?i
The Alamance Gleaner
=======^ No. 60
^ LXX GRAHAM, N. C., THURSDAY, JANUARY 18, 1945 M
r WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS
Allies Shift Weight of Attacks
Against Nazis to Belgium Front;
Vital Issues Face New Congress
_ Released by Western Newspaper Union. ?1
(EDITOR'S N#TE: When epinlens are expressed In these eolemns. they are these ef
Western Newspaper Unlen's news analysts and net necessarily of this newspaper.)
Democratic leaders leaving white honse alter pow-wow with President
Koosevelt before opening of 79th congress included (left to right) Vice
President Wallace, Speaker Rayburn, Senate Majority Leader Barkley,
Vice President-Elect Truman, and House Majority Leader MeCormack.
EUROPE:
Tables Turned
With U. S. forces having reacted
quickly to Field Marshal Von Rund
stedt's great winter offensive, which
carried deep into the hilly Ardennes
forest, the big German bulge in
southeastern Belgium shrank under
the steady hammering of the Ameri
can First and Third armies plough
ing forward in swirling blizzards.
As elements of the First and Third
armies punched at the western nose
of the Nazi bulge, other units of
these tried battle forces gouged into
the north and south flanks and ad
vanced within a dozen miles of each
other, threatening to cut the German
sack in two.
But even as the First drove
southward from Malempre and
the Third northward from Long
champs, Von Bundstedt was re
ported setting up a new defense
line half-way back from his
deepest penetration, with strong
Nasi armored formations throw
ing la constant counter-attacks
in a deadly battle of attrition
to cover up the move.
With both sides bringing their
heaviest weight to bear in the with
ering battle of Belgium, and with
Von Rundstedt seemingly deter
mined to continue the fight in the
hilly Ardennes, the enemy appeared
to have temporarily succeeded in
turning the struggle away from the
vital Ruhr and Saar valleys, heart
of his heavy industries.
As the Allies threw their full
weight into the battle, it was re
vealed that elements of the Brit
ish Second army Joined the U.S.
First in the attacks on the north
ern flank of the bulge, and Field
Marshal Montgomery was given
overall command of forces in
this sector. Not only the British
Second but elements of the U.S.
Ninth and Seventh armies also
were moved into the line to
mount increasing pressure, the
Nasis said.
With the withdrawal of the major
strength of the Third army from the
southern end of the western front,
U. S. troops dropped back from ex
tensive holdings in the Saar and
Palatinate in the face of heavy Ger
man pressure designed to exploit
the realignment of forces.
New Regimes
Europe's troubled political affairs
took two new turns, with the forma
tion of a liberal government in
Greece expected to end civil strife,
and the Russian - sponsored Lublin
committee's establishment of a pro
visional government for liberated
territory looked upon to further
complicate the Polish problem.
Although Gen. Nicholas Plastiras
assumed leadership of the new
Greek government, principal atten
tion was focused on Foreign Minis
ter John Sofianopoulos, 57-year-old
agrarian liberal, whose inclusion in
the cabinet foreshadowed a suffi
ciently liberal policy to attract re
volting Leftists.
In declaring itself the provisional
government of liberated Poland, the
Lublin committee, which favors ter
ritorial concessions to the Russians
and a regime friendly to Moscow,
clashed with the Allied - backed
Polish government-in-exile in Lon
don, which contests Red land
claims and radical internal social
policies. i
PACIFIC:
Step Up Attacks
With General MacArthur's forces
consolidating their positions in the
central Philippines, U. S. airmen
stepped up their attack on enemy
shipping and installations about the
main island of Luzon to the north.
At the same time, carrier - borne
aircraft blasted the Japs' big air
bases of Formosa and Ryukyu, serv
ing as reinforcement centers for
the Philippines.
The anxious Japs themselves
looked nervously to an American in
vasion of Luzon, with the enemy
trying to comfort himself with the
assumption that he had sufficient
forces to meet a thrust there, and
shorter supply lines favored him.
Not only did U. S. bombardment
of shipping about Luzon hamper the
movement of materials about the
main island itself, but it also im
periled the movement of material
to the southern islands.
C0JNGKE5S:
Rolls Up Sleeves
In assembling for its first session,
the 79th congress faced a stiff job
on both foreign as well as domestic
issues relating not only to the suc
cessful prosecution of the war, but
to permanent peace as well.
