Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 27 March 1941 — Page 15

THURSDAY, MARCH 27, 1941

The Indianapolis Times

SECOND SECTION

Hoosier Vagabond

(Ernie Pyle returned from London a few days ago hy Clipper. Following is one of several articles based on material he gathered while there.)

Sh

England are people cut with firing glass. If glass all to pieces. As the doctors say, been brought in two days before. Another thing is shock, from As T understand it. the awful concussion from the of blood into the patient. The result is immediate These shock cases usually arrive at the hospital Doctors sav that most. of the casualties, on the And apparently if you don't. and it goes off close

NOW WHAT AROUT wounds in this war? windows had never heen invented, there would be a lot fewer people in London today with scarred-up faces. Stav a while at a hospital, h “He's got half a window pane in i his face.” ¢ At one of the country base hos1 thought it was a man, but actually it was a woman. Her face was cut and swollen almost into the terrific concussion. Many people, seemingly not badly hurt, just up and die about 24 hours after the explosion, from bomb breaks down the walls of the blood vessels, letting your blood leak out into the flesh. The effect is the same as if it leaked out on the ground. and astonishing—a complete and unbelievable change often occurs within five minutes. Of course if the shock is too severe. nothing helps unconscious, white as a sheet all over, and limp and cold. In addition to transfusions. they are baked and massaged. in an effort to get warmth and circulation dav after, are quite calm about their experience In fact. verv often the person hit never knew anvthing about. it and knocks vou unconscious, Vou don’t have even a fraction of a second's awareness of noise or explosion before passing out

Well, a large portion of the bomb casualties In and see them come in. Just cut »e, pitals I saw a patient who had unrecognizability. shock. In these cases, they transfer tremendous quantities Most Casualtics Quite Calm back into their bodies ~ou don’t alwavs hear a homb coming. vou know. The doctors sav that time after time people have

toid them they were sitting playing cards or talking, and absolutely the next thing they knew they were coming to in a hospital.

i | # al wemietle Both Sides of the

: meee han we owas vine ares (Germans Hoard Every

peaceful, and show no fear nor horror at all. Another new thing the doctors are getting is a large number of frightful burns.

from the R. A. F., the Navy and Ho! Bit of ron In Reich

And Build U-Boats

By LYLE C. WILSON (Copyright, 1941, by United Press.)

Fliers are often badly burned about the hands and face before they can get out of the cockpit and jump by parachute. Doctors didn't get many such cases in the last war, because the fliers just burned to death in the plane. Among the sailors, the burns come from tankers that are torpedoed. The oil on the water catches fire, and seamen trying to swim through it are horribly burned.

The “Neurosis” Cascs

In most medical branches, the doctors have not been as busy so far as they had prepared to be. The only exception is the plastic surgeons. Due to these numerous burns, and the facial deformities from bomb explosions, the plastic surgeons are going full tilt. Doctors feared and expected a large number of war “neurosis” cases among the civil population. In other words, people who simply went nuts from the strain of being constantly bombed. But it hasn't turned out that way. They told me at the Ministry of Health that two dozen would cover all the cases in London that they knew about. I don't doubt their word, but I think, it does give too good an impression. They mean, I think. real maniacs who have to be locked up. I found in my own travels that there were lots of | people with “bomb jitters.” I visited one factory in a| hot area where the lavoffs from jitters due to long hours of work and frequent bombing were quite a problem. And I talked with people in areas that had | been blitzed night after night. and their nerves were getting pretty ragged. | But speaking of the population as a whole, the] doctors are right. The average person can take his | bombing and toss it off rather lightly. In fact if you, listen to casual bomb talk around London long| enough, vou gradually fall into the impression that | a bomb won't hurt vou if it does hit you. It is only when vou hear the next big one coming, with its long vicious rustle like a window-blind flapping through the air, that you know a damn sight better.

