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About The Plattsmouth journal. (Plattsmouth, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 7, 1946)
THURSDAY, FEBR. 7, 194G PACE TWO THE JOURNAL, PLATTSMOUTH, NEBRASKA 1 I r I .1 I 1 I J r I f m I j 'i 'if The Plai sswjth . Journal ESTASUISHED 18S1 fubllshwl temtweekly. Mondays rrursom. e 4C9-413 Mail Street. Plattsmouth. Cass County. rJt&raska. by The Journal Pub lishing Company. LESTER A. WALKER I Publisher B. J. ALCQTT. General Manager ROBERT B. STAUFFER .Managing Editor Entered at tbe Postoffice at Ptattsmouth.. Nebraska, as second clasi mail matter in accordance with the Act of Congress of March 3, 1879. SUBSCRIPTION RATEs $3 per year, mail outside, the. PUttsmouth trade 'ea. cash in advance, by DAILY JOURNAL SUBSCRIPTION R A I ES Delivered by t.r tier in the City of Plattsmoutn. lb tent pet erk. oi SUJ oei year cash in advance; by mail n n ummoutn trade uta: $3 per year, $1.75 for six months. STUU loi tmee nrsr.ths. cash in advance. By mail outside the Piaitsmautn trade area. $5 00 per year, $3.00. for six months, 63 cents pet month, casn in advance. Familiar tatemexik. Postwar American history is repeat ing itself, the January report of the navy industrial association points out in its leading article. Popular revulsion from everything connected with war is as strong today aa" after the country's other major conlllcto, the author of this article finds. And the discovery brings him no comfort. So he makes some statements that are as famiiiar as the situation he at tacks. They have been spoken to deaf ears' by the army and navy in the years between wars. Press and public have discovered their truth in time of con flict and repeated them in chorus. But now the deafness seems to be return ing. Perhaps, then, it is well to read these familiar statements in the light of pres ent circumstances. The Navy Industrial Association's writer has stated them well. They are, in part, as follows: "Foreign powers have long been in tense students of American history. They know that we are an outspoken, unregimented people, basically not in terested in conquest or imperialism. They knew that all we wrant, usually, is to be left to ourselves so that we can work on the problem of raising our high living standards higher. ' t r "They know that once the shooting stops Americans regard a war as ended and that a reaction takes place against all things militaristic. They know that in year3 of peace we do not prepare for war because wo do not want war, we do not even like to think about war. They know that a great number of Americans are going to be against mil itary training and conscription simply because they regard war and killing as fundamentally wrong. "Science has set the tempo of a pos sible third World War and it is perfect ly obvious that we cannot defend this notion by 'getting there last with the most' we have to be there first, with the best." The obvious flaw in all this, of course, is the failure to give any- con sideration to the United Nations Organ ization. The thoughts quoted above are these of a special pleader for the retention of a nuclear naval armameat, shipbuild ing and aviation industry in peacetime. The organizing of the United Na tions for peace does not mean that un rest has ceased, that problem are solv ed, that we need never fear again. When the United Nations Organization has faced the first real threat to peace and emerged triumphant, when a sin cere and unquestioned willingness to disarm i3 evident among all of the great powers then and only then can we safely forget such statements as hose quoted here. Q What do annual perfume sales amount to in the United States?- . A-They topped $76,000,000 in 1944. Q How much U-235 does uranium contain? ...... A' Less than 1 per cent. Q What is the endurance record for stratosphere flight? A-Xt is believed to be the three hours and 38 minutes of a B-29 at 40,000 feet recently made during tests by Boeing and ATC. Q What jockey rode the most win ners in 1945? A Job Dean Jessup, 290 of 1085 rides. But the leading money rider was Johnny Longden, whose rides' brought $981,977 in purses. qu VMM MERRY-5-EieUt$ Br DREW PEARSON WASHINGTON Dozens of G. I. investi gators have been working since the shooting war stopped to help win another war. This is a war against international big business, which recognized no national boundaries, which used countries only as