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About The frontier. (O'Neill City, Holt County, Neb.) 1880-1965 | View Entire Issue (May 3, 1945)
I-WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS Die-Hard Nazi Defense Pockets Shape As Allies Split Reich; U. S. Plans Huge Postwar Fleet ______________ Released by Western Newspaper Union. • EDITOR'S NOTE: When opinions are espreseed In these eolorans. they are those of Western Newspaper Union's news analysts and not necessarily of this newspaper.) Deep In a salt mine near Merkers, Germany, O.I.s came upon this hid den carhe of 100 million dollars of gold bullion parked in bags. Also dis covered was German and foreign currency, and crates of art treasures. EUROPE: Defense Pockets Their front shattered by Allied break-throughs, Nazi militarists en visioned the formation of numerous strong pockets of resistance for a last-ditch stand against the massed weight of U. S., British and Rus sian forces. * Discussed even as U. S. and Brit ish armies drove toward a link-up In the Berlin region, the object of the pockets would be to make the war so costly to the Allies as to in duce a willingness to talk terms. Recognizing the possibilities of such warfare, Supreme Allied headquar ters indicated that V-E Day might not be proclaimed until major nests of resistance were cleaned up to prevent a lowering of civilian and military morale because of losses sustained in continuing opera tions. With U. S. and British forces spearheading across the Reich, and the Russians moving in from the east, most prominent German pockets shaped up along the North sea coasts and mountainous Bavaria. Nazi plans for a die-hard stand shaped up as the great Russian drive surged on battered Berlin and U. S. forces moved toward a junc ture with the Reds in Saxony. With the Russians throwing over 2,000,000 men into the battle, and the Germans concentrating the bulk of their forces against the on slaught, the fight for Berlin became one of the bloodiest encounters of the whole war. As Red forces edged through a network of strong fortifi cations under rolling fire, the enemy threw in masses of tanks in an ef Lieuten«jit General Simpson of lllh army (left) chain with Rrltlnh Field Martha! Montfornery en German front. fort to break up the advancing for mations, and swarms of planes clashed in the leaden skies above. Further to the south, other Rus sian forces breached the Nazis’ Neisse and Spree river lines to smash westward in Saxony for a junction with the U. S. 1st and 3rd armies. While the 1st and 3rd fought to ward a junction with the Russians, and the U. S. 9th built up strength along the Elbe for an eastward thrust to Berlin, the British and Canadian forces and the U. S. 7th army bore down on the potential German defensive pockets along the North sea and in Bavaria. The British and Canadian task was no snap, what with the enemy concentrating large bodies of troops In small areas behind stout de fenses. Included in the German holdout regions was the western por tion of Holland below the Zuider Zee, and the great port areas of Emden, Wilhelmhaven, and Ham burg. Having cleared the Nazi shrine city of Nuernberg, 7th army spear heads pointed toward Munich and the Bavarian mountain reaches, where enemy die-hards are expected to put up their stiffest last stand. With Allied armies on the move in Germany itself, U. S. and British forces pushed forward in Italy also, threatening to spill into the Po valley. MODERN MINING Indicated output of 625,000,000 tons of coal in 1944 was attained with about 200,000 fewer workers than in 1918, largely because of exten sive mechanization of the mines man output per day in bituminous mines has been raised from an av erage of 3% tons during the last war to more than 5V4 tons in 1944. This compares with slightly more than one ton per n)an per day in Eng land, and a little over two tons per man in Canada, it is pointed out. PACIFIC: U. S. Losses For the first time in the Pacific war, navy casualties in the Okina wa campaign ran ahead of the army’s and marines’, with bitter fighting threatening to make the operation as costly as at Iwo Jima. Numbered among the victims was famed War Correspondent Ernie Pyle, whose simplicity of reporting the war from Europe to Asia brought the realism of the con flict so much closer to the nation’s folk. With the Ryukyu island chain, containing Okinawa, lying but 325 miles from Tokyo, the Japs put up a stiff fight, throwing in waves of airplanes in an attempt to impede supporting U. S. naval operations. Led by the silken-shrouded Kami kaze (suicide) fliers, enemy airmen inflicted the greatest percentage of naval casualties. In ground fighting on Okinnwa It self, chief opposition centered In the southern part of the island above the capital city of Naha, where 24th corps army troops bucked against the four-mile deep "Little Siegfried" line. While fighting raged about Okin awa, General MacArthur’s forces tightened their hold on the Philip pines by edging into the enemy’s mountain strongholds on northern Luzon, and establishing further foot holds on Mindanao, second biggest island in the archipelago. NAVY: