[weekly news analysis
Tax Body Asks Higher Postal Rates;
Coal Miners Offered New Pay Boost;
Nazis Strengthen Defenses in Italy
As Allied Forces Gather in Corsica
(EDITOR'S NOTE: When opinions are expressed In these columns, they are those of
Western Newspaper Union's news analysts and not necessarily of this newspaper.)
___________ Released by Western Newspaper Union. ..
Labor leaders who conferred with President Roosevelt on wages and
prices Included, from left to right In front row, William Green, AFL presi
dent; A. F. Whitney; Mrs. Anna Rosenberg, social security board; Philip
Murray, CIO president, and Julius Emspak. Back row from left to right:
George Meany, Daniel Tobin and R. J. Thomas.
ITALY:
Dig In
With the Nazis solidly entrenched
In the mountains running across
Italy 100 miles south of Rome, there
were reports that Gen. Dwight
Eisenhower was assembling forces
In Corsica, possibly for a landing
at the Germans' rear in northern
Italy, or on the French Riviera.
The mountains in which the Ger
mans dug in form a double ridge
and rise to heights of 2,500 feet along
the sector occupied by Lieut. Gen.
Mark Clark’s Fifth army. Because
most posjjions blend well into the
landscape and the heights are rug
ged, experts saw little use of air
planes to bomb defenses effectively
or armored formations to break up
concentrations.
The continuing flow of German
reinforcements in northern Italy in
dicated that the Nazis intend to pin
down the greater bulk of the Allied
armies in that country, and make
it the principal battleground of Eu
rope.
HAWAII:
Commander in Contempt
When the army’s commander of
the Hawaiian department refused to
Judge Metzger
produce two uer
man-American citi
zens in court and
show cause why the
army should con
tinue to hold them
on precautionary
grounds. Federal
Judge Delbert E.
Metzger charged the
commander with
contempt and fined
him $5,000.
But when Judge
Metzger learned
that the army had
released the two citizens, he dis
missed the order to produce them,
and cut the commander's fine to
$100. However, he refused to dismiss
the contempt charge entirely.
Under martial law in Hawaii, the
writ of habeas corpus, requiring
authorities to show cause why a sus
pect should be held, had been re
stricted to use in certain civil cases,
although Judge Metzger had de
manded its full application. At pres
ent, habeas corpus stands suspended
in military cases, but can be utilized
in strictly civil suits.
LABOR:
Raise for Miners
Trimming the United Mine Work
ers proposition for a $1.50 daily
wage raise with compensation for
underground travel time, the War
Labor board offered John L. Lewis’
UMW a $1.12Vfe boost.
Under the WLB offer, miners
would not be paid for underground
travel, but would receive time and
a half for 45 minutes of work over
the regular 7-hour day. According
to the WLB, the miners’ earnings
would increase $1.66 daily for a six
day, hour day.
Meanwhile leaders of 20 railroad
unions were preparing a strike vote
among their 1,350,000 members, to
decide on a walkout ove* dissatis
faction of the government’s award
of wage increases of four cents an
hour for the operating unions, and
Economic Stabilization Director
Fred Vinson’s refusal to grant the
non-operating unions an eight cents
an hour boost.
>"" ——
TAXES:
Ask Higher Postal Rates
With congress opposed to further
increases in income taxes, the law
makers looked to other possible
sources of revenue to help raise some
of the 10 billion dollars requested by
the treasury to bring total receipts
to 50 billion dollars annually.
Congress’ advisory tax staff pro
posed increasing the local postal
rate to 3 cents; air-mail to 10 cents
an ounce; money orders 10 to 37
cents; insured mail 10 to 70 cents,
and COD mail 24 cents to $2.40.
The advisory staff also suggested
raising the liquor tax to $10
a gallon; beer to $8 per barrel;
wine to 5 cents to $1 a gallon; elec
tric light bulbs and tubes to 15 per
cent of retail price; general admis
sions to 3 cents for each 10 cents;
bowling 20 per cent of charge, and
billiards $20 a table. v
In all. congress hopes to raise 1V4
billion dollars from the new levies.
