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About The Plattsmouth journal. (Plattsmouth, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 24, 1942)
THE PLATTSMOUTH SEMI-WEEKLY JOURNAL TAGE FIVE THTTRSrAY. LECEMEEP. ?A, 1S42 ' fell flfp fefim MAD- : feet SOV4 ill i i , Ttlri u-iw 1 Jly H I til ?-r-' Colonel Popen recovered himself sufficiently at that moment to break in: "By gadfly! This calls for a duel." HEART OF THE GOLDEN WEST CAST OF CHARACTERS Roy ROY ROGERS Smiley SMILEY BURNETTE "Gabby" GEORGE "GABBY" HAYES Bob Nolan BOB NOLAN Sons of the Pioneers THEMSELVES Mary Lou Popen RUTH TERRY Colonel Silas Popen WALTER CATLETT James Barrabee PAUL HARVEY Ross Lambert EDMUND MACDONALD Rango LEIGH WHIPPER Cully Bronson WILLIAM HAADE The Hall Johnson Choir THEMSELVES As Unionized from The Republic Pictura In Screen Romance SYNOPSIS Roy Rogers foreman of the Barrabee Ranch evolves a plan to ship cattle direct to the packing house by means of river boats, in order to overcome excessive trucking charges of Ross Lambert and his gang; racketeering rustlers from Cherokee City. Roy's boss, fames Barra bee, ouner of the Barrabee Ranch and head of the Cattlemen' s Association de cides to see Col. To pen of the Popen Steam Packet Line to convince him to send a boat up the riier. Silas Popen hates the West and everything in it but he has a beautiful daughter Mary Lou, uho is anxious for the thrill of the romance and the adventure of the great cpen spaces. They make the trip to Cherokee City where Popen is received in true Western fashion. CHAPTER TWO . Long before -. sundown of that eventful day, Roy began to regret bitterly that he had ever suggested a shipping route for cattle. The idea that had seemed so brightly in spired promised to be a dismal fail ure. From the moment he met Mary Lou, he had longed to make her love these far flung western plains as he loved them; yet once inside the ranch house, she had not deigned to give him a glance. All afternoon she remained in her fath er's room, and from the sounds that emerged from behind the closed door, the Colonel's temper grew worse with every passing hour. Roy and the ranchhands were in the midst of dinner when the last tirade started. The Colonel was evidently shouting at Barrabee, for now and then Roy could hear his boss say soothingly: "You must be calm, Popen." Finally Popen's voice rose to a shrill scream. "The deal's off! I'm through. Barrabee, you get out!" This was enough for Roy. He rose from the table, and ran up stairs to Popen's room. Barrabee was just coming out, a disconsolate expression on his face. When he saw Roy, he said: "What are you going to do?" "Thank him from the bottom of my heart!" Roy cried, opening the door. The Colonel was seated on the edge of the bed, while Rango, his colored boy, bathed his feet. Mary Lou sat disconsolately by the win-. dow. As Koy entered, the Colonel bellowed: "What's this impudence?" Roy told him. "I heard you sound ing off downstairs, and what you said about calling off the deal suits me fine!" He glared down at the older man. "You said you didn't like us. Well, we don't like you either. You're a bad-tempered collection of bad habits. And when you talk, it sounds like a burning brake!" He turned then to Mary Lou, who was staring up at him in utter disbelief, "As for you, you're a chip off the old block with something extra added. And I don t mean charm!" Colonel Popen recovered himself sufficiently at that moment to break in: "By Gadfly! This calls for a duel But Roy brushed him off with a contemptuous glance and went- on berating Mary Lou. "You had me all sold that you could take it. l ou wanted romance, adventure thrills Well, you got some of it this after noon and what happens? You quit!" Mary Lou's eyes flashed angrily. "is that all, Mr. Rogers?" "That's all," he assured her. "We're taking in the welcome mat "I'm getting out of this place," the Colonel shouted. "Good," said Roy, pleasantly. van you sail in the morning : "You bet we can," the Colonel declared. TH have the boys take your bag gage down now," Roy told him, and strode from the room, slamming the door behind him. In the hall. Barrabee was waiting for him. But Roy brushed past him without a word. "Where are you go ing?" the old man demanded anxiously. To settle a little score witn Lambert!" Roy said bitterly. Barrabee shook his head m dis may as he watched Roy go on down the hall. Then a small voice behind him made him turn. It was Mary Lou. You're president of the Cattle men's Association, aren t you : she asked. Unofficially, yes," he said. "Why do you ask, Miss Popen?" She put a finger on her hps, glanced back toward the closed door of her father's room. "I've got an idea." she whispered. Ten minutes later, she was riding toward Cherokee City on a pinto pony. She took deep breaths of the clear dry air as she cantered along, and watched with appreciative eyes the play . of shadows across the grasslands, silver now in the moon light. The world seemed suddenly so big, out