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About The frontier. (O'Neill City, Holt County, Neb.) 1880-1965 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 1945)
j-WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS Germans Strive to Check Great Russian Break-Through in East; Congress Ponders Labor Draft _______________ Released by Western Newspaper Union. ■ (EDITOR'S NOTE: When opinions are expressed la these selarans, they are theee ef Westers Newspaper t'nlea's bows aaalysta aad set necessarily el this newspaper.) Evidencing cooperation given Yank forces in rhilipplnes, native vol unteers information of enemy activity on Mindoro island. PACIFIC: Advance Inland Moving deeper Inland down the great central Luzon plain to Manila, with elements probing into the moun tains on either side to secure their flanks, Americans of the 6th army under Gen. Walter Krueger pro ceeded with caution as the Japs held back on committing their major forces to the battle. At the same time. U. S. carrier planes ranged far to the west to strike at enemy sources of supply and reinforcements along the south China coast, and U. S. army airmen ■wept up and down Luzon hammer ing at communications lines and air dromes harboring the remnants of the Japs’ air force. Strongest opposition to the U. S. drive was encountered in the moun tainous terrain on the east flank, where the Japs fought back hard from caves and entrenchments in an effort to hold open the country to the north of them. NATION’S CUPBOARD: Well Stocked With larger supplies in some foods offsetting smaller stocks in others, civilians should eat as much during the first three months of 1945 as during the preceding three months, the War Food administration said. In comparison, the WFA said, more milk, eggs, cheese and citrus fruits will be available for civilians, Reflecting prospects for a long er European war than anticipat ed last fall, farm production goals for 1945 were upped upon the War Food administration's recommendation for more milk, bogs and beef, and dry beans, potatoes, tobacco, flaxseed, sug ar beets and clover seeds. but less meat, chicken, fats, oils, but* ter, canned fruits and vegetables, potatoes, sugar and dry beans. For 1945 as a whole, the WFA de clared. civilian supplies will be smaller than 1944, but slightly larger than the 1935-'39 average. More milk, eggs, meat, chicken, fresh vegetables and fruits, lard, margarine, sirups, honey and cereal products will be available than be fore the war, but less butter, sugar, dry beans, canned fruits and Juices, evaporated milk and canned fish. LABOR DRAFT: Push Bill Spurred on by the President’s in sistence, congress gave increased at tention to Rep. Andrew May's modi fied labor draft bill, prohibiting men between 18 and 45 from leaving es sential work without their local Se lective Service board's permission, or compelling them to accept Jobs designated by such boards. With the army calling for younger men for replacements, War Mobiliz er Byrnes outlined procedure for the induction of registrants in the 26 to 29 group, with less important employees In essential and so-called critical war industries to be called up before key men. Probably half of the present 365.000 deferred farm workers between 18 and 25 now be ing examined prior to review of their cases can expect to be inducted. Draft Director Hershey said. While the President said some sort of national service act was neces sary to channel workers into neces ■ary jobs, representatives of both la bor and industry told congress that the present comparatively small manpower shortage could be best met by voluntary recruiting. BUILDING MATERIAL Because H is looked to as the larg est single field of expansion, the building trade will have to employ 6% million workers if the postwar objective of 60 million jobs is to be attained, R. J. Thomas of the CIO Automobile Workers union told the American Home Builders convention In Chicago, 111. With 6V4 million workers, Thomas said, a minimum of 1,750,000 homes could be constructed each year, a small percentage of the new housing needed. EUROPE: *Greatest Offensive Their lines shattered and their border lands imperilled by what was described as the greatest offensive J in history, Germany’s armies of the east fell back for a feverish reor- j ganization in an effort to stem the Russian tide that threatened to roll ; right on to Berlin. Although the Russians plunged forward all along the sprawling Polish plains, the drive of their First | Ukrainian army under Marshal Konev on the rich industrial prov ince of Silesia to the southwest con stituted the greatest immediate dan ger to the Germans, with the enemy j frankly admitting its loss would seri ously impair their ability to continue the war. In an effort to shore up the i Russian advance there, Heinrich j Himmler’s home army was called into action under a hail of aerial and artillery bombardment. To the north of this sector below Warsaw, the First White Russian army of Marshal Zhukov speared i westward toward Pomerania, and \ also threw one wing southward in a move designed to hook up with the First Ukranian