The Alamance Gleaner
VOL. LXXII GRAHAM, N. C., THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 1946 No. 1
WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS ,|
Radar Opens Way for Scientific
Exploration of Stratosphere;
Filibuster Fair Employment Bill
______ Released by Western Newspaper Union. j
(BDfTOK'8 NOTE: Whta eyiaJeas are essresse* la these ?elamas. they are these e<
Wsatera Nswsyayer Ualsa's news analysts aai net aecessarily sf this aewsyayer.)
RADAR:
Reach Moon
With U. S. army radar contact
with the moon, vast possibilities con
fronted a rapidly, developing sci
entific world, which had recorded
the explosive use of atomic energy
?nly a short six months ago.
Having sent radio waves 238,857
miles up to the moon at the rate
af 188,000 miles a second and reg
istered echoes 214 seconds later,
army physicists working on the
project at the Evans Signal lab
/ oratory in Belmar, N. J., saw these
possible revolutionary wartime and
peacetime uses of the new tech
? Radio control of long-range jet or
rocket-propelled missiles, circling
the earth above the atmosphere.
?Study of effects of upper layers
af atmosphere on radio waves.
?Drawing of detailed topographical
maps of distant planets and deter
mine the composition of other celes
tial bodies.
?Radio control of strato-ships sent
aloft to record astronomical data
computed aboard such craft by elec
trode devices.
CONGRESS:
Seek Labor Curb
Despite the general congressional
tendency to give the administration
wide latitude in handling the strike
situation, especially in an election
peer, southern solons led. by Repre
sentatives Smith (Dem., Va.) and
Cos (Dem., Ga.) have prodded cau
tious legislators toward considera
tion of anti-strike measures.
- Hitting congressional timidity for
taking the teeth out of the Presi
dent's proposed fact-finding legisla
tion, Smith declared his intentions to
restore the right of federal officials
to look into disputants' books in
studying issues and establish a 38
day anti-strike period.
In addition. Smith joined with
other congressmen in calling for
legislation which would make unions
as well as companies equally re
sponsible for observing contracts,
and went even further in demand
mg the prohibition of sympathy
strikes and the organization of su
pervisory. and management em
i pkjyees
Crippling Strike
As the far-flung steel strike involv
wig upwards of 800,000 workers took
effect, government officials looked to
a widespread closing of many plants
dependent upon the vital material
for peacetime products.
Ordinarily, the big auto manufac
turers hold only a 10-day inventory
af sheet steel, while producers of
washing machines, vacuum cleaners
and similar items build up 30 to 40
day stocks. Anticipating a walkout,
however, many companies ordered
heavily in preceding weeks, though
the government restricted permissi
ble inventories of sheet steel to 45
days and other steel to 60 days.
la evaluating the situation, gov
ernment officials declared that the
volume of production would be part
ly influenced by the amount of ma
terial manufacturers may decide to
draw on from stocks. Though many
of the bigger companies in the auto
and appliance industries have been
struck, smaller plants and parts
suppliers have been free to work.
Rescinding all priorities after the
CIO-United Steel Workers left their
Jobs, the government directed ware
houses to channel stocks to utility,
ire, police, hospital, railroad, food
processing and other outlets serv
ing the public needs.
Plant Seizures
In taking over struck packing
plants, the government declared that
meat was a vital product, neces
sary for the maintenance of Amer
ican strength in securing the peace
Awing the continuing postwar emer
gency, differentiating it from goods
af a civilian nature.
Though AFL members agreed to
mtarn to their jobs, the CIO pack
wgtamee workers rebelled at going
hack in U. S. controlled plants un
der old pay rates. By taking over
?w plants and re-establishing old
rmdiliuus, they said, the govern
ment had robbed them of their one
uAapcu^fbr enforcing higher wage
While the government took over
*e plants of Swift, Armour, Cudahy,
Wilson, Morrel and others, with com
pany officials conducting the busi
eral conciliators maintained efforts
. " , ? J J - *? Urf
PEARL HARBOR:
Shorts Turn
In telling the Pearl Harbor inves
tigating committee that the war de
partment's withholding of intercept
ed Japanese messages prior to the
fatal attack on the naval base had
not permitted him to make adequate
preparations against assault, Maj.
Gen. Walter C. Short took the same
position as Admiral Kimmel.
Lashing the war department for
having made him the "scapegoat"
for the disaster, Short declared that
had he been furnished the gist of in- j
tercepted Japanese messages point
ing toward imminent war, he would I
have girded his Hawaiian command
for an all-out alert. As it was, he
said, he only ordered a watch
against sabotage and presumed it
was satisfactory since Chief of Stall
Marshall had not countermanded
the step.