In international -affairs, of course,
recent incidents in Poland, Greece
and Italy are expected to lead to
ward congressional pressure for a
stricter definition of our foreign
policy, while attention also will be
devoted toward the development of
an organization to preserve the
peace with proper respect toward
the interests of all nations.
On the home front, the manpower
problem will remain foremost, with
need for maintaining an adequate
production force and at the same
time meeting military demands for
more men. The line against infla
tion also will have to be held in the
face of higher wage and price de
mands.
FARM DRAFT:
Seek Youth
Asserting that War Food Adminis
trator Marvin Jones had advised
1-: ?> tknt nn orifinnl
mill uiai "W
reduction in farm
production would
result. War Mobili
ration Director
James F. Byrnes
called for the induc
tion of deferred
farm workers be
tween 18 and 28
years of age.
There are appro xi
mately 364,000 young J. F. Byrne*
men in this group,
it was revealed, and Byrnes asked
Selective Service to apply the most
crucial standards in the further de
ferment of any of them. With the
army calling for young men, he said,
the only alternative would be to in
duct 26 to 20-year-olds in war indus
try, a move which the War Produc
tion board warned might hamper
munitions output.
Farm state senators were quick to
protest Byrnes' action. Senators
Reed (Kan.) and Johnson (Colo.)
citing department of labor statistics
to show that the average work week
in industry dropped to 46.1 hours in
one year ended September, 1044.
Said Johnson: "From these sta
tistics, it doesn't take a smart man
to discover ways and means of de
creasing the manpower short
age. . . i." ?
CIVILIAN GOODS:
1945 Prospects
With the European war having
taken an unfavorable turn, and the
nation'* total resources needed for
continued record production of war
materials, there will be little im
provement in stocks of civilian
goods through 1945, the War Produc
tion board predicted.
With the frozen stockpile down to
45,000 units, and resumption of pro
duction unlikely until after the Euro
pean war when almost six months
will be needed for reconversion, me
chanical refrigerators will remain
practically unavailable. If manufac
turers can start on production of
375,000 all-steel ice-boxes, civilians
will receive about 56,000 a quarter
in 1945.
Of 35,000 electric ranges author
ized for 1945, civilians are to get 65
per cent, while about 1,200,000 elec
tric irons will be assembled. Some
aluminum kitchenware will reach
the market but output of cast iron,
enamel and galvanized utensils
probably will remain down, primari
ly because of manpower shortages.
Although WPB authorized produc
tion of 319,492 vacuum cleaners in
1945?a fraction of the peacetime
output of 1,903,000 annually?actual
manufacture may fall short of goal.
Because of the increasing scarcity
of lumber, the supply for furniture
is expected to remain short. Produc
tion of innerspring mattresses will
be negligible for at least six months.
Only for small electrical appli
ances are prospects described as
brighter.
House Wanted
Having literally sung himself into
the senate, Idaho's crooning solon,
Sen.-elect Glenn Taylor sought to
ting himself into a home in
crowded Washington, D. C.
Gathering his attractive brunette
wife and two children about him on
the cold steps of the capitol, and
?w
Sen. Taylor With Family.
plunking on his battered banjo,
Senator Taylor purred:
"O, give us ? home, near the capitol
dome,
With a yard where little children can
pl*y?
Just one room or two, any old thing will
do?
O, we can't find a pla-a-a-ce to stay!"
Until the Senator's song strikes a
responsive chord in some landlord's
heart, the Taylors will live in a
hotel.
UN-AMERICANISM:
To Resume Inquiries
The new house had barely settled
into its seats before Rep. John Ran
kin (Miss.) 'set is agog by pushing
through the formation of a new com
mittee on un-American activities to
succeed ex-Rep. Martin Dies' de
funct investigating committee, bit
ter target of liberal elements.
Representative Rankin resorted to
a legislative coup in having the
house approve the organization of a
new committee, suddenly inserting
his proposal as an amendment to
the rules being considered for the
current session. Seventy Democrats
joined 137 Republicans in voting for
the proposal while 186 votes were
counted against it.
Unlike the Dies committee, which
concerned itself with investigation,
the new committee on un-American
activities will have the power to
draft legislation for correction of
abuses and submit it to the house
for passage.
BANKS:
U. S.'s Biggest
Biggest bank in the world, the
Chase National of New York wound
up its 1944 business with a record
breaking total of $9,100,004,000 in re
sources, of which $4,835,219,000 were
deposits. Holding of government se
curities reached almost $3,000,
000,000.