force and trap Ger Leaders In the great Russian offensive Include (left to right) M.srshals Zhukov, Konev and Rokossovsky. man units in a huge pocket. As these two drives developed. Mar shal Rokossovky’s Second and Gen eral Cherniakvsky’s Third White Russian armies squeezed East Prus sia from the north and south. Nazis Outnumbered Frankly admitting the gravity of their situation, the Germans re ported the withdrawal of their forces to the west, and the hus banding of their reserves for coun ter-action if the rapidity of the Rus sian advance should result in the spreading of their strength. Because of the numerical superiority of the Russians, it was said, it was im possible to stop the Reds' advance by attempting frontal resistance on the open plains along the whole line. Yanks Regain Initiative As the Russian fighting developed, I the Nazis looked with apprehension to the west, where they feared an other all-out thrust against the Rhineland. Regaining their balance after the German break-through of a month ago. Allied forces were back knock ing against the Nazi frontier, with the British Second army punching toward the Roer river along a broad front, and the U. S. First and Third armies whittling down the remains of the big bulge. As the First and Third armies hacked off the shoulders of the bulge, they encountered stubborn rear guard action as Von Rundstedt sought to pull his prize troops back into the Siegfried line. While British and American forces exploited their initiative to the north, the Germans maintained pressure on the lower Alsatian plains, throwing in tanks and in fantry to hold the positions gained in limited offensives while main Al lied power was diverted to Belgium. "They Say... " In the event definite assurances are given to American corpora tions and business enterprises that their property rights will be respected and that they will be given the opportunity of mak ing legitimate profits, it may be expected that a considerable flow of private American capi tal abroad In the form of direct Investments will take place.—Al exander Hamilton Institute. LEND-LEASE: Food Shipments Showing a 4 billion pound drop un der 1943. lend-lease food and agricul tural product* shipments during 1944 totalled over 7 billion pounds, with meats, dairy items and grain cereals composing the bulk of de liveries. Of meat lend-leased, 708,627,733 pounds were cured, smoked and frozen pork products; 65.238,418 pounds of frozen pork loins; 80, 762,243 pounds of lamb and mutton; 23,285,892 pounds of frozen veal, and 16,101,290 pounds of frozen beef. Of dairy products, 280,845.699 pounds of cheese were delivered, 23,886,449 pounds of butter, and 17,860,503 pounds of butter oil. Other food and agricultural prod ucts lend-leased included 543,930,297 pounds of granulated sugar; 44.041. 306 pounds of canned peas; 41,424, 897 pounds of canned peaches; 28, 069,988 pounds of canned green beans; 24,650,997 pounds of canned tomatoes: 21.868,310 pounds of soap, and 20,195,112 pounds of canned pineapple. SYNTHETIC RUBBER: 1941 Production Built up almost overnight as a re sult of the severance of the nation's imports of crude rubber from the far east following the Japs’ early ! conquests, the U. S.'s 700 million dollar synthetic rubber industry produced 763,000 long tons (of 2,240 pounds) last year. Declaring that synthetic produc tion can be boosted to 1,000,000 tons if necessary, Secretary of Com merce Jesse Jones said that the 1944 output was equal to the na tion’s annual peacetime rubber needs. Because 60 per cent of the rub ber was made from alcohol instead of petroleum, Jones said, production costs of the synthetic averaged 33 cents a pound, compared with about 19 cents for the crude. C^ePehrilicA trichen On the same day, in mid-month, death came to three of the nation’s celebrated figures: In Meriden, Conn., 50-year-old Francis T. Maloney (Dcm.) succumbed to a heart attack. Left to support four broth ers and sisters at the age of 12, Maloney worked up to the senate from newspa per reporter, mayor of Meriden and congressman. In Washington, D. C., to attend the President’s inauguration, 57-year-old George D. Crowley, vice chairman of the division of finance of the Demo cratic National committee, and one of the founders of the 1,000 club during the recent campaign, died of heart trou ble. A prominent Chicago insurance man and financier, Crowley was the son of an assistant secretary of the treasury under President Cleveland. Creator of the famed “Frank Merri well“ fiction character, whose amazing exploits thrilled millions of readers, 78 year-old Gilbert Patten, who wrote un der the name of Hurt L. Standish, passed away in San Diego, Calif. Patten, who ran away from home at 16 because he didn't like school, wrote a 20,000-word adventure novel every week for 18 yean, and u>as estimated to have writ ten 40,000,000 words in his lifetime. BASEBALL: Gets FDR*s Nod With the game having been given presidential approval provided it did not interfere with the conduct of the war, major league baseball mag nates began laying plans for the 1945 season, with their chief concern being to scrape