Inside Indianapolis (And “Our Town”)

THE EASTER PARADE in the 90s generally followed Delaware St. past President Harrison's home then continued on past the Finley Smith home In many respects the latter was the showBy this Easter. though, the $150,000 mansion will have heen leveled to the ground The house was built soon atter the Civil War and shortly afterward was sold to Finley Smith, who manufactured bicycles and later the Waverly Electric automobile. Mr. Smith spent a lot of money on alterations, installing, among other things, two regula-tion-sized bowling alleys, which may be unique in the city's history. The alleys were tunneled underground and extended from the rear of the house along 13th St. to the stable. Mr. Smith also lined the dining room with full-length mirrors, and the ballroom on the third floor was the scene of some of the gayest parties of the city’s social life After the turn of the century, Mr. Smith died and the home was bought by John W. Schmidt, the brewer. His son, C, Pred Schmidt, recalls that they used the bowling alleys considerably for a time but found it quite a task to find “pin boys” on the spur of the moment. And if no pin boys were to be found, then it was necessary for some member of the party to fill the job, which wasn't much fun for the one elected. The alleys fell into disuse and during the last few vears few people knew they existed because they had been converted into mains for city heat pipes.

and at 13th St,

place of town.

Washington

WASHINGTON, March 27 —The first action of the new National Defense Mediation Board was to appeal directly for public support That is the logical place to begin, because the Board's work will be a waste of time without public support—which includes acquiescence by emplovers and labor in the Board's findings and recommendations In appealing for this public backing, Chairman Dykstra sketched the general objective of the Board. It is to keep defense work going without interruption while disputes are settled around the conference table. The Board's approach is to be impartial and it will assume that in these times everyone must subordinate purely private or personal interest to the good of the country, Chairman Dykstra said the Board would try to appeal to the common sense and good will of all true Americans. Both employers and employees will have to make concessions in many instances if situations such as the Bethlehem strike are to be avoided. In that case a huge amount of defense work becomes the innocent bystander in a royal battle between Bethlehem management and the C. I. O. This tie-up is an incident in a long war that has raged for several] years. Background of Steel Strike Bethlehem is one of the hitter-end independent steel companies resisting €C. 1. O. Bethlehem has a company union. The National Labor Relations Board, in 1939, held that this was a dominated company union and ordered it dissolved as a violation of the Wagner act, Bethlehem appealed, and the case is in the hands of the higher courts. The C. 1. O.. trying further to clinch its case against the company union, pulled this strike to make the issue more clear. Be-

My Day

CHARLESTON, 8. C., Wednesday. — The sun is playing hide and seek with us today and I am not sure that the drive to Valdosta, Ga., is going to be in fair weather. We reached Mrs. George Huntington’s home in Charleston yesterday afternoon, # driving over after lunch from : Georgetown. I enjoyed ‘my morning in “Hobcaw’ very much. You will probably find it hard to believe, but I have never gone crabbing before, and so hauling up live crabs and trying to catch them in a net was a new experience, I must say 1 was rather annoyed when several of them flopped out of my net and back into the water. The boy who was directing, and who most expertlv not only scooped the crabs in but washed them off with one gesture, had a most amused expression on his face as he watched my awkward attempts to:copy him I always enjoy watching the way people do things in which they are expert. While winding up my own line, T watched the way this hov wound three while 1 did one, and wondered how long it would take me

, to learn that, quick movement of the wrist that made:

those lines fall into a pattern which would easily let out again without tangling We also spent a little time watching Miss Belle

In 1913 the Schmidts sold the place to Lynn Mil-| likan, the contractor, who died last August. The Mil-| likans lived there until 1932 and then rented it out as a rooming house. The expense was burdensome—| taxes and heating—and Mr. Millikan's son, Gaylord, | has had to tear the house down

The Show Must Go On

THE “SHOW WENT ON" as far as Geoffe Ste-| vens. one of the “It Happens on Ice” stars, is con-| cerned. Geoffe, one of the Four Bruises, had the flu the opening night of the show here. He had to be | “revived” like a boxer by backstage assistants during] pach intermission—even between curtain calls

What's That Again?

RAY SMITH. Governor Schricker's secretary, called the Spencer Hotel the other day and asked for Jas-) per Jones A long silence followed. Then the clerk sald: “I'm sorry, he isn't registered here.” “Well, see if ‘Jap’ Jones is registered,” said Mr Smith. “Oh.” said the desk clerk Jasper (Jap) Jones owns the hotel.

