The Alamance Gleaner 1
VOL. LXXII GRAHAM, N. C., THURSDAY, AUGUST 22, 1946 No. 2g
WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS
House Group Proposes New Farm
Program to Aid Agriculture;
Drouth Strikes Mid-West States
????????? Released by Western Newspaper Union. ?????????
(EDITOR'S NOTE: When opinions are expressed la these columns, they are these ef
Western Newspaper Uaiea's news analysts and net necessarily ef this newspaper.)
Among big-wigs attending peace parley in Paris are Herbert Evatt
el Australia (at left); Georges Bidanlt ot France (top center); Ethiopian
representative (bottom center); Paul Henri Spaak ot Belgium (top
right) and Trygve Lie oi Norway.
FARM PROGRAM:
New Proposals
A new (arm program calling for
a combination of sound open mar
ket practices and governmental as
sistance was proposed by the spe
cial house committee on postwar
economic policy and planning head
ed by Representative Colmer
(Dem., Miss.).
In recommending changes in
present farm legislation, the com
mittee urged:
Greater flexibility be allowed
k farm prices, especially to
ward each other.
Supply and demand be given
greater opportunity to deter
mine farm prices rather than
artificial controls.
Re-examination of the out
moded parity price formula de
signed to give farmers an in
come on a par with industrial
workers.
Concentration on a long
rather than a short range farm
program.
For establishing a "floor" under
farm prices to prevent a disastrous
drop, the committee proposed
a support program guaranteeing
producers "60, 70 or 80 per cent
of parity"; a supplemental pay
ment during hard times to assure
a certain percentage of pre-depres
sion income and limits on the
rate of decline for a specified com
modity in a year.
PARIS:
Parley Gets Going
Settlement of the highly contro
versial rules procedures enabled
the 21-nation Paris peace, confer
ence to get underway for consid
eration of vital issues concern
ing treaty drafts for Italy, Hun
gary, Romania and Bulgaria.
Agreement to place all confer
ence recommendations passed by
a majority vote before the Big
Four foreign ministers for their
study in drawing up the final
treaties represented a major vic
tory for the Anglo-American bloc.
Russia had held out for a two
thirds vote on the grounds that de
cisions should be as unanimous
as possible and was supported by
a Slavic bloc including Poland,
Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, the
IJkraine and Byelorussia.
While the Anglo-American and
Russian blocs were at issue on the
voting procedure they readily
joined in a decision to open both
committee and geiieral assembly
meetings to representatives of the
defeated nations to place their
views before the delegates. There
also was agreement on excluding
any of the Big Four from the chair
manship of any of the committees
to preclude the imposition of their
policies and to limit each country
to one chairmanship.
DROUTH:
Strikes in Mid-West
Because of an atmospheric
quirk, parts of Wisconsin, Illinois,
Indiana and almost all of Michi
gan have suffered from a severe
drouth, with heavy rainfall needed
ta prevent major corn, pasture and
truck crop failures.
As explained by the weather
I bureau, a low pressure trough
jtsists la a north-south direction in
:
the Great Plains states. Normally,
moist air from the Gull of Mexico
would pass into this channel, to be
distributed to the eastward. Dur
ing the last six weeks, however, a
strong northerly wind has been
blowing in to block the moist air.
Outside of this area, there has
been heavy rainfall, especially in
the East, the Great Plains states
and parts of Iowa and Illinois. To
the east and west of the affected
air trough, southerly winds are
bearing moisture from the gulf.
Corn in the drouth area already
has suffered a 10 to 20 per cent
loss; seeding of clover and al
falfa in stubble has been retarded,
and tomato blossoms are blasting
and falling off vines.
CIO:
To Fight Prices
Remaining militant in its post
war program to aid the interests
of more than five million mem
bers, the CIO announced an all
out drive on rising prices to pre
vent further depreciation of the
workers' dollar.