together teams from the dwindling manpower pool. Although the clubs were expected to rely again on discharged or re jected army personnel, their plans were complicated by recent govern ment regulations calling for re-ex amination of 4-Fs and work or fight orders to men under 38. Some of these men, however, intend to enter essential industry and arrange for playing ball on the outside. Because of the need for person nel, “ . . . kids about 17 . . . will have a wonderful opportunity to play in the big leagues,” said Clark Griffith, owner of the Washington Senators. U. S. NAVY: Greater Firepower Its firepower increased five times since July, 1940. combatant ships, auxiliaries and coast guard vessels of the U. S. navy can now hurl 2,000 tons of steel in a 15 second fir ing run, the equivalent of 50 freight carloads of steel. Packing a wallop 92 per cent greater than the pre-Pearl Harbor battleship, Texas, the modern Iowa i is armed with nine six-inch guns j mounted in threes, twenty five-inch | double purpose guns in twos, and many smaller anti-aircraft guns. Possessing 123 per cent more flre j power than the 1930 heavy Pensa I cola, the modern Baltimore carries I nine eight-inch guns in threes, twelve five-inch anti-aircraft guns in pairs, and numerous smaller anti aircraft weapons. BRITISH CASUALTIES With the United Kingdom of Eng land. Scotland and North Ireland suffering 635,107 casualties alone, British Empire losses totaled 1.043, 554 up to last November. Prime Minister Churchill told the house of J commons. Of the other constituents, India's j losses reached 152,597; Australia. ! 84,861; Canada, 78,985; New Zea land, 34,115; South Africa, 28,943, and other colonies, 28,946. Including recent western front cas ualties, U. S. losses totaled 721,325. Mounting Battle Tempo Calls for More Material Big Problem Is to Route Manpower Into Critical Work; Labor Needs Vary Throughout Different Areas. By BAUKHAGE News Analyst and Commentator WNU Service, Union Trust Building Washington, D. C. What la wrong with the American war effort on the home front? Why all this excitement over a new draft of manpower? Didn’t War Mobilizer Byrnes say that our war production almost equalled the production of the entire world? These questions are being asked In many minds. I have asked them of the men whose job it is to get things done in Washington, and I want to try to put their answers before you. Let me quote one sentence spoken by War Mobilizer Byrnes himself: “Critical production no longer feeds pipe-lines or goes into strate gic reserves—it is going right into battle.’’ If we compare “critical produc tion” with fighting units, perhaps the recent German counter-offensive will help us see the picture. When Von Rundstedt’s drive started, men and tanks and guns and trucks, "critical production” in other words, all had to be poured into actual battle. The result was that there were just not enough of them in the right place at the right time and our line crumbled. There were no immediate reserves to throw in and bolster the defense. Later on, when the veterans from the Third army and the First army and the British troops arrived, the tide was turned. They represented the reserves of “critical produc tion” which should have been there all the time. For many months on that particu lar front only the men in the front lines were needed. There were enough men there to take care of the normal enemy opposing them. It was a minimum force without enough reserve to take care of maximum need and they were thrown back. That is the situation in war pro duction today. Certain critical sup plies (airplanes, tanks, other vehi cles and their accessories, certain types of ordnance, certain types of ammunition) are being used so fast in battle that if an extra strain developed at a certain point there would not be any reserve to call upon. Changing Conditions Alter Planning Why are these things lacking? Why didn’t we pile them up, as we do other things, until we had enough to take care of an emergency? Chiefly, because their greatest need developed after we started our war programs. Reserves for the future can only be based on present infor mation or estimates based on previ ous knowledge, or lucky guessing. When the war began nobody, not even the Japs who used amphibious warfare in the early stages to the best advantage, had any idea of the type and number of landing craft, to say nothing of the tech nique of operating them, which are used in the latest Allied operations. The contrast between the Japanese landing in Lingayen bay and the American landing three years later in the same place is astounding. Byrnes used as examples of other "unpredictables,” inventions and improvements over old models. Jet planes, new types of radar and the like. Today, 55 per cent of our war production does not need to rise. Some of it is properly declining. But there are other parts of the program which are lagging that should mount, because they are "critical production.” Of course, some plants making such goods are temporarily closed while re-tooling for new models. Others are under construction. But many plants lack