Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 26 December 1941 — Page 15

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PAGE 18 wet The Indianapolis Times

ROY W. HOWARD RALPH BURKHOLDER MARK FERREE

President Editor Business Manager (A SCRIPPS-HOWARD NEWSPAPER)

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 1041

THE OIL WAR NW that Japan has added an all-out attack on the Philippines to her drive against Singapore, it is clearer than ever that she is aiming at the oil fields of the Indies * beyond. No matter what other territory and bases Japan grabs in the Far Pacific, unless she can secure the . fuel and lubricants for her planes, tanks and ships she cannot fight a long war. : Hitler is somewhat better off; but in the long run he, too, must get his hands on major oil fields to keep going. So far he has made out with the product of his extensive synthetic plants, plus the Rumanian fields, plus reserve supplies stored in Germany and in conquered countries. But these sources are diminishing. The Russians were able to bomb many of the Rumanian wells. and local sabotage ruined others. German reserves are being used up. The Nazi synthetic plants are increasingly vulnerable to destruction as Britain develops longer-range bombers. Moreover, the synthetic gasoline is more successful than the lubricants, which Hitler needs most. » » » » ” » THIS explains in part Hitler's dangerous gamble, in which he over-extended his lines on the long Russian front to plunge toward the oil fields of the Caucasus. It also explains Stalin’s willingness to weaken Moscow defenses temporarily in order te recapture Rostov and drive the Nazi armies back from that gateway to the Caucasus. If Hitler had gained, and Stalin had lost, those precious vil fields, the present hopeful military situation in Russia would be reversed. Now that Hitler has failed to reach the Caucasus oil from the north, he probably will be forced to attempt a flank attack—either through Turkey, or southward around Turkey. : By the latter strategy, if successful, he tould take the Syrian pipelines and the fields of Iraq and Iran, which now furnish all the oil supplies for the British navy and armies of the Middle East and Africa. Whether the next Nazi blitz is against England or the Mediterranean and Middle East area, soon or late Hitler must get the oil of the latter to keep fighting. » = 2 » = » HE Allies could stay in the war even if they lost their important fields in the Middle East and in the East “Indies, because the United States produces more than all other fields and also draws on the rich Caribbean-Mexican wells. But the transport problem is such that the Allies—if dependent solely on Western Hemisphere sources—would ‘be at a serious disadvantage in fighting in eastern areas ‘ where the Axis had oil at hand. Already there is a critical : Allied shortage in tankers. Despite favorable over-all world statistics of Allied : petroleum production, therefore, the Allies cannot afford to ‘let Germany get the Middle Eastern fields or allow Japan ‘to capture the East Indies. ; Hence the desperate defense of Malaya and the Philip- | pines. Thanks to our American resources, the loss of the East Indian fields would not defeat us and our Allies, but it would enable the Axis to fight a much longer war. President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill in emphasizing the gravity of Japanese advances are not exaggerating.

NO “YES-BUTS” HERE

WE started in this war with a national debt of more than |

56 billions. We already have authorized 75 billions to prosecute the war, and probably will spend twice that much ‘before we finish. Every dollar we can save will count. So we should all . welcome the preliminary report of the joint Congressional Jeommittee on nonessential expenditures, recommending that vitems aggregating $1,301,075,000 be lopped off the budget. And we should insist that Congress take speedy action on these economies, as well as on the future recommendations which Chairman Byrd indicates will add up to a total saving of one-and-a-half to two billion.

As’ a starter the committee recommends abolition of CCC and NYA. Why not? Those agencies were created during the depression to provide employment relief for idle young men. In the job at hand and ahead there can be no Sidle youth. gv The committee would trim down WPA to a point where “it could be readily liquidated. Again, why not?—and for wthe same reasons that CCC and NYA are dispensable. % The committee would stop certain subsidies to farmers. +They should be stopped; farm income now is about two and “one-half times as large as it was when these subsidies were wt “started. . The committee would also hold down commitments for roads, river and harbor improvements, and other public “works, These too should be down. Both the manpower and tthe materials are urgently needed te produce and use

weapons of war. Our Government has asked all citizens to sacrifice. This is the first call for the Government to tighten its own belt. Let these be no “yes-buts” in the.answer to this call.

MARINES . | |

IT is proposed to increase the number of Marines from . 60,000 to 104,000. ..<» In view of Wake Island, and of the whole heroic history of the Marines in all fighting wars, we wonder why not an “increase from 60,000 to, say, at least a million. As a layman looks at it, we could even cut down on

put the money in Marines, They do not

Fair Enough

By Westbrook Pegler

the strike was very unwise but, of all

that have retarded the war effort, this nevertheless

and rapacity of these other unions which have shown them not even fairness, much less mercy.

ousy and greed for dues. These men have been kicked around, fleeced and sneered at for years by boss unioneers who have refused to acknowledge that welding is a craft and have permitted other unions to treat them as their rightful prey.