market divisions for its pro ducts, and which at one time aided Hitler, Mussolini and Ilirohito just as much as it did I ranee and England. What the G. I. investigators have uncovered in vermany is a tribute to Nazi thoroughness iao guuio-Liy oi American big Dustiness, i a. ouiuunb io. is a worm. pian by which Cc..'y fcx.ned its industrial capacity ior war wnue simultaneously curbing the indus trial capacity of this country and other poten tial enemies. And the names of the same men who have been dickering with Truman over steel Ben Fairless, Eugene Grace, et al have turned up in European files as a part of the cartel which unwittingly played into the hands of the Nazis. It is a story which the leaders of the steel in dustry would like to forget. But the Justice De partment hasn't forgotten it. American participation in the steel cartel was decided upon as late as 1937 when there was no longer any doubt regarding Hitler's warlike intentions. By that time he had al ready invaded the Rhineland, showed his. hand by sending arms to Franco, and boasted openly in speecn alter speech that Germany would dominate Europe. The steel cartel files, seized in Luxembourg, reveal that S. M. Bash of Bethlehem Steel and A. G. Mundle of U. S. Steel took the. initiative in binding their companies to the cartel. Four months later an agreement to divide up world markets was reached. Anti-Truat Act The steel barons were careful about the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, however, and the minutes of the June, 1937 meeting reveal that no written agreement regarding U. S. markets was concluded. In February, 1938, a delegation of European steel men came to the United States. "Our representatives," the Luxembourg files showed, "obtained a very clear declaration of responsibility for the agreements from" Messrs. Eugene Grace of Bethlehem Steel, Ben Fairlesa of U. S. Steel, Rufus Wysor of Republic Steel, Frank Purnell of Youngstown Sheet and Tube, M. Hacket of Jones and Laughlin Steel, Charles Hook of Armco International, William Hollo way of Wheeling Steel, -Robert Wolcott of Lukens Steel and Ernest Weir of the National Steel Corporation (Weirton and Great Lakes Steel). Also included in the American group were Inland Steel, Newport Rolling Mills, Pittsburgh Steel, Otis, and the Allan Wood Company. Race for War What the steel barons agreed to was not only a division of markets but arrangements for price-maintenance. Quotas were set regarding the total production of each participating com pany, with fines levied against the firm if it exceeded its quota. However, here is the pay-off. The Germans always exceeded their quotas, after which they politely paid their fines and then kept on speeding their output of steel in the race for war. Meanwhile, American and British firms stayed within their quotas and kept down their war machine. In contrast with the Germans, American firms, when they exceeded their quotas, were contrite and apologetic. For instance, here is an item from the steel cartel minutes of April 18, 1939, which read: "In regard to a recent shipment by the Amer ican group to Belgium, i. e., a home market, the American representative stated that he was taking this matter up with his group in order to avoid a recurrence." Secretaries of the Nary Many capital observers who think Harry Truman got away to a good start in picking a high-caiibre cabinet are disappointed that he has. not continued, on that high. leveU The ap pointment of old political friends California oil man Pauley, Mississippi comedian George Allen, and Missouri naval aid Vardaroan- to - high posts of official trust has struck a very spur note. Some observers argue that Pauley is just as well qualified to be Secretary of the Navy aa the man he ia scheduled later to succeed James Forrestal. Probably this is true. But any president other than Roosevelt would have a hard time getting Forrestal confirmed. Most people have forgotten it, but the presi dent of Bolivia complained bitterly to Roose velt over the way Forrestal's banking firm, Dillon, Read and Company, had rammed a high interest loan down Bolivia's throat. Thanks to a fat bribe to the Bolivian, finance minister, that country was saddled with a loan which she can never repay, while unsuspecting Amer ican investors will never get back their cash. Forrestal's banking firm, however, collected the commissions. Most people don't realize also that it was the Secretary, of the Navy's, firm which promot ed loans to both. Japanese and German inter ests before the war, and whose partner, now in the- American army in Germany, has been opposed-to the dismantling of. certain German factories. Ed Pauley, in comparison,, smells of oil", rye and evicea to put hia wife on the government expense account. Perhaps if it is so, hard to find anyone with out embarrassing business connections to. 