* I-WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS-, Nazi Crisis Heightens as Allies Break East-West Defense Fronts; U.S. Tightens Net on New Guinea - Released by Western Newspaper Unlen. ■ (EDITOR'S NOTE: When opinions nr* sxpressed In th*s* eolnmns. they are those of Western Newspaper Union's news analysts and not neeeosarlly of this newspaper.) Normandy——Having extinguished fire which destroyed ammunition track at left, Doughboys reaume charge under fire near St. Lo. EUROPE: Yank Break-Through With the harassed Germans hold ing down British gains on the east ern end of the Normandy beachhead, U. S. troops unloosed a powerful as sault on the western sector to break through the Nazis’ first-line defenses and force an enemy withdrawal along a 40-mile front. With heavy bombers preparing the ground for the big offensive with an earth-shaking attack that buried many of the German soldiers and showered dirt over their guns, U. S. armored forces then rode into bat tle to exploit the breach in the de fenses. As the enemy pulled out, U. S. fighters and fighter-bombers swooped low to shoot up the retreat ing columns. On the eastern end of the front, Nazi Marshal Rommel threw in a succession of counter-attacks to cur tail the British advance south of Caen, with fighting see-sawing as one side would go into action when the force of the other's initial as sault had been worn off. As Lu Gen. Lesley J. McNair, 61, watched the ground forces he had built up in action in Normandy, he was killed by eucmy fire. Renowned for hat ing reorganized the old “square” dilution of 20,000 men into the modern “triangular" unit of 15Jl)00, and one of the lead ers in the development of powerful, mobile anti-tank guns to combat the armored battle-wagons, General Mc Nair had received Gen. George Mar shall's praise as the “brains of the army." A soldier for 41 years and veteran of the Mexican campaign and World War I, General McNair was com mander of II. S. ground forces be fore being sent abroad recently on a secret assignment. While observing the North African fighting in 1943, he was wounded by shell fragments. Near Warsaw Capital of old Poland and deep inside the Germans’ defense lines, the ancient city of Warsaw rever berated to Russian guns as the Reds pressed their offensive on the central sector of the 800-mile east ern front. While the Russian spearheads pointed almost halfway across old Poland, Allied troops drew up in Italy for a grand assault upon the enemy’s “Gothic Line,” first of his defenses guarding the northern plains. Taking advantage of the mountainous terrain on the ap proaches to their new fortification system, the Germans resisted stub bornly In heavy delaying action. As German lines stiffened on the northern end of the eastern front, and Hungarian troops slowed up the Russ drive in the Carpathian foot hills in the south, the full weight of the Reds’ advance was thrown Into the central sector, where the open plains gave the Nazis no natu ral cover. DROUTH: Partly Broken Although varying rainfall broke an extended drouth in the Ohio and middle Mississippi river valleys to help bumper plantings along, the eastern coastal sector from New England to Maryland suffered from continuing dry weather. With corn tasseling and new ears appearing; soybeans starting to fill, and pastures drying, the wet weath er arrived in the Midwest at a criti cal time. Although the rainfall pushed the corn along in Kansas, an important part of the estimated 207,918.000 bushel wheat crop was threatened with ruin by moisture as it lay in the field because of a lateness in harvesting and shortage of facilities for moving the grain to market. PACIFIC: Japs W ilt Bringing all of their superior fire power into play, U. S. forces in the far Pacific continued to tighten their foothold on Japan's inner ring of de fenses around the Marianas islands, while farther to the south in New Guinea desperate enemy detach ments tried futilely to crack the iron ring General MacArthur has been fastening about them. As big U. S. naval guns tore into enemy emplacements inland to sup plement heavy artillery fire, U. S. troops bore down on Tinian island in the Marianas, while other American units broke up frantic Jap counter attacks to consolidate their hold on Guam, one of the first U. S. possessions to fall to the enemy after Pearl Harbor. By establishing beachheads all along the northern New Guinea coast. General MacArthur succeed ed in trapping thousands of Japa nese troops in between, and many of these were attempting to upset the American lines before the steel noose could be drawn around them tighter. U. S. LAND: Disposal Program Government decision to auction off 8,000,000 acres of surplus farm land originally required for war pur poses, has created a mild tempest in Washington, D. C., with the Farm ers' Union insisting on the Farm Se curity administration’s handling of the disposal as part of its tenant purchasing program. Under plans of Surplus Property Administrator William L. Clayton, the Reconstruction Finance corpora tion is to supervise the program, with appraisals submitted by local experts; sales made as promptly as possible without disrupting