Discussing the intercepted enemy
message of December 6, indicating
a break in diplomatic relations, and
the concluding part of the dispatch
December 7, specifying the exact
time for the rupture. Short assert
ed that had the war department sent
him the information promptly, he
would have had four hours in which
to prepare for an attack. A tele
phone call to Hawaii would have
taken a few minutes, Short stated.
TALK:
And More Talk
Resisting northern efforts to push
through the fair employment prac
tices bill, which prohibits discrimi
nation in hiring workers, southern
senators led by Misissippi's Theo
dore G. Bilbo carried on a lengthy
filibuster against the measure in
their drive to talk it to death.
With all of the southern senators
save Pepper (Dem., Fla.) lined up
against the FEPC, one outdid the
other in holding forth against the
measure. Whereas Bilbo announced
his readiness to deliver a 30-day
speech, Eastland (Dem., Miss.)
threatened to outshine his colleague
by filibustering for two years.
In forming ranks to talk the FEPC
to death, the southern senators, re
ferring to chamber members as
"my delightful and revered friend,"
I etc., concentrated on discussion of
As leader of Southern filibuster, Sen.
Bilbo girds for 30-day talk.
the contents of the formal senate
journal, which carries a detailed ac
count of proceedings. For hours
Dixie's stalwarts talked about the
advisability of including a chaplain's
prayer in the report before Taft
(Rep., Ohio) got them off on some
thing else by succeeding in having
the matter tabled.
GRAIN:
Big Demand
With the government planning to
export between 200 and 225 million
bushels of wheat during the first
half of 1946, and with livestock pro
ducers and distillers scrambling for
grain to meet heavy feed and proc
essing needs, farmers were assured
strong and steady markets through
the year.
Because of the government's ex
port program and feed and proc
essing needs, the nation's supply of
wheat was expected to dip to around
200 million bushels by July 1, with
some sources predicting even less.
With one to two months supply on
hand, many mills already are be
ginning to feel the pinch, and die
tillers have been forced to use
hulled oats for alcohol despite small
er gallanage per 100 bushels.
Though the department of agri
culture considered limiting the use
of wheat for feed, tt reportedly eras
reluctant to act because of a short
age of feed in the poultry produc
ing New Ilnglsnd states.
VETS:
Surplus Goods
Disposal of surplus goods to vets
promised to be speeded up through
the formation of a special division
in the War Assets corporation to
handle the program and meet nu
merous objections posed by past
practices.
Though the volume of surplus
goods for disposal will depend upon
the final determination of service
needs after demobilization, the Chi
cago regional office of WAC was
quick to set up model procedure to
facilitate the movement of govern
ment material to G.I. applicants.
Under the new system, any vet
desiring surplus goods will be given
a certificate to purchase whatever
material he wants, and a WAC rep
resentative then will conduct him to
the department handling the item.
If the product is not available, the
vet will then be notified when it
has been received, and he will be
permitted to make a purchase
under ceilings established by OPA.
Formerly, vets had complained
that ceiling prices were too high,
and that they had not been notified
of public sales to dealers on a bid
basis for unclaimed surplus ma
terial.
Doctors Aid 'Blue Baby
Doctor Taussig (left) bids Judy Hack
man and father goodbye.
Snug in a scarlet and ivory suit, with e
red cap tucked over golden curls, 2-Year
old Judy Hackman oj Buckley, Washn
kicked impishly as she teas wheeled out
of famed Johns Hopkins hospital in Balti
more, Md., to he taken home after a deli
cate operation had repaired a malformed
heart that menaced her life.
When first brought into the hospital.
Judy faced early death as a blue baby, \
but Doctors Blaiock and Taussig skillfully
sewed a good artery to a defective one, in
creasing the supply of oxygenated blood
in her system. As the youngster recovered, j
the blue line in her lips gradually was
supplanted by a rosy hue.
GERMANY:
Rural Elections
First free voting in Germany
since the Nazi rise to power in 1933,
elections held in the rural sections
of the American zone of occupation
resulted in a decided victory for the
liberal Social Democratic party,
which polled 41.4 per cent of the
ballots.
In swinging to the Social Demo
crats, the Germans passed up the
conservative Christian Democratic
Union of Catholics and Protestants,
which drew 28 per cent of the vote,
and the radical communists, who
polled about 3 per cent.