'run the navy, President Truman should go back to the country newspaper editor and Sunday school teacher of the Josephus Daniels type. Daniels is about the only secretary of the Navy in recent years, who really stood up against the admirals. They never forgave him for abol ishing the use of liquor aboard ship or for giv ing enlisted men a chance to rise from - the ranks. ' .. - ' '..,,' v But time has proved that Daniels. was right and that, the- navy under him was one 'of the best of any period. - (Copyright, 1946, by The Bell Syndicate, Inc.) No Mean Feat in Itself III I) ' I m tff O --.3&v AV v r ? h A i i f ' EPSON'S WASHINGTON COLUMN BY PETER EDSOX NEA Washington Correspondent TyASHINGTON, D. C. (NEA) A pioneef band of Texans in v vaded Washington the other night for their "First Annual Din ner Dedicated to Braggin' About Texas."- It was one for the book) Between musical numbers, such as Strauss "Beautiful Blue Rid Grande Waters," Hoffmann's "Love- Tales Frorai the Texas Woods," and "When Texas Eyes Are .Smiling," they modestly took credit for ;feverrthiiig under the sun. Some of the things they found to brag about would amaze you. They bragged about theifl Junior Senator W. Lee O'Daniel, the biscuit parser. Maybe they were bragging because he wasn't there). As the Man Who Would Have Introduced Win? He Had Been There said, "I hope he isn't being evicted tonight." It was a crack at O'Daniel's latest it If 1 "l "t ffWit. aaningiuii iedi t'Mdit: ut:ai, in wmcm ne DOUgal Fdson un apartment house and evicted all the. tenants so he could have the place to himself. They bragged about Senator Charles C. Gossett of Idaho, who was born in Texas. Vhe Texan's bragged about him as the only senator from Idaho who couldn't play a banjo. They even bragged about Congressman Fred L. Crawford of Saginaw, Mich., who isn't even a Democrat, but a rock-ribbed Republican. But he was born, ia Texas. (To some that makes it all right. Sometimes it's hard to tell whether a Republican is a southern Democrat or vice versa.) pONGPiESSMAN George Mahon of Colorado City, Texas, bragged about how he learned to run fast. It was when a tarantula chased him out of a cotton patch. He bragged about the Texas tarantulas. And he gave the definition of true Texas hospitality: "Make 'era think they're at home even when you wish they were." Admiral of the Fleet Chester W. Nimitz, and Lt.-Gen. Ira Eake? of the Army Air Forces, were the honored native sons at the dinner, and they proved they could do a little braggin too. "I'm a man out of Texas," raid Nimitz, "but you .can't take Texas out of a man." General Eaker topped that -ne by telling about the father who counseled his son never to as a stranger where he was from. "If the man is from Texas," the her advised, "he'll tell you. If he's net, don't embarrass him by ..in'." J? AYBURN, Jesse Jones, Sen. Tom Connally and a few ether pro fessional Texans weren't able to attend. Connally, it was ex plained, was over in London, running the UNO. The Texans said they hadn't decided about whether tror would annex UNO, but admitted it would fail if they didn't. Hosts at this braggin' dinner were the Texas citrus and vegetable growern and shippers. Having heard stories about the low quajity of fooci in the c.nt, where they don't raise horses just season them -the Texans brought their own grub, five tons of it. Flew it up on a special plane. But that inc luded half a bushel of fresh Rio Grande Vallsv . , '-hies for every guest. y Last Man of Huey Long's Machine Is Voted Out to Mark End of an Epoch was in NEW ORLEANS (U.R Robert S. Maestri, the last man of the Huey Long oligarchy, has been de feated. A two-decade epoch has ended. And the end, like the beginning, came as a big surprise. The final blow was struck on Jan. 23 when Mayor Maestri, the one man who wouldn't be licked, conceded defeat at the hands of a political amateur named De Lesseps Story Morrison. It definitely was- the finish of one of the most flamboyant chap ters in American