The Alamance Gleaner 1 VoL LXXI GRAHAM, N. C., THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 1945 No. 21 ?? I ????? ???1???????????? ???? WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS < Menace Early Jap Conquests; Ask Overhauling of Vet Bureau; Smoothen Big Three Relations ??????? Released by Western Newspaper Union. iKMTWI NOTE: When opinions are expressed la these celsmns, they are these ef W set era Newspaper Union's sews aaalysls sad aet necessarily ef this aewspaper.) I , \ Tm Ike kit time since Nails came to power, the Roman Catholic feast key af Cerpos Christ! was observed in Munich, with procession wendlnf way kns{k bomb-battered city. Outspoken foe of Hitler's regime, Michael Cbwffinol Faalbaber officiated at ceremony. PACIFIC: Item Campaign IMw heavy attack in the north am portion of their empire, the fapo face equally heavy pressure la Ihe sooth, with Allied forces 'un *t imiiniand of Gen. Douglas Mac faflnar moving into northern Borneo fa a drive to conquer the island that mo0y could be the prelude to m campaign against the Indies and lick in oil and rubber and pos aeamng good ports and airfields for ? farust to file west, Borneo was m 111 in by the Japs early in 1942 afafe the Allied cause in the Pacific remained paralyzed after (hart Harbor. With. Jap shipping earning under increasing U. S. air md sea pressure, Borneo's value to fae enemy has been sharply re faced. and Allied invasion forces aaet only meager opposition as they moved inland in the mountain anw^u vau/ ugnuj ??? fnpiralively communicable coast al regions, the Japs did Are the ex feasm oil installations located ftere in an effort to prevent their mm bf the Allies for future opera bans. Flames from the storage tasks and wells could be seen for VETS CARE: Legion, VJF.W. Critical Stung by the American Legion and Y.F.W.'s ringing denunciation of fee veterans administration bureau, congress moved to look into the whole question and give ear to the comprehensive program outlined by fesfe service organizations for effi cient functioning of the department. With a spokesman declaring that fee bureau may eventually have to handle the cases of 18,000,000 G.I.s, fee American Legion suggested the cieatiun of a deputy administrator ?nder Gen. Omar Bradley and a realignment of authority under six assistants to handle medical care, srsurance, finance, loan guarantees, ^adjustment allowances, vocational Warning, rehabilitation and educa tion. adjustment of compensation, ptaeitai and retirement claims, con struction. supplies and contracts. Though criticizing the overall op es atiam of the bureau, the Ameri can Legion and V.F.W. particularly sapped vet hospital care, charging feat HE WHO MEETS the calls of to - day worries but little of the tomor rows. Homesteading Opportunities In Alaska Interest Veterans a Vast Frontier Land Has Much to Offer to Hardy Young People RtUiMd by WeiUrti Ntwtpapcr Union. Veterans of World War n dream as avidly of establishing homes on the land as did the sol diers of the Continental army, Grant's blue-clad veterans, or Pershing's doughboys in 1918, it is pointed out by the United States department of the in terior. Requests for information on available public lands, Secre tary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes points out, have literally inundated the department's of fices. The average number of requests for information on homesteads alone in the general land office runs higher than 3,000 monthly and the number is in creasing. Exservicemen who desire to set tle on public land, either in the con tinental United States or Alaska, will avoid many heartbreaking dis appointments if they first fully in- . form themselves concerning all of the possible pitfalls. One of the prime requisites, for instance, in obtaining title to public land is three years' actual residence hf>ffinninff within dv mrmthi aft*r permission to enter has been granted. There are numerous other requirements concerning such sub jects as the building of a habitable dwelling, the cultivation of the land and other details, about which pros pective settlers would do well to in form themselves before filing an ap plication. The principal advantage that vet erans have over other eitisena is that service in the armed forces, ?P to a maximum of two pears, is credited toward the three-pear resi dence requirement. This applies generallp to ail cltlsens over 21 pears of age who have served at least 90 daps in the armed forees and who have been hooorablp dis