I-WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS^ Fire Bombs Raze Jap Cities; Unemployment Expected to Rise Soon as War Production Tapers —__ , _ Released by Western Newspaper Union. , - - . . (EDITOR’S NOTE: When opinions are expressed in these columns, they are those of Western Newspaper Union's news analysts and not necessarily of this newspaper.) Battle-weary, sixth division marines recline behind protecting wall near Naha after bitter fight for city on Okinawa. PACIFIC: Cities Burn One by one, Japan’s great indus trial centers are being razed by huge fleets of Flying Superfortresses, with the firing of Osaka and Yokohama cutting further into the enemy’s po tential to produce weapons needed tor the expanding Pacific front. Considered the Orient’s greatest industrial center, Osaka smouldered after heavy Super-Fort strikes at its iron, steel, copper, cotton, hemp and wire plants. Japan's second biggest port, Yoko hama was left in flames by hundreds of B-29s, with strong winds helping to spread the destruction block by block. Approximately 60,000 houses were said to have been wiped out after the first assault, leaving 250,000 homeless, and communication and transportation lines disrupted. In explaining strategy in lay ing down the greatest number of bombs in the shortest time over Japanese targets, 21st Bomber Commander Curtis Le May de clared: “If you lay them down like that the city burns down. If you don’t, they put it out.” With B-29s raising havoc with Jap anese industrial centers, the enemy continued to chiefly center his aerial opposition against American naval vessels in the Ryukyus, with Kami kaze (suicide) pilots continuing to score hits on light units. Indicative of the ferocity of the Japanese at tacks, the navy reported the great est casualty toll in all the Pacific fighting off of Okinawa. On land. U. S. forces herded the enemy onto the southern corner of Okinawa following the collapse of his Shuri line after some of the bitterest ground fighting in the war, with troops compelled to dig the Japs from deep cave positions in rugged terrain. UNEMPLOYMENT: To Rise With another large “stepdown” In military orders anticipated, War Production Board Chairman J. A. Krug predicted 4.800,000 persons will no longer be needed for war produc tion six months from now and un employment can be expected to reach 1,300,000 by then. During the next three months alone, Krug said, an estimated 2,900, 000 war workers will be released, with unemployment jumping 1,100, 000 from the present level of 800,000 to 1,900,000. Because of withdraw als from the labor force and the reemployment of 4,100,000 persons by the rapidly expanding civilian economy, however, the total of un employed will drop about 600,000 a, half year from now. Though unemployment promises to mount in comparison with present conditions, such low-paying indus tries as lumber and textiles may ex perience difficulty obtaining work ers, Krug said. Wage increases within the bounds of stabilization pol icy would probably help remedy such a situation, Krug indicated. Shipyard Problem „ In the face of rising layoffs in war production industries. West coast shipyards are experiencing a short age of help at a time when the de mand for repairs is increasing as a result of the damage to U. S. ves sels in the quickened Pacific naval warfare. Twenty thousand workers below their labor ceilings, three West coast shipyards lost an average of 600 employees last month. In an effort to solve the problem, selective serv ice announced blanket deferments for such skilled help as electricians, sheet metal workers and machinists, and the War Manpower commission gave the yards No. 1 priority in hir ing. Transportation and housing also were guaranteed East coast workers desiring to shift to the west. As an example of the critical la bor shortage in the West coast yards, the famed aircraft carrier Franklin had to be hauled all the way to the Brooklyn navy yard for repairs. NEAR EAST: Oil Oasis Behind all the trouble in the Near East lies the specter of oil—the great natural resource indispensable to a modern machine economy. While fighting flared in Syria, the French charged that what appeared to be a mixup between them and the natives really was an incident cooked up by British agents to jeop ardize the French pipeline carrying oil across the embattled country from the Mosul fields in Iraq. At the same time, French com mentators sharply pointed out that any Arab uprising in Syria could very well lead to similar disturb ances throughout the whole Arabic bloc of states, where both Britain and the U. S. have substantial oil concessions. Oddly located nearby the Suez ca nal, providing Britain with a con venient gateway to her oriental em pire, the Arabic states are said to possess oil deposits the equal of those in the U. S., with the English holding 40 per cent of all conces