WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS__
Terrific Air Attacks Spur Allied Drive
Against Nazis on Central Italian Front;
Moscow Conference Offers Blueprint
For Lasting Peace in Postwar World
(EDITOR'S NOTE: When opinion* are expressed In the** columns, they are those of
Western Newspaper Union's news analysts and not necessarily ol this newspaper.!
Released by Western Newspaper Union. ■ ■ .... - I
An Allied transport is shown rumbling over pontoon bridge thrown up
by American engineers across the Volturno river In Italy.
EUROPE:
Blast Communications
Roaring over France’s once para
disaical Riviera, Flying Fortresses
took pot-shots at communications
lines shuttling troops between south
ern France and northern Italy. To
the south, Allied medium bombers
blasted harbors above Rome, which
the Nazis have been using to re
lieve strained road and rail facili
ties.
As their heavy bombers smashed
far back of German lines, Allied
troops slowly drew up for their next
assault on Nazi mountain positions
In central Italy. As rain continued
to fall in swirling sheets and mud
died up the country, U. S., British
and Canadian soldiers captured stra
tegic heights for observing enemy
action and took over important road
junctions for shuttling supplies.
As the Allies edged forward, the
Germans snuggled deeper into their
new posts along the 2,500-foot high
Massico ridge facing Lieut. Gen.
Mark Clark's Fifth army on the
west, and the rugged country con
fronting Gen. Bernard Montgom
ery’s Eighth army to the east.
Italian King on Spot
Noted for his political tight-rope
walking. King Victor Emmanuel of
Italy now threads a
very shaky line,
with the new demo
cratic forces in the
country demanding
his abdication.
Led by former
foreign minister and
refugee Count Carlo
Sforza, Italy's dem
ocratic elements
have expressed ap
proval for setting up
King Victor’s six
year-old grandson,
Prince Vittorio Em
manuel, as the nom
inal monarch, with
Prince Vittorio
■ regent like Marshal Badoglio to
represent him until he comes of age.
Chief objection to King Victor is
that he not only allowed Mussolini
to come into power, but that he also
supported him throughout his ad
ministration, renouncing him only
when it appeared Italy would lose
the war and the smart thing to do
would be to jump onto the Allied
bandwagon.
Removal of King Victor Emman
uel would sound the death knell of
monarchy in Europe, since he is one
of the last rulers with any actual
governmental powers.
SOUTHWEST PACIFIC:
Last Step
Gen. Douglas Mac Arthur took the
final step toward driving the Japa
nese from eastern Australasia with a
massive attack designed to clear the
enemy from the big air and sea base
of Rabaul in New Britain.
Feeder point for Japanese forces
in the Solomons and New Guinea,
and nerve center for enemy resist
ance in the whole eastern Austral
asian area, Rabaul stood threatened
as U. S. forces spilled over Into the
remaining Nipponese holdings in the
Solomons, which flank the base and
offer means for harassing any Allied
force attempting to move against
the big pivotal position.
Occupation of the Treasury Is
lands heralded MacArthur's drive in
the Solomons to cut off Rabaul.
Then, U. S. troops landed on the
last two important Jap strongholds
of Choiseul and Bougainville, with
units of the enemy fleet and air
force offering resistance.
ELECTION NEWS:
GOP Maintains Growth
Continued growth of Republican
strength was evidenced in a smat
tering of important state and mayor
alty elections.
In New York, GOP candidate
Joe R. Hanley won the lieutenant
governorship from Democratic can
didate Lieut. Gen. William N. Hask
ell by more than 340,000 votes of
approximately 3,308,000 cast. Han
ley’s victory assured the GOP of
control of the state if Governor
Thomas Dewey should make the
race for the presidency, since, as
lieutenant-governor, Hanley would
step in his shoes.
New Jersey’s governor during
World War I, Republican Waller E.
Edge, returned to the political arena
to win the office again during World
War II by defeating Democrat Vin
cent J. Murphy by approximately
100.000 votes. Edge succeeds re
tiring Governor Charles Edison.
Republicans held their 62-year
control of Philadelphia, with GOP
Mayor Bernard Samuel besting
Democrat and White House favorite
William C. Bullitt by more than
64.000 votes.