Slot Machine Blues

SOME OF THE private clubs who finance part of | their “overhead” with slot machines have had their troubles lately. Reports have it that the clubs have | been visited by a group of “experts” who present] membership cards from similar organizations out of| the city and then, when club members aren't looking, | perform a few tricks on the machines to make them pay off heavily.

By Raymond Clapper

fore striking, the C. 1. O. objected to Bethlehem | allowing the company union to hold its election of] officers on company property. The company refused | to tell its company union that it must meet off the| property. and the election of officers was ordered to g0 ahead as usual within the company grounds. The | C. 1. O. struck in protest An almost identical situation developed at another) Bethlehem plant at Johnstown, Pa. where a demon-| stration strike of protest was ordered. The purpose, as stated by C. 1. O. spokesmen, is to focus attention on the policy of the Bethlehem management, which it claims to be anti-union and in violation of the law.

The Allis-Chalmers Trouble

There is not too much sympathy in Government quarters here with Bethlehem management in its labor policy. Bethlehem'’s recent trouble at the Lackawanna plant, near Buffalo, brought the underground threat from Defense Commission officials that unless the management made concessions and got the strike over with the Government would move in to keep the plant working. Cyrus Ching, an employer representative on the new Defense Medition Board and a vice president of the U.S. Rubber Co., was sent in by William S. Knudsen to bring Bethlehem management around to a more conciliatory viewpoint, and the story here is that he pushed the management pretty hard. Thus in Bethlehem's recurring troubles as in some other cases, notably Ford, Government officials feel that management has some responsibility for the ugly situations that have developed. It is possible! that before this is over, some heads on both sides of! these labor wars will be banged together. Government officials are almost at the end of their | patience over the Allis-Chalmers strike at Milwaukee a most disastrous tie-up. William S. Knudsen met Phillip Murray, head of C. 1. O., in a conference at| Pittsburgh a few days ago in a desperate effort to] work out a settlement. Tt was no go. The fight has | become so bitter and so complicated now that | Government may be compelled to impose a settlement.

By Eleanor Roosevelt

Baruch show her beautiful horses. She has schooled them herself and trained .them so they obey her voice and are perfectly familiar with what she wishes them to do. One young one was full of pep and cavorted around, putting his head down and Kicking up his heels in pure joy of living. However, when she started him, riderless, on the real business of going over the jumps, he obeyed orders without question. At the end of his performance he trotted up at the word of command to receive his lump of sugar. In driving around the city of Charleston yesterday, T passed the Dock Street Theater, which is one of the interesting buildings erected by WPA. The theater is charming and a real effort has been made, I understand, by certain people to revive and present old plays. I have been told by several people that they have been charmingly done, but that the support is not really sufficient to warrant continuance of the effort. Audiences just do not attend, and so it may be necessary to close the doors of the Dock Street Theater. This seems a sad waste. Tt is hard to understand why, in this city of great culture and taste, such a program as has been carried on is not successful financially. Of course, the support must come from visitors, on whom so many things depend for maintenance. 1 think that the visitors here have such respect for their hosts that they would follow their lead. Charlestonians could make a success of this

Subm

theater if they would.

&

GORDON KNOX is connected with One day he lost his house key, and

Embassy in Berlin.

the American

what happened thereafter tells the story of one phase of war time rationing in Germany. Knox's Berlin apartment door opened with an old-fashioned iron

kev which weighed more than an ounce.

The loss, therefore, had an

intimate, official and rigidly enforced relationship to the German

war effort.

If everyone had to replace his

key and every key contained an

ounce or so of iron, the makings of whole submarines would be

jingling in German pockets instead of challenging the enemy at sea. So the locksmith would not replace Gordon Knox's house Key. First, Mr. Knox must obtain a permit to purchase that bit of iron. And if he were a German, Mr. Knox would have had to prove conclusively that the replacement was necessary—that he actually had possessed the key, that it was lost and could not be found. that he did not have another. But in this instance his connection with the United States embassy made his task less difficult. For such permits as will authorize a merchant to sell a pair of overshoes, an overcoat, metal articles or any of the numberless things so precious that they are not even regularly rationed, diplomats and foreigners in general may appeal directly to the Foreign Office. And it was through the intervention of the Foreign Office of the German Reich that Gordon Knox obtained the permit which enabled him again to lock and unlock his own front door,

