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About The Omaha guide. (Omaha, Neb.) 1927-19?? | View Entire Issue (Sept. 22, 1945)
EDITORIAL-COMMENT lS COMIN® w Lf ERIC HASS weekly People Released by Calvin’s News Service The spell is broken. The whole U. S. economy shudders under the impact of peace. Mass lay offs are from shipyards, aircraft plants, and other industries where Negro workers made their great est wartime gains. Government officials predict that they’ll reach 5,000,000 in sixty days, and from 8,000,000 to 10,000,000 by spring. I find myself mulling over these figures. They’re not just figures to me. They’re human beings with mouths to feed and bodies to clothe. I ask myself: Will the Negro boy who ran a drill press in a Detroit tank factory go back tos toop-labor in the field? Will the girl in the clean, starched blouse who boards the Eighth Avenue Express at 125th Street and works in a Brooklyn office go back to washing dishes for a Bronx housewife? Regular wages have brought her new dignity. I mean dig nity, not false pride. She thinks she should have something to say about how she is to employ her own labor. Will she have a choice three months from now? A year? Two years? It’s’ time, I think, we added up the score. Ac cording to the “free enterprisers”, mass unemploy ment is only temporary. Once the switch is com pleted from war to ueace time production we shall have several years of unexampled prosperity. That is what they say. What are the facts? 1. Under our resent social system production is determined by what can be sold; when there is over production, industries close down or operate part time. There has been no overproduction for the past four years for the reason that hungry war has been capitalism’s Number One customer. Govern ment expenditures have averaged around $100,000 000,000 a year. If full production is to be continu ed, or resumed, therefore, a substitute for this col ossal war market must be found. Much is said of “pent-up demand”. Granted that this is considerable, with our present war-ex panded facilities and improved techniques this de mand can be satisfied in a few months, and with a working force well under the wartime peak. It is at best, equivalent to a year’s war production. After that? After that we’re back to “normalcy.” After that, the market is determined by (2) the worker’s current income, (b) what employers can consume in lavish living, (c) government pump-riming, and (d) foreign exports. Foreign exports may rise above the prewar level although they will certainly fall far below the war time peak. Government outlays will also be well above those of 1939. What the employing class consumes, though, can scarcely be increased appree ably; there are limits even to gluttony. As for the workers’ current income, this will take a nose-dive. Reconversion Director John W. Snyder says: “We’re shooting at a standard of living for our people as a whole that will be 50 percent higher than we or any other people ever had1.” To put it bluntly, Mr. Snyder is talking through his hat. When the supply of workers exceeds the demand, wages don’t rise; they fall. And you don’t buy more groceries with less wages; you buy fewer gro ceries. Total up the score and what do you get ? Mass unemployment—with Negro workers suffering a disproportionate share. And the pity of it is that the American workers, are not prepared for this crises. During the war, when the demand for labor was high, their hands were tied by wage ceilings and “no strikes” pledges. Now that the “no strike” pledge is off ,the odds are against them. As one of the labor leaders who helped to tie the workers’ hands, R. J. Thomas, put: “I’ve never been able to figure out how people can strike when they are un -employed.” However, we cannot ignore some ol the entries on the credit side of the ledger. Competition for jobs, which tends to divide the workers along the lines of race, color, sex and veteran or non-veteran status, is offset in large degree by a rising milit ancy among the rank and file, and a realization that insecurity knows no color line nor any other kind of division among the workers. Nor can we ignore the factor that everyone’s imagine is stirred to its depths by the memory of wartime production. Each of us knows now that there is no longer any excuse for poverty. This knowledge will constitute an important political factor in the angry days a head. BY SUSAN THAYER VITAS When the flash of the first a tomic bomb seared the desert sky, there must have been firce elation in the hearts of those who watched. And fear. Fear for a new force which could utterly destroy man. kind or could show us the way to a finer world than we have