here under the stars, far bigger than she had ever imagined. Something had happened to Mary Lou within "the last half hour, within the first few seconds of Roy's denunciation of her, to be exact. For a moment, she had been stunned and furious. That anyone should deride her, Mary Lou Popen. Silas Popen s daughter, was utterly preposterous! And then, in a flash, as Roy strode from the room, it had swept over her that he had been right, Terribly right, about her and about her father. There was plenty excuse for her father, but none for her, She had boasted that she longed for the thrilling, adventurous life of the West and then, at the first hint of danger, she had cringed in terror, then taken refuge in right eous indignation. Well, she was going to prove to Roy that she was not a quitter, after all - The moment she tethered the pony outside Lambert's hotel, she knew that Roy was in trouble. For, from within the hotel bar, came sounds of a bitter struggle, of fur niture being overturned, of vicious blows and the dull thud of . falling bodies. She ran swiftly up the steps through the deserted lobby, and into the bar, where guests had formed a ring. around two strug gling figures, Roy and Lambert, A9 she entered, Roy lunged at Lambert and landed a strong left to the racketeer's jaw, which sent him sprawling against a slot ma chine. She felt a swift glaw- of elation which instantly, gave way to , horror as she saw Lambert's partner, Bronson, rise from behind the bar with a revolver in his hand. "Roy look out!" she ; screamed, then grabbed a gun from the hol ster of a man standing beside her, and fired at. the mirror behind Bronson. There followed a terrific crash of glass, but Mary Lou con tinued to tire at bottles and glasses, at bric-a-brac and chandeliers, until suddenly the room was cleared.. Roy, grinning in amused surprise, bert's pocket. "You might read that over, in your spare time. It explains the reception you got this after noon." She read the warning that Bar rabee had sent Roy about her father, then looked at Roy and frowned. "Is that all you've got to say?" she asked coolly. He put his arm through ners ana led her outside. " v hat do you want me to sav?" he aemanded, still grinning. "I thanked you, didn't I ?" Still she wasn't sausnea. Alter all, she had practically saved his life. Yet, for all the tuss he maae ibeut it, she might only have passed him a piece of cake. They were approaching their horses now, and she turned upon him in one last outburst of anger. You had an awful lot to say about how I let you down. I meant to apologize and tell you you were right that if you still wanted the boat, you coulcl have it. l even tola Barrabee to round up the cattle from the other ranches. I wanted to keep our bargain, and I thought you might appreciate it. But I was wrong, and I'm sorry I tried." She mounted her horse quietly ana started toward the gate. Roy leaped instantly upon 1 rig ger's back and rode after her. "Wait a minute! he cried, "l n take you up on that deal!" And back on the hotel verandah, Lambert's henchman, Bronson, watched with interest as Roy dis appeared. Then Bronson laughed softly, derisively, and returned to the hotel bar to report to Lam bert. ... Roy caught up with Mary Lou at the gangplank of the Southern Belle. They tethered their horses on the wharf and boarded the old boat together. Standing beside the rail, Roy took Mary Lou by the shoulders and spun her around to face him. "You're right," he said humbly. "I got pretty excited it seemed everything was going haywire. I'm sorry." She glowed at the touch of his strong hands on her shoulders, and turned her face away in confusion. "You apologize very nicely, Mr. Rogers," she said tremulously. "But I mean it," he insisted. "Don't I look sorry?" ' She smiled up into his earnest young face. "No just anxious. You're probably wondering how I'm going to work all this with the cattle and the boat." Ho smiled ruefully. "Well, know ing your father and " "Leave Father out of it, please," she begged him. "I fixed it for you once, didn't I?" And then, as he nodded, "All right, I'll ..fix it again. Any more questions?" "Only one. What do you think of the West now?" She laughed, a low throaty sound that was sheer music to Roy. "It's improving. Especially ,the ad?n ture and thrill department." His grip on her shouJders tight ened just a little. "Well, maybe we can work out the. .rest, of it if you're not afraid some wild young bandit will kidnap you." She ' looked up at him, then glanced away. "As a matter of fact," she whispered, "I'm afraid he won't." When Mary Lou declared that the adventure and thrill depart- roae from the inert fimiro of Lam- fment of the West had already inv bert, and waved a crumpled . te-le-j Proved sIie litUe knew what was gram triumphantly, as he came toward her. "Much obliged, Miss Popen," he said, 'handing her the message he had taken from Lam. in store lor her during the long night that lay ahead. For Lambert had laid his plans swiftly and