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Norway Is Big Help

The incident is typical of Germany’'s uncommonly efficient and rigid control over her available resources. That unfaltering official interest in an ounce of iron—not only is a tribute to German method and a cameo of routine war time inconvenience but a hint, as well, of the value to Germany of that Norwegian victory of a year ago. Germans are eating Norwegian fish. They are wearing clothes made partly from processed Norwegian wood pulp. But, vitally important, they smelted thousands of tons of iron ore this winter— iron ore that came from Sweden to the sea through the Norwegian port of Narvik and thence down

2

the Norwegian Atlantic coast to Dutch or German ports where it was trans-shipped into barges for the inland waterway journey to the Ruhr. Winter ice would bar every other means of transporting that ore to Germany. A barge load of Narvik ore would make some millions of iron keys for Gordon Knox's apartment door, » » n

No Electric Irons

I got to thinking about that and decided to go shopping on my own, My shopping expedition demonstrated that somewhat above the weight of a house key, the purchase of metal objects can hecome an extremely difficult or impossible transaction. Do you want a typewriter? Then, demonstrate to the authorities that you really need one. Be prepared, if asked, to trade in the machine's weight in old iron in addition to paying the purchase price. Then, if all goes well, you will get your typewriter—in about four months. Do you want an electric iron? That is just too bad because my tradesman had no electric irons and did not expect to get any. You might buy a bicycle in Berlin and probably for immediate delivery But, first, your employer would have to certify that vou needed it in vour work, that it would be impossible for vou to cover vour territory by any other means of transportation—including afoof Satisfy the authorities on those points and the bike is yours But if you wanted a kitchen stove you still might wait 18 months for deliverv. You would not be able to obtain an electric refrigerator at all in the shops where I inquired except a large one for commercial use. Gas refrigerators are not on the market at all.

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By JOE ALEX MORRIS

(Copyright, 1941

by United Press.)

There was cheese for lunch at headquarters of the R. A. F. coastal

command, and

the commander-in-chief was pleased because good cheese is scarce in England these days.

Many things are scare on a

besieged island that must fight desperately to keep its supply lines

open. “Our boys,” “are like aerial shepherd dogs. The commander-in-chief is Sir Frederick Bowhill, whose reddishgray eyebrows curve upward like sharp spikes. His YVbackground is the Navy, From that he moved into naval aircraft, and finally into command of aerial patrols from Iceland to Nerway, down the European coast and far out over the Atlantic Ocean. The coastal command today is in the thick of an unprecedented battle against German submarine and air siege. The Battle of Britain is Britain's greatest immediate danger, and Hitler's chief hope of victory in 1941. As a decisive factor in the war, it ranks ahead of air raids on British cities or the threat of invasion, although all three phases of conflict are co-ordinated. Good cheese as well as other essential supplies come in or are kept out in ratio to the effectiveness of British sea and air power as specified bv the R. A. F. Costal

Mr. Morris

| Command.

LJ » »¥

Some U. S. Planes Used

Into the sea and air battle this branch of the service has thrown many American-built planes, including , the TLockheed-Hudson reconnaissance bomber and the new American Consolidated PBY American-built flying fortresses also have been assigned to this R. A. F. branch and may already be in operation. But the greatest danger to Britain—and it is indeed grave-—is lack of escort warships, specific-~ ally destroyers and submarine chasers. The 50 World War destroyers from the United States are now playing an important role in keeping the supply lines open but the mere fact that these ships were required immediately illustrates the seriousness of the siege. Apparently all of the American destroyers have now been refitted and are doing the job for which they were taken over. But the first phase of their service was filled with difficulties. The destroyers were longer, narrower and less maneuverable than the British’ type. The United States told British naval officials that they were in bad shape and offered te put them in order, but the British were in a hurry,

» n nN Nazis Learned the Secret

Six were immediately put into drvdock to be refitted. The others went into service at once and were refitted later, half a dozen at a time.