ever known before. So, perhaps> primitive man must have felt when fire first leaped be fore his startled eyes. Here too was a force that could destroy him or put power usdreamed of in his hands. Yet the wrole history of civilized man dates from our conquest of fire. As yet we have no conception of what atomic power, constructively applied, can do for us. But certain ly no one can doubt that we look down the vistas of a new age. Our scientists^ working in industry's laboratories, can harness this tre mendous energy for good. EVENING COMMERCIAL CLASSES AT TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL “It is not too late t° enroll in one or more of the Commercial Classes offered at Technical High School. Each class will run for 11 weeks. ReS'stration will he held in Room 377 on any class evening from 6:30 to 9:00. Classes offered are: Be ginning typewriting 6:30 to 8:00: Beginning shorthand 8:00 t° 9:30;l Advanced Shorthand 6:30 to 8;00; Advanced typewriting 8:00 to 9:30; Comptometer 6:30 to 9:30. All class. es meet Tuesday and Thursday. "For any additional information ! call the Vocational Office, AT-3140 during the day; or HA-3710 between 6;30 and 9:00 in the evening.” 1 Miracle Insecticide — DDT Not a Panacea New Deadly Bug Killer Has Effective Use But It Also Has Its Limitations and Danger When Improperly Used. (EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a guest column written by Winfield J. Dyrden, WNU Staff Correspondent, and was not prepared by Bauk hage, whose column generally appears in this space each week.) DDT, much publicized Insecticide, saved thousands of lives of our fighting men and civilians in coun tries where our operations were ex tended, but it is not the panacea that we would like to believe. The Irony of the story is that it was discovered nearly seventy years ago by a German chemist named Zeidler, but was almost forgotten until rediscovered during the pres ent war by Dr. Paul Muller and Dr. Paul Lauger. These Swiss scien tists asserted recently, upon their arrival In America, that with proper control, flies, mosquitoes and other harmful Insects can be eliminated entirely from the United Statp3. But along with these insects would go our pollen carrying insects, bees and other beneficial friends of man kind, also perhaps our birds and fish. Gone also would be many plants and trees that depend upon insects for polinization. As they point out it Is a job for entomolog ists. not laymen. DDT has been made available to the public in limited amounts. There will soon be a sufficient supply to meet every demand. Manufacturers of the products, whether in liquid or powder form are careful to give complete instructions as to its ap plication, which must be followed. Scientists Tell of Effective DDT Use Despite its inherent toxicity, DDT In the desired insecticidal concentra tions in air is of such low order that it will not cause injurious effects in humans, Dr. Paul A. Neal, chief of the research section of the division of industrial hygiene of the U. S. Public Health service has reported. It was this knowledge that made it advisable to spray from the air the Jones Beach area on Long Island, N. Y„ and part of the city of Rock ford, Illinois. In both cases the pur pose was to control insects, Jones beach to kill sand fityis and Rock ford to kill polio-carrying flies, be lieved to have been the direct cause for the serious infanile paralysis outbreak In many sections. Lt. Col. A. L. Ahnfeldt, U. S. sur geon general’s office, after a study of results secured in the army, re ports : “In peace time DDT may well change the destiny of the earth’s population . . . Our postwar world will no longer be scourged by typhus and malaria and other In sect borne diseases. DDT is not a cure-all, but In the perpetual war between humans and disease, DDT Is one of the most effective weapons yet discovered by man.” “DDT will be to preventive medi cine what Lister’s discovery of anti septic. was to surgery and should close the door forever on those diseases which are companions of death dealing insects.” In the field of agriculture the re sults have been far from disappoint ing. Remarkable results have been obtained by some of its application, while in others the results were either negative, Incomplete, or its use not recommended due to effect on birds and other Insects. Will Prove Boon To Hard Worked Farmer While agricultural use of DDT must still be considered in its ex perimental state, reliable and com plete tests at various state experi ment stations have proved that it Is the best insecticide now on the mar ket for the control of the apple’s most destructive pest, the codling moth. It will kill Japanese beetle