Lending credence to the Ameri
can authorities warning that the
elections were largely determined
by personalities rather than basic
party principles was the defeat of
the Christian Union. Seeking to
swing over the small land-owners'
vote, organization candidates as
serted that a radical victory would
lead to subdivision of existing acre
age to accommodate refugees.
INSURANCE:
Policy Loans Up
Reflecting increased emergency
needs resulting from the economic
dislocations following V-J Day, life
Insurance policy loans have risen
since the end of the war, almost
doubling in the case of some com
panies over the record low point of
1948. Advances averaged between
*100 and *200.
Despite the rise in new loans, bow
ever, the debt position at policy-hold
ers was far more favorable than hi
1939, the amount outstanding at the
end of 1948 having been pared al
most 200 million dollars to about 1
billion from the prewar years.
Whereas the ratio of loans to re
serves stood at 13 per cent in 1939,
it now is only 8 per cent
While cash surrender value pay
ments also rose moderately follow
ing V-J Day, the total of 240 million
dollars in 1948 compared with 122
million la 1919.
Things You Knew All Along!
(Bet which dopey ? ten fwmd out.)
President Truman ia not ill, but
the Army has completed plans for
a Presidential suite at Walter Reed
Hospital. FDR and other gov't of
ficials invariably used the Naval <
Hospital at Bethesda, Md. Since ,
Mr. Truman served in the Army (in
World War I), the Army has no in *
tention of turning over its prize t
alumnus to Naval medicos, should t
he need a doctor. (Mr. Truman \
discovered that trying to be a mid
dle-of-the-roader means you get
slugged from both sides.) <
In Berlin the Nazis (civilians, too) i
gather in front of U. S. PXs and beg
the Yanks "for chawklott, choon- |
gum" and other goodies, even cig- ,
gies. The Americans often share |
with them. When the Nazis are a |
safe distance away they make (
"cracks," thumb to nose, etc. |
Nurses just back also report the ,
Nazis practically dare the Yank* to <
hit them with their vehicles or bikes -
as they cross streets. But when they ,
see the Russians coming in cars, ,
they flee. Because the Russkys run ,
oyer them! (They respect THEM!)
"Fala at Hyde Park" is the title J
of an unusual short released on (
FDR's birthday, Jan. 30th. I
Six thousand of the 82nd Airborne <
Division (who marched up Fifth S
Ave. the other day) will re-enlist. t
During the war ammunition was >
manufactured in the House of Lords, 1
London. '
1 ' "
Believe it or not, but there is even J
a lobby in Washington to prevent 1
the gov't from establishing national *
cemeteries in each State. (Ceme- I
tery associations are behind the lob- '
by.) t
Telephones Immaculate (The Hy- '
gienic Phone Service of N. Y., Inc.) '
is a service which disinfects your j
phones twice weekly. A New York
er borrowed the idea from London,
which is supposed to be decades be
hind New York. t
Denver has a law which prohibits '
anyone from photographing a worn- I
an in her bathing suit without her r
consent (How about without her <!
bathing suit?)
It's against the law in England to *
marry your mother-in-law. '
The howl of wolves at night is J
really a love call.
A Marine never wears pants or J
carries a gun. Marines wear trous- {
ers and they never call a rifle a i
gun. (Such airs!) c
s
Pawnshops use three brass balls
as a sign because they were part r
of the coat of arms of the Medici t
family, the first famous pawnbro- t
kers. (My hockshop told me.) I
The moon is gradually applying 1
brakes to the earth's spin. As a r
result, the day is now lengthening
at the rate of one-thousandth of a
second a century. (Fewensakesl) j
t
Napoleon invented the income tax c
to pay for wars. 0
Mid town Novelette: A noted at- (
torney revealed this in the Blue An- h
geL A mother and a daughter were g
threatened with eviction from a 72nd 1
St. apartment . . . Because the J
neighbors complained of the girl's a
vocalizing. "She's always practie- b
ing!" said the landlord. . . . Their a
lawyer argued the owner into with
drawing the dispossess notice and
warned him: "Some day you'll pay
to hear ber sing!" ... They moved,
anyway, because the neighbors were
so mean. .. . That was I years ago.
... If those neighbors do not know
what became of that girl?they can
pay to find out?at the Met Opera
House . . . Patrice Munsel!