Postimr Fleet Although final action depends upon the nation's future policy, tentative navy plans call for a huge postwar fleet of 5,830 ves sels and the scrapping of an other 6,094, according to testi mony released by the house ap propriation committee. Of the 5,830 vessels, 1,191 would be combat ships, with the remaining 4,639 auxiliary craft. Plans calls for use of 482 of the combat vessels, ranging from submarines to battleships, with the rest laid up for recall on short notice. Of the auxiliaries, 1,794 would be kept active and the remainder anchored for fu ture demands. Among the 6,094 vessels to be scrapped or used as targets are 337 obsolescent combat ships. The remainder are auxiliaries, including landing craft. In ad dition, it was disclosed, the navy will have some 66,000 other craft on its hands as demobilization proceeds, with some retained and others disposed of by the maritime commission. FARM LABOR: Draft Provisions Seeking to assure essential farm labor, congress moved to forbid lo cal draft boards from comparing the value of agriculture with that of any other occupation when consider ing deferments of farm workers. Final passage of the bill de pended upon house approval of sen ate amendments, providing that ap peals boards could not make such comparisons, and deferment of farm workers shall not prevent vol untary enlistments for the services. The congressional measure was framed to forestall a directive of selective service ordering local boards to give first consideration to the manpower needs of the army and navy when considering defer ments for farm workers. Honor Roll Corporal Richard A. Shingler of Pittsburgh, Pa., won the distinguished service medal for exhibiting a high de gree of resourcefulness and efficiency in the preparation and dropping of sup plies and medical equipment to isolated survivors of airplane crashes. During 1944, he completed over 10,000 miles of travel in China, using all modes of transportation, including 500 miles on foot and horseback. His outstand ing achievements have been instrumen tal in the savins ol 39 erme momh»r■ CONGRESS: Tariff flattie Even as the Republicans’ senate steering committee called upon Pres. Harry S. Truman to wish his administration well, a red hot legis lative battle loomed In congress over the new chief’s reciprocal trade treaty program, with GOP leaders heading the fight to defeat the meas ure. First sponsored by Mr. Roose velt, then adopted as his own by President Truman, the program calls for a three-year extension of the reciprocal trade treaties, with permission to cut tariff rates 50 per cent under January, 1945, levels. Since the original trade treaties al lowed a 50 per cent reduction on duties imposed in the Smoot Hawley bill of 1930, and such cuts were made on some goods, another 90 per cent slash would amount to 75 per cent, in all. As former secretary of state and so-called “father" of the reciprocal trade program, Cordell Hull, called for passage of the act from the Bethesda, Md., naval hospital. As sistant Secretary of State William Clayton led the administration fight for adoption of the bill. With the U. S. possibly exporting as much as 10 billion dollars worth of goods a year after the war, he said, it will be necessary to cut our own tariff barriers so that our foreign pur chasers will be able to repay us in kind. Otherwise, he said, we will lose this trade or billions of dollars extended in credits. Disputing the administration’s contention that passage of the meas ure was necessary to assist in the restoration of world prosperity and prevention of unsettled economic conditions leading to war, GOP con gressmen, led by Rep. Harold Knut son (Minn.), declared that the pro gram accomplished neither objec tive prior to the present conflict. Army Strength at Peak With a population of 13,479,142, New York led all other states In the number of men and women in the army with 900,563 as C. 8. military strength totalled 8,050,011 as of Decem ber 31, the war department re vealed. To the original army strength of 513,410 in 1940, 9,444,283 have been added by Induction, en listment or appointment since then, with the normal release of 1,907,682 giving the net figure of 8,050,011, it was pointed out. With the draft equalizing state industlons on the basis of popu lation, Pennsylvania with 9,900, 180 persons and Illinois with 7, 897,241 ranked second and third in the number of men and wom en in the army, with 663,666 and 507,233 respectively. PLANE OUTPUT: Big Cut In line with the army air force’s cut in aircraft production for the rest of 1945, the huge $100,000,000 Ford-operated factory at Willow Run outside Detroit, Mich., will wind up manufacture of B-24 bomb ers by next August. Decision to terminate production of the B-24s was predicated upon the collapse of the German luftwaffe and the need for heavier, faster bombers like the B-29s for the Pacific war, it was said. The over all cut in output of other planes also will permit concentration on manu facture of aircraft more vitally needed against the Japs, includ ing the new jet-propelled ships. Capable of turning out 462 planes a month at