“

he said, glancing proudly around the officers’ mess, They bring the convoys home.”

into action suffered many minor mishaps. Steam joints burst at sea. Engines required frequent re=pairs There were temporary breakdowns that forced them into port for brief periods, but in the end they did a job that had to be done regardless of difficulties. The British believe that destroyers, co-operating with the Coastal Command's “aerial shepherds,” can lick the submarine “wolf pack” now ranging the Atlantic as they were licked before the capitulation of France. British methods of submarine detection have been extraordinarily effective. They are based on a secret principle that apparently puzzled the Germans until the surrender of France. Presumably, the detection device which had been given to France fell into German hands, as there has been a change in P-boat tactics in recent months. Early in the war, the P-boat fired its torpedoes and then submerged. The motors were shut off and the crew walked around in stocking feet to avoid any noise, that might by picked up by the ordinary sound detector. That system proved ineffective against British detection methods. ” N on

Run on Surface Now

Now the German submarines usually attack in the twilight. At

Ration cards—in boxes fo go to every section of Berlin. Even these won't buy overshoes.

Scrap for Teletypewriter

Before we could buy another teletype machine for the United Press office in Berlin, it was necessary to get together 160 pounds of old iron to be traded in along with with the purchase price for the new equipment. Delivery was set months away at first but was reduced to a few weeks through Government intervention, A few weeks was the best that could be done although the great Siemens Electrical Works is right in Berlin ‘and there would have been no transportation difficulty at all. I know a woman who repeatedly tried last winter to obtain a permit to buy overshoes. She was told finally that the permit would be ready the following day. She sent her maid to pick up the document instead of going herself, “Tell your mistress,” snapped the permit officer, “that she does not need overshoes if she is so fortunate as to have a maid.” The explanation advanced by the matron was that she must stand long hours lined up in the cold at meat and vegetable stores in order to purchase the foodstuff to which her food tickets entitled her.

» ¥ oy

She Finally Got Them

The permit officer argued that if there was a maid in the house the matron probably passed off the marketing to the maid. He was mistaken, but, nevertheless, the mistress did not get her overshoes last winter nor this winter, either, until long after cold weather set in and she had spent a vacation in

un n u

arine Peril Can Be Overcome, Britis

British believe destroyers like this

the shopper's happy hunting ground in Switzerland Clothes are as strictly rationed as food or even scrap iron and coal. Rationing is by a point system which not only tells Germans what they may buy but, in general, when they may buy it. A man or woman draws a clothing allowance card annually and thereafter submits the card for snipping as the points into which it is divided gradually are exchanged—along with the purchase price—for articles of clothing.

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150 Ties or 6 Dresses

The annual allowance is 150

points for an adult. To purchase a three-piece suit made of wool, cotton and wood fibre, a man must

sacrifice 80 of his 150 points. Another 28 points would go for an extra pair of pants, 21 for a pullover sweater with sleeves, 18 for a pullover without sleeves. Shorts are 10 points, shirts 20, ties 1. Clothes points for men and women become available in blocks to prevent everyone in Germany attempting to restock his wardrobe in a single buying splurge the day after the cards are issued. Women ante up 40 points for an ersatz wool dress, 18 for a nightgown, 25 for pajamas, 4 for a girdle. The Government has decided that four pairs of stockings for women and three pairs of socks for men are sufficient for a vear, but it makes allowances for those who want just a little more So a woman may purchase her first four pairs of stockings this

H Ld un

such time they can see the convoys but their own periscopes are hard to spot. They fire torpedoes from a considerable distance and then run at full speed on the surface, where a P-boat can travel faster than when submerged. The best defense against that fype of attack is more escort ships, co-ordinating their work with airplare patrols. But when the British look around for more escort ships, they find no quick soluticn except in the United States! Navy. Three solutions of this predicament were suggested to me: That

HOLD EVERYTHING

COPE. 184) BY WEA SERVICE INE FM REE 1 8 WAY OF

2-27

Those that went directly | “Gosh! Do they shoot that thing or do they spank the enemy with it?”

[ were

the U. S. might undertake to escort cargo ships; American entry into the war so that the United States Navy could go into action against the submarines; further trades of U. S. warships ot Britain Meanwhile, the Coastal mand's aerial “shepherd dogs’ are herding convoys toward port and even taken some through the English Channel.