The Late Watch: Clark Gable's
steadiest companion is Virginia
Grey. The reports linking him with
this and that gal are strictly "fill
ers." . . . Big furOre in Washington
over Gen. Ike's shakeup at the Pen
tagon. They're the lads "who flew
a desk" largely because socially
ambitious wives "couldn't live any
where else." . . . Hotels will oe
jammed until next December with
out a let-up. Conventions, buyers,
etc. . . . The Burks-Van Heusen
score In "Nellie Bly" is rated a 1
goody. . . . Groucho Marx's dghtx,
has ear Itched from s news- h
mag (as copy |al) to an a. m. paper |
as cob reporter, already. I
Lincoln Established Department!
Of Agriculture 84 Years Ago
Great President
Always Remained
A Farmer at Heart
Abraham Linclon sat at his
lesk studying a document a
:lerk had laid before him. Now
tnd then he would raise his eyes
o glance out the window at a
)lue-clad sentry pacing the
Vhite House lawn.
Soon he finished reading, took
iff his steel-bowed spectacles,
-eached for a pen and signed his
lame to the last page.
The paper he signed that May day
n 1862 waa not an army-ahifting or
ler that would change the tide of
settles, but nevertheless its effects
save been felt in war and peace in
he three-quarters of a century that
save followed. The document was
in "Act to Establish the United
States department of agriculture."
rhus in the agony of the Civil war
vas born an organization which to
lay serves six million of the Da
ion's farms.
Americans remember Lincoln
>est as the Great Emancipator
vhose principles have stirred men
he world over. Few citizens, per
laps, realize the profound effect
Lincoln and his administration had
in the agriculture of the United
States. For not only did he foster
he act establishing the U. S. de
lartment of agriculture, but he pro
noted other legislation that gave
arming an impetus that has speed
id its development to this day.
Lincoln was farm bred. He nev
ir lost the feel of the earth. All his
ife he was a close student of agri
lulture. He knew its needs and the
>ossibilities of its advancement as
ew presidents have before or since.
The story of Lincoln's boyhood on
he farm is an American classic,
lis early days were spent on a 30
icre tract near Knob creek about
0 miles from his birthplace at
iodgenville, Ky.
Moved to Indiana.
When Abe was seven years old,
he family moved across the Ohio
iver into southern Indiana. Tragedy
vas to come early into the young
loy's life for it was here that his
nother, Nancy Hanks Lincoln,
lied. The Lincolns had established
hemselves on a knoll surrounded
ry low-lying, marshy fields. Abe had
o walk a mile to haul drinking
rater.
Thomas Lincoln had taken an op
ion on 1(0 acres of land at two
lollars an acre. He completed pay
nents on about half of that total,
'arying his farming activities with
Minting and occasional Jobs of car
pentry. Seven years after the family
tad arrived in Indiana, the farm's
rultivated area totaled only IT
teres.
The Lincoln family moved to Illi
tols in 1830, taking up land along
he Sangamon river in Macon coun
y. Soon after arriving, Abe reached
tie list birthday. That meant free
lom from his father's yoke. So he
tade farewell to his family and
noved on to New Salem.
Btodent of Agricaltare.
As a successful lawyer riding the
llinois circuit and visiting neigh
toring states occasionally to try
:ases, Lincoln was a close student
if agriculture. He was often Invited
o speak before farmers' meetings.
>ne of the most notable instances
tistorians record of his appear
inces before farm groups came in
86? ? a year bdfore he was elected
Resident ? when he was invited to
ddress the agricultural fair held
7 the Wisconsin State Agricultural
octety at Milwaukee.
On that occasion he said:
opens so wide a field (or the profit
able and agreeable combination el a|
labor with cultivated thought aa bs
agrlenltare. Every blade al graaa ec
Is a study; and to produce two m
where there once was but one Is th
both a profit and a pleasure. And pt
not grass alone, but soils, seeds and at
seasons, saving crops, diseases of ei
crops, what will prevent and cure al
them; hogs, horses and cattle; hi
trees, shrubs, fruits, plants and v<
flowers?each Is a world al study of
within Itself." tu
His words were prophetic of the P>
research conducted today by plant *1
breeders, animal husbandmen and el
soil scientists at state agricultural 1?
colleges and experiment stations. V1
There was great room for prog- fit
ress in agriculture when Lincoln en- ?
tered the White House. Farming was
still being done with horse power th
although an impressive start had w
been made in mechanization. But it fa
still took about as long to plow a E
"1 have caused the hfutmd a<
[rtculture of the United States te
> organized te carry sot the act a(
ingress of May 15th last. The eon
issioner Informs me that wttkia
* period of a few months this de
triment has established aa sit an
re system of correspondence and '
[changes, both at haoae and
troad, which promise to effect
ghly beneficial results to the da
tlepment of a c arrest knowledge
recent Improrements of agricnl
re, in the introduction at new
-odnets and to the eeUeetten of toe
rricultural statisttes of toe differ
it states. Abe it will bo paapnrad
distribute largely seeds, cereals,
ants and cuttings, and has alaandy
ibUshed and liberally diffused
ueh ratuable information."