nothing except manpower, those, for example, making certain types of planes and tanks and ships. Tires are being ground to pieces by shell splinters in the mud of Luxem bourg and Belgium. Tanks are roll ing from New Guinea to the Philip pines to the Rhine, and bigger and better ones are demanded. There is a constant need for all kinds of am munition, but there is critical need for certain types of ammunition, both heavy and light. And so we come to the main prob lem which is really the only prob lem today—manpower. We have the _ BARBS ... by Baukhage There is a report that Hitler can’t even hear himself properly any more. Lucky Adolph. • • • They say a girl gave the answer, "The telephone rings,” when asked by the professor as to what happens when a body is immersed in water. But I doubt if she felt that it would put a wet blanket on her conversa tion. An American soldier made such a hit conducting a Berlioz symphony in Rome that the Italians requested a repeat He couldn't because his three-day pass had expired. • • • Ralph Waldo Emerson once said that “Good is a good doctor but Bad is sometimes a better.’’ But what difference does it make? They’re probably both in the army now. raw material and will have the manufacturing facilities in time. Undersecretary of War Patterson told the house military affairs com mittee that in the first six months of 1945, 700,000 men would be needed for war production and industry necessary to the war effort. I have talked with the War Man power commission experts and they break down those figures something like this: One hundred and fifty thousand men needed immediately for critical war production. One hundred and fifty thousand more for other war production to take care of the normal turn-over, expected replaeements, etc. The remaining 400,000 must be retained in civilian production and services which have to be continued in order to maintain the total war effort. The situation is summed up in general terms this way: The man power mobilization problem is not as large as it was in 1942 and 1943 but it is more acute in certain lines. Two things contribute to mak ing it more acute. One is the fact' that we haven’t the pool of either civilian production or the unem ployed from which to draw as we had at the start. Second, because the needs are ‘‘critical” (battle needs) they must be satisfied im mediately or the actual front-line activities may be immediately af fected. One thing which must be consid ered is the geographical shift of the American labor force, a point which affects the general situation for it involves moving a worker from place to place. And in the pres ent need, although the West coast (where labor is concentrated) is still the most critical area, the building of new factories to meet new needs and the change in the type of needs from one established factory in one place to one in an other place involves the question of suasion or force on the worker. For instance, there is a great need in Utah and Wyoming for work ers in coal mines. The scattered foundry sections from Michigan and Ohio, through Pennsylvania and New York to New England are critical areas. Even plane produc tion, concentrated in the West, has its problems, for, although some air plane factories on the Pacific coast have closed down, many of the new factories for the flying fortresses and other new models are in areas other than the West coast. We have the man and woman power in the nation to take care of the need. It is a question of getting the right man in the right place. Overoptimiam Causes Letdown There are several reasons why the right man (and woman) is not in the right place now. One is due to an error in judgment which may, or may not, be blameworthy. Ger many’sN "come-back” power, for • which I attempted to set forth cer tain reasons in t\fco preceding col umns, was underestimated. This caused a shortage in certain types of weapons. Superabundance in others. The latter put men out of work and cauyd them to seek non-war jobs. We had counted on a more mobile type of warfare. We did not think we needed the heavy artillery to blast Germany out of powerful defenses. We counted too heavily on enemy vulnerability to the bombing of German cities. That was both a psychological and stra tegical error. Underestimating the length of the European war also had a bad psy chological effect. It caused many workers to quit war work for what they thought would be more per manent employment. It caused great pressure on Washington to be gin reconversion, as War Mobilizer Byrnes admits was wrong. He said: “. . we could not do two things at once . . . could not pursue an all-out war production effort while j simultaneously releasing materials, facilities and manpower for civilian j production.” The man and his job were sepa rated, too, by the improvement of models and creation of new equip ment. No one can be blamed for this. But frequently, as I have shown, it tended to place the job and the man miles apart. Concrete Feeding Floors for Hogs Improves Pig’s Health And Saves on Food DETTER pork can be produced and a saving in food result, where concrete feeding floors