RUSSIA:
Nazis Fight Entrapment
Their Dnieper river line smashed
below Kiev, the German high com
mand strived to pull hundreds of
thousands of their embattled troops
out of the huge noose charging Rus
sian forces were drawing about
them.
In this sector, the Dnieper turns
sharply from a southerly direction
and runs almost 200 miles eastward
to Dnepropetrovsk. The Germans
established a line along these 200
miles of river front, and then organ
ized a defense from Dnepropetrovsk
southward some 125 miles to the Sea
of Azov.
By slashing through the German
lines along the eastern course of the
Dnieper, the Russ threatened the
whole Nazi line strung to the south
from Dnepropetrovsk. To escape en
trapment, the German high com
mand began withdrawing its troops.
DRAFT:
Would Take Dads Last
Moving to draft dads last, con
gress passed a bill which would re
quire Selective Service to induct all
single and childless married men
throughout the entire country first
before fathers would be called by
any board.
Incorporated in the same bill
which went to the senate for con
sideration were provisions which
would:
1. Eliminate the War Manpower
commission's classification of “es
sential” industries offering tempo
rary deferment; 2. Require all defer
ments to be reviewed by appeals
boards within the district where the
employee works; 3. Establish a
medical commission to consider
change of army and navy physical
standards.
‘HELLCAT’:
Navy’s Newest
Latest American plane to sweep
the Japanese before it in Southwest
Pacific skies is the navy’s Grum
man Hellcat fighter plane.
Powered by a 2,000 h.p motor, the
Hellcat travels over 400 m.p.h., can
climb to 35,000 feet and has a range
of over 1,500 miles.
With a wingspan of 42 feet. 10
inches and an overall length of 33
feet, 0V« inches, the Hellcat is a sin
gle seat, low wing, all metal, folding
wing monoplane, designed to operate
from an aircraft carrier or land.
HIGHLIGHTS . . . in the week’s news
TAXES: The excess profits tax on
corporations will be increased to 95
per cent from the present rate of
90 per cent, Repiesentative Knutson,
minority leader, predicts.
MECHANICS: A critical shortage
of automobile mechanics is an
nounced by the Office of Defense
Transportation. Training courses in
this work are now in progress in 72
cities.
J
WHISKEY: An increase of 30
cents a quart, and 26 cents a "fifth"
has been authorized by the Office of
Price Administration. It applies to
blended whiskey containing imported
neutral spirits.
UNDERWEAR: A shortage of un
derwear is impending, says Roy Che
ney. president of the Underwear In
stitute. He blames lack of factory
workers.
SOUTHWEST PACIFIC:
Work on Jap Bases
Continuing to blastatJapaneseout
posts impeding further U. S. ad
vances in the Southwest Pacific,
American airmen returned to Ra
baul and Kahili and showered the
two big enemy air and sea bases
with hundreds of tons of bombs.
As a result of persistent U. S.
bombing, it was reported that the
Japs have been making little use of
their air fields of Kahili in the Solo
mons. Once the center for enemy
craft harassing U. S. positions in the
southern Solomons, Kahili has shown
little life as American airmen swept
over to plaster runways and instal
lations.
Heavily screened by fighters, near
ly 50 four-motored Liberator bomb
ers spearheaded the latest blast at
Rabaul, which has served the Japa
nese as a feeder point for supplies
for their troops battling in New
Guinea and the Solomons. As a re
sult of recent raids, it was reported
more than 800 enemy planes were
knocked out.
PEACE PLANS:
Debated in Senate
In the hush of the historic old sen
ate chamber, silver-haired Senator
Tom Connally (Texas) arose to his
feet in his long black coat. Glancing
slowly about, he began to read the
foreign relations committee’s reso
lution defining the principle of
America’s co-operation with other
nations for preserving peace in the
postwar world:
"... The United States acting
through its constitutional processes,
join with free and sovereign nations
in the establishment and mainte
nance of international authority with
power to prevent aggression and to
preserve the peace of the world.”