adults, while current remedies are based entirely upon their repelling value. The grape leafhopper and other leafhoppers are highly susceptable to DDT and excellent results have been obtained with it against Orien tal fruit moth. It also has proved effective against apple red bug, pear thrips, grape berry moth, fruit tree leafroller, apple maggot, cherry maggot and many others. In California it was proved that DDT was effective against codling moths in walnut and other orchards. At Missouri it was found that a three percent dust was effective In controlling blister beetle, squash bug, white fly, thrips, sowbugs, corn earworm, Colorado potato beetle, spotted and striped cucumber beetles, northern corn rootworm, pavement ant, lace-bugs, leafhop pers on gVape, flea beetles on egg plant, and a ten percent dust for roaches, fleas, and squash bugs. xne u. s. department of agricul ture reported that “DDT Insecticides were found experimentally to be definitely more effective than those currently used for control of some 30 pests that attack field crops, man, livestock and trees. These included codling moth, cabbage looper, catal pa sphinx, cotton ball-worm, cotton flea-hopper, eastern tent caterpillar, elm bark beetle, green-striped maple worm, gypsy moth, horn flies on cat tle, Japanese beetle, Lygus and four REORGANIZE FARM MARKETING AGENCY Consolidation of more than a doz en offices and agencies of the De partment of Agriculture into a new Production and Marketing Adminis tration has been announced by Sec retary of Agriculture Clinton P. Anderson. The new Production and Marketing Administration (PMA) is now headed by Under Secretary of Agriculture John B. Hutson, and is made up of 10 commodity branches. 9 other branches, the Commodity Credit and Federal Crop Insurance Corporations. other kinds of sucking bugs, mimosa webworm, pine sawflies, pink boll worm, spruce budworm, velvetbean caterpillar, vetch bruchid, white fringed beetles, mosquitoes, bedbugs, three kinds of lice on man, and houseflies and fleas in buildings. A Good Insecticide For Postwar Home Brig. Gen. Simmons, army medi cal corps has said, “DDT will ex ceed even penicillin in its ultimate usefulness and will prove to be the outstanding medical advance made during the war.” One of the newest products is a paint containing DDT to be used on walls of kitchens, dining rooms and in institutions. Other industrial uses have been found by dusting with a 10 percent DDT powder around the sink and other places where cockroaches and other Insects stay. DDT will eliminate the bedbug problems in hospitals, as well as in private dwellings. It may be appli ed as a five percent spray or as a 10 percent powder to both sides of the mattress and springs. It also provides freedom from flies and mosquitoes in hospitals. The new aerosol bomb, which releases the DDT as an aerosol—a cross between a fumigating gas and an ordinary fly spray, is excellent for this purpose. A power spray may be used In ap plying a five percent DDT solution. Just as it is proving effective on the agricultural and industrial front, and as it saved lives on the war fronts, DDT has started to con tribute to the health of the home front. The story of spraying for , mosquitoes against malaria is well I known. Painting door and window screens with a five percent solution of DDT in water or kerosene leaves an In secticidal residue that will kill ev ery fly, mosquito, or other insect lighting there within the next sev eral months, the U. S. department of agriculture reports. A five percent solution of DDT in kerosene sprayed on floors or over rugs eliminates the flea nuisance. A hand sprayer is adequate. By spray ing deep into cracks, DDT will re main toxic to these insects for sev eral weeks. a ten percent powder applied to cracks with a small hand duster can be depended to kill any brown dog ticks that may be hiding there. Baseboards, especially those that have worked loose from the wall, af ford excellent breeding places for bedbugs, cockroaches, and brown dog ticks. DDT is sure death to these pests. A hand sprayer, held close to the opening, will send the , insecticide, a five percent solution in kerosene, down where the insects are concealed, or "a large duster, of 10 percent powder may be used. Average Citizen Has Answer to National Welfare There is considerable difference of opinion with regard to the atti tude civilians will take during the next few months. Their attitudes will largely determine whether we / have a recession of several months’ duration and the extent of the re covery from such»a recession. One 1 group thinks that In spite of lower incomes, based on a shorter work week, civilians will have more leisure and spend