspaper Union. ???????J (EDITOR'S NOTE: When opinions are expressed In these eetamns, the* are these et Western Newspaper Union's news analysts and net necessarily of this Newspaper.) With U. S. trucks waiting in mnd, Chinese coolies work diligently to elear washout of section of Burma road. DEMS GAIN: F.D.R. Strengthened In winning a fourth term, "Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt carried the Democratic party along with him in both the senate and house, where he now appears to be assured of a working majority on both inter national and domestic issues. Their own positions materially weakened by Gov. Thomas E. Dewey's strong stand tor an effec tive international organization to preserve world peace, staunch GOP nationalists were among the de feated, with the result that F.D.R.'s peace program should encounter easier sledding in the senate, where details will be worked out, and in the house where funds will be ap propriated. All of the so-called nationalists did not suffer defeat, but prominent among those that did were Sena tors Nye in North Dakota, Dana her in Connecticut and Davis in Pennsylvania, and Representatives Fish of New York and Day and Maas of Minnesota. Although the Democrats failed to make any gains in the senate, they stand just short of a two-thirds ma jority necessary for ratification of foreign treaties, a margin they may make up by an alliance of such GOP internationalists as Ball of Minnesota. In the house, however, the Demo crats made big gains, increasing their membership to over 240, while the Republicans fell far below their preelection strength of 210. Thus, although President Roose velt's winning margin was below that of 1940, the Democratic victory built around his leadership assumed Victors over nationalists included Governor Moses who defeated Nye; Augustus Bennett who beat Fish; Brian MeMahon who trounced Danaher. the proportion of a landslide. The successful conduct of the war, the comparative comfort of people de spite rationing and the President's intimate acquaintance with Allied affairs?all tended to offset opposi tion. As usual, the President drew his greatest strength from the nation's large industrial centers, where effi cient political machines like Ed Kelly's of Chicago, Tammany's of New York and Frank Hague's of Jersey City piled up tremendous pluralities which traditional Repub lican rural districts could not coun ter-balance. As it was. Governor Dewey did not run as strong in the country areas as was anticipated. Much credit for getting the vote out in the big industrial centers went to Sidney Hillman's CIO Politi . cal Action committee, which under Itook to impress union membership with the exercise of their power t through the polls. i Abroad, President Roosevelt's election was well hailed in Allied circles. Said the London Evening Stand ard: "The result of the election . . . leaves the tasks of winning the war and the larger tasks of advancing Anglo-American-Soviet unity to win the peace in the strong, proven hands of Roosevelt. . . EUROPE: Things to Come All along the 460 mile western front, fighting was confined to local actions, but the Germans, for one, brooked no misgivings on the com parative calm. While the British were clearing all of southwestern Holland, and U. S. forces were improving positions near Aachen in the north, Meti in the center and the Vosges moun tains in the south, the Nazis claimed that the Allies were striving to ob tain springboards for a great drive on the Reich, and only using 25 per cent of their troops. Though action in the west was local, it was bitter, with very tough fighting below Aachen, where doughboys worked through the fir and pine Hurt gen forest in Indian fashion on the road to the Rhineland. As the Doughboys pushed through the splintered Hurtgen forest, both sides made free use of air and artil lery bombardment for maintenance of open positions outside the wooded tract. It was there, in little harr\lets, that some of the bitterest fighting oc curred, with tiny villages changing hands in close-quarter action. Fierce fighting also took place in the foothills, of the Vosges moun tains, where mixed U. S. and French units pounded forward to ward the great passes leading into southwestern Germany. As Allied troops worked forward, the Nazis pushed in reenforcements in an ef fort to check the advances. Shoving off in a surprise attack about Metz after a heavy artillery bombardment, U. S. troops im proved their positions along a 55 mile front, encountering mainly small arms fire from Germans caught fiat-footed. In developing their attack, Yanks braved icy streams, chest-high, to get across to the opposite banks to establish bridgeheads and cover for engineer ing corps throwing across bridges. PACIFIC: Stormy Weather Raging hurricanes known through out tropical waters swept across the Philippines, and U. S. troops driv ing down the northwestern half of Leyte island toward the Jap base of Ormoc were caught in the swirl ing whirlwind and their attack slowed. Having cleared the enemy from virtually all of the eastern section of Leyte, Gen. Douglas MacArthur's forces swung around the northern tip of the mountain range blocking ofit the western coast, and were driving down it when the hurricane struck. \ With one of Japan's top mili tarists, General Yamashlta, put In command of the enemy's forees, the foe's determination to pot np a fight for the Philip pines was well reflected in their stand on Leyte, where elements of four Jap divisions entrenched themselves in the hilly and tangled terrain on the west coast to face the oncoming Yanks. As