FOUR POWERS:
Postwar Blueprint
From out of the conference of for
eign ministers in Moscow was fash
ioned a four-power pact between the
U. S., Great Britain, China and Rus
sia pledging a finish fight with the
Axis and this blue-print for the post
war world:
1. Establishment of an interna
tional organization of both large and
small sovereign nations to maintain
peace and security; 2. Before the
establishment of such an organiza
tion, the four powers will act togeth
er to preserve order; 3. Regulation
of the armaments of nations.
For Italy, the powers dedicated
themselves to destroying Fascism
and promoting democratic govern
ment. They refused to recognize
Germany’s annexation of Austria in
1938, telling that country its future
treatment will be conditioned by its
assistance in overthrowing Naziism
within its borders.
The U. S., Great Britain and Rus
sia planned creation of a committee
to advise on political questions in
countries reconquered by the Allies.
MINES:
Back in U. S. Hands
With the nation’s cof.1 pits back
in U. S. hands, Secretary of Interior
Harold Ickes conferred with United
Mine Workers President John L.
Lewis to end the walkout of al
most 360,000 bituminous miners.
Having given the pits back to pri
vate* ownership October 12 after hav
ing taken them over last July, Ickes
found them in his lap again, follow
ing their seizure by President Roose
velt after the UMW began its walk
out over failure of negotiations for
a signed contract.
The big bone of contention lay
in the War Labor board’s refusal
to ratify a new contract drawn be
tween the UMW and Illinois Coal
Operators, providing for an 8V4 hour
day, with compensation for under
ground travel time and a daily wage
increase of $1.50. Instead the WLB
recommended an 84 hour day, with
a daily pay boost of $1.12H.
To Ickes fell the task of reconcil
ing the UMW and WLB differences,
even as a danger of a coal shortage
arose, with deliveries prohibited to
anyone with 10 days’ supply on hand,
and sales limited to one tdn to
householders.
HIGHLIGHTS • • • in the week't news
ENEMY ALIENS: Since Pearl
Harbor, 7,884 enemy aliens have
been interned or paroled after a
hearing, Attorney General Biddle re
veals. That is more than half of
the 14,738 persons seized as poten
tially dangerous. Biddle says that
3,771 aliens have been interned, of
whom 1,853 are German, 1,798 Jap
anese, and 111 Italians. A few Hun
garians and Rumanians are held.
GROUND GAINER: The Notre
Dame football team is establishing
a new mark for ground gaining. The
average is now about 485 yards a
game. The army team is close be
hind with 434 yards.
• • •
SLEEPERS: Soldiers will soon
travel across country in new triple
deck sleeping cars, the Pullman
company announced.
SUBSIDIES:
Asked by FDR
Declaring that government subsi
dies are comparatively cheap for
(1) stimulating production of certain
necessary and select crops; (2) pre
venting inflationary tendencies, and
(3) encouraging sale of food through
ordinary channels instead of black
markets, President Roosevelt asked
congressional approval for his food
subsidy program.
By use of subsidies, the President
said, food prices can be kept at
lower levels than if processors, dis
tributors and retailers were each
permitted to mark up their margins.
Failure to provide stabilization
through subsidies, he said, would
bring about justifiable demands for
increased wages.
Use of subsidies to stabilize prices
is presently costing the U. S. 800 mil
lion dollars a year, the President
said. Of the sum, 450 million dol
lars is being used to maintain meat
and butter prices by subsidizing the
producer.
Mr. Roosevelt answered the de
mand for a food czar by asserting
that the different duties of the War
Food administration and Office of
Price administration made consoli
dation of the two bureaus impracti
cal.
What People Are Doing
When Ensign George Swiggart
Miles appeared for duty at the navy
department In Washington, D. C., he
reported to his mother, Lieut. Amy
Brown Miles, in charge of officer
personnel.
• • •
A gold prospector from Leadvllle,
Colo., bewhlskered F. E. Gimlett,
broke Into a meeting of the house
ways and means committee study
lng new taxation. “I want congress
to put the WACs and WAVES back
in the kitchen with pots and pans and
babies,” he stormed, before he was
led from the room.