Not far behind Chase's was the
National City Bank of New York,
with assets of $4,489,080,465, of
which $4,205,072,012 were in de
posits. Also of New York, the Guar
anty Trust company finished the
year with resources of $3,828,181,882.
Biggest bank west of the Alle
ghanies, the Continental Illinois Na
tional Bank and Trust company of
Chicago wound up 1944 with $2,619,
821.039 in resources, of which $2,
447,740,085 were in deposits. The
bank held over 1V4 billion dollars
In government securities. >
Not*i of m Newspaperman:
Peter Donald forwards the story
about three GIs just back from over
seas who went Into the automat and
found that the only available table
was one that was occupied by a
spinsterlsh female. Wanting a little
privacy, they decided to sit down,
hoping by means of conversation to
make her finish up and leave in a
hurry . . . The first GI said: "Boy,
life overseas sure was tough. I
didn't have a bath in eight months."
"Think that's bad?" said the sec
ond. "I couldn't even wash my
hands in four weeks."
"We were so busy," the third add
ed, "I couldn't change my under
wear in five months."
At that point, the old gal looked
up and said: "Would one of you
stinkers mind passing the salt?"
The government has stopped horse
racing in America. We wish it were
as easy to stop America's Trojan
horses.
An American citizen of Ger
man ancestry was walking down
Powell Street, in San Francisco,
when he was stopped by a sol
dier who asked: "Can yon tell
me the way to Chinatown?" . . .
He replied: "Tes, of coarse, it
is two blocks over and two
blocks to the left, but yon don't
want to go there becanse yon
are a Jap" . . . The soldier re
plied: "And yon are a German"
. . The citizen said: "How did
yon know?" . . . The soldier
replied: "I know becanse I've
killed a lot of them the last two
months in Italy and I'm on my
way home to Seattle" . . . The
citizen of German ancestry
looked at the uniform of the sol
dier and saw on it a Presidential
citation, the Purple Heart and a
few other campaign ribbons.
Telling this story about him
self, he said: "Boy, was I em
barrassed! The soldier was of
Japanese ancestry and a mem
ber of the famous 100th Infantry
Battalion!"
Edward Stettfains, who Is certain
ly the most mode* and democratic
of our Secretaries-of State, used to
visit the Broadway night clubs occa
sionally a few years ago. One night
he went into the old Paradise with
a male companion . . . Headwalter
Albert Berryman scanned them with
an appraising and unrecognizlng eye
... "Hello, Albert," said Stettin
ius, "don't you remember me?"
"Oh, yes," fibbed Albert (trying
to place the man), as he showed him
to a none-too-good table.
The part I like is that Stettinius
(who was then only chairman of U.
S. Steel) knew headwalter Albert,
but Albert didn't know him I
Ernest Hemingway went to Chi
cago years ago after working in
Kansas City. He had lived in Oak
Park, 111., and was an old school
mate of Ted Tod's, now working for
Warners' ... At the time. Tod was
working for the Chicago Herald-Ex
aminer as a reporter, and Heming
way-hoped Tod would try -to get him
a Job on the paper . . . Tod went in
to speak to Frank Carson, the city
editor. He told him all about Hem
ingway?what a good writer he was
... He said: "He hasn't worked in
Chicago, but he knows it, knows
names, etc." . . . Carson looked up
and ho-humm'd: "Does he know any
Chicago coppers?" . . . "No," said
Tod . . . "Well, I don't care how
good a writer he is," replied Carson.
"Our reporters have to know the
Chicago coppers" ... So Heming
way didn't get the Job. Instead he
went to Canada?worked on a To
ronto-paper and from there started
his climb.
If it hadn't been for his not know
ing any Chicago policemen, Heming
way might still be working on the
Chicago paper.
All this talk af what te do
with Germany?and, af coarse,
it is more than talk, it is a
grave, great problem?reminds
me of this tale . . . Aa apostle
ef conciliation once asked the
late Georges Clemeneeaa if his
hatred of the Germans was
based on knowledge. "Have yoa
ever been te Germany?" he !a
q^No," Monsiear," replied the
Tiger, "I have not been to Ger
many. Bat twice in my lifetime
the Germans have been te
France."
This isn't as good as the "West
inghouse?I'm westing" gag?but
it's going the rounds among the
| icky set?and makes me ick:
"We're broom-mates. We sweep
1 together. Dust us two,"
Our Japanese Foes Are Proving Themselves to Be ^ J
Original, Sly, Progressive and Fanatical Fightersi
Sons of Nippon Educated
And Trained for New Type
Of War Now Being Waged
By WALTER SHEAD
WNV Washington Correspondent.