a first-class slagging match developed on the ground, air com bat also increased in tempo, with U. S. carrier-based planes attack ing enemy airdromes and supply depots in an effort to weaken the enemy's air force, while Jap land based craft conducted harassing raids on U. 8. positions on Leyte. CHEESE: New Markets With American consumer* com ing to appreciate the fine quality of domestic production of such cheeses as roquefort, camembert, gorgomola and Swiss, U. S. producers are ex pected to obtain an increasing vol ume of business In these types over importers in the postwar years. Before the war, imports of Euro pean cheese averaged over 80,000, 000 pounds annually, with roquefort and camembert coming in from France, gorgonzola from Italy and Swiss, of course, from Switzerland. With U. S. epicureans becoming accustomed to American brands of these rarities, however, they are ex pected to more and more satisfy their taste for roquefort from Illi nois, Minnesota, Iowa and Wiscon sin producers; for camembert from New York and Wisconsin; for gor gonzola from Wisconsin, and for Swiss from Wisconsin, Illinois and Ohio. In prewar years, over-all U. S. cheese production totalled around 700,000,000 pounds, with output soar ing to 916,000,000 pounds in 1941. STEEL: Expand Capacity Greatest in the world, the U. S. steel industry made substantial ex pansion since 1940, adding 12V4 mil lion tons to capacity at a cost of over 2 billion dollars, half of which was put up by the government. As of July 1, figures showed that the capacity of blast furnaces for refining raw ore was raised to over 68% million tons, while capacity for further processing of iron and scrap into steel was boosted to over 94 million tons. Most vivid indication of the size of the U. S. industry lies in its com parison with that of other coun tries, with Germany's prewar capacity rated at around 20 million tons, and Great Britain's at IS mil lion tons. Zoot Shoes Zoot suiters with the long coats and bag gy pants with tight ankles have come up with a new one in Los Angelest Calif. Their latest are shoes with steel plated soles and heels, two inches thick, which they use at weapons. Chief Jailer Robert Fisher is shown inspecting some of the 100 pair of such shoes confiscated by juvenile authorities. DISEASE: 'Hold Line' Although there has been no appre ciable increase in the rate ol venereal disease in the U. S. since the war, an increase among service men in recent months foretells a letdown in the vigorous campaign which has been waged against these scourges, officials said. Source of great future danger. Surgeon Gen. Thomas Parran of the U. S. public health service said, lies in the spread of these dis eases by untreated people through out the country in the postwar pe riod of migration and possible decli nation of moral standards. While the overall venereal disease rate is at an all-time low in the navy, it was said, infection among personnel in the U. S. has increased 24 per cent above 1942. The rate also has taken a jump in the army since January, 1944, it was re ported. GRAIN MARKETS: Election Spur With reelection of President Roosevelt presaging the farm bloc's continued control over the adminis tration's agricultural program, prices reacted favorably on grain markets, scoring fractional gains. Of all grains, only corn failed to respond to election happenings, with the large volume of country offerings in the middle-west temper ing prices. Revival of talk that beverage alcohol manufacturers again would be allowed a temporary holiday from war distillation for civilian production, added to election op timism, resulted in an upswing is rye. Bigtotcn Characteri: The barber who asks patrona if they want their locka clipped with or without conversation. . . . Sales men in hoity-toity ,shops always ele gantly attired. Without spats they would feel naked. . . . The creamy voiced barker at a penny arcade?a well-known Shakespearian thespian a decade ago, until he discovered that shilling provided a steadier in come. . . . Sepians at electric shoe shine parlors conversing in jive lingo which baffles people who can understand only English. Pretty bobby-soxers lugging lunch boxes to the Paramount?so they can survive sitting through a half-dozen shows worshipping King Sinatra. . . Jitterbug, almond-eyed youngsters in Chinatown?complete ly Americanized. ... An old artist copying masterpieces in the Mu seum of Art. His hands are shaky, so he steadies his brush by gripping it with both hands. The handicap, however, doesn't seem to affect his excellent canvases. . . . Crowds fas cinated by pigeons nibbling at bread-crumbs. Proving again that almost anything can attract a mob in the Big Burg. . . . Germans tn Yorkville saloons sipping their beer. These spots used to be Bund hang outs. How big signs urge customers not to discuss the war or politics. The dramatic contrast in tawdry, sidestreet joynts: Entertainers con sist of a mixture of has-beens and youngsters with a bright future. . . . Celeb fanatics ogling first-nighters entering the theatre?getting more of a thrill by staring at biggies than first-nighters get from the shows. The silly brawl between twe friends at a midtown bar?because each insisted on paying the check, j. . . The 77-year-old gent who has the same breakfast every morning at a Madison and 50th street eatery: Doughnuts covered with mustard. Ugh He claims that combination has added years to his life. . . . Side walk Napoleons who used to discuss military tactics remaining In tune with the times. Now they also de bate postwar problems. . . . Swishes who congregate for