Revealing that it had given up
plans for another big wage drive
to win further increases to offset
rising living costs, the union stated
that demands for more money
probably would result in still high
er prices.
In forecasting additional price
rises of 15 to 20 per cent during
the next few months, the CIO said
that the corresponding reduction in
purchasing power of the con
sumer's dollar would represent a
wage cut of 17 per cent. A suc
cessful consumer strike against
higher prices would terminate cur
rent inflation within the next 18
months at the worst and three to
six months at the best, it said.
UNRRA:
U. S. to Quit
Following close upon the blast
of Senators Butler (Rep., Neb.) and
nil J
W. 8. Clayton
ciitenaer tuem.,
La.) against use
of United Nations
relief and rehabili
tation funds
abroad. Assistant
Secretary of State
William L. Clay
ton told the fifth
UNRRA council
meeting in Gen
eva, Switzerland,
that the U. S.
would not contrib
ute additional funds to the agency.
While the senators had charged
that UNRRA supplies were being
used to bolster foreign govern
ments, Clayton stated that the U. S.
was withdrawing future assistance
to the agency because the pe
riod of immediate postwar impov
erishment was passing and the
U. S. and other countries had sup
plied sufficient credit mediums for
financing recovery.
No less than 30 billion dollars
have been made available for loan
ing through such agencies as the
international bank and monetary
funds set up at Bretton Woods,
Clayton said. Furthermore, pros
pective borrowers now can ap
proach wealthier nations for ad
vances if necessary, be added.
In all, the U. S. provided no
less than 2% billion dollars of aid
to UNRRA, sufficient for supplies
to fill 2,000 cargo ships.
OPA:
More Price Boosts
Reflecting the termination of sub
sidy payments amounting to $39,
200,000 yearly, OPA boosted the
price of No. 2 sized cans of peas
and tomatoes two cents and corn
and tomato paste one cent. The
price of a 14-ounce bottle of catsup
was upped one cent along with six
ounce cans of tomato paste.
At the same time, OPA followed
its removal of price control from
snap beans packed after March 1
by freeing frozen and canned snap
beans processed before that date.
While congress had slashed the
administration request for two bil
lion dollars for subsidies by half in
renewing OPA, the agency had de
cided to discontinue vegetable pay
ments in July, it was reported.
With the lapse of the old price
control act in June, subsidies end
ed on the 1946 pack and later were
stopped on the 1945 supply.
Study Meat Control
As the new super price control
board undertook to determine
whether meat should continue free
of price control, packer bids on
cattle and hogs dipped in the lead
ing markets upon heavy receipts of
low-cost beef and consumer resist
ance to rising pork prices.
Taking cognizance of depart
mem 01 agriculture charges that
whole carloads of meat were spoil
ing on railroad sidings in the East
because of a buyer's strike in pro
test against high prices, packers
stated that present prices includ
ing former subsidies actually are
lower than under OPA regulation.
Because of the large volume of
tonnage available, some ship
ments may be arriving faster than
distributors can handle them, it
was said.
National Income Neai Peak
With disbursements of pri- ?
vate industry rising to an all
time high in June, income pay
ments to individuals for the
month were at a near record
annual rate of $160,600,000,000,
the department of commerce
reported.
Included in income payments
to individuals are wages and
salaries, net return of unincor
porated businesses, dividends
and interest and net rents re
ceived by landlords.
Indicative of whirring post
war industrial activity, wage
and salary payments for June
were estimated at $8,701,000,000
and dividend and interest dis
bursements were put at $2,263,
000,000.
HIGH SEA:
Seek Prize
A British steamship company
stood to gain three million dollars
and the Latvian captain and crew
of one of its tugs another million
if their claim to the abandoned
15,000-ton American Farmer cargo
vessel is upheld. Boarding the de
serted ship 600 miles off of Eng
land, the British crew later was
forced to give It up to U. S. sea
men.