WASHINGTON. ? When you
read that "all organized resist
ance has ended" on Leyte, Sa
mar, Mindoro or any other of the
thousands of islands in the Phil
ippines or the Micronesian or
Melanesian archipelagos in the
Southwest Pacific, you will know
that General MacArthur's
Yanks have met and beaten a
well-trained, well-equipped, fa
natical foe that meets the Amer
ican soldier on equal terms in
almost every fighting quality.
These sons ot Nippon are hard
ened in endurance, trained in re
pression, wild and cunning, steeped
in militarism from early boyhood
and brought up under a system of
feudalism which has disciplined
them into acceptance of the convic
tion that to die for their emperor is
the highest duty of a good soldier.
What the Japanese soldier lack*
and what the American soldier pos
sesses is resourcefulness and indi
vidual initiative. When the Japs are
committed to a plan, they always
follow it to the end . . . even if it
becomes apparent within a short
time after the fighting starts that
some other plan would be more
effective. When an officer is killed,
the Initiative of the entire unit is
impaired unless some other officer
of equal rank appeass to take his
place.
The system of feudalism which
characterizes Japanese life would be
incomprehensible to most Amer
icans. His station in society and his
every act are predetermined for
him. Contrary to the common fal
lacy that Japs are more stolid than
j other persons, he is a highly emo
This captured Jap 70-mm. howitzer
bears a model number prior to 1936.
Nippon's major weakness is la its
artillery, especially hi variety con
struction and in marksmanship of
crew. This hewitser was used as
a booby trap.
tional person, and this system of
feudalism which trains him in re
pression accounts for his tendency
| to "blow up" in tight places. It also
accounts, in part, for the futile death
charges which seem to have become
characteristic of the Japanese when
they are admittedly beaten. The
life-long repression and the result
ant inhibitions also account for the
arrogance of the Jap soldier In vic
tory and, conversely, for his tenden
cy to fly to pieces in defeat.
Hara-kiri is In no way a sign
of cowardice eu the part of the
Jap soldier, for by this peculiar
ly painful method of committing
suicide, he is actually, la Ids
own mind, telling Us emperor,
a semi-divine personage, that be
has done ail be can for him and
is now presenting him with his
own Hfe.
The most widely believed popular
fallacy concerning the Japanese is
that they are an imitative rather
than a creative people. Japanese
Inventiveness is considerable and is
limited only by a scarcity of tech
nically trained manpower and by
machine power.
The army endorses the viewpoint
that the Jap soldier is a good fight
ing man and the belief that he is a
stupid, insensate peasant is, ac
cording to the war department, com
pletely erroneous.
Japanese Army Bedaeed.
The Japanese army today num
bers approximately 4,000,000 men.
To date, American troops have
killed almost 300,000 Japanese
troops while sustaining about 38,000
casualties themselves. Total Japa
nese kisses in ktiwt alone since 1887
total approximately 890,000. More i
than 290,000 Jap soldiers are now i
isolated through action of General i
MacArthur and the Pacific fleet in i
island pockets, removed from bat- i
tie, relief or rescue. The war de- i
partment says that the Japs are i
nowhere near the bottom of the bar- '
rel in fighting reserves, and can
equip and train 2,000,000 more sol- I
diers without seriously affecting war
production manpower reserves. This
does not include the added millions
who might be "recruited" from sub
ject nations.
Comparison of the average Japa
nese soldier with the average Amer
ican shows the Jap a much smaller
man physically. He is 9 feet S
inches tall and weighs 117% pounds.
He can lift 190 pounds with his feet
together, bringing the weight to his
knees, to shoulder and then to his
back. The average American sol
dier is about 9 feet 8 inches tall
and weighs 149 pounds.
Military training of the Jap
soldier begins at the age of eight
years along with his regular edu
cation, If at that time he is men
tally and physically fit. Educa
tionally the background of tho
typical Japanese professional sol
dier is as high as that of the typ
ical American flghttng man. The
regular professional Jap soldier
has had the equivalent of two
years of high school education,
which equals the median level of
the average American soldier in
this war.
Akin fn vmnrl nnrl nrrifn In Janan
is 99.6 per cent of the adult popula
tion and between 40 and 90 per cent
of all Japanese soldiers have studied
English, while between 20 and 25
per cent speak English efficiently.