” n 1’

Com-

Needle in a Haystack

Big long-range flying boats go far out to sea to meet incoming ships. Sometimes the convoy has been scattered because of U-boat attack or a storm and is far off its course. The flying boat locate it in fog or storm or darkeness under conditions which usually bar the use of radio communications. When the merchant ships have been found the aerial ‘shepherd dog” herds them back on their course and rounds up strays. Then, instead of flying over the convoy, the Coastal Command plane circles far out over the sea. The convoyed ships may not even see the plane after it has signalled with blinker (instead of radio) the position and the course. The purpose of the circling action is to make sure that no submarine is close enough to the convoy to strike at it within a given time. The flying boat may stay out for 12 to 14 hours, returning at night to its base. Another plane takes up the patrol before dawn and the relay continues until the convoy is close enough to make port before any U-boat can traverse the area already inspected by the flying boat.

” on nN Praises American Planes

Sir Prederick Bowhill strongly praised American war planes used by his coastal command “They have done veoman serve ice,” he =aid, referring especially to the Lockheed-Hudsons which used for reconnaissance

can “lick” the Nazi “wolf pack.”

must |

vear at a sacrifice of 4 points each. But if she wants to buv the additional two pairs to which she is entitled, she must give up 8 points for each. The first three pairs of men’s socks may be had for § points, but the next two pairs come at 10 points each.

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Cloth From Forests Fabrics usually are synthefic so that Germans this vear are wearsing cloth that not so long ago grew in Norwegian forests. Those fibre clothes lose their shape quickly and do not wear well. The matron’s overshoes, shoes, and leather goods, overcoats and such articles are not included in the point system. For them one musi obtain a Belguschein, or permit, to buy and the permit officer must be sat= isfied that real need exists for the desired goods. Leather must be very scarce. Ersatz rubber, called buna, is being substituted now for shoe soles Women seem most to regret the shortage of silk hose. 1 learned, strictly by hearsay, that the chorus girls in night clubs were more susceptible to silk hose than to lobe ster or champagne or in some instances gifts of monev or jewels, And German stockings are beginning to show some wear. 1 saw darning jobs on the streets of Ber= lin that were hardly less than spectacular, although I saw many a silk elad calf as well

Next: A Visit to a Steel Plant.

h Navy Believes

a time when Britain

bombing at had no other craft for that job. “The important thing is that the men have confidence in them. The other day one of them had quite a scrap over Norway It gave a good account of itself (from the commander-in-chief that probably meant it shot down an enemy plane or two) but one of its motors was Knocked out. Tt's a long way across the North Sea but the other motor brought it safely home.” In addition to greate: airplanes, the British are frying to combat P-boats with an im-« proved type of small craft called a corvette, which can be turned out rapidly The ship is about 600 tons and built along lines that would be suitable for a whaler, The corvette carries a crew of perhaps 25 or 30 men and has small anti-aircraft guns for pros tection. It is seaworthy but rolls at an extreme angle. The corvette is designed to carry depth charges for use against submarines. It helps make up for the shortage of destroyers. A number of corvettes already are in service and more are com=ing off the ways.

NEXT: A British Bomber Base,

use of

WATER CLOCK DISPLAYED

CUSHING, Okla. (U, P.).—Mrs. R, C. Jones of Cushing has on dis« play at her home here a clepsydra, one of the few still is existence. A [celpsydra is a water clock, one of the first time measuring instrue [ments devised by civilized peoples

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE

1—What is the cus”? 2—Codfish do or do not have tongues? 3—The Caribbean Sea hordearz Puers to Rico on the south What body nf water is on the north? {4—Shylock and Portia are charac= fers in which of Shakespeare's plays? |5—In which Federal Government, Department is the United States Coast Guard, now? 6—The invention of the air brake is credited to Westinghouse, Edie son, or Faraday? T—Who was secretary to President Wilson ? 8—Which race horse won the Wide= ner Cup at Hialeah Park Florida, in 1941?

Answers

1—The main tent. 2—They have. 3—Atlantic Ocean. 4—"“Merchant of Venice.” 5—Treasury Department. 6—Westinghouse. 7—Joseph P. Tumulty. 8—Big Pebble

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ASK THE TIMES

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‘Big Top’ 1n a cirs