the mar ket; former owners given opportuni ty to repurchase sites, and tracts broken up into individual units. Spearheading the Farmers’ Union opposition, President James G. Pat ton declared that Clayton's plan would lead to dominance of the pro gram by the Notional Association of Real Estate Boards, with control over permanent resources by big in terests. Of the $59,004,006 worth of surplus property disposed of up to mid-July, no real estate was included. Air craft and aircraft equipment made up the bulk ef the sales, the RFC reported. CIO: Political Power Prepared to raise up to $3,000,000 for the forthcoming elections, and Sidney Hillman planning to organize neighborhood politi cal groups with the assistance ot union members, the CIO’s Political Action com mittee looms as a powerful, influenc ing factor in the 1944 campaigns. Headed by Rus sian - born Sidney Hillman, chieftain of the Amalgamat ea Liotmng Workers Union, the CIO's Political Action committee calls for: All-out aid to returned servicemen; full employment after the war at fair wages; good hous ing; medical care and schooling for all; equality of opportunity, and an adequate social security system. First objective of the committee is to register every eligible voter for the fall elections, and it reportedly has spent a substantial part of $300, 000 in this work, with another $400. 000 available for immediate use. “Love thy neighbor—and organize him!" says the committee. HIGHLIGHTS . . . in the week’» newt HOTELS: Service in hotels, al ready below minimum peacetime standards, will be still further re duced by order of the War Man power commission. Hereafter ho tels must be classified as "locally needed," to obtain the WMC's help in finding employees. Furthermore hotels may not employ men under 45, except in special cases, the WMC ruled. MARRIAGE BY MAIL: As far as the army finance department is con cerned, marriages by mail are valid if the state in which the contract is made recognizes them as such. The comptroller-general gave this opinion in a case involving a wife's allowance payments. He cited many legal opinions on the subject, dat ing back to the time of the first World war. GOOD NEIGHBOR: Not So Good Charging the present Argentine government with offering friendly ■upport te Axis establishments and scotching the solidarity of western hemispheric opposition to the ene my the U. S. government reasserted Its non-recognition of the new re gime. Indulging in no diplomatic double talk, the government, through Sec retary of State Cordell Hull, brand ed Argentina as a "deserter to the Allied cause," then went on to charge that the new regime assisted Axis subcontractors to bid on work utilizing American material, and also allowed distribution of imported newsprint to Axis papers attacking the United Nations’ cause. TIRES: Less Heavies Because of the army's increased demands, and a shortage of man power in manufacturing plants, ci vilian allocations of heavy and small truck and bus tires for August were sharply reduced, while the quota for passenger use remained unchanged. Although the War Production board recognized that the present grave truck and bus tire situation may result in a curtailment of es sential transportation, it revealed that the army refused to consent to a diversion of its earmarked stocks to civilians. In tendering his resignation as Rubber Director, Bradley Dewey de clared that U. S. plants were now producing synthetic rubber at a rate of 836,000 tons yearly, and that fu ture manufacturing costs may even tually be cut to 12 cents a pound. U.S. SENATE: Neiv Faces When the next congress convenes, Senators Ellison “Cotton Ed” Smith (S. C.) and Hattie Caraway (ArkD will not be among the members. Dean of the sen ate with 36 years of service and famed for his champion ship of the farm ers, “Cotton Ed” was defeated for re nomination for a seventh term by Gov. Olin D. John ston, former textile worker. Besides his ardent support of agriculture, Smith also was known for his opposition to tar ms, his upholding Senators 4'ara- 0f states’ rights and way and Smith hjs advocacy of “white supremacy” in the South. Only woman member of the sen ate, Mrs. Caraway was fourth in the Democratic primary in Arkan sas, where Representative Ful bright’s failure to win a majority of the votes necessitated a run-off between him and Governor Adkins. ON THE HOME FRONT To prevent the diversion of ma terial into higher priced clothing the War Production board ordered man ufacturers to channel about 50,000, 000 yards of cotton fabric into cheap and moderate clothing during each quarter of the year. • • • At the same time, the WPB considered a further reduction in the release of refrigerators since 55,000 remain out of an original stockpile of 700,000 when production was stopped in 1942, and the present supply would be exhausted by the end of this year. With milk production in seasonal decline and the demand for export able dairy products rising, the War Food administration ended the July ice cream holiday by again limiting manufacturers to 65 per cent of the milk they normally used and ZZ per cent of their milk solids content. PRODUCTION: Army Sets