the peak of its opera tions, the Willow Run factory is owned by the government's Defense Plant corporation. Henry Ford has eyed purchase of the property for production of tractors and other kinds of farm tools after the war. WATER TREATY: Neighborly Act In what President Truman hailed as a constructive, business-like pro posal undertaken in a neighborly spirit, the U. S. senate ratified the controversial treaty dividing waters of the Colorado and Rio Grande riv ers between this country and Mexico. Under provisions °f the treaty, the U. S. guarantees Mexico 1,500, 000 acre feet of water annually from the Colorado river, except in times of extraordinary drouth when the supply may be cut, and also agrees to divide waters in the Rio Grande below Fort Quitman, Texas, about equally. In addition, the two nations will make a study of prob lems arising from the flow of the Tijuana river from Mexico into southern California, including flood control and conservation. Though California and Nevada congressmen attacked the treaty as harmful to domestic users of the Colorado river waters, other west ern senators acclaimed it as neces sary for orderly development of both the Colorado and Rio Grande basins. BRIEFS... Of the nearly 150,000 persons who died of cancer in the United States last year, approximately 3,600 were between the ages of 30 and 29. It is true that cancer reaps its highest death toll in the age groups over 40, but it may afflict a person in any age group with equally tragic re sults—even infants have been known to die from cancer. If treated in the early stages, how ever, the disease is curable, au thorities point 'Five Freedoms' Designed To Spur World Air Travel Differences Between American Traditions Of Free Flight and European Concepts Of Regulation Composed at Parley. • By BAUKHAGE News Analyst and Commentator. WNU Service, Union Trust Building, Washington, D. C. (This is the second of a series of articles on the “Freedom of the Air," first of which appeared in this col umn last week.) In a previous column I set forth the achievements of the conference on international aviation, imple mentation of which it is hoped will be reached by a second gathering in May, probably before the United Nations deliberations at San Fran cisco have been concluded. I set forth certain views on the accom plishments of the first aviation gathering, as expressed by Lt. Col. William Mitchell of the army air force, which, although they were his own and not the official opinions of the government, were known to represent the attitude of a number of high air force officials. I think that the satisfaction ex pressed by Colonel Mitchell, in what has already been accomplished to ward establishing the “freedom of the air,” reflects the general feel ings of the industry. Although the point was not expressly brought out in the comment in military cir cles, I believe the one thing which pleased the industry was the fact that a conference, supervised as it was by a government official (then Assistant Secretary of State Adolph Berle), had built a framework with in which private enterprise and busi ness and technical ingenuity could be rewarded and not “fenced in” by restrictive bureaucratic regula tion. Freedoms Essential To U. S. Flight You will recall that the delegates recognized the fact that "freedom of the air” was not as simple a thing as "freedom of the seas,” because vessels stop at frontiers since ship lanes lead only from harbor to har bor, while aircraft crosses borders and passes over the sovereign terri tory of foreign nations. Thus it was necessary to divide the perquisites of the airways into five freedoms. The first two are the rigjit of innocent passage—right to fly over a country, and the right to land for non-traffic purposes—that is to stop at a foreign airport for re fuelling or other facilities. These two are essential to America since our aerial ambitions encircle the globe, and that can’t be done, either from a practical or a profitable standpoint, in one jump. Because of complications which I will mention later, involved in the other freedoms, the first two were grouped in one form of multilateral agreement drawn up at Chicago. The other three freedoms, em braced in the second agreement, were described as follows: the right to disembark passengers, mail and freight from the country of origin of the aircraft; the right to embark passengers, mail and freight des tined for the country of origin of the aircraft; and, in addition, at the sug gestion of Canada, a fifth freedom was added in the form of certain provisions of right of entry and tech nical regulations. Of course, Russia's last-minute re fusal to attend the Chicago confer ence was a great disappointment to all concerned, but the reconciliation of what appeared at first to be a sharp difference between the United Kingdom and the United States, finally reconciled through the "hon est broker” efforts of Canada, was considered a great achievement. Hope exists that a successful out come of the United Nations negoti ations will bring the Soviets into ! the fold. The clash between the British and I the American viewpoints is de