When Connally sat down the sen
ate opened debate on accepting the
resolution. Some senators charged
the measure invited U. S. formation
of an alliance with individual coun
tries for action against threatening
powers, and they demanded adop
tion of a broader resolution calling
on the U. S. to join a world organiza
tion which could enforce peace
through use of military police.
Blood Flows Backward
Although three-month-old Mari
lyn Stewart’s heart is so con
structed that the blood circulates
backward, she has been faring
well.
Pictured above In her mother’s
arms, tiny Marilyn's case has
baffled doctors, who say that her
condition is contrary to the ordi
nary structure of life.
FUEL:
Coal Supply
U. S. coal stocks total a record
100,000,000 tons, of which 15,000,000
tons are stored in basements, the
Bituminous Coal Institute declared.
Further, the institute said, produc
tion goals of 600,000,000 tons of coal
for 1943 will be met if: 1. There are
no more strikes; 2. Absenteeism can
be reduced; 3. Drafting of miners is
halted, and 4. Ample replacement
machinery is available.
Although production slumped 350,
000 tons in the week of October 16,
the institute said, output still was
150.000 tons higher than the same
period last year.
Oil Sources
To keep pace with the rising rate
of crude oil withdrawal, the U. S.
must bring in a 30,000,000 barrel
field every six days, Col. Ernest O.
Thompson of the Texas railroad
commission declared.
Although the nation has an unused
capacity of 200,000 barrels daily in
west Texas, Colonel Thompson said
the United Nations have a reserve
of 991,389 barrels daily. Of this, the
British empire possesses 422,123 bar
rels, chiefly in Iran, and Latin
America has 569,246 barrels, mostly
in Venezuela.
At present. Colonel Thompson de
clared, the British empire is supply
ing 845,800 barrels daily, and Latin
America 1,015,035 barrels daily,
compared with U. S production of
4.600.000 barrels daily.
VETS:
Offer Job Training
Vocational training for veterans
of the present war who may be un
able to find employment when they
return, will be provided at govern
ment expense, the Veterans’ admin
istration announces.
Courses up to four years will be
given, and increased pensions will
be paid while the ex-serviceman is
in school. A single man will receive
$80 a month, a married man $90 and
| $5 for each dependent child.
' 1 I ■ 11 I ■ '" , .1,1.... 1 ■ '
Battle Tides to Influence
1944 Political Campaign
Close Observers Change Minds, Express
Belief President Will Not Be Candidate
If War Ends by Spring.
By BAUKHAGE
News Analyst and Commentator.
WNU Service, Union Trust Building,
Washington, D. C.
As the political campaign, which
will be over in a short year, begins
to increase in tempo, it is interesting
to note that noticeable shock record
ed by the reporters at a recent White
House press imd radio conference
when the President tossed off that
phrase “when I am out of the
White House.”
Taken in the context, it was im
mediately clear that the President
did not delimit the time element in
this statement and there was no real
justification for the startled pause
when pencils stopped scribbling and
heads and eyebrows went up at the
presidential remark. Mr. Roosevelt
was merely pointing out, in connec
tion with the postwar rubber situa
tion, that he believed that any pro
posed tariff to protect the synthetic
rubber plants after the war should
be vetoed, and he implied that any
President who vetoed such a meas
ure might stir up a lot of opposition
from the synthetic rubber manufac
turers.
But we have become so accus
tomed to the idea that Mr. Roosevelt
himself thinks only in terms of his
own regime without time or other
limitations, than an expression which
seemed to indicate the opposite nat
urally caused a stir.
However, it is entirely possible
that Mr. Roosevelt will not be a can
didate in 1944. There are even those
who enjoy making rash prophecies
who are already saying he has made
up his mind not to run at all under
any circumstances. This type of
prediction is accepted in Washing
ton as being in that class of guesses
which have about a 40-60 chance of
being right.