more. This group would expect a brisk trade based on free spending. Im portant segments of the federal gov ernment would seem to favor pol icies that would lead to free spend ing accompanied by what might be termed controlled inflation. The other group expects people to be cautious and unwilling to spend their accumulated savings. What will happen probably will be determined by the extent and promptness with which civilian industry absorbs the millions of men being discharged from war industries, those tempora rily idle, and the discharged men from the armed services. ; The committee for economic de velopment has issued a report which gives business men's estimates of postwar markets for manufactured goods. These estimates are opti mistic. The committee points out that the postwar years can roughly be divided into three periods: first, short period of reconversion, which may last through 1946; second, from 1946 or early 1947, for a year of deferred orders, and the last, period of self-sustaining. Although Secretary Anderson in dicated that meat rationing was on the way out, possibly matter of months, storage stocks are relatively low, and it is expected that the strong demands for meats will be maintained long enough to absorb the rather heavy movement of cattle and hogs that is anticipated during the fall and early winter months. Range conditions have been excel lent, and cattle men report that the ranchers are in a mood to carry larger than normal supplies of range cattle over winter rather than to sell them at substantial discounts now. Sees Quick War Recovery for Japan Since history consistently has shown that predominantly agricultural nations recover from war faster than highly industrialized nations, Japan will recover from the war faster than the-United States, Dr. John W. Stanton, former war department consultant on Japan and professor at Northwestern university, declared. “Two-thirds of the Japanese population before the war were en gaged directly or indirectly in agriculture and fishing,” he said. ' Only a third were engaged in industry and commerce, compared to two-thirds in Germany and similarly high proportions in the U. S. and Britain, each of whom will find recovery more difficult. <1kzo,lc4m ^lauui. I fl&p&ite/i | in WASHINGTON ®By Walter Shead f| WNU Correspondent Mi WNU Washington Bureau 921 Union Trust Building Protection of War Orphans O OW many war babies have been *"-*-born in your community? How many children have become wards as a result of war casualties? So important are questions raised by these two factors, the children’s bu reau of the department of labor Is undertaking a nation-wide survey. According to records of the vet erans’ administration alone, minor wards under guardianship of the ad ministration will reach approximate ly 750,000. Already the veterans’ administration has 150,000 minor wards under guardianship as result of World War L In addition, Uncle Sam has underwritten the cost of babies to service men, which has already cost more than $119,000,000 for about 600,000 babies and another 150,000 who are on the way. This money is being used to pay for ma ternity care, nursing and hospital care for these infants of men in the armed forces. This government aid is available to wives and infants of men in the four lowest pay grades in the Army, Navy, Coast Guard and Marine Corps. The average cost is less than $100. The records show that, propor tionately, the small-town and rural areas have the largest number of babies and that, as is true in every war-time period, the boys outnumber the girls, the proportion being about 107 boys to 100 girls. The children’s bureau has deter mined that present guardianship laws are “archaic” and that “many children under guardianship are be ing cheated out of their inheritance and Income.” Model Statutes Planned. The children’s bureau is also con cerned with thousands of children under guardianship who are receiv ing survivor’s benefits under old age and survivor’s insurance as part of the social security program. It is apparent that if there is to be any great change or liberalization of the guardianship laws, it must start in the state legislatures, since the state, under our system of gov ernment, has the responsibility for the welfare of children. It will be the purpose of the children’s bureau to draw up model laws seeking more protection for these minor wards and present them to the various states for adoption, or for recodifying of existing statutes. The National Commission for Chil dren in Wartime, which is made up of outstanding men and women working in the child welfare and youth field, Including representa tives of labor unions and farm or ganizations, has