• • •
After calling every available non
father In LaPlata county, Colo., to
service, draft board clerk John Craig
put his name at the top of the induc
tion list for fathers. Craig’s job
went to his wife, and no sooner was
she sworn in, than she summoned
him to report for induction. They
have four children.
RUSSIA:
Surge Into Crimea
Taking no time to catch their
breath, Russia's marching Red le
gions stormed into the Crimea, the
great body of land off the southern
Ukraine commanding the Black sea
routes.
Lost to Russia after the fall of
Sevastopol in 1942, the Nazis pri
marily have used its former luxuri
ous resorts as health havens for
wounded soldiers. When it fell to :
Germany, 200,000 Russians were
killed or captured, and the exact
number of Nazis remaining is un
known, since that depends on the
proportion that could be evacuated
while rearguards fought bitter delay
ing actions at Melitopol.
Farther to the north, German
rearguards battled fiercely in the
Krivoi Rog area to hold off the Rus
sians while the Nazis withdrew from
the great bend of the Dnieper river.
CIO:
5l/\ Million Members
Growth of the CIO to over sy* mil
lion members increased the ranks
Philip Murray
of organized labor
to over 12 million,
what with AFL
strength estimated
in excess of seven
million.
Announcement of
CIO membership
was made by its
president. Philip
Murray, at the open
ing of the CIOs
sixth constitutional
convention in Phila
delphia, Pa. To the
5V< million mem
bers, the CIO will
add two million
more in the coming year, Murray
said.
As the CIO delegates convened,
they heard a message from Presi
dent Roosevelt, in which he said that
although the movement of workers
to new manufactft-ing centers was
desirable during the early phases of
the production program, stabiliza
tion of employees at their present
occupations was now essential.
TOKENS:
For Rationing
The tokens that will be substi
tutes for ration coupons for small
purchases were described by the
Office of Price Administration as be
ing made of fiber, and between a
nickel and a quarter in size. They
are colored red or blue, with orange
edges, it was said. Red tokens
will be used for meat purchases, and
blue for processed foods. The new
system will go into effect in Febru
ary.
Politic Seen as Key in
Farm Subsidy Problem
Acceptable Compromise Lacking; Presiden
tial Veto Forecast for Any Bill Banning
Use of ‘Economic Stimulant/
By BAUKHAGE
News Analyst and Commentator.
WNU Service, Union Trust Building,
Washington, D. C.
The administration is in the midst
of one of its fiercest contests to ‘‘hold
the line” against stabilization. It is
the old question of subsidies for farm
products and it looks like a fight to
the death. The house agriculture
committee, with Representative
Steagall and others swinging over to
the Republican side, is backing the
bill which would renew the appro
priations for the Commodity Credit
corporation and cut out the subsidies
to processors, distributors and some
direct cash aid to farmers. The
present legislation expires in Janu
ary. A presidential veto is taken for
granted for any bill banning the use
of subsidies. Administration sup
porters believe that such a veto can
be sustained, but they see a tough,
bitter fight ahead.
The key to the whole difficulty is
violent partisanship. Successful pol
itics is like successful living—in the
family, in the community, in the
world—it depends on the ability to
compromise. In this fight, there
seems to be no one able to work out
an acceptable compromise. Already
the feeling is bitter.
Coat of Living
Complicating the problem is, as
usual, labor’s insistence that the cost
of living has gone up higher than
statistics show, that the Little Steel
formula is no longer a fair yardstick
for wage increases since decisions
of the War Labor board, plus in
sistence of the director of stabiliza
tion, hold down wages while the ad
ministration has not carried out its
promises to roll back the living
costs.
The farm organizations and the
processors and the distributors op
pose the roll-back. They don’t put it
that way. They say they oppose
subsidies for rolling back consumer
prices. They argue that subsidies
to increase production and support i
prices in a free market are all right
-rand are horses of another color.
The President sees no difference.
Subsidies which permit the govern
ment to buy up commodities or
make loans at a minimum price
when the market price dips below
that figure are all right, say the farm
bloc, but, they claim, the “new"
subsidies go further than that in that
they mean payments direct to the
processor and distributor and also
buying and selling by the govern
ment. This, they claim, is in itself
inflationary because it means pay
ments out of the treasury. They say
they don’t believe that the money
will get back to the farmer, that it
means “grocery bills paid by the
government,” with very little real
saving to the consumer, and finally,
which is the real rub, it means too
much government control.