But closer observers who do not
choose to guess the President’s inner
thoughts but are thoroughly familiar
with hie manner of thinking, deduce,
from what they believe is past ex
perience, that he will not be a can
didate if the war is over by next
spring. This is contrary to earlier
prognostications that his desire to be
President when the blue-prints for
the postwar world are being drawn
would incline him toward running
for a fourth term. The explanation
is that he will not run unless he has
more than an even chance of win
ning.
End of Conflict
Although none of the army or navy
officers of the top command will al
low themselves to be quoted as say
ing the war will end early in 1944,
a number of bolder and less con
strained military folk are willing to
say this is possible.
It is interesting to consider that a
year ago this summer, when many
believed that invasion of northern
Europe by the Allies would be un
dertaken by the spring of 1943, few
people were predicting, even under
such circumstances, an end of the
war early in 1944. Take for instance
a typical comment in a leading peri
odical (Harper’s) written very little
over a year ago in which it was said
that Germany must complete the
conquest of key positions in Russia,
must halt or control the Anglo-Amer
ican onslaught from the air, and
must hold northern Africa for a
sortie in the Middle East. When we
consider what has happened since,
we can see the progress which has
been made. Far from any action in
which the word “conquest” could be
used, the Wehrmacht in Russia has
been driven beyond its last Russian
defense lines in many places. The
dream of an African empire has be
come the reality of bitter defeat and
despite desperate defense measures,
the most powerful air blows are be
ing struck against the Reich.
Japanese S’tuation
Within the year, Japan’s power
has begun to crumble at a rate and
In a manner which makes it plain
that she will not have to be beaten
back island by island and every Jap
on foreign soil killed. The Mikado’s
“unconquerables” have become ex
ceedingly adept at getting away
from points once expected to be last
stands, with remarkable alacrity
and apparent satisfaction in their
own retreatability.
Therefore, it is not at all impos
sible that the President, if he intends
voluntarily to retire with the end of
the fighting, means that he will be
"out of the White House” at his own
behest, before the ides of Novem
ber, ’44.
This situation, if it does arise, im
poses an interesting problem for the
Democrats. It is pretty generally
agreed that the conservative element
in the Democratic party hag been
gaining in power in the last months
when the President bestowed posi
tions of key importance on the right
wing of the party while many New
Dealers faded into the background.
When Vice President Wallace,
whom it was taken for granted would
be the President’s choice as a suc
cessor, was dropped and his activi
ties placed in the more conservative
hands of Messrs. Hull, Crowley, et
al., it was plain that the original
New Dealers were being relegated
to the rear of the hall.
GOP Attitude
And while the burning highlights
of the administration portrait are be
ing toned down to more sober hues,
the Republicans seem to be outdoing
themselves in an effort to show that
they can make use of the bright
lexicon of youth as a reference work
and select from it promising shib
boleths who speak of action rather
than reaction.
Of course, Mr. Willkie does not
speak for the Republican party but
he has a following which his sup
porters hope will be reinforced by
disgruntled former New Dealers as
well as others whose leanings, al
though they have never been such
that they could wholeheartedly sup
port a Democratic regime, are still
far enough left to demand the most
progressive candidate offered under
any other respectable banner.
Meanwhile, of course, the Presi
dent must, according to the invio
lable principles of politics, show no
signs of intending to withdraw, since
it is written that you can’t control
your party unless there is a fair
chance that you are going to con
tinue to be its active head.
Our political campaign of 1944 is
bound to be affected by the tide of
battle abroad.
General Arnold Explains
On a mild day, with the Virginia
countryside warm in the glow of
autumn, and the Potomac sparkling
in the sunlight, some 50 newsmen—
correspondents, columnists, radio
commentators—climbed up the wide
stone steps of the river entrance to
the famous Pentagon building.
General Arnold, chief of America's
army air forces, took- his seat and
began to talk. The gist of his words
you have read. What he felt can
only be guessed but he was faced
with the proposition of “explaining
the obvious” and he seemed just a
little weary at the prospect. Arnold
is a pleasant but blunt-spoken fight
ing man with wings and service rib
bons won in service.