well. (To be continued) Believe Spain And Portugal e i To Remain Neutral Office of War .Information Also! Promises Better Facilities For In formation From Africa Warmer Is Expected Somewhat warmer weather today wa3 expected to clear much o the re maining ice and snow from Nebraska highways. Temperatures which' held generally above freezing levels yester day melted snow and ice which had covered the highways since Monday afternoon. Lowest temperature early today was the 27 registered at Omaha and North I'latte. North Platte also held the high of 52, while Omaha had a high of 40. Other temperature ranges included Valentine 50-33, Lincoln 40 31 and a low of 2S at Burwell. FOR VICTORY BUY WAR BONDS WAACS IN AFRICA ' Allied Headquarters, North Afri ca. Dec. 23 (UP) Five WAAC's were Washington, Dec. 23 (UP) Office of War Information Director, Elmer Davis said today "there is every rea son to believe Spain and Portugal will maintain their neutral status in the war". Davis told a press conference that the recent visit of Spanish Foreign w.- . t on duty with American fighting for- Gomez de Jordina to Portugal and the ceg in Nortn Africa today, the first nrnlnnsinsr of a Pnanish-Portuguese . mpmhprs of their organization to! neutrality bloc constitutted an en-' reach this theate of operations. couraging factor bilizing effect McilUci ranean. "All the evidence. cates that is quite sincere in it's desire to remain neutral and (elaborate with Portugal in a free Woe outside the war." VILLAGE GREEN SCRAP PILES TO BE MOVED AS SOON AS NEEDED - J Large Open-Air Scrap Warehouses Sign of High Community Interest nd will have a sta-j " lUL Hpvp vicn frnm h:isp inbs for front on that part of the haye on,y the bright of life in North Africa. Af- hc said, "indi er side "j ter getting a glimpse of semi-gay the Spanish government; s;,l3 walk cafes and their clean com fortable billets the WAACs were en thusiastic about the assignment. The five were flown from England He said there was no reason to be- j recently, lieve reports that troops are being ; Their names remained a military ntif ontrntpd in Kniithprn Snnin. i secret. Search For Murder Suspect Spaulding, Nebr. Dec. 23 (UP) A posse of sand hill farmers and ranchers went out again this morn- Davis also said: 1. Radio Morocco apparently now is operating under allied control. 2. Transmission facilities for news rfisnatrhps frnm thp North African win h imm-m-Pri in thpling n horseback to comb hills and near future. j 3. The 0. W. I. has no intention to attempt to censor the motion picture; industry but nevertheless has "full! authority of government sponsored j films." ravines in this area for Karl Krei zingcr. thirty-seven, suspected of nmder of his aged parents, Mr. and Mrs. Gu'stave Kreizinger. Greely county sheriff, Thomas J. Murphy, said he believed Kreizinger killed himself a:ter cubbing hU 4. The O. W. I has established a father to death with kindling wood New British division headed by Fer-.and clubbing and slashing his mo dinand Kuhn Jr., for the past two;ther at their farm home near here. years Assistant to Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau, to "quicken and impiwe the flow cf In formation about the United States and the people of Great Britain. At Lincoln, State Sheriff Lloyd B. Mengel, also held to this theory. However, Mengel said State Safety patrolmen all over the state are 'on the watch for the suspected slayer. "If we're really so hard up for scrap then why the blazes do they let the ' stuff pile up for days on village greens and in dealers' yards before hauling it away?" That's a question which Is on the tip of people's tongues Irom Maine to California. It's a question for which Uncle Sam has a multitude of very positive answers. You might as well ask a man why he keeps his bankroll in the bank in stead of stuffing it into his pants pocket. Those mountains of scrap metal on your village green are open air warehouses your Government's scrap bank-account to be drawn on as Heeded. Washington .has its eye on these scrap reserves just as the FBI has its eye on a lot of fifth columnists wnom they n arrest in good time. Large stockpiles do not constitute a cause for alarm. The time to worry is when these towering peaks of rubber and metal begin to dwindle; when they level on irom mountains to mole' hills. The next time you become impa tient at the sight of a slow-moving neap or scrap, remember these facts: There are only 6,500 scran dealers in the country to handle the hundreds of thousands of community scraD accu mulations. A dealer's yard can actu ally handle only about one hundred tons at a time. That's two freight cars fun. If every dealer in the country to satisfy public clamor to move scran quickly suddenly decided to send his stock to the mills, the resulting rush would tie up 18,000 freight cars. Now, the railroads are packing tremendous war loads on an endless round-the- clock,round-the-country basis. Freight cars have to be carefully allotted. If it comes to a question