Pace With the war department declar ing monthly war production goals were not being met, and output of materials was $400,000,000 behind schedule during the present quar ter, the army service forces set the pace for increased delivery by put ting both its npilitary and civilian personnel on a 54-hour week in all establishments with unfinished work. There was no indication of how many of the army’s 1,250,000 em ployees in arsenals and depots would go on the extended week with the civilian personnel paid time and a half for all work over 40 hours, but the order was expected to affect 50, 000 persons at all headquarters of the service forces. Army plants operating on three shifts were exempted from the or der. Where compliance would re sult in a surplus of labor, workers would be transferred to other jobs. MYSTERY STORY Publishers report a nationwide de mand for mysteries—detective fic tion and horror and ghost tales. Av erage sale of a mystery book has risen from 3,500 to 8,500. Stories by widely known authors are selling up to 20,000 copies each. Psychologists believe the mystery books come into greatest favor dur ing times of strain and crisis be cause “they provide the purest kind of escape-mechanism.” They enable the reader to forget the war for a little while. Washington Di^estj Japs Still Powerful, but Position Grows Weaker Shipping Losses Reduce Flow of Material; Efficiency of Pilots Suffers From Poor Tactics in Combat. By BAUKHAGE /Vpmjs Atudytl and Commentator. WNU Service, Union Trust Building, Washington, D. C. Paradoxically, on the eve of what may be the greatest land battle America has ever fought, this coun try is turning its eyes eastward. The nervous Berlin radio has al ready announced that the war in Eu rope may be decided In three months. That statement lends color to the hints that General Rommel, the one Nazi commander who seems to see eye to eye with the Fuehrer and yet is apparently permitted to work out his strategy according to military science and not Hitlerian Intuition, is going to fight it out, win lose or draw, along the outer edges of Normandy. What effect the events following the attempt on the life of Hitler will have on the internal situ ation in Germany—or what the in cident indicates about Germany within, remains to be seen. Whether the German collapse comes before the leaves turn, or after the snow flies, the next weeks will see emphasis placed on the Pa cific campaign. It is not beyond the realm of possibility that peace can be wrung from Japan well with in the current 12-month. The fall of Tojo and his cabinet indicates the gravity with which the Japs are looking ahead. First, let us examine the material upon which Japan counts to make up her sinews of strength. She has managed to keep her main battle fleet "in being" as the phrase goes. Like Germany, toward the end of the last war, in spite of heavy losses in auxiliary craft, she still has enough of her big war wag ons to stage a "battle of Jutland," or at least to attempt it. Second: Japan still has a large, well-trained, well-equipped army. That army has never been subject to the wear and tear of sustained battle with an equal. It is true that there are many retreats which we *have read about when the Japs have staged what was advertised as a big offensive and which petered out with the flag of Nippon back where it started from. However, it is gen erally agreed among military men that, except perhaps in the recent abortive morale drive into India, and in Burma where General Stil well and the Chinese armies are moving to a junction, the Japs have usually done just about what they expected to do and could have done more if they had made up their minds to it. For the most part they have not tried to win territory and hold it. They have tried to wear down the Chinese army, contribute to the impoverishment and the weak ening of the Chinese government. This they have accomplished to no little degree. They have likewise reduced the number of actual and potential American airbases in Chi na. They have made a possible land Invasion of the Chinese coast hard er for the Allies. Such an invasion is considered inevitable and essen tial to Allied victory. On the debit side, there are these Items: First, is one word written in the boldest hand because of the thing it Bymbolizes—SAIPAN. U. S. Planes Within Easy Bombing Range of Japan The capture of this island base within easy bombing range of Japan means rr^any things. It tends to neut.alize what heretofore has been Japan’s advantage in destroying American bases in China. It brings the war figuratively, as well as lit erally. close to Japan. It registers the success of a strategy which has ■mashed Japan’s outer defenses, her great Pacific island empire. It proves that "island-hopping” is un necessary. This means that the re maining Japanese strongholds such as Truk, and other outposts do not have to be knocked off one by one, they can be by-passed and starved out, if necessary. Saipan in American hands means also that the B-29’s which have al ready sounded their warning to the Jap home folk will soon be in ac tive operation on a scale hitherto unapproached. Germany, like Japan, has