Subsidies and Votes
Oi: course, there is the point that
the politician doesn’t like to mention
—nobody who depends on votes
wants to be in a position later on of
having to remove those benefits. An
other point, not stressed, is that sub
sidies to processors mean that the
government has a right to look into
the books of private industry.
But to the President, it is subsi
dies or inflation. At a recent press
and radio conference, the President
said that he got the head of the Farm
Bureau federation. Edward O’Neil,
to admit that letting prices go up in
a free market, which the govern
ment says would have to be the al
ternative of the subsidy if the farmer
was to get the incentive for in
creased production, would mean a
little inflation. The President then
told the story about the man who
took just a “little” cocaine. He soon
became an addict.
It was then that a woman report
er, known for her spicy questions,
asked if the President didn’t think
that if his measure was carried we
might become subsidy addicts. The
President didn’t seem to think so.
He pointed out that agriculture has
been getting subsidies since 1933,
Whether or not there is danger in
any of this mild economic stimulant
which the administration feels is a
wartime necessity, everybody ad
mits that runaway inflation must be
avoided if possible. The whole com
plicated machinery of stabilization
was created to prevent it.
The proponents of the subsidy plan
say that the fight against them is
purely political. They say the Re
publicans naturally take the side op
posite to the administration because
they can win some farm votes as
champions of higher prices to farm
ers if they take this stand. On the
other hand, they believe that the
anti-subsidy bill will be vetoed
eventually and the Democrats say
the veto will be sustained. If so.
the Republicans will not be criticized
for supporting a measure which is
defeated. And the Democratic sup
port in the house agriculture com
mittee, subsidy supporters say, was
"bought” by allowing the present
subsidies for the products grown in
districts of the congressmen who
supported the bill, to stand.
The administration followers say
that it seems strange for the Re
publicans to raise a cry against sub
sidies when tariffs are subsidies.
They mention the sugar “subsidy.”
As for complaint that the subsidy
on agricultural products would not
reach the farmer, they call attention
to the milk subsidies at present in
operation where the man who milks
the cow gets the subsidy direct
Meanwhile, we know that the cost
of living has already gone up. We
know that we need full production
of foodstuffs. We know that many
farmers can’t get the feed required
to raise the stock or to fatten it to
its most efficient weight for slaugh
ter.
Payment of any money out by the
treasury does mean more money in
circulation but the subsidy pro
ponents point to the kind of inflation
we get when prices aren’t controlled.
The administration says it is better
to control a few processors and dis
tributors, even if Uncle Sam has
to snoop into their books to see he
isn’t cheated, than to let that vicious
spiral of prices and living costs start
to mount.
In the next weeks you will hear
a lot more of these arguments.
• • •
Food Contribution
The other day when I stepped into
the broadcasting studio just as the
Farm and Home Hour had ended, I
found some cookies, some Brown
Betty and a meat loaf sandwich wait
ing. These samples had been saved
from a more elaborate layout of
good things made with soy beans
which had been the subject of the
F & H broadcast.
I ate them with pleasure. Al
though the meat loaf was 25 per cent
soy grits, it tasted exactly like meat
to me. The cookies and the Brown
Betty were excellent.
Soy flour and soy grits—the bread
had some soy flour in it—are both
on the market ready to contribute
vitamins, mineral, protein, vim and
vigor to our food, reducing the con
sumption of scarcer and more ex
pensive products. A saving of from
20 to 25 per cent in meat and still
having almost identical food values
is nothing to be sneezed at.
Soy, it is pointed out, is not a
substitute but a supplement to other
foods and you would be surprised
how many tasty dishes can be pro
duced with it. The Bureau of Hu
man Nutrition and Home Economics
has a handy little pamphlet contain
ing recipes, and you can get one by
writing to the bureau, care of the
department of agriculture, Washing
ton, D. C.