charged fierefrom. Veterans also enjoy a M-dap priority in filing ap plications for settlement on pubUe land classified for that purpose. Any veteran of World War II under 21 is entitled to the same rights un der the homestead laws as those over 21 who map be veterans of this or other conflicts. Residence require ments of such minors will be sus pended until six months after their discharge from the service. Moreover, homestead claims of veterans of World War D, initiated prior to their entrance into the serv ice, are protected against for feiture during the period of their service and for six months there after. Such veterans who are hon orably discharged and because of pnysicai incapacity oue to tneir service are unabla to return to the land, may make proof without fur ther residence, improvements and cultivation. Go North. Young Man. By far the greatest opportunities for obtaining title to and establish ing homesteads on public lands lie in Alaska. This territory covers an area of 986,400 square miles, rough ly equal to one-fifth of that of the United States. More than 90 per cent of the territory is under the juris diction of the department of the in terior. The major portion is still open to settlement under the home stead laws. But, while the chanceStdn Alaska are undoubtedly vast, there are many difficulties to be overcome. Considerable progress has been made in developing the territory on j a stable basis, but it is still no * place for the fainthearted. Those with sufficient financial backing and with courage and tenacity may reasonably count upon success in the long run, but without these es i sentials veterans and others would be arise to look twice before they . leap. Much also depends upon the ' arise selection of land, as to quality A ?IIU awkCMiuun;. Many misconceptions about Alas ka have been dissipated as a re sult of the war. Many who have seen service there have been fas i cinated" by its picturesqueness, and impressed by its obvious possibili ties. The territory has largely lived down its old and undeserved repu tation as "Seward's icebox" ? a i reputation that was pinned on it by i the critics of Secretary of State Seward who negotiated the terri tory's purchase from Russia in 1807. To speak of the climate of Alaska ; is as aaisleadlag as is speak of the climate of Europe, or ef Asia. The climate varies widely from that of southeastern Alaska, where It Is virtually as mild as, hot maeh wet ter lhaa, that of Virginia, to that of the froien wastes oI the Arctic circle and the lop and wiUlwawa of the Aleutian islands. Veterans have the came prefer ence accorded to them by the home stead laws of the United States. In addition, where lands are newly opened or restored to homestead entry veterans will be granted a preference right of application for a period of 90 days before the lands become subject to application by the general public. In addition to homesteading in Alaska, on sites limited to 160 acres, any adult citizen of the United States, whose employer is engaged in trade, manufacturing, or other productive industry in Alaska, or who is himself engaged in such business, may purchase one claim. iiui cxi-ceoing o acres, ox nonnuii eral land at $2.50 an acre, but (or not less than a minimum of $10. An applicant for such a tract is re quired to pay the cost of the survey. Any citizen of the United States after occupying land in Alaska as a homestead or headquarters in ? habitable house not less than live months each year for three years may purchase such tract, not ex ceeding Ave acres, if nonmineral in character, at $2.S0 an acre, but for not less than a minimum of $10. Such an applicant is not required to pay the cost of the survey. For Farming and Mining. Fur farming has been carried on in the territory for a sufficiently long period to demonstrate that the raising of such fur animals as minks and blue foxes is profitable. This is especially true in southeast ern Alaska and along the general coast line where Ash, a basic fur animal food, may be procured cheaply. Certain areas of Alaska are ad mirably adapted to the production of fur of good quality, and there Is plenty of room for expanding this industry. There are hundreds of li censed for farmers In Alaska, the majority of whom are raising minks and bine foxes, although some silver foxes are raised in captivity. Mineral resources are known to be large and varied, and there are undoubtedly large and rich mineral areas still unexplored. Notable evi dence of this has