of hauling a hundred tons of finished tanks or a hundred tons of potential tanks in the form of scrap, well, the salvage waits lor the next tram. Before scrap can be shipped to the iounaries it must go through a tecu ous process of sortinn and treDaration which requires a nunimum of three days per ton. As many as 75 varieties of metal scrap alone may be turned in by junkies to the yards daily. These , must be sorted into more than ten distinct piles. Separating the alloys from ordinary steel requires time, uiougnt ana mucn paysicai laoor. Mac Arthur Forces Continue Push On New Guinea Here On Business Judge E. B. Taylor, of Weeping j Water, was a visitor in the city to- day to look after some matters of business and visiting with friends. ' Receives Good News Stiff Japanese Oppcsiticn Shewn As The Americans And Aussies Ccntinus Mopping Up Gen. MacArthur's Headquarters. Australia, Dec. 24 (UP) Desperate Japanese resistance continued today in the Buna area of New Guinea as two allied forces came within a mile of closing pincers now biting through the enemy's remaining Buna beach head. Hope To Eease Situation Mr. and Mrs. Frank J. Libershal have received word announcing the arrival of a daughter, Mary Jane, to Captain and Mrs. Francis Liber shal, on December 20th at Corvallis. Oregon. -Rub- Tho nllied communique said Aus tralian and American forces engaged; vationing situation. He exressed as Omaha, Nebr. Dec. 23 (Lx) ber Administrator Win. Jeffers, fere pr0m Eagle meeting with delegates from Iowa j and Nebraska today expressed nope that the gasoline and rubber ration ing problems of the middle west "can be ironed out," as the one day conference ended it's morning ses sion. Jeffers this morning devoted most of the session to outlining the prob lems confronting the farmers as he saw them, and detailing the general j John E. Scheel, Jr., of the vicinity j of Eagle, was in the city today to .look after some matters of business : and while there was a caller at the i Journal. Mr. Scheel renewed his sub j scription to the semi-weekly edi j tion of the paper. in the operation were making rela-i tively slow progress because of the intricate, thoroughly prepared posi tions of the enemy. It was revealed that Gen. Douglas MacArthur's units moving against the other important Japanese beach head st Ranananda had advanced half a mile down the truck road from So puta and that American troops were in action with Australians in the Ani boga river area west of Gona, where the mopping up is in progress It was said authoritatively that j tenacious Japanese resistance in the j isolated coastal toe-holds and the j frequent efforts to land new forces indicated an enemy intention to stretch the New Guinea campaign out as long as possible, to prevent the ! complete occupation which must pre cede an ultimate allied attack on Rabaul, on new Britain island, the key base upon which the entire Jap anese position in the north Austral ian area depends. Occupation of New Guinea and Guadalcanal by the allies, plus freedom of air operation, would open Rabaul to heavy attack. In the New Guinea fighting, the Inland allied force, which is led by tanks, crossed sinemi creek and was threatening the eastern end of the main Japanese air strip in the Buna area. A smaller air strip was occu pied Sunday. -FOR VICTORY: BUY E0IIDS his main desire development of a i simple rationing blank on which1 farmers could list all their needs passenger car, trucks, non-highway J equipment, etc. Jeffers showed the delegates the j ration forms used in Illinois which he said were greatly simplified from . those used in Nebraska and Iowa. He expressed dissatisfaction as to the penalty clause and said he had j enough confidence in the American j people to do the wght thing "be- cause 95 to 98 per cent of them will i be honest in stating their needs." J the Buna beach. This group had to contend with the natural obstacle of a creek, at the mouth of which were several islands on which were snip ers. The inland force reported that was still encountering strong pillboxes and log emplacements similar to those overrun last Friday and Sun day. Air activity was somewhat re duced but allied planes ranged far, backing up patrol activity in the Am boga river area, nine miles up the coast from Buna mission and three and one-fourth miles west of the cap tured village of Gona. Heavy bomb ers attacked Arawa, near Gasmatta on new Britain island, hitting a medium sized cargo vessel and starting fires coastal force was attacking fromi which gutted the ship. "War Bonds," said an an gler named Wade, "Are the sportingest catch I have made They'll save us our free dom And then, when we need 'em, They're good for more cash than we paid!" Help sink those Japanese "fishermen"! Put a full ten percent of your inecine into WarRondsor Stamps. pit rv my day. I ts VIT A L. V. S Treasury Vrpartrntnt. MODERN MOLLY PITCHERS "60 TO WAR" Furthermore, mills and smelters In sist that their scrap orders be broken or cut into specified