political history It came 20 years after Huey's ma chine hit the "big time' and 10 years after the Kingfish's assassi nation. Regime Seemed Solid All the rest of Long's boys were long since gone. Some were suicides, others politically crushed and still others just plain Federal convicts. But it seemed that Mystery Maestri the first man to offer substantial financial aid to the rising Long would go on forever. Political realists still can't ac count for Maestri's defeat. Every thing was on hiB side. There was no apparent reason for him to stub his toe. In the first place, the opposition was disrupted at the beginning of the campaign. Its original can-: didate, J. O. Fernandez, suddenly withdrew and announced his sup port of Maestri. Then, a week later, the Inde pendent Democratic organization ! announced that DeLesseps Morri son, scion of an old Louisana family, would take up where Fer nandez left off. Rose to Lt. Colonel Morrison had served one ''re form" term in the state legisla ture, and he was just back from THIS CURlduSWORLD 'overseas service in the army. lie had climbed from lieutenant to lieutenant colonel. A lot of people in New Orleans laughed at Morrison's candidacy. Here he va, a rank amateur, op I posing the old Regular Machine j which had not k'st a city election .in 25 years. i Morrison set about cauipaign- ing, with the newspapers solidly behind him. He rallied veterans. ! But it all seemed so futile. Maestri had been in office for nearly 10 years. Besides the ma chine and the job-holders behind him, he had the gambling 'frater nity which wanted to make sure that its hanaoooks couid continue. I Even election day was against i Morrison. It was cold and dieary. And bad weather, according to the political guide book, aiways favors the incumbent. 'Machine It Whipped But it didn't happen that way. Despite the small vote of little more than 130,000, Morrison was elected by a strong majority. The unbeatable old Regular Machine 'had been beaten at last. I One reporter wrote, on the day ' after the election, '"Maestri came 'in the back door, and went out tne : same way. ' Maestri, although he had served as mayor for some 10 years, had only lacea the polls once previ ously in 1942. Oiiginaily, the old Regular Ma- s chine was the sole group which had not capitulated to riuey Long. But gradually the Long-controlled state Legislature voted away ait of the powers of the city govern ment, including many of its tax privileges. Bankrupt, the city regime crumbled. The mayor, T. Scnimes Walmsley, resigned. Maestri was appointed mayor. That l&oC. Certified for 4 Years In 1938 his term expired, but only one obscure candidate ap peared to run against him. Sud denly that candidate withdrew, and the state Legislature certified Maestri as mayor of New Orleans for another four years without an election. Thus, lie served as mayor for six years without facing the polis. In 1939, the Louisiana political scandals broke, and one after an other, the Long lieutenants fell beaten at the polls, indicted by the federal government. But Maestri stayed on. In 1942 he staged his first campaign, and won by the cit's greatest majority in history. Then he rested on his political laurels. With only a third-grade education, Maestri openly uispiays his disdain for "book learning'' and public speaking. He aidn't even bother to appear at schedul ed engagements. He still had the machine which he inherited with Walmsley's res ignition, and upon that he based Lis election hops in 1946. But fonicwhere along the line it failed. And Maestri, the last of the Long lieutenants, failed with it. By William Ferguson C fDEA CP AND PENOTIN&. WAS DEVISED BY GEOR6E WASHINGTON DURING- THE REVOLUTltfNARV WAR, WHEN HIS MEW HAD NO UNIFORMS, AND OFFICER NEEDED IDENTIFYING -A ARKS. - d mi t iiaiyiai wjjgactam trwntr- WW.:-, - I I Is I gJ5.i T. M. RfcC. U. S. PAT. OFF. A POUND OP GOLD IS WORTH ABOUT HOW tsMUCHl DttAETHYLAMlNOETHYL BENZHYDRYL. ETHER HYDROCHLORIDE 1$ THE CHEMICAL NAME OF A NEW DRUG EXPECTED TO RE LIEVE HAY FEVER SUFFERER?. COPR 1946 BY NEA SERVICE. IMO. 2-7 8 ' ANSWER: About $450 per pound. Drunkometer Keeps Traffic Judges Busy DETROIT 0J.P- Use of the drunkometer machine in Detroit has brought the heaviest docket in the history of the traffic cou:. There are so many drunk-driving trials now that Judge Joseph A Moynihan presiding v c r Michigan's circuit courts, has brought in outside jurists to help