been disclosed by extensive searches for war-needed metals and minerals by the geologi cal survey and the bureau of mines. A large part of the territory's na tural mineral wealth consists of gold, silver, mercury, antimony, tin, coal, copper, iron, lead and platinum. There also may be con siderable oil reserves in some parts of the country, but to what extent remains largely to be seen. Transportation is, of course, a prob lem. Since Alaska, a natural scenic wonderland and sport fisherman's paradise, is expected to grow in importance as a vacation land and as a goal for tourists, there will undoubtedly be great opportunities for veterans and others who desire to go into businesses catering to the tourist trade. Tourist facilities are comparatively meager, especially in many picturesque localities off of the beaten path. However, here again, those con templating the establishment ol such businesses should do so with their eyes open. It must be remem bered that in many places in Alas ka the tourist season is short, and that the permanent population ol the territory is normally less thar 100,000 persons, or about one-eightl of the number of persona living iz Washington, D. C. As a general rule. It may be said that settlement en public land b Alaska Is eneenraged bat not urged Those who cheese Alaska as their future hemes should de ss with caution. Then is little denbt that ultimately Alaska is destiaed to be come aa tmpsrtaat crossroads at the top tt the world. It is a aataral way station oa air liaes to Asia and eastern Europe. But Alaska itself, as well as those who settle there, will be better off if it has an orderly and stable de velopment. It is hoped, for the benefit of all concerned, that sudden rushes of hordes of people with get rich-quick ideas but with no sus tained interest in healthy growth, may be avoided. Dam Projects Could Create A Million Jobs Material Makers as Well a A. i n ?? ) As Actual construction Workers Would Benefit Jobs (or thousands of skilled and unskilled workmen will be created in every part of the country when congress approves [dans and pro vides funds for building more thaa 400 irrigation and power projects proposed by the bureau of rec lamation in its $3,000,000,000 post war inventory. Although these proposed irrigation and power projecta will be located in the 17 western states, where the bureau of reclamation since 1901 has been responsible for the conserva tion and wise use of water re sources, their construction will era ate job opportunities from Maine te California. Behind every man on the con struction job there will be one ar more helpers who may be thousands of miles away. An employment analysis of the bureau's postwar inventory reveals that of the 4,159, 000.000 man-hours of labor required to construct all the projects a boat 1,<90,000,000 mas-hours will be re quired at construction sites. <. Materials tram XI States. The materials needed for rec lamation work, of which such basic products as iron and steel, cement, electrical equipment and supplies; foundry and machine-shop products, and lumber are of primary impor tance, must be obtained from widely separated sources. Much of this ma terial and equipment will come from the 31 states outside the arid and semiarid regions of the west. If feeds are made available lee construction of all the pi ejects. bureau officials estimate that mass than 454,SOS man eoeld be pet te work the trst year, less than halt at these at eeeatmetioB sites. At peak empiayment in the nint er third year almost 1,144,444 man , eoeld receive pay envelopes h af ferent parts of the country aiart I salt of this mighty effort. Agricultural and industrial enter - prises in the West will help to sup t port and give homes to servicemen i and others who have expressed their ? desire to settle on irrigated fauna. - Of the 2,000,000 westerners in the I armed forces, it is estimated that r 265,000 will want to return to the t lavu) Veteran lefiilatkm, iitkuM i and pendinf, |i?ti lenrieemea pri ority at Nttimnt an bnraan at raa I tarnation prajeeta. On name pea* i aata public tin da ?? ka apan In Servicemen end nan get pointer* on Alaik* land settlement free* Commissioner Fred W. Johnson, general land oflee. Left to right: Pfo. Richard Bean, tJ. S. army, (Newport, N. H.), Chief Warrant OfBeer Joseph D. Joiner, V. 8. navy (AttaaU, Oa.), and Yeoman 1/e Mildred H. Dietrich of the WAVES (St. Naslans, Wise.), learn at chances ler future on public lands administered by the Interior department.