some unknown reason in foreign language movie temples. . . . The lovely Schraffts' hostesses. Most of them look as if they had to pass a screen test be fore they were hired. Newspaperman Stuff: Ogden Nash was once taken to task for using the word "coyful" in one of his verses. . . . "Have you ever heard of anything being full of coy?" asked a critic. "No," nash'd Nash. "But neither did I ever hear of anyone being full of bash." The word "controversy" serves as censors' abracadabra. . . . They mutter that something is controver sial and?presto?they presume the truth will vanish. . . . Blue-pen cilers have used that alibi to hin der freedom of speech and press for a long time. . . . All of which leads into an Alec Woollcott yarn , that illustrates our viewpoint on the : subject. . . . When Alec was broad casting his sponsor pounced on him with the squeak that he must refrain from using controversial ma terial. . . . Woollcott promptly de manded that the sponsor explain what he meant by "controversial material." The sponsor's reply was a dilly: He deplored Alec's caustic refer ences to Hitler and Mussolini?for fear it would antagonize people in the country who supported them I From FPA's new book, "Nods and Becks": Of course, there are many who say that a daily columnist, which means a person who has six or seven full columns a week In a paper, doesn't really work, but that he would like other laborers to work six days a week for the period of the so-called ? properly so-called ? emergency. . . . We know not what course others may take, but we nev- ( er have been able to do it under a seven-day week, and some nights. Often we dream of Jeanie with the unfilled column. We dream that we have three minutes in which to write a column, have it set, read proof and make it up. It would be pleasant to work five eight-hour days a week. To quit, in the mid dle of a syllable, if need be, when the whistle blew! And then some days, as if mere writing weren't enough trouble, there is a lot of clip ping and pasting to do. It sounds easy, but it takes longer to find the shears and the paste for first-class stuff than it does to write third?all right, we won't argue?fourth-class staff. ? The Early Shopper Gets the Toys There Aren't Enough tor Everybody ? . Wooden playthingi like blocke are not ?o hard to set, bat it's still a food idea to shop early. A record-breaking demand far toys of aM sorts is anticipated, and many children are going to be disappointed, be cause of shortages. Planet and tanks and siege guns naturally dominate the childish mind In these war years. These models of fighting machines are made ?( wood and cardboard. They are simple bnt sturdy. The WAC uniform the little girl wears Is a novelty this year. Stock of Playthings Is Larger Than Last Year, but Still Short Eager-eyed kiddies will have to be content with about half as many toys this year as they used to get before the war, when they come dashing in to the parlor on Christmas morning. As every body knows, all kinds of civilian f oods are scarce, including toys, t's a wonder, in fact, that there are any toys on the market, in the midst of a great war. Both toy factories and toy mak ers are busy making war materials ?percussion caps for torpedoes and shells, gas masks, and a thousand other things. They make toys out of scraps and leftovers, and substi tutes like wood and pasteboard. But at best they couldn't make nearly enough to satisfy everybody this year. With wartime prosperity putting money into everyone's pocket, fa thers and mothers, uncles, aunts and cousins have a good deal to spend on presents for the children in their families. But they can't buy all they want to, because there just aren't enough toys in the stores to go around. Besides this, there are two million more youngsters in the country than usual?a result of the rising birth rate of the war years. Few Metal Playthings. Metal toys will be represented by a few articles, but in general steel and iron playthings will be missing. Steel-runnered fled*, tricycle* and bicycle*, coaster wagon*, construc tion seta, and a thousand other things will be very scarce. Some manufacturers have been able to find left-over stocks of metal, fabri cated before the war restrictions went into effect, and others are us ing scrap material, so a small quan tity of metal toys are on the mar ket. Back in peace times, play things made of cast iron, steel, cop per, aluminum and so on, consti tuted nearly half of all the Christ mas presents. Toys made of rubber are eery rare. So are plastic goods. Tires for doll buggies are being made of "mud" which is residue from re processed rubber, but these are about the only such articles on the market. Wood is being used to make lots of things formerly made of metal and other acarce materials. There are trucks, for instance, of polished hardwood on sale. Tanks and siege guns, battleships, steam shovels and many other mechanical toys are made largely of wood, with a few metal parts. Cardboard and wood combinations are also numerous, particularly in the games division. A cardboard and wooden circus is a favorite this year. Enough Deils and Teddy Bears. Girls are more fortunate than boys this year, for dolls are being turned out in sufficient quantities to meet the demand. There are both hard and soft bodied dolls in the stores, made of everything from cot ton to porcelain. The fancy models have moveable eyes, curly hair, pretty dresses and all the other trimmings. Stuffed animals are on hand in sufficient numbers to take care of ordinary demands. Teddy bears are plentiful, it is said. Carriages for dolls