A few days before, he happened to
listen to a commentator who was
computing in dollars and lives and
material the cost of the bombing
raid of the great ball-bearing fac
tory in Schweinfurt, Germany.
The general was exceedingly
irked. What the commentator did
not perhaps realize was the number
of endless explanations of “the ob
vious” which General Arnold has
had to make since we entered the
war. And if Germany does crumble
because her war effort is smashed,
it will be Arnold’s explanations as
well as the bombs themselves that
ought to get the credit.
If he had not been able to “ex
plain” that American bombers could
fly in sufficient numbers into the
heart of Germany in the light of day
and hit a target with the precision
to destroy it, we would never have
a chance to prove it could be done.
There were few in high places either
here or in Britain who believed
such an absurd, untried thing was
practical. But he had his chance
and proved his thesis. Then, when
the experts were convinced, when
he was beginning to swing into ac
tion, the public began to exclaim at
the cost of his raids. That must
have been hard to take.
And so he sat for an hour reeling
off figures, recounting details which
will never be printed until peace
comes and, most effective of all for
the layman, showing the greatly
enlarged photographs of the destruc
tion those great daylight precision
raids accomplished.
BRIEFS.. . by Baukhage
Uncle Sam’s fighting sailors,
guarding an island outpost in the
Pacific, conducted a third war loan
drive of their own and bought 658
$25 bonds and one $100 bond.
• • •
Twice as many bobbie pins and
hairpins, necessary feminine items,
will be produced during 1944 as at
present, under a recent War Pro
duction board action.
A Zurich dispatch to the Swedish
newspaper Aftontidningen said that
the loss of the Kuban area in Russia
had deprived the Nazis of 50,000 tons
of tobacco a year.
* • •
A census of the German people,
the first since the outbreak at war
in 1939, will be taken October 10, the
Nazi home radio has informed the
German people.
f
Released by Western Newspaper Union.
PNEUMONIA DEATHS
Just as we are congratulating our
selves that physicians are not wor
ried much about their pneumonia
cases since the sulfa drugs have
Dr. Barton
been shown to be so
effective in curing
pneumonia, thus sav
ing many lives, we
learn from physi
cians, hospitals and
insurance companies
that pneumonia is
again increasing.
In the Statistical
Bulletin, Metropoli
tan Life Insurance
company, we read:
“The rise in the
death rate in pneu
moma will be noted with surprise
by many people who for the past
few years have heard so much about
the striking decline in the death rate
following the use of sulfa drugs in
the treatment of the disease.” The
death rate was lowered from about
9 per cent to 3 per cent because the
sulfa drugs were able to defend the
body against what is called the coc
cus form of pneumonia (small round
organisms seen under the micro
scope).
However, the type of pneumonia
which is now causing so many cases
is not the coccus (pneumococcus)
type but a virus type; that is a very
tiny organism which cannot be seen
under the microscope. Despite their
ability to defeat the pneumococcus
type of pneumonia, the sulfa drugs
have no effect upon this type of
pneumonia.
A point of interest is that a recent
study of fatal cases of this type of
pneumonia among policyholders of
the Metropolitan Life Insurance
company shows that a large propor
tion of the deaths were among
younger persons. Of the 150 deaths
recorded in the company’s experi
ence since last November, 36 per
cent were between the ages of 15
and 44 years, as compared with only
18 per cent (of the total number) of
pneumonia deaths in a normal year.
It has been known for some time
that war conditions increase the
i number and severity of nose, throat
! and lung ailments; the influenza epi
demic of 1918-19 is still in our minds.
This means that during the coming
months of cold weather, the greatest
possible health precautions should
be taken.
"Those doing hard manual labor
or putting in long hours of overtime
should be encouraged to get as much
rest as possible in their time. Ev
ery effort must be made to main
tain good nutrition which is quite
possible within the limits of ration
ing.”
• * *
Headache in Morning
Is Sinusitis Symptom
When a definite case of sinus dis
ease is present with pus formation,
there is no difficulty in recognizing
it.
What about mild or early cases of
inflammation of the sinus?