are used In hog lots. The concrete feeding floors are generally made about 4 inches thick, in sections of about 10 square feet. For poorly drained land, it may be necessary to fill in with about 6 Inches of gravel or cinders. It will take 7V4 sacks of portland cement; % cubic yard of sand and 1 cubic yard gravel or crushed rock to build a feeding lot 100 square feet, 4 inches thick. In addition to better health con trol, concrete feeding floors should result in about 25 per cent increase in number raised from the same number of sows. They will grow more evenly and reach market weights weeks earlier. It is ad visable to provide shade when hogs are kept on concrete. Pieces of 2 x 4’s are commonly used for side forms. They may be salvaged as soon as the concrete has set. A straight 2x4 may be used a* a strikeboard to level off the concrete. The new concrete should be properly cured by cover ing with earth or straw as soon as it has hardened enough not to be marred. It should be kept moist for CURR . CONCRETE FEEDING • FLOOR. *. '-APRON OR CUT OFFWALl Method of building curb and apron for concrete feeding floor*. at least five days by frequent sprinkling. It is often desirable to place a low curb and an apron or cutoff wall ex tending into the ground about \Vi or 2 feet deep around the edge of the feeding floor as in the drawing. This prevents the undermining of the floor. Agriculture In the News By W. J. DRYDEN Eggs for Vaccine Nearly 4 million fertile eggs will be used in six months for the making of vaccine for the protection of the health of the civil ian and fighting forces of America. Veterinary lab oratories are also beginning to uti lize eggs for the vaccine utilized in sleeping sick ness among live stock. Work now being conducted Eggs for health indicates that many other types of disease prevention vaccine and remedies will be incubated in hen eggs. One laboratory has been "plant ing typhus virus" in eggs and "har vesting” the deadly crop so that American soldiers may be im munized against the killer that has slain more soldiers than bullets in all the wars of history. The producing of fertile eggs for this work promises to become a spe cialized business. As more is known, there is little question that types of feeds, breeds and method of management may be changed for the production of these eggs. Genetic Selection Genetic selection, or the selection of breeding stock primarily on the basis of qualities that are hidden from view as opposed to physical selection which mainly takes into consideration size, color and confor mation, is one of the newer steps in livestock and poultry handling, says the U. S. department of agri culture. Genetic selection goes into pedi gree records and performance of progeny and close relatives of the breeding animals. In poultry, for example, it includes egg production, fertility, and hatchability. Harnessing the Worm Earthworms are being harnessed and put to work to enrich the soil. In their burrowing operations the worm swallows the earth with its minerals and vegetables, adds his own secretions, and produces the richest top soil known to science. The presence of 10 worms in one square foot of earth, or one million to the acre, will create annually 1200 tons of such soil. The crops raised from such top soil are from 103 ic 300 per cent larger. Bed Spread Made Of 36-Inch Goods * I 'HIS spread for a double bed may be made out of chintz or any 36-inch-wide material that you have on hand. Eleven and one-half yards will be required for a bed 54 inches wide and, if you follow the cutting diagram given here, not a scrap of goods will be wasted. Cut the center parts first; then the 18-inch side sections for the pillow cover; then the 10-inch MORE PROFITS FOR YOUt FROM FACTORY TO FEED LOT SURE— All animals and poultry should have Mineral mixed with their dry feed, when they cannot get the green grasses, etc This MINERAL helps prevent Cholera in hogs, and Cannilbalism and coccldlosls in chickens. It sure pays to feed It. GUARANTEED to be As Good as the Beet. 100 POUNDS... f 3.00 300 .a50 1000....27.00 2000 ..TON.. 50.00 ( tDtHMT M/O too founts ot note) EASY=FED MINERAL TO. 417 So. 11 St. Lincoln > CHEST COLD TIGHTNESS —of children quickly loosened up by Penetro—Grandma's old time mutton suet idea developed by modern science into a coun ter-irritant, vaporizing salve for quick relief. 25c,double size 35c. SNAPPY FACTS ABOUT RUBBER Every gas mask issued by the U. S. Army contains lVi pounds of rubber. Even now, with the rubber situation Improved, it is Important that car owners have their tires recapped In time. In time means when the tread Is worn smooth, but before the fabric shows. It Is expected by Industry authorities that the early post-war period will bring a demand for from 16,000 to 40,000 long tons of rubber for the production of latex foam sponge used in cushions of various types and in fur niture and mattresses. BEGoodrich MARV 1 MArT,N I m°unt ^groomed, wcll many «el .foUywOod stars informed ^Qth Powder. ^houseC ^obbins, l»c McKesson & Bridgeport, Conn. I _ I AT FIRST ^ HON OF A ^ II & | v “1*666 Cold Pzeparatloot at directed