There are recipes for mint loaf,
chile con came, suggestions for use
of soy with vegetables when they are
served as a main dish; soy in sauces
and mixed with cereals to give a
richer protein diet—many sugges
tions for making what you have go
further and accomplish more.
A Letter
Frankly, when I get a letter that
makes me real mad, I sometimes
mention it on the air. I shouldn’t
ever do it, I suppose, because I usu
ally get a flood of sympathy which
perhaps I don’t deserve but one of
the best replies I ever had was from
a man in Spearflsh, S. D., who wrote
to me as follows:
“F.ach morning at II a. m. MITT, I
tune you in. Now, I may be mistaken,
yet it seems to me that at times you
think some of the letters you receive
are ‘hitting below the belt' which has
always been considered cowardly and
unjustified. Hut in a great many cases,
if ue don’t hit below the belt, we just
make a total miss as it seems that some
of the stuff that is put out for us to fol
low shows that there is NOTHING
above the belt to hit at.”
_ I
B R I E F S . . . by Baukhage
Nazi occupation authorities in Hol
land have even cut the Dutch horse
meat ration one-third. The weekly
meat ration coupons, which used to
be good for 150 grams of horsemeat,
now are good for only 100 grams, or
about two ounces, according to a re
port published in a German language
daily in Holland. The cut means a
great deal to the Dutch, whose liv
ing standards have lowered.
Collecting spider web for precision
sighting instruments is one of the
duties performed by women in the
British Auxiliary Territorial service.
• • •
Because com fields are excellent
hide-outs for partisans, the Croat
minister for the interior has ordered
all farmers to cut their field; by the
end of this month. If they are not
cut by then, they will be burned.
By VIRGINIA VALE
Released by Western Newspaper Union.
TIME was when an actor
was likely to lose his pub
lic if he stayed off the screen
for even a short time. Some
can’t risk it now. Alan Ladd
doesn’t belong in that class—
a large part of the public is
remaining faithful to him while he’s
ofT serving his country, and refusing
to put anyone else in their idol’s
place. He worked hard for his suc
cess—had years of encouragement
but few good roles, and put in time
working in radio before he got a
good role in “Joan of Paris.” Then
ALAN LADD
he tested for “This Gun for Hire,"
and when Paramount executives saw
his test they didn't bother about test
ing anyone else. His success in that
role was like Marlene Dietrich’s in
“Morocco”—instantaneous.
-X
Gary Moore, who co-stars with
Jimmy Durante over both CBS and
NBC, will make his picture debut
under David Selznick’s sponsorship,
and will be developed as “a sort of
combination of Fred Allen and Bob
Hope"—which should be something!
It’ll be Allen on writing ability and
Hope from the slant of his delivery.
-*
Howard Petrie, announcer of the
Moore-Durante air show, had both
Paramount and RKO after him with
a long-term acting contract. He
stands six feet four and weighs 240
pounds—right up with Paramount’s
Bill Edwards, of “Our Hearts Were
Young and Gay.”
-*
Hildegarde, the new radio star who
has the “Beat the Band” show on
Wednesday evenings, introduced a
song called "She’s Got Bars on Her
Shoulders and Stars in Her Eyes”;
the WACs couldn’t resist the title
so adopted the ditty for their official
recruiting song.
-#
Pompeii’s emergence into front
page importance because of the
fighting around Naples inspired RKO
to reissue its spectacular “The Last
Days of Pompeii,” originally re
leased in 1935; its cast includes Alan
Hale, Basil Rathbone, and Louis
Calhern.
-*
Dick Haymes’ first tests at 20th
Century-Fox turned out so well that
his part in “Four Jills and a Jeep,”
with Carole Landis, was made big
ger and bigger. Meanwhile, his ra
dio sponsor pays for the lad’s popu
larity. Half the program comes
from New York, with a full orches
tra, chorus, and Jim Ameehe fea
tured—another orchestra and chorus
goes on in Hollywood, accompany
ing Haymes’ songs.
-*
Flossie Flynn, head of Loew’s
Telephone Information Service in
New York, says that recently her
office has been swamped by in
quiries about Metro’s two-reel short,
“Heavenly Music,” a tale of a Jive
musician who can’t get into heaven
until he convinces a jury of famous
composers that swing is real mu
sic-says she gets more calls ask
ing where it’s playing than she does
on feature productions.