lengths and sizes. Lighter pieces, such as automooiie lenders, must be compressed into heavy bundles about two feet square. Heavier material is run through a shearing mill or seared by acetylene torches into small pieces. This is lol loped by the tedious job of baling and compressing to fit freight-car requirements. The wonder is that despite the her culean tasks of sorting and prepara tion, tne dealer can oiten bundle his stock off to market in as little as two or three days. The mountain of "junk" in a dealer s yard on Thursday morn ing may have a familiar appearance. But it's not the same pile you saw on Monday. A yard without some scrap in process is like a grocery store with empty shelves. Even in ordinary times the sneed of scrap to the mills is affected by the necessarily slow trip through the dealers' yards. New, during war-time, however, two other factors intensify the dealer's problems. One is the problem which the farmer also knows something about a lack of manpower. The head of your local scrap yard, who formerly could put three or four men to work at the difficult task of sorting, grading and preparation, now must do this job practically alone. On top of that, he has just been handed from the people of the United States, the largest offer ing of household scrap in the history of the world. He is not equipped to whisk these mountains of metal or! the horizon overnight. The steel mills, by the same token, could not consume all this scrap overnight. That scrap will be picked up in time and in sufficient quantities to arrive at the mills and en the battlefronts when and where it is needed. Nowhere in America is there a victory stockpile too high or too great. Their size re flects the determination of people in the community to back the boys at the front with the weapons they de serve hi a fight to the deati;. It's up to you and your neighbors to build America's hopes for victory by build ing neighborhood stockpiles to the sky. Don't forget! It's much better to have cur reserves In 35,000 piles sorted and tallied than in 30,000,000 attics, barns and plants. - ' ' ' , ' 4t '- , J ' ' Abovs, a modern Molly Pitchei a typica. woman war worker at the Hyatt Searings Division of General Motors areets the Revolutionary War heroine In a symbolic cere mony marking the formation of the Initial Molly Pitcher Brigade chap ter at Harrison, N. J., which bids fair to expand Into a national movement with thousands of mem bers. At right, two members of the Hyatt Molly Pitcher Brigade are busy in a G.M. plant where they are helping to fashion weapons of war for their fighting men. HARRISON, N. J. Molly Pitcher1 is fighting for American liberty again. Although she is not loading and firing a cannon at her fallen hus hand's side, Bhe is in this war be side her husband and is playing a part as vital as the role of her Revolutionary predecessor. For the modern Molly Pitcher is today's woman war worker, and her efforts on the production front will con tribute very largely to final victory. Symbolizing the rebirth of the spirit of the Revolutionary heroine, the women war workers of the Hyatt Bparings Division of General Motors here have formed a Molly Pitcher Brigade, which, from the outsid; interest aroused in it, bids fair to become a national movs ment with thousands of members. A group of Hyatt girls met last summer to form the organization. Reserving for themselves the right of beint; the charter unit, the Hyatt group has extended invitations to fellow women war workers to join them in similar Molly Pitcher Bri gade units. Women workers in both war plant and office, married or single, are eligible for membership. Though not called upon to do battle as the original Molly Pitcher did, the women of today have an important part in this all-out war. They are asked to fill the empty ranks of industry as the men go to the front, and some of these women are filliug their own husbands' posts. Besides their war work, the Hyatt Molly Pitchers, now 400 strong, are carrying on a number of other activities to aid the men in service raising money to supply them with cigarettes and other treats, knittlag, writing letters and sending books and gift packages to taem- The Volly Pitchers are so Intent on their efforts that they asked the Hyatt plant to set aside its plans . for sending Christmas boxes to the men. Then the brigade took over. Through their own efforts they raised $1,200 and sent 350 Christ mas boxes to the Hyatt men in ser vice. Each box represented a cost of $3 and contained good things to eat as well as shaving cream, writ ing materials and other needed items. It was not many miles from Har rison, at the Battle of Monmouth on June 2S, 1778, a very hot day, that Mary Ludwig Hays carried water for the thirsty American patriots during some of the fiercest fighting of the Revolutionary War. Legend has It that when ber own husband fell, Molly the grateful EOldiers had dubbed her Molly Pitcher manned his cannon and kept the piece firing thror.ga the battle.