The cunning of the Japanese is in
dicated in their employment of ruses
in their operations. A few encoun
tered to date include employment
of lighted cigarettes, firecrackers,
barking dogs and moving vehicles
to lead defenders to believe the
main attack would be made; use of
the English language to confuse our
soldiers; use of the name of certain
individuals and when the person ad
dressed showed himself he was shot;
use of booby traps on dead Allied
and Japanese troops to detonate
when the body was moved; placing
a dead Allied soldier in a conspicu
ous place with an automatic weapon
covering it. Thus when Allied troops
attempted to remove the body, they
were shot; when badly wounded, or
apparently dead, Japanese troops
have produced hand grenades from
their clothing and attempted to kill
medical personnel going to their
aid; use of the white flag of truce
to get close to Allied troops.
Japaasss Conscription Laws.
Peacetime conscription of Japan
ese calls for two years of military
service for all males between the
ages of 17 and 40 except for phys
ically unlit and those guilty of cer
tain crimes. Military training bo
gins with physically able-bodied
children at the age of eight (third
grade pupils) who get at least two
hours of drill weekly. Army youth
soldiers, 14 and 15 years, begin an
apprenticeship in military training
and when they become of ago they
are rated by the army as superior
privates. Later they are made into
lance corporals and, upon gradua
tion from school, become corporals.
After six years' service the corporal
may become a sergeant-major and
upon ten years' service he is pro
moted to warrant officer.
One of the distinguishing charac
teristic^ of the Japanese soldier is
his hardiness, and special patrols,
starting at midnight, have been
known to cover 60 miles by toe next
afternoon, marching constantly with
out rest periods. An entire battalion
can march more than 20 miles a
day. The principle of "no retreat"
Is a part of this training and a small
detachment, caught in a tight place,
cannot appeal for reinforcements.
The officer in charge may make a
report of his predicament, but the
matter of insisting upon reinforce
ment is beyond his prerogatives.
The unwritten law af the Jap
anese army is that any soldier f
captured by the enemy mast i
"atone" for his diuraee later
by committing suicide.
Rigid training of commissioned
and noncommissioned officers is car
ried out at several army schools
and although the system is narrow
and arbitrary and inflexible in its
system of indoctrination, It is pro
gressive, thorough and modem.
However, Its rigidity often has in
hibited originality in thought and ac
tion. The schools include the Mili
tary Academy, six military prepara
tory schools and four noncommis
sioned officers' schools.
The Japanese constitution pro
vides that the emperor Is command
er-in-chief of the army and navy;
that he determines their organiza
tion; and that he declares war,
makes peace and concludes treaties.
He is advised by two military coun
cils, the board of marshals and ad
mirals, and the supreme military
council.
weakness hat been to artillery,
especially In variety, eoneentra- j
Hon and marks mans kip. Weap- I
ana ever flew, eaptared to ,
date bear model nam ben ear- ,
ller than I93C. Japan baa bad i
access to German designed
weapons for seme years and M ,
may be aasnmed tbat gens em
bodying German leatnres may
soon be encountered.
Japanese engineers are wen
equipped and have shown outstand
ing ability both in construction and
demolition of bridges. On the other
hand, airfields and roads so far en
countered have not been up to Allied
standards in speed of construction
or serviceability. Construction of
field fortifications has been highly
developed and even at remote
points, Jap engineers have been suc
cessful in constructing first class de
fense positions from material im
mediately available.
Weight of the ration for Japanese
soldiers as compared with Ameri
cans' is about two-thirds, or slightly
over four pounds. The average ra
tion in active theaters in about SVb
pounds and, because of supply fail
ure, this ration has often been re
duced to a half or a third of that
amount. The standard or normal
ration consists largely of rice and
barley, fresh meat and fish, fresh
vegetables, and various condiments
and flavorings.
Every American soldier has
learned by experience that the Jape
are hard, fanatical fighters and in
defensive action will often hqld out
to the last man. They place n low
value on human life and do not count
the loss in taking an objective. Our
war with the Japs has further taught
us that the Japs know of no such
thing as impassable terrain, that
speed is one of their cardinal tac
tical principles. They take full ad
vantage of natural coyer and un
derstand thoroughly the importance
of camouflage.
One thing, however, although they
believe strongly in sudden offensive
action they often attack prematurn
ing and confidence In the bayonet,
they have not been outstandiz^ ba
Jap i|hleii will tenaciously and fanatically hold on to a defensive
position withont thought of the cost in life. Here It was necessary to
use a Same thrower on the Nipt. Note the GI in the left foreground
with rifle poised to knock off the ffrst one who pops up.