just completed a year’s study which is in line with this move of the children’s bureau. It recommends a student aid pro gram written under the experience gained in the administration of edu cational benefits of the GI bill of rights to reach children at high school levels. The commission’s report In cluded proposals for study of a four-point program: (1) job placement services to assist young people in employment; (2) work-school programs to pro vide to young people opportu nity to combine work and school; (3) employment of youth on pub lic service projects (similar probably to work done under the National Youth Administra tion program) and (4) skilled counseling services with empha sis on the special need of those young people during the recon version period. In commenting on the children’s bureau plan to "move in” on the guardianship situation, Miss Mary Stanton, consultant on guardian ships, said: Laws Out of D-.te. "The laws under which we are trying to operate now were written at a time when judges knew every one in their communities and pre sumably knew something of the fit ness of the prospective guardians. Neighbors, too, exercised concern. Today it is obviously impossible for courts to know what is happening to all children for whom they have responsibility. A probate court in a large county may have several thou sand child guardianship cases in a year. The smaller and rural com munities likewise cannot exercise the individual concern that it once did. Even if neighbors know of Irregularities, which would not be likely, they would hesitate to inter fere unless the abuse of the child was flagrant” It Is pointed out that veterans’ or ganizations, such as the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars, have succeeded In getting a large measure of protection for the property of those entitled to benefits under veterans’ compensation, but even for those children there is a lack of protection under the limita tions which safeguard their personal welfare and others, children of non veterans, have even less protection. The only way, the bureau points out, for better protection for more than a million children, is review and re and re-examination of the laws. TIRE REPORT: In renewing monthly reports, the Rubber Manufacturers association includes a breakdown of figures showing production in civilian pas senger car, truck ana bus casings and in tubes for 1941 and 1945 to in dicate the present ti$* akssMon. Production of passenger car cas ings for the first six months of 1941 totalled 29,040,711 units, with 5,365, 459 units held in inventory. Esti mated production for the six months ended last June 30 was 10,020,817 units, with only 950,412 in inventory. The Omaha Guide ± A WEEKLY NEWSPAPER JL Published Every Saturday at 2^20 Grant Street OMAHA, NEBRASKA—PHONE HA. 0800 Entered as Second Class Matttr March 15. 1927 at the Post Office at Omaha, Nebraska, under lAct of Congress of March 3, 1879. C- C- Gallowry^.... Publisher and Acting Editor All News Copy of Churches and all organiz ations must be in our office not later than 1 :00 p. m. Monday for current issue. All Advertising Copy on Paid Articles, not later than Wednesday noon, proceeding date of issue, to insure public ation. <* SUBSCRIPTION RATE IN OMAHA { ONE YEAR . $3.00 / SIX MONTHS .$1.75 \ THREE MONTHS . $1-25 | SUBSCRIPTION RATE OUT CP TOWN j ONE YEAR . $3 50 SIX MONTHS . $2 00 \ National Advertising Representatives— INTERSTATE UNITED NEWSPAPERS, Inc\ 545 Fifth Avenue, New York City, Phone: — MUrray Hill 2-5452, Ray Peck, Manager ' . - WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS_j Congress Backs Fzcrl Harbor Probe, Bui Stiff Fight Looms Over Truman's Domestic Policies -— Released by Western Newspaper Union. . i (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.) Home as well as factory industrial facilities felt the lash of U. S. air raids, with only the machinery standing in the ashes of this burned out residential shop in Tokyo. CONGRESS: Fight Looms Highlighted by an 18,000 word message from President Truman, congress went back to work after a brief recess to tussle over legisla tion extending the draft, tiding the nation over reconversion, holding the price line until volume produc tion develops, readjusting the farm economy to peacetime, and provid ing credit for foreign countries. The first congressional move, how ever, concerned none of these weighty problems but rather the Pearl Harbor debacle of December 7, 1941. Stealing the ball from the Republican opposition, Senator Barkley (Dem., Ky.) called for a joint senate-house inquiry into the disaster, with an amendment by Sen ators Vandenberg (Rep., Mich.) and Ferguson (Rep., Mich.) broadening