Considered as a prize to anyone
picking her up under maritime law,
the American Farmer was spot
ted by RAF planes as she drifted
aimlessly after being abandoned by
her U. S. crew following a collision
with the U. S. William Riddle. Val
ued at almost two million dollars
herself, the American Farmer bore
cargo estimated at an additional
two and one-half million dollars.
The British tug located the Amer
ican Farmer after several U. S. ves
sels had passed the ship up. Short
ly after the tug captain had put a
crew aboard and started to tow the
huge r.rize in, the U. S. Ranger
drew alongside and sent seamen to
take possession of the craft.
HIDES:
Hit Hoarding
Led by Reconversion Director
Steelman, the government moved
to spue the lagging sale of hides
and leather which was said to
threaten an imminent shutdown in
shoe production.
Declaring that the government
would use every means for strik
ing at hoarders who. held back
shipments in the hope of raising
prices, Steelman repealed that the
justice department would investi
gate rumors that distributors were
withholding supplies to gain great
er profits and OPA would check
inventories so that it could order
release of excess stocks.
Reaffirming OPA's determination
not to grant further increases in
prices of domestic hides and leath
er. Steelman declared that under
OPA ceilings production of these
items between V-J day and June
30, 1M4, reached the highest level
in history. With the temporary
lapse in OPA, prices of hides sky
rocketed an average of SO per
cent and approximately 100,000
were sold, ha added. I
Editor's Note: While WlneheU
is on vacation, Jack Lait Is
servinf as guest columnist.
E-valuating 'Morale':
We have been looking into army
and navy "E" awards. . . . Even
if all the thousands of them were
meritorious ? which is an absurd
hypothesis?this system adds up to
a $100,000,000 scandal. Based on a
theory that such hooey boosted the
workers' morale, it cost probably
50,000,000 man hours in war-plants, '
25,000 lost days for officers, diver
sion of transportation facilities and
waste of gas, plus some of the high
est-powered hangovers ever experi
enced by men in uniform.
Army-navy urged these plants to
throw celebrations. Some turned
into week-long drunks, with whiskey
and champagne suppers, imported
entertainers and party girls, arriv
ing in private cars and chartered
planes. All this was legally deducti
ble for income tax purposes,
chargeable against production costs
and valid accounting in contract
renegotiation.
Officers were assigned, often
traveling hundreds and thousands of
miles, taking several weeks on a
job, all on government pay and
travel and subsistence expenses.
One public relations officer was al
ways sent on ahead, to whip up the
show. Higher ones came on later,
to make stuffy speeches, ride in
parades and souse up with the hap
py executives and their ladies.
There was usually a shutdown.
All hands were guests at shows and
blowouts, in hotels, country clubs,
local theatres taken over. Besides,
there were more exclusive to-dos
for officers and corporation officials,
"guardian angels" and other politi
cians^ with costly souvenirs handed
opt ? everything charged as legiti
mate expense.
PROs were briefed by higher of
ficers to encourage as much hoopla
as the planta could swing. Some
of them did practically ne other
work. The signal corps, with only
about a half-dozen HQ posts in the
country, traveled its advance
agents countless miles. Often the
plants paid these men's expenses
and those of higher officers, al
though the army did, too, doubling
the cost to the taxpayer.
It was one of the sweetest rack
ets of the conflict to exterminate i
the enemy by good old Yankee i
horse-sense and can-do. A triumph
of E-bombs!
The Hollywood gin rummy
swindle was turned up by a cub
reporter (Los Angles Examiner)
on his first assignment. The pa
per had a tip that Michael Mac
Dougall, the sleuth who special
izes in such things, was In
town. . . . Baker Conrad was
sent on this thin tip. ... He ran
into some members of a club
he thought might be involved.
They were talking out loud
spilling names and all?on the
story the youngster wasn't
even sure was cooking. ... He
got an earful and ran to a phone.
. . . The first newsbreak said
only that three sharpers had
taken Hollywood big boys ? no
names mentioned. ... An hour
after the edition hit the street,
three heavy winners had en
gaged a high-priced lawyer to
"nPAiaet tkair Intasaele ?