sions in the area and America 60 per cent. V. S. interest in the near east ern oil situation was pointed up by the government’s proposal to erect a $150,000,000 pipeline across Arabia and join in a part nership with the Arabian-Amer Ican Oil company and Gulf Ex ploration company for its opera tion. Shelved in the face of bit ter opposition, the plan called for the private companies creation of a billion barrel petroleum I pool for the army and navy, and repayment for the pipeline over a 25-year period. Oil also prominently figures in re lations between the U. S. and Britain and Russia, what with the Arabic states situated virtually at the Reds’ back door and Moscow having al ready put in a bid for development of the Persian fields, monopolized by the English. EUROPE: Displaced Persons One of the most difficult of post war problems in Europe, the return of displaced nationals to their home land has become even harder with the reluctance of many to leave the Anglo-American occupied zone of Germany, it was revealed. Though some 600.000 Poles are showing the greatest antipathy to be ing sent east, Latvians and Lithu anians also are not eager to return. Even substantial numbers of the 1.500.000 Russians in the Anglo American zone do not wish to be repatriated, but though the other na tionals cannot be forced to go against their wishes, an agreement reached at Yalta makes the return of the Russians compulsory. Besides the nationals mentioned above, there still are 1.200.000 French in the U. S.-British area along with 350,000 Italians. 200,000 Bel gians, 200.000 Dutch. 100.000 Yugo slavs. 60,000 Czechs. 10,000 Greeks. : 10,000 Danes. 10,000 Norwegians and 10.000 from Luxembourg. Mexico Now One Big Schoolhouse In compliance with the second | phase of Mexico’s program for the eradication of illiteracy, teaching of illiterates to read and write has got ten well underway, with both individ ual as well as collective instruction \ throughout the country. Part of President Avila Camacho's progressive program for the mod erni.-.ation of Mexican life, the de crn -equiring educated adults 18 J to 60 to teach simple reading or writ ing to one illiterate, or to teach col lectively. has teeth in it. Citizens not complying with the decree will be forced to do so. No haphazard project, Mexico's department of education keeps a close check on each student accord ing to age, occupation and sex. So far, 12,000.000 free readers have been issued. SUGAR: Press Conservation Declaring that the present sugar shortage had been aggravated by il legal use of supplies originally ob tained for home canning, the OPA took steps to tighten allocations for such purposes and prevent further drainage of shrinking stocks. In addition to having special in vestigators check into the diversion of home canning sugar into bootleg liquor or illicit bottling. OPA an nounced that pledges must now be signed assuring that use of home canning rations will not be used for other purposes and reports made lat er as to food put up; district offices will suspend allocations until fruits and vegetables become available for preservation, and review all appli cations so as to spread supplies over coming months. Partly because of over-issuance of sugar for food preservation last year, OPA said, average table ra tions have been cut 37 per cent and housewives’ allocations for home canning have been trimmed 40 per cent. In addition, the short sugar stocks have resulted in a squeeze on bakers and industrial users, with further reductions in their allot ments threatening to seriously ham per continued operations. CONGRESS: Fistic Debate Well in the tradition of the good old days when the U. S. took its poli tics hot and heavy. Reps. John Taber (N. Y.) and Clar ence Cannon (Mo.) engaged in the sec ond fistic engage ment of the present session following heated debate over the proposed tax free $2,500 a year expense account for congressmen in ad dition to their $10. 000 salaries. Previously, Reps. John Rankin (Miss.) and Frank Hook (Mich.) went to it hammers and tongs on the floor of the house after Hook had called Rankin a “liar.” According to husky, white-haired Taber’s story, he Reps. Taber and Cannon had called upon Cannon at the lat ter's request, only to move to leave the room when the latter became abusive over remarks he had made during the course of debate on the proposed expense account. Return ing when Cannon asked him if he was running away, Taber said he stopped a left or a right to the up per lip, and then pinned his oppo nent to a couch until he cooled down. Claiming on his own account that Taber had hied it to his office when the going got hot, the slight-of-build Cannon declared that the fracas re sulted from Taber’s insulting re marks on the floor of the house. APPAREL: Pinch to Persist With military requirements at a high level and labor short because of