the probe to include the Philippine, Wake and Midway islands setbacks as well. Matching speedy passage in the senate, House Speaker Ray burn (Dem., Texas) assured prompt action in his chamber. Barkley’s resolution for an investi gation followed on the heels of con gressional clamor for an inquiry as a result of general feeling that the army and navy board reports con stituted a whitewash of political Speaker Rayburn (left), Presi dent Truman (center) and Majority Leader Barkley. higher-ups. Barkley himself took rec ognition of this sentiment, declaring that the probe should bring out all facts relating to civil as well as military responsibility, with no ef fort to shield any individual. Though support for a joint-con gressional investigation of Pearl Harbor was nigh unanimous, the administration faced rougher sled ding on other important legislation, with the Republicans threatening a bitter fight against so-called pater nalistic aspects of Mr. Truman’s domestic program. Particularly acrimonious debate was expected to develop over sucn administration-supported measures as increasing unemployment com pensation to a maximum of $25 a week for 26 weeks; entrusting the government with providing for full employment; banning racial or reli gious discrimination in hiring, and extensive federal public works building. Opponents also girded to fight the administration’s reconver sion pricing policies, which seek to hold charges to 1942 levels until mass production permits volume. In military matters, a lively fight loomed over extension of the draft for 18 to 25 year oldsters, with the issue somewhat tempered by efforts to boost vcluntary recruiting by pay inducements. JAPAN: Details Defeat Because of the disruption of com munication lines and the blasting of heavy industries in the wake of the U. S.’s relentless forward ad vance, Japan was finished last June, Premier Higashi-Kuni told the 88th session of the imperial diet. The premier’s analysis of Japan’s defeat followed Emperor Hirohito’s appeal to the Japanese people to ful fill the obligations of the uncon ditional surrender and work to re gain the confidence of the world. In detailing the Nipponese down fall, Higashi - Kuni revealed that combined U. S. sea and air might had sharply reduced Nipponese shipping and rail communications and cut down the flow of materials to war industries. In turn, these plants suffered heavily from air bombardment. Declaring that the ruins of Hiro shima and Nagasaki were too ghast ly to even look upon, Higashi-Kuni admitted that the use of the atomic bomb proved the real turning point of the war, with Russia’s entrance capping the disastrous turn of events. Even as Higashi-Kuni spoke, U. S. forces continued to pour into Japan for occupation duties, with an esti mated 300,000 to 400,000 men eventu ally needed to complete the opera tion. With U. S. troops fanning out over the Japanese home islands, efforts were made to speed up the release of American war prisoners, many of whom charged mistreat ment during their captivity. Avi ators especially were singled out for abuse, first being pummeled by any civilians upon parachuting to safety, before being turned over to military guards. REDEPLOYMENT: Kevise Flans Considered its answer to wide spread criticism on the part of serv icemen as well as the public, the army revised its redeployment plans to free an estimated 665,000 vets from Pacific duty. Under the new plan, G.I.s exempt from overseas service will include those with 45 or more discharge points; those between 34 and 37 years of age with a year of serv ice, or those 37 or over. Previous ly, the army had required 75 points for such exemption. Meanwhile, 200,000 army officers looked forward to early release fol lowing the announcement of dis charge plans based upon the point system. With points computed on the basis of one for each month in service, one for each month of over seas service, five for each combat award and 12 for each dependent under 18, colonels, lieutenant-col onels and majors need 100 points for discharge; captains, first and second lieutenants, 85. and warrant and flight officers, 80. EMPLOYMENT: Set Goal Speedy rehiring of many dis charged war workers by reconvert ing industries will be necessary if the War Manpower commission’s goal of an immediate postwar fac tory employment of 14 million is to be achieved. The necessity of speeding up re conversion to absorb the postwar labor glut was pointed up by the WMC’s own estimate that four mil lion persons would lose wartime jobs within the next six months. Aircraft plants alone will discharge one mil lion, with ordnance releasing 800,000, shipbuilding 600,000 and government over 