The prisoner in the dark Gettapo
dungeon in Berlin waa tall, gaunt
Rudolf Diela, founder of the Gestapo
in the first turbulent days of the
Nazi regime. Diela had said "no"
to Adolf when the fuehrer ordered ]
him to liquidate an old pal who had |
outlived his usefulness to the swas
tika-gang. Now, Rudolf sat in his
cell, awaifing the hangman?by or- i .
der of Hitter, who did not like peo- <
pie who dared to hay "no."
Standing before Diela was med
>l-dripping Hermann Goering. "I
order you to divorce my sister," i
growled Goering. "Get out of her | i
life. We cannot have a man in our i
family hung!" i i
Diels, a cool character, shrugged
his shoulders, told Goering whore
to go. I
Circumstances ? too long and in
volved to relate here?saved Diels i
from the hangman. Today, sitting i
in a villa in Nuernberg, he sup
plies the prosecution with valuable |
information against the major war ,
criminals. Among his frequent vis- . i
tors was Capt. Harry N. Sperber, ;
:hief German interpreter at the )
trials. | j
"Strange," mused Diels to Harry,
i sardonic smile on his sallow,
labre-slashed face. "It looks as if
?after all?dear Hermann will have
i man In the family hung! . . . Him- i
telfl" t
By EDWARD EMERINE
WNU FMtim.
New Jersey, the Garden State, is more than the
90-mile trip from New York to Philadelphia. It
never can be appreciated by hurrying through it,
or by dashing over to "the Jersey side" for a few
hours. But the vacationist and the sportsman, as
well as the farmer, laborer, industrialist or home
seeker, will find North Jersey, South Jersey, and
all points in between, well worth the time it takes for a
visit and inspection. New Jersey is an empire in its own
right, the "Mighty Atom" among the states of this nation.
It has great industrial areas where "Made in New
Jersey" is stamped on thousands of products. Its agricul
ture is highly developed. New Jersey provides homes
for its own workers as well as for tens of thousands who
have a business address in New York City or Philadelphia.
It broad highways, each a scenic and historic route, offer
motor trips along the coastline of the great Atlantic, or
through the hills and valleys, forests and farms, orchards
and parks of the interior.
In New Jersey, one may have the bustle of (he city,
the vibrant life of seashore resorts, or the quietude of
qnaint, forgotten towns where time has stood still.
There Is Bordentown, where the 19th century still
lives on every street, as well as small villages resting
solidly in the pockets of northern mountains.
There is much for every American to re-live in New
'Jersey, where Gen. George Washington spent a fourth
of his career as commander-in-chief during the Revolu
tionary war. Its scores of historic shrines are rich in early
American lore and legend.
Take Cue From Indians.
When the early settlers arrived in New Jersey from
Europe, they found the Indians growing corn, pumpkins,
gourds, tobacco and beans. Taking a lesson from the na
tives, the settlers cleared the land, imported seed and
livestock from across the sea, and developed an impor
tant agricultural colony. It became "the Garden State"
of the colonies.
Today, New Jersey has prosperous small farms and
high types of agricultural specialization. Dairy and poul
try farms abound, Small grains and field crops are grown
in most parts of the state. Most of New Jersey's farm prod
ucts are consumed by its own cities, or by Philadelphia
and New York. It is but a step from farm to market.
U 21a 1 A a A
mcaciiiuci iiaiauwu wiclicu uic
site of Peterson for an industrial
city. Early New Jersey scientists
and inventors accelerated the trend
toward industrialization?John
VACATION PAKADISE . . . Nature hat provided abundant attractions
to beckon vacationists to Mew Jersey. Spark lint lakes and moun
tains lore many to the inland areas while the thrill of a seashore
vacation draws countless others to the New Jersey coast, with Us
121 miles of sandy beaches.