In the Canadian Medical Associa
tion Journal, Dr. Keith Hutchison,
Montreal, states:
“The symptoms of acute inflam
mation of the sinuS—sinusitis—are
definite and I always accept the
midmorning headache as evidence
of a true sinusitis, even though noth
ing definite appears on the first ex
amination.”
This midmorning headache is im
portant because there are so many
kinds of headache that the physi
cian is grateful for any and every
clue.
“When an intelligent patient re
ports that he felt well on arising and
then about 10 o'clock in the morn
ing a severe frontal headache came
on which persisted till midafternoon
then disappeared and the patient
went to bed free of pain and discom
fort only to go through the same
symptoms the next day, a clear-cut
diagnosis of acute catarrhal sinusitis
may be made and treated according
ly.”
The treatment outlined by Dr.
Hutchison is to put the patient to
bed, hot cloths on the face, ephed
rine solution in the nose, plenty of
fluids and a rigid rule of no smok
ing. Two to four days’ rest general
ly effects a cure.
Because the symptoms are not se
vere, “just a little head cold,” many
patients refuse to go to bed, with
the result that the cold “hangs on”
and instead of there being simply a
watery discharge from the nose, the
discharge may become mucous and
even pus formation occur.
The patient with an early or light
sinusitis should go to bed and fol
low the treatment described if he
wishes to prevent chronic catarrh or
sinusitis.
• • •
QUESTION box
Q.—What causes neuritis?
A.—There must be some cause
for your neuritis—infected teeth, or
other infection, possibly pressure on
nerve supplying the arm. See your
dentist.
Q._Would a half grain of saccha
rine in cofTee or tea be harmful for
an adult or a boy of 17?
A.—Saccharin tablets (W grain)
three times a day will do no harm;
also all right for boy of 17 to use.
Sugar gives more energy, of course.
Pineapple Squares
Make Lacy Spread
No. 7488
Y OUR home should definitely ex
A press you! And there’s no love
lier way of showing your sense of
beauty than by making this lacy
crocheted spread. The pineapple
design, gracefully arranged in
squares, lends itself equally well
to cloth or smaller accessory.
* • •
Pattern 7488 contains instrucUons (or
square; Illustrations of stitches; materials
needed.
Send your order to;
Sewing Circle Needlecraft Dept.
$64 W. Randolph St. Chicago 80, 111.
Enclose IS cents (plus one cent to
cover cost of mailing) for Pattern
No.
Name ...
Address .
Best-Known For
Externally Relieving Miseries of
Babyb Colds
Mothers, when a
young child catches
cold—be modern—
and relieve distress
without dosing, with
out upsetting the
stomach. At bedtime
ruD vicks vapoicuD on tne tnroat,
chest and back. It is what most young
mothers do because VapoRub works
direct two ways at once—and keeps
on working for hours to bring relief—
to ease coughing—relieve muscular
soreness or tightness—and invite rest
ful, comforting sleep. Often by morn
ing most of the misery of the cold is
gone! Try it tonight.
When you see how VapoRub re
lieves distress of children’s colds you
should understand why it is the best
known home remedy of its kind in the
world. It’s just as & g
good for grown-ups, 6
too. Time-tested w VapoRub
Firing at the Sun
A bullet fired from a gun and
keeping its peak muzzle velocity
would require seven years to
reach the sun.
AT FIRST
666 TABLETS. SALVE. NOSE DROPS
Skygazer
The sloth, clinging to boughs,
spends its lifetime looking at the
sky.
SNAPPY FACTS
ABOUT
RUBBER
-<
To maintain the nation'* es
sential motor transportation
system, the American rubber
tire industry will be called
upon to make 30 million syn
thetic passenger car tires in
1944. The synthetic rubber
program is being geared to
permit such an output without
hindering the military needs
for rubber.
More them 65 per cent of the war
materials reaching factories In Mich
Igan travel on rubber-tired trucks,
and 67 per cent of the finished
products move out by truck. Proof
that our national economy Is closely
bound with rubber.
BUGoodrich j