at this writing a powerful land army But Japan, like Germany, has a vanishing air force. Note the corol lary and see how it applies to Ja pan. The Allied air force crippled the German air force. And as Nazi fighter-defense dwindled, so the weight of sheer numbers reduced the effectiveness of German anti aircraft defense and offense, due to the bombing of her plane factories and plane-part factories and to the destruction of her pilots. Germany’s next greatest weakness is lack of gas and oil. This has been caused by the destruction (by the Allied air force again) of oil wells, gasoline refineries and synthetic oil plants. Proofs of the effects of this bomb ing are not limited to photographs showing the effect of Allied air raids on ball-bearing plants, on the Ploesti oil wells, on the synthetic oil plants and the refineries. It is shown in the German tanks and other war ve hicles in perfect condition aban doned and captured because they ran out of fuel. Raids, really shake-down cruises of the giant B-29’s directed against Japanese industrial plants, hare just begun. Japan is already suffering from shortages of essential materials. Her great stolen storehouses of the Phil ippines and the Dutch Indies are a long way from home. The trans portation problem is a terrible one —Japanese shipping has been sub jected to terrific losses by our sub marines and planes. Distances Shrink in Far Pacific Warfare Is Japan in any better position to resist air attack than Germany? The answer seems to be “no.” Her greatest defense is distance, and dis tances in the Pacific theater have shrunk at a speed far greater than most people dreamed was possible. Japan’s next defense — fighter planes—has suffered in greater pro portion than was expected. The quality, as well as the quantity of Jap planes has fallen off so that Japan has become stingy in her use of fighters as the Germans. The quality of her pilots has greatly de teriorated. And this point blends into another. Japan simply has not the strategic know-how of aviation. When she does send her bombers and fighters out in great numbers, they are no match for Allied power, man or plane. There is no question that as Ja pan's resistance weakens the Allied striking power is increased. It is impossible to mention details, of course, for security reasons and it would be unwise to assemble known facts and figures concerning the type of material manufactured and the disposition of forces which, taken together, would indicate clearly enough how the weight of Allied might is being distributed. We can quote the statement of Prime Minister Curtin of Australia, for instance, who says that “this year” British forces in great num bers will be transferred to the Pa cific theater. Finally, there is a third factor which seems to be a hastening of the end. It is difficult to speak of “mo rale” in connection with Japan since the people are told how and what to think. But the tone of the official utterances has taken on a decidedly gloomy note. Even as to the shifts in command—the fall of the Tojo cabinet — which might have been hailed with a cheerful fanfare, the phrases were grave and grim. It is also reported, from sources in touch with Japan’s inner poli tics, that the Jap militarists are waiting hopefully to see if the Allies grant enough leniency in their terms to Germany to justify surrender on their part. Although it was em phatically denied in Tokyo it is still believed here that the Japanese rep resentative to the Holy See laid a tentative peace offer before the Pope. Briefly, then, as the conservative ly optimistic observers in Washing ton look at the picture rapidly form ing in the Pacific, they see several factors which heretofore worked to ward a long drawn out struggle in the Far East either removed or al tered. First, the theory that the Allies must fight their way to vic tory. sea-mile by sea-mile, island by island, has been completely ex ploded. Second, Japan’s air force has been measurably deflated. Third, the strategy of a blow at the heart of the empire rather than attrition at its perimeter is now considered a reasonable certainty. B R I £ F S . . . by Baukhage The Tokyo radio makes a point of accenting the friendliness of Japan's relations with Germany but Japa nese films make it clear that the Axis pact can be carried only so far, and no farther. • • • Seventy-five American Red Cross iome Service scholarships in ac iredited schools of social work now irs available. Unlike American movie heroes, the Japanese film hero usually doesn’t win the heroine in such a way as to live happily ever after. Japanese movies have a tendency to end on an unhappy note of sorrow or frustration with the hero and heroine being torn apart by some incident that exalts family duty and sacrifice above their own personal desire. Hog Cholera Can Be Properly Treated Vaccination and Care Essential Hog cholera is a serious con tagious swine disease caused by a virus, which is a substance so small that it cannot be seen through a microscope. It costs a loss of $12,500,000 annually to swine grow ers, according to a report issued by Clemson Agricultural college. The symptoms of hog cholera are loss