100,000. Manufacturing industries cannot sop up all of the availably labor sup ply, WMC said, declaring that in creasing numbers of men and wom en will have to enter mining, build ing, trade and farming. Because the war restricted much activity in these enterprises, and anticipated postwar markets will lead to busi ness expansion, WMC predicted wider employment in these fields. QUISLING: Drfends Self With death staring him in the race. pale anil grim Vidkun Quisling was pictured as a constructive Eu ropean statesman, and passionate toe of Bolshevism by his counsel Henrik Bergh during the closing stages of the celebrated treason trial in Oslo, Norway. Though no political disciple of the notorious collaborator, lawyer Bergh depicted Quisling as an ideal istic eccentric, who, while contact ing Hitler in 1939, also commu nicated with Chamberlain in an ef fort to bring about peace between Germany, Britain and France. Bergh attributed the collaborator’s sympathy with the Nazi occupation of 1940 to a desire to prevent Nor way becoming a battleground like Poland through a British landing and subsequent German counterattack. First sympathetic to communism while doing relief work in Russia in 1923, Quisling changed his atti tude in 1930 upon seeing mass im prisonments, starvation and plagues in the soviet, Bergh said. RECONVERSION: Strikes Interfere In the first serious work stoppage in the reconversion period, produc tion was cut sharply at the Ford and Hudson automobile plants fol lowing a variety of labor disputes. In Washington, D. C., the govern ment remained in close touch with the situation, in keeping with Presi dent Truman’s avowed determina tion to prevent a reconversion slow down through labor differences. At Ford’s, over 26,000 workers were laid off as a result of strikes at parts suppliers’ plants, with the walkout of 4,500 employees of the Kelsey - Hayes Wheel company over the discharge of union stewards chiefly interfering with production. The stewards had been fired for in stigating a brawl with a foreman. Curtailment of production at Hud son’s followed the walkout of 6,000 workers in sympathy with 500 fore men striking in protest over a re duction of wartime wage rates. SECT RITES FATAL “/ may be bitten and l may die,” 32 year-old Lewis Francis Ford, lay preach er of the Dolly Pond Church of Cod near Birchwood, Tenn., told a newspa per reporter before conducting his sect’s snake handling rites. “But if / do,” Ford continued, “it will be because the Lord wants to show unbelievers the snakes are poisonous.” Shortly afterward. Ford was bitten on the right hand as he was removing a three-foot rattlesnake from a wooden box, and was taken to a near-by home where several of the folloivers of his faith prayed for him. When his condi tion worsened, however, he was rushed to a Chattanooga hospital, where he died. Ford’s death followed that of Mrs. Harvey O. Kirk of Wise, Va„ who suc cumbed from a rattlesnake bite on the wrist during a religious rile. Before dying Mrs. Kirk gave birth to a child, which failed to survive. JAP RESETTLEMENT: Lift Coast Ban Of 110,000 persons of Japanese ancestry, who were removed from the Pacific coast following Pearl Harbor, only 45,000 will return with the lifting of the ban against their^ resettlement there, U. S. relocation authorities predicted. Out of the liu.uuu removea, aDout 50,000 have found new homes in other sections of the country, where they have entered a variety of in-, dustries ranging from watch-making to mechanical dentistry and proven their efficiency and trustworthiness. Another 50,000 have remained in re location camps. With feeling running high against Japanese-Americans in some Pacif ic coast communities, Maj. Gen. H. C. Pratt, commander of the western defense zone, called upon residents there to accord resettlers the same privileges of other law-abiding citi zens. SURPLUS GOODS: Sales Policy Hoping to speed the turnover of material and permit wider distribu tion among dealers during the im mediate period of scarcity, the de partment of commerce reported that most surplus war goods would now be sold on a fixed price basis rather than sealed bids. The department revealed its poli cy change at the same time that it announced 300 million dollars worth of material is being made avail able to wholesalers and retail ers, with items including chicken wire, trucks and other vehicles, hardware, shotguns and shells. Under the new selling plan, mate rial will be disposed of to whole salers and retailers under OPA ceil ings, with allowances for profit mar gins. Thirty days credit will be ex tended. An estimated 80 per cent of dollar volume of all surplus sales will fall under the new priciDg policy.