scribed this way by one of the American observers at the confer ence who has been working steadily for the consummation of the Chi cago plans: "In the United States,” he said, "we have always looked upon air j transport primarily as an instru ment of trade. We are still a young country with an expanding and high ly competitive economy and with no bitter memories of recent bomb ings of our homeland. The British viewpoint, which was shared to some degree by many European countries, reflected a mature and stabilized economy, to be parcelled out among those participating in it, plus a fear of explosive internation al rivalries. Canada's position pos sibly reflected British desires, plus a fear of being crowded out by its more powerful neighbor under a system of unrestricted competi tion. “The United States was seeking an opportunity for free commercial intercourse between nations, with resulting benefits to all of them; the other two countries (Britain and Canada) were seeking protection against cut-throat competition and international mistrust." Reducing these different points of view to specific operational plans, boiled down largely to whether or not a global authority would be set up which would govern the location of international routes, regulate the “frequencies” (number of flights or stops, which is where the competi tion comes in) and rates. In fact this central authority as the Brit ish viewed it would have even more authority over internal air activity than our own Civil Aeronautics board, which cannot limit frequen cies at home. In our domestic serv ices a line may make as many flights as it can get a pay-load for. The United States on the other hand wanted everything except transit and non-traffic stops worked out separately between the countries concerned. In other words, the United States felt that if an airplane company could offer more to a patron, re gardless of where he wanted to get aboard or get off, that company ought to have the right to try to show to the country where the get ting on and off would take place, that it was mutually advantageous to let that particular line have the business. Agreements Reached On Technical Norms There were other questions con cerning technical standards and the future admission of devastated countries unable to furnish facili ties for airports, that were settled, and the mooted points mentioned, all of which were met with what might be called substantial agree ment. Both forms of agreement (one with the first two freedoms, the other—all five) provided that the country whose territory is involved may designate the routes and air ports used; but charges for use of airports may not be greater than those imposed on its own airports engaged in similar international services. In addition to these agreements the diagram for the international or ganization was laid down in the form of a treaty which must be ap proved by the various countries. This organization is composed of an assembly, on which each nation would have one vote, and a coun cil of 15 members, 2 from the Brit ish Commonwealth, 2 from the Soviet Union, 2 from the United States, 1 each from Brazil, Chile and France, and the remaining 6 to be elected on a regional basis. The council would act as a clear ing house for information and would provide minimum uniform technical standards but would have no power over commercial matters. An in terim council was also proposed, to function until the permanent or ganization is created, but not more than three years. America has a great stake in the outcome of the San Francisco con ference. It has a great stake in in ternational aviation, too. “We have learned and must not forget,” said General Arnold in speaking of the air transport service, “from now on air transport is an essential of air power, in fact of all national power.” • * • Thirteen out of every 20 American high school students expect to leave their home towns and live else where, after they have completed their education. This is revealed in a nation-wide survey just completed by the Institute of Student Opinion under the sponsorship of Scholas tic magazine. Better job opportunities else where, either in general or in their chosen fields of work, is the main reason for leaving, according to the student voters. BARBS . . . by Ball khage Keep cool — enough metal has been released by the WPB to make 25,000 electric fans this quarter. • * • The OWI releases the following figures on Japanese naval strength: Total personnel: 850,000 afloat and ashore; losses, 262.000, including 25, 000 naval air forces. The Jap sailor is rated as a good fighter, well-edu cated and trained. Nazis have been ordered to knock out the teeth of rumor-mongers. • • • A report from Switzerland says ; that an anti-Nazi youth gang I sabotaged the demolition charges in the Remagen bridge. Heinrich I Himmler has issued a warning against these groups which he says j are sometimes led by foreign j adults. Corn Root* Breathe And Require Oxygen Proper Drainage And Air Essential IF CORN roots are to perform their all-important job of supplying mineral nutrients to the above ground, sun-lighted parts of the