of appetite, high fever, and either constipation or diarrhea. The affected animals usually remain ia the bed, but when forced to move, walk with a wobbling gait. The sick pigs usually die within six to ten days but may linger three to four weeks before they die. The virus which causes hog chol era is present in the body tissues, fluids and excretions of hogs affect ed with hog cholera. Therefore, feed, water, bedding, and soil be come contaminated very quickly with bladder and bowel eliminations. If this infected material gets into the digestive tract of suscepti ble swine, these animals will de velop hog cholera in a few days. Hog cholera is usually spread by moving sick hogs, by moving unvac cinated hogs in contaminated trucks. Saugus, Calif., “blue blood,” test ed and ready to be shipped east to aid in strain improvement. Bar bara Williams, 3'4, whose father raised the boar, gives it a farewell feeding. by dogs, buzzards and other ani mals, by mud and manure carried from infected to noninfected farms on the shoes of individuals, on wheels of farm vehicles, by careless handling of hog cholera virus, by feeding table scraps and garbage which contain hog bones and un cooked pork trimmings and by im proper disposal of the carcasses of hogs which have died of hog cholera. Hog cholera can be prevented by vaccinating healthy animals with adequate amounts of hog cholera serum and virus produced by a rep utable laboratory. They should be vaccinated when six to seven weeks old. Corn Cobs Come Into Their Own In competition with wood flour as a plastic material, corn cobs should bring the farmers about $20 a ton. While transportation will be the de ciding factqr, it is planned to estab lish small mills throughout the coun try to manufacture the plastic. While commercial organizations have become interested in research work with corn cob plastics the lead u'as taken by Dr. O. R. Sweeney of Iowa State college. This work was with waste corn stalks, corn cobs and other waste cellulose in the forms available on every farm. Estimates indicate a market for a billion tons of plastic material annually when the wrork is fully de veloped and machinery made avail able. A new drying and grinding plant has been perfected. It takes a supply of four to five thousand tons of corn cobs in a radius of six to eight miles to make an investment in a community drier and grinder practical. Milkweed in Demand The extraction of edible oil, chemically similar to soybean oil, is the only one of the new uses to which this weed has been put as a war measure. In Canada, the milkweed has proven a good source of rubber. The leaves from one acre will yield from 200 to 300 pounds of rubber gum. The floss of milkweed can be con verted into a substitute for kapok which is in much demand for life preservers and linings for flying suits. This floss should be picked in early September after the seeds turn brown and before the pods open up. Plans for Wintering Satisfactory wintering of beef cows on forest ranges of the south- I east is possible if they are given a daily supplemental feed of two j pounds of soybean or cottonseed I meal per head. This type of feed ! has been found to stimulate appetite I and make for better use of native forage. Although meal feeds are on the scarce list, it is pointed out that the supply required is small in proportion to the quantity of beef : produced. HOUSEHOLD niriTsffi Is there an old blackboard around the house that the children have “outgrown?” If so, why not draft it into use as a bulletin board for the family? Place it in the kitchen and use it as a re minder of household chores, dates that must not be forgotten, or notes to the family when called away. • * • One should keep a small bag of fine sand in the kitchen if coal oil or gasoline stoves are used. In case of an explosion or fire, the sand can be thrown over the flames which will probably extin guish them and save the destruc tion of the home. • * • When you have an old clock that refuses to run any more, it can be used in a sick room to tell when it is time for the next dose of medicine by moving the hands to the time it is to be taken. This makes it easy to remember. • * * When having difficulty in open ing a fruit jar with a metal top, place it upside down in hot water and leave for a minute or two and try again. The metal top will usually expand and loosen readily. • • • Mending the frayed edges of a rug is easy with glued tape. Simply ravel back the yarns until one strand is continuous across the rug, then turn under the raw edge and press on the tape. A strip of burlap or heavy material may be sewed on if the press-on tape is not available. Labor Shortage, So Toy Train Is Put Into Service No waitresses to be had, a near Detroit sandwich shop employs a toy train to serve patrons at its oval-shaped counter. The proprietor takes orders in person, then retires to the kitchen. Soon, the train engine speeds from the kitchen drawing several flat cars loaded with sandwiches. Operated from the kitchen by but ton system, the train travels a sta tionery track which follows the in side edge of the counter. 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