are offered to early Christmas shoppers, at least, since there are 100,000 buggies on sale throughout the country. These are made of wood, with metal wheels. Doll dishes, of china and scrap plastic, and cast-iron cooking itensils are being offered, and tiny umiture can be had. I Hobby sets, such as chemistry out fits, art in "(air supply," manufac turer! aay. Apparatus made of glass, porcelain, plastics, wood or pasteboard is being substituted (or metal articles. For instance, a mi i croscope included in some of the I science sets has a plastic tube and | base. ! A survey of the toy supply situs I tion conducted by the Toy Manu facturers of the U.S.A. reveals such shortages as these: Less than 13 per cent of the nor mal supply of sleds with steel run ners will be on sale. Sleds with i wooden runners will be fairly plenti 1 ful, but all in all, the total number of sleds available will be less than before the war. While no electric trains are being manufactured, there will be some trackage offered for replacements, for those boys who got a train set years ago. Some metal construc tion sets are offered. About 10,000 of these have electric motor* in cluded. There ere a good many wooden sets on the market. No elec tric lights for Christmas trees are being made, but a few are on hand from last year. N? AirfM mm Blawalnn Wagons with wooden wheels are (airly plentiful, and there are aome with metal wheels. No metal toy autoa or two-wheeled cycles or any such vehicles are offered. A few scooters, made from scrap steel, can be had. In aome cities a small number of second-hand bicycles and other wheeled toys are on sale. These generally have been repaired and repainted. Blown glass balls for Christmas tree ornaments can be bought read ily, but tinsel, excepting lead foil is off the market, and certain other or naments and decorations are scarce or unobtainable. Better Goods This Tear. The Toy Manufacturers state that a higher 'quality of wood and paste board toys is being offered this year, explaining that experience has en abled makers to do a better Job now. Many companies have sprung lately that were not in the toy busi ness before the war, and some of these have had little production ex perience, so there Is bound to be some poorly made articles on the market. Skilled toy makers, too, are working in war plants in many cases, so the toy factories have bad to get along with partly skilled la bor, many of whom are over-age or disabled. More than 300 of the largest toy manufacturing plants are turning out war materials in the main, and are making toys on the aide. Ely maintaining some volume in their toy lines, these companies were enabled to handle their war con tracts more efficiently, because they could operate their entire pleat at near capacity. Another organization busily at work on the toy situation is the Of fice of Price Administration. This government agency has to set fair ceiling prices on every toy item that is to be offered for sale. Mm than 3,000 articles have been ex amined and priced and many oth ers are pending a decision. In a big warehouse in Washington OPA officials look over samples of aM sorts of things many of them new to the market, such as transparent plastic ducks and giraffes, wooden telephone sets, and pasteboard dolls It's a big Job to put fair price tags on all these things, but the OPA hopes to complete its task before Christmas'. FOLKS GATHER 'ROUND FOR PARLOR GAMES Games that all the family can en joy together take the spotlight in Santa Claus' 1944 pack. Catering to the wartime necessity to "stay at home and like it," a variety of easy to-leam, quick action parlor sports are ready to help the juvenile and grown-up contingents forget about limitations on the family car and relax from worries and responsibili ties. Revivals of old favorites that were crazes in the horse and buggy age head the list of escape-type games that will be relatively abundant in a season when Santa Claus' Yule tide pack is short of a great number of familiar play materials. While great numbers of games are being sent to servicemen overseas, there are some left for the home market. Among the parlor pastimes back in favor are ROOK, PIT and FLINCH. But MONOPOLY, the real estate trading game, continues to hold craze honors. FINANCE is another of the robber baron specu lation games that appeal to batik families and service men as a hap py escape. SORRY, the English board game that won top favor during the Blitz, is another best seller this winter with American families. . For arm chair strategists there are game inventions inspired by the "NoMMb." the classic real ?state trading game, is still the bk Torite with family greape 1Mb Christmas. exploits of America's armed forces. CAMELOT, the lively battle game, to a favorite with service men which has a large family following, too. Some of the Christmas games will be a helpful adjunct to spelling as well as arithmetic. DIG, a stream lined word-building game that uses miniature gold miner's picks with sticky tips to grab the letters, offers opportunity for keen competition that incidentally inspires Junior to im prove. CROSSWORD LEXICON, based on four-letter words built with cards, is another spelling game that provides good competition tor alt ages. Once the youngsters have s| chance to show their mettle unself consciously, many a parent will ha surprised to find himself hard pressed to hold his share ?( win ner's honors. - h
The Alamance Gleaner (Graham, N.C.)
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Nov. 23, 1944, edition 1
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