-*
It’s taken 14 years for Hollywood
to get around to remaking “The
Bridge of San Luis Rey,” done in
1929 as a silent. Benedict Bogeaus,
a business man who bought Holly
wood’s General Service Studios a
year and a half ago, bought the
screen rights and put Rowland V.
Lee in as director—and now the pic
ture's timed right to coincide with
the work of the Committee on Inter
American Affairs.
-¥
The Ellery Queen cast likes to be
heard above the incidental music of
the organ, except when guest detec
tives turn up early, during the dress
rehearsal—then, when the crime’s
solution is given, the organ fairly
roars, drowning out all voices.
-*
ODDS AND ENDS—Tenor Bill Days,
discovered by Groucho Marx in his ra
dio program's chorus, and then given
the solo singing part, has been signed
to a 26-week contract . , . Looks as if
uBlondie” — Penny Singleton—would
soon be kicking her pretty legs again
in musicomvdy films—she uas orig
inally brought to Hollywood because
of her success in musicals on the
Broadway stage . . . Maureen O’Hara,
last seen in RKO’s “The Fallen Spar
row,” and Paul Henried will co-star in
that studio's ”The Spanish Main” . . .
Boy Acuff, a star on radio's “Grand Ole
Opry," may be a candidate for gover
mor in Tennessee’s elections next year.
ON THE C
E FRONTS
This bag was planned as a gift
for someone who was finding
days in bed difficult enough with
out having books, magazines and
writing materials scattered about.
If you like to take an assortment
of reading matter to bed, sick or
well, you will enjoy a bag like
PIECE FOR THE FRONT.C (CUT
BOTTOM AND BACK
— I3'/4*X *7" TJ— IS^r
L__■ (_"rfCY^vT^"^ N I
CURVE
TO FIT
}HANGER
IOF EACH j
I MATERIAL I
|IS NEEDED^
this. Its hanger hook may be
sewed to box springs and there you
are with everything handy.
The bag shown here was made
of a remnant of heavy cotton u*<
holstery materials in tones of
green with a touch of red in the
pattern. The red was repeated in
the sateen lining. The sketch gives
all the dimensions and shows how
the lining and the outside part
were made. A coat hanger was
cut down to measure 12 inches
from end to end and was placed
between the lining and the out
side; these being stitched together
around the top, as illustrated.
• • *
NOTE—This bedside bag is but one of
thirty-two useful things to make for the
home, that are illustrated with detailed
directions In BOOK 8 of the series pre
pared for readers. The price of BOOK 8
is 15 cents. Send your order to:
MRS. RUTH WYETH SPEARS
Bedford Hills New York
Drawer 10
Enclose 15 cents for Book No. 8.
Name ..
Address ..
When the soldier talks about “the
skipper” he means his captain,
the head of his company. And
that’s just what the title “captain”
means. It comes from the Latin
word “caput” meaning “head.”
Another leader high in the Army
man’s favor is Camel cigarettes—
they’re first choice with men in
the Army. (Based on actual sales
records from service men’s own
stores.) When you’re sending gifts
from home, keep in mind that a
carton of cigarettes is always most
welcome. And though there are
Post Office restrictions on pack
ages to overseas Army men, you
can still send Camels to soldiers
in the U. S., and to men in the
Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard
wherever they are.—Adv.
NO ASPIRIN FASTER
than genuine, pure St. Joseph Aspirin.
World's largest seller at 10*. None safer,
none surer. Demand St Joseph Aspirin.
Tree Blows Up
Contrary to commop belief, a
bolt of lightning does not splinter
the tree; the tree itself “blows up”
when its moisture is suddenly
turned into steam under high pres
sure.
" y^>
AT FIRST
SNIFFLE,
SNEEZE
Put a few drops of Va-tro-nol up
each nostril at the very first sniffle
or sneeze. Its quick action helps
prevent many colds _______
developing. Follow vBCKS
fn-foiS VATROHOl
Healthful Alaska
Alaska is regarded as the health
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Try Great Tonic Many Doctors Advist
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p at your druggist’s today l