Fitch and Col. John Stevens with
their steamboats, and Seth Boy
den with malleable iron and patent
leather?to be followed later by the
genius of Thomas A. Edison, the
wizard of Menlo Park.
Today there are heavy industries
st Newark, brick and terra cotta
works around Perth Am boy, ship
yards at Camden, ceramic plants at
Trenton, woolen mills at Passaic,
textile plants at Paterson, and
many others in such cities as Eliz
abeth, Bayonne and Jersey City. The
state ranks flrst in smelting and re
fining of copper, dyeing and finish
ing of textiles, and ranks high in
rubber goods production. It Is sec
ond in manufacture of silk, rayon
and chemicals. New Jersey ranks
sixth in the nation for value of man
ufacturing.
Few people regard New Jersey as
a mineral state. However, in 1685
iron was mined in Monmouth coun
ty, and this basic resource has been
mined ever since. Zinc deposits at
Franklin Furnace and Ogdensburg,
Sussex county, are world famous.
Trap rock, sandstone, argillite
granite, slate, marble, talc and con
glomerate are quarried in New
Jersey, and it has unlimited quanti
ties of sand and gravel, lime,
greensand marl and peat
Despite three centuries of de
velopment, about 46 per cent of
New Jersey still Is in forest!
Of great significance are the
oystermen and fishing captains of
the Jersey coast, one of the world's
truly great fishing grounds. From
Sandy Hook to Cape May, the coast
provides every variety of bay, surf,
ocean and deep-sea fishing. Dela
ware bay, too, offers commercial
fishing as well as casting a line for
sport.
Three Main Divisions.
, New Jersey might be called a
peninsula since, with exception of
the 50-mile northern boundary from
the Hudson to the Delaware, it is
entirely surrounded by water. It
has three physical divisions. In the
north is a mountainous, lake-stud
ded region known as the Appalachi
an Highlands. The central or Tri
assic section, with gently rolling
hills, supports most of the state's
urban and industrial development.
The large southern coestal plain
has fruit orchards, market gardens,
swamps, pine wastes and miles of i
beaches and shallow bays.
All of New Jersey that touches
the Atlantic ocean is famous for
its seashore. Asbury Park is one 1
of the best known of North Jersey i
coast resorts, with boardwalk and I
convention halL Long Branch at- i
traded visitors from Philadelphia i <
as early as 17B0. i
Wide, safe end sandy beaches are 11
//<?
flftW
irTJENFON J
yxnjurTK
j city
plentiful alonf the southern coast
of New Jersey. Atlantic City in
known as "the playground at a na
tion."
Traditionally, New Jersey has
been the heme at many fa
mous people. James Feaiasaea
Cooper and Capt James Law
rence of "Don't gfre np the
ship" fame lived next door to
each other la Barftagton.
Robert Louis Stevenson, when la
America, lived at Manasquan.
Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamil
ton fought their famous duel bear
Weehawken. George Washington
wrote his "Farewell Address" to
the army in Berrien House at
Rocky Hill. Grover Cleveland, twice
U. S. President, was born in New
Jersey Woodrow Wilson was pres
ident of Princeton university and
governor of New Jersey before bo
coming President. Walt Whitman's
tomb is at Camden. Alexander
Woollcott was born in New Jersey.
Others are Stephen Crane of "The
Red Badge of Courage" and Joyce
Kilmer, poet, who wrote "Trees.**
Many contemporary New York au
thors and artists live on the Jersey,
side.
New Jersey is a great state?)
great in agriculture, in industry, to
WALTER E. EDGE
Q?Tir?M ?( N?W Jtrtar.
education, in historical lore, in pres
ent opportunity, in hope (or a con
tinued greatness in the future. Its
Incomparable seacoast, its beautiful
lake and mountain country, its ex
tensive fishing and hunting grounds,
as well as the innate hospitality at
its people?two out of flee of whom -
awn their homes?furnish proof
enough of the greatness of New Jar
ley, the "Mighty Atom" among ths.
states of this nation.