the attraction of workers to high er paying industries, textiles will re main in tight supply through 1945, the War Production board revealed. Declaring that a substantial amount of clothing materials will be needed to provide a continuous flow of apparel for adaptability to the varying climatic conditions of the Pacific, WPB said the military will take 85 per cent of the cotton duck supply in July-August-September, along with 20 per cent of carded and 50 per cent of combed goods. In addition, WPB said, the mili tary will take 60 per cent of the supply of wool woven goods during the same period, and virtually all worsteds, along with substantial stocks of knit goods. As a result, it may be necessary to restrict civil ian sales of heavy underwear to such outdoor workers as loggers and farmers. CATTLE: For Europe In a program designed to replace 1 per cent of the 5,000,000 animals destroyed during the war in Greece, Albania. Yugoslavia. Czechoslovakia and Poland, UNRRA (United Na tions Relief and Rehabilitation ad ministration* will ship about 50.000 dairy and draft animals to those countries in the next 18 months. With funds for the project to come from UNRRA. about half of the stock will come from the U. S. and the remainder from other nations in the Western hemisphere. The U. S. subscribes to two-thirds of UNRRA’s cost. Because of her extreme need, Greece will receive the first ship ment of 300 dairy heifers and 900 draft animals, it was announced. In addition, another 300 bred heifers and 300 mares are scheduled for ear i ly delivery to Yugoslavia. FOOD PRICES In World Wars I and II wholesale food prices showed less of a rise : than prices received by farmers while retail food prices showed the i smallest rise of all. surveys re vealed. As compared with the respective prewar levels, wholesale food prices | in 1944 showed an increase of 42.5 per cent as against an increase of 85 5 per cent in 1918: retail food prices in 1944 were up 39.2 per cent as against 88 2 per cent in 1913. Free Ticket To The Ititz for Kiddies! ATTE NTION : Anyone who has anything such as poems, stories, jokes or reports or if you happen to have any other things which you think would be interesting to little childten. bring to Valaria Joan McCaw, 2S06 Ohio street Omaha. Nebraska or cali WE-0156 Editor of the Children's Column”. kiddies. Remember we must have They will be published in "The Greater Omaha Guide of the “The Children’s Column” if OK for the the news in the office before 6 pm each Monday. The little boy or girl under 13 years of age who brings into the “Children’s Column" editor, the best joke, poem or the most interesting short stories each week, will De given a ticket to the Ilitz Theatre for the Sunday afternoon show. The Children’s editor will be the judge as to who is the winner of the prize, ltemember that all jok es. short stories and poems will be the property of the judge Valaria Joan McCaw, Editor. Crlecttucal JluUncj, ...THE PROMISE OF Tt i i Electricity has woven itself so insep arably into our lives that its miracles are taken for granted. Its sleepless power leaps to our fingertips to per form task after task. t 1 Tomorrow—when mankind again can look forward to years of peace—there will dawn a new era of the joy of liv- I ing. Look today for better living to morrow—the Electric Way. _j Nebraska Power Company Storz Named Vice President Omaha Chamber of Commerce Robert H. Storz, prominent civic leader and vice-president of the Storz Brewing Company, this week was elected vice-president and chair man of the executive board of the Omaha Chamber of Commerce. Storz, who has served the Cham ber as chairman of the Industrial Committee and as a member of the Board of Directors for three years, was elected June 12 for the 1945-1946 term. It is customary for the vice president to assume the office of Chamber President the following year. A former president of the Omaha Manufacturers’ Association, Storz is a Past Commander of Omaha Post No. 1, American Legion, and is the president of Omaha’s World War II Memorial Park Association. “I really welcome the opportunity to serve Omaha in this important Chamber capacity,” Storz said, “espe cially during what we hope will be the post-war years.” “Every city in the state will have to be on its toes during these critical times to avail itself of each oppor tunity toward getting new business1 and expanding the old; providing L* gBwriwewTA.. e<. READ THE OMAHA GUIDE I w'ir ^ Aetal telephone pole? ARE USED IN SOUTH AFRICA BECAUSE WHITE l ANTS EAT WOODEN I ones /HERE'5 NO PROFIT IN WAR. BUSINK5 PROFIT MAR6INS ARE NARROWEST 6INCE I93fl Guisis at Chinese wepdiN6* m 6NEbI HANDKERCHIEF* 10 VJEEP INTO. *3**- ^ D ACC0RPlN6 TO T-iE MAP ^ department ordnance work 15 TRE safest - Irt I944> 1,259 POSTMEN HAP "MER PANTfKXaJ By UfJFRlEMPiy VOQ5. 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