plants, they must be grown in well drained, ventilated soils that provide them with plenty of oxygen to breathe, according to Dr. George N. Hoffer of the American Potash in stitute. “Corn plants cannot endure wet soils for any length of time, nor Result of Good Management. can they get along without plenty of oxygen for their hard working root systems,” Dr. Hoffer declared. “Few farmers realize the amount of work these roots carry on. They must anchor the plant firmly, and absorb nutrients from the soil to support the demands of the other parts of the plants. They are the living parts of the corn plant we frequently overlook when we try to diagnose foliage deficiency symp toms, or become dissatisfied with the size and quality of the ears pro duced.” Pointing out that many fields of midwestern corn were fertilized by the so-called “plow-under” method last season, Dr. Hoffer declared that excellent results were obtained in practically all cases where the soils were well-drained and in good tilth and where the stands of corn and the rainfall were ample. During the latter part of the 1944 growing season, however, numerous cases of “negative” response to the plow-furrow fertilizers were re ported. The heavily fertilized plants were no better than those fertilized in the regular manner with row ap plications. “Briefly, the diagnosis of these troubles seemed to be as follows,” Dr. Hoffer stated, "when large quantities of organic matter and nitrogen - carrying fertilizers are plowed into the soil, enormous amounts of nutrient and energy materials are available far the corn plant roots and the soil organisms— mostly bacteria and fungi—to feed upon. These stimulated activities created a large demand for oxygen for both the growing corn roots and those other soil inhabitants. In well-drained soils in good tilth and aeration capacity, the oxygen of the air and that carried into the soil in rain is adequate for all the living entities involved. “But when the supply of oxygen in the soil, air and water becomes insufficient for the living corn roots and other organisms, an oxygen tension is created under which the corn roots cannot compete with the soil bacteria and fungi.” Easy Dump Feed Box It is almost impossible to clean out the ordinary feed box. This dif ficulty may be eliminated if the feed box is hinged, as shown in this draw ing. By making the top of the box level with the top of the manger, and ar ranging hook to hold box stationary so that stock cannot dump the box by "nosing,” a sanitary, foolproof box can be provided. New Coccidiosis Cure An actual cure for coccidiosis is known at last. The cure is the drug of the sulfa type, namely sulfadi azine. At present it is scarce and expensive, much of the supply be ing required by the armed forces. Indications are that feeding the drug for five successive days will clean up an infected flock, although, of course, it cannot prevent ill ef fects or even deaths among birds that reached an advanced stage of the disease before treatment. Button - On - Frocks For Old Furniture ■\\^OULD you ever guess that ** the homely old chair at the right could be made to seem at home in a smart modern room? A simple frock of medium blue cotton rep with darker blue bind ing and fringe made the trans formation shown here. It is not ONE OF A r SET OF OLD DIN KINS ROOM , CHAtWj FIT BACK TO COVER SIDES'—. difficult to make covers for a whole set of chairs in this man ner for, after you have fitted one cover, the pieces may be used as patterns for cutting all the others. Notice the ties that hold the cover firm ly from the Inside. The center back clos ing adds both style and convenience. The buttons are made by covering wooden molds with the slip cover material, and the bound buttonholes are quickly made. * • • I NOTE—The slip cover shown here is from Book 5 which also gives large dia grams showing how to make bound button holes. This 32-page booklet is full of other ideas for making the most of old furni ture and things you have on hand. To get Book 5, send 15 cents with name and ad dress direct to: MRS. RUTH WYETH SPEARS Bedford Hills New York Drawer 10 Enclose 15 cents for Book No. 5. Namo Address_ Women Medical Students Today, women constitute only 6 per cent of the medical students in the United States, compared with 21 per cent in England and 85 per cent in Russia. DON’T SUFFER with colds’ muscle aches and sore throat. Take St. Joseph Aspirin for quick relief. World’s largest seller at l(ty. Big 100 tab* let size only 351. Get St. Joseph Aspirin. [marv 1 I M A R T1N 11 i s„,orT,«-.w-:e‘0rs »■ 1 mount P'^/’omed, well- ft ft many we.U«goliyWood star* 1 ft informed , T*othPowder, ft 1 who use Ca bbins, InC-» ft ft McKesson ft I Bridgeport. Conn. I POST'S BRAN I COLDER FLAKES OF J - \ AYREAF ARD BRAR I f J comb wed mm l / SOCARStVEEF \ l FERDER RA/S/RS ) delicious NEW breakfast idea 0 Good? It’s delicious! It’s a ma gic combination of nut-brown, crisp-toasted Post's 40% Bran Flakes plus lots of seedless rai sins ... right in the same pack age. Better ask your grocer for the big blue-and-white package today. Your whole family will go for Post’s Raisin Bran. 4