The department of agriculture
us played its part in the Civil
sr. Its services to the nation'e
rmers have continued to grow,
very farm home today feels its
field, plant a crop and cultivate it
as it had in George Washington's
time. This was particularly true in
the pioneer areas of settlement in
the West.
Beaper Coming Into Use.
The early 1830s had witnessed the
introduction of the reaper but its
use was not universal when the
Civil war broke out. Farmers had
been using the steel plow for about
28 years. The modern fertilizer in
dustry was not established until
1880, after scientific experiments in
Europe had demonstrated the value
of plant feeding. By 1860 production
had reached only 20,000 tons. Last
years farmers used more than
12,000,000 tons.
Food production was just as im
portant in the Civil war as in
World Wars I and II. Lincoln and
his advisers sought measures both
near and long range that would
strengthen the position of agricul
ture. The administration threw its
weight behind three major bills and
within a year they had become the
law of the land. They were: the act
establishing the U. S. department
of agriculture; the land grant col
lege act to which the nation's farm
ers today owe the existence of the
far-flung system of agricultural col
leges in every state of the union,
and the homestead act.
Lincoln had advocated the estab
lishment of a department of agricul
ture in his first message to con
gress, in December, 1861. Then he
had said:
"Agriculture, confessedly the larg
est Interest of the nation, has net a
department nor a bureau, bat a
clerkship only. While it is important
that this great interest is so inde
pendent In its nature as not to have
demanded or extorted more from the
government, I respectfully ask con
gress to consider whether something
more cannot voluntarily bo given
with general advantage."
By the time he delivered his sec
ond annual measage, the depart
ment had been created and Lincoln
was able to report;
Thomas Lincoln, father of the president. Abe Lincoln, than a groom wtam.
helped his father boild the house and visited It often. It is in Colas iiaolj.
near Charleston.
benefits. Farmers everywhere are
assisted by county agents In Im
proving their tillage methods, test
ing their soil to determine plant bod
needs, so as to increase the output
and quality af their crops.
The land grant college net or the
Morrill act, signed by President
Lincoln on July 2, 1882, marked a
milestone in the development of sci
entific agriculture. The act gave to
each state as many times 20.0M
acres of public land as it had sena
tors and representatives ? this land
to provide funds for the sstahdab
ment and supptet of "a collage
of agriculture and mechanical
arts."
"Today the state agricultml eel
leges which Lincoln's administra
tion helped to create are one of the
farmers' greatest all tee." said m
statement of the Middle West soil
improvement committee recent
ly. "Their scientists and teachers
are constantly discovering new
facts about the soil and its plant
food needa, crop and livastock im
provement and better farmingmeth
ods.
Practical Training.
"These colleges equip yotmg
men to apply their training to prac
tical farm work. Here and in the
agricultural experiment stations,
agronomists are carrying on tasts
with crops, soils and fertilizers.
The benefit of this information is
available to any farmer seeking ad
vice in applying nitrogen, phosphor
us and potash to his land for prods
able crop production "
The third great agricultural
measure which marked Lincoln's
contribution to the future of Ameri
can fanning was the liiaiiealaail
act which he signed May a, 1882.
Since the day this act became op
erative approximately 290 million
acres at public domain have been
thrown open to farm ownership.
The effect of the homestead ad
in promoting farm production dins
ing and after the Civil war was tre
mendous.
By its provisions, 180 acres of
land vai given free to every set
tler who would live en it for Ave
years. Landseekers rushed to tales
advantage of the offer. Before the
war ended 2.5 million acres were al
located?or an average of 15 then
sand farms of 150 acres each.
Railroad lines were extended to
link the western farm lands with
the markets at the east The food
these new farms produced helped
supply the union armies, and com
bined with the agricultural output
of the east, built up a surplus that
found a profltabla market in Europe,
Following the Civil war the home
stead act was instrumantal in build
itie un the farmine em Dire west eg"
the Mississippi which became An, J
land at opportunity lor the veterans
of that war.
As America hails the 117 th anni
rersary of Uncoin' s^birth. agricut
The yrogrses farming had made in
the paat 50 years would never have
been possible without Up ho*, ,