reduce the backlog of cases. In only the two months of No vember and December of 1915, drunkometer tests resulted in 1152 drunk-driving cases. But in the preceding 10 months before tlx; machine was used the .otal was only 0ii. In using the machine, police have the suspected driver exhale into a baloon. Hie man's b:v;wn is then quickly analyzed for per centage of alcohol present. If the test shows more than 15-100ths of one per cent alcohol, it is as sumed that a man's driving ability would have been impaired. According to Traffic Judge John D. Watts, there has been some discussion in legal circles as to whether a man is competent to give his decision on whether to take the test while in a drunken condition. However, there has been no appeal this far to the Supreme Court. Juries are paying considerable attention to the drunkometer tet, Jiu'ge Watts said. YashinHton Farm Notes WASHINGTON U.R World War II veterans are knocking on Uncle Sam's door in rapidly in creasing numbers to ask for mon ey to buy or operate their own farms. By mid-January, the Farm Se cuiity Administration had ap proved loans totaling $10,670,000 to more than 5,000 veterans. FSA is the agency that offers long term credit to farmers or promis ing would-be farmers. The number of FSA borrowers i running 'way ahead of the. num ber of ex-servicemen who are get ting loans on their own under the GI bill of rights. In early January, the govern ment had guaranteed only 1,1.10 loans under this legislation. It is standing back of $1,350,000 for repayment. This amount of money however, does not show the full sum veterans were investing in farm real estate since the govern ment guarantees only up to 50 , per cent of GI loans. ' Major Share for Renting ! By far the greatest share, of FSA loan money goes to rent pro : perty and buy livestock, machin : ery and other necessary equip ; ment. Veterans have been granted $8,700,000 to operate farms but ' only $1,900,000 to buy farms out right. Here are seme of the stories be hind the loans recorded in FSA files: t Forrest J. Sheffield of Parkton j Md., an ex-Army captain, raised ' money enough on his own to set ! up a poultry farm but did not have enough funds to buy chicks and feed. A loan from the govern i ment enabled him to start out with a flock of 1,000 laying hens. Ralph F. Kopenhefer, 27-year-old former Army sergeant, bor rowed the maximum amount FSA can loan $12,000 to buy a 51-acre farm near Laton, Cal., build a dairy barn, and stock the place with 20 cows, 25 hens ancl a pig. He has 40 years to repay the loan. Elvis P. Lisle, who spent three years in the Army, bought a 160 acre "homestead" in Platte Val ley, Wyo., for $9,500. Wounds re ceived in the Normandy invasion will prevent crop farming, but Lisle plans to nay off the loan with returns from an orchard, and the farm's dairy herd, chickens and hogs. Showed Initial Profit John B. Greenland was dis charged from the Army after he was injured by an exploding shell during basic training. As a "farm raised" lad, he headed back for the country. Alonj with his 17-year-old brother, he .leased a 120 acre farm near Belief onte, 'Pa. With a $1,500 government loan they bought livestock, poultry and feed, built a chicken house and showed a profit on the first year's operations. Loans to veterans make up about 20 per cent of FSA's busi ness. Congress recently added $259,000,000 to the agency's cof fers for loaning money to ex-GIs who want to own their own farm. There are fewer limitations on this money than on other FSA funds. It can be spent in any state and veterans do not need to show as much experience as non-veteran borrowers. FSA has stacked up many more applications than it has granted loans. Nearly 12,000 veterans have asked for money to buy farms while only 283 of the applications have been granted. About 16,500 are seeking opera ting loans with only 6,000 approved. SPECIAL PURCHASE MERC IANDISE MEN & BOYS ATEXT: When was the first aerial photosrah taken? Steals Cough Drops To Prevent Cold DENVER (U.R) Ernest Knox, 67, in jail seiving out a $150 fine, admits that his preventive fore sight han't worked any cure. Knox, a railroad car cleaner, was found with 79 boxes of cough drops on his person. He said his girl friend from Des Moines, Ia., was coming too visit him and was "allergic to colds." He said he took the couh drops in order too have a good supply on hand for her when she arrived. and 1M Since 1879 i '