‘We Are Desperate’

ABOUT A MONTH ago, a welder telephoned me from Washington, where a meeting was in progress, esperate. There is going to be killed but I will kill some of them before I get mine. I have got a wife and two kids living in a trailer near a job in Baltimore and I have got in my pocket right now receipts for more than $600 that I had to pay out to other A. F. of L. unions in the last year. Another man in this room with me now has got cards in 26 A. F. of L. unions that he had to buy so he could work on jobs in various parts of the country.” Whether or not welding is a distinct craft it certainly is a distinct occupation and as much a craft as hod-carrying or ditch-digging. But, unlike hodcarriers and ditch-diggers, who have their own union, and a disgraceful racket, the welders must buy the right to work from the union having local jurisdiction in each separate job. They are skilled migrants and, being migrants, are usually, in the union sense of the word, “foreigners” in the localities where they find themselves, and are treated by the local unions about the same as an ignorant; crooked highway patrolman treats a motor tourist far from home. » The welders struck an ordnance plant construction Job at Morgantown, W. Va., about a month ago in protest against exactions by a steamfitters’ local which claimed jurisdiction over them. One of their repre sentatives then declared that 17 different metal trades unions of the A. F. of L. claimed the right to fees and dues from welders and added that two welders on the Morgantown job had been compelled to take out ecards in the bakers’ union when they installed equipment in a big bakery. He said the Morgantown strikers had been paying 7!2 per cent of their wages in assessments alone, in addition to the regular dves, without any right to know what was done with their money.

Congress Owes Them Relief

In Baton Rouge, La. and Orange, Tex., big groups of welders heaped their multiple cards, transfer tickets, permits and receipts from many A. F. of L. unions, representing thousands of dollars on their earnings, and burned them publicly the day after Pearl Harbor as a gesture of protest and independence. This was unwise as they thus destroyed their evidence, but the men were boiling mad. There are said to be 126,000 welders and the editor of their craft paper in Los Angeles estimates that they pay $27,000,000 a year to various A. F. of I. unions in which they have no effective membership rights. Recently the welders were assured that the mul-tiple-card racket would be waived through the kindness of the extortioners, themselves. They apprehended, however, that the hundreds of locals around the country would not respect this concession. So, the public owes the welders a hearing and Congress owes them relief as men driven to desperate folly, verging on military sabotage, by ‘he racketeers of an archaic and dishonest union system.

Aviation By Maj. Al Williams

IF DESTINY ever handed a nation warning to take stock of itself and its military and naval fitness, it is the U. 8S. A. Until we begin thinking of modern warfare, of national defense or national offense, in terms of air fleets capable of crossing any ocean and reaching any continent—on their own and without surface forces— we will continue to tempt fate. The true conception of airpower - must sink through every layer of our social, political and economie system. In each and every mind must be that light of logical thinking which will turn to doing first things first and making us into an airpower hation. National defense forces or war machines for aggression do not just happen. From somewhere near the top of the nation—from a position commanding attention and action—must come the orders and the plans for making our air forces greater and more powerful than all other such forces in the world. We have the raw materials. We have production facilities equalled nowhere else. We are motor-conscious. Nowhere else are so many people of all ages familiar with the general principles and ‘the handling of in-ternal-combustion :ngines.

‘We Must Bomb Japan'

I KNOW IT IS a long stretch from driving a car to flying a plane, but the nation that operate more than 30,000,000 automobiles and trucks can certainly outfly nations where only 5 or 10 per cent of the people can steer or drive-self-propelled vehicles. In capital letters, airpower must be sold day and night to the American people. Maybe “sold” isn’t the proper term. We aren’t even tapping the overflow a A already verything wer, except the command and the planes, and the planes will be supplied in a hurry when the command is given. ‘We will hear it argued that this is not the time to revamp our national defense on the old-fashioned logic—"there is no better place to start from than where you stand.” y

New Shield for the Axis!

- The Hoosier Forum ; I wholly disagree with what you say, but will defend to the death your right to say it.—Voltaire,

“PEACE ON EARTH” WILL COME AGAIN By Bill Leake We will soon be singing again, “Peace on earth, good will to men.” And it may seem a mockery this year and next, but as surely as this war has come upon us, peace will come again. The Bible so predicts.

Science and invention made a new world for us, but our selfish human nature had not the vision, the wisdom and tolerance nor yet the intelligence to act wisely in this new world.

Now we have to come into it the hard way. Nations will learn to cooperate for the mutual benefit of all. Then, indeed, will we have peace on earth, good will to men.

# ” ” “GOD GIVE US REAL AMERICAN LEADERS” By Edward F. Maddox, 959 W. 28th St.

Your recent editorial, “Why Not Jim Farley”? is timely and to the point, Now is the time for common sense, courage .and all out well-di-rected effort to build a mighty war machine and an- undefeatable and invincible national morale. This is no time to follow or be pushed around by clownish and amateurish social and economic experimenters. The urge to experiment with our political, social and economic system and to regard our people as “guinea pigs,” whose reactions to various alarms, false rumors and questionable schemes, such as the spurious gasoline shortage, is a hobby or an obsession with certain radicals and star gazers who have long-—too long—had a large part in directing out national policies. Now the plain hard truth is that the great majority of our people have no faith in such leadership in the hard cold business of war. Give us strong, courageous, coolheaded leaders in whom we can have full confidence, men and women whose every talent, heart, Soul, mind and desire is dedicated

(Times readers are invited to express their views in these columns, religious con. excluded. Make your letters short, so all can have a chance. Letters must

troversies

be signed.)

protection and defense of our national security. We are dealing now with the serious business of war so let us have leaders who know something about how to win a war. The recent shift in Army and Navy commanders points the moral. We must have leaders who inspire and deserve our confidence. Recent appointments in the armed forces seem to be excellent and we need and must have that kind of action on the home front as well. Men, tough fighting men, men with experience, good judgment and knowledge of the job at hand is the great need of the hour. ' Men like George Pielding Eliot, Jim Farley, Gen. Hugh Johnson, men whose high. devotion to. duty and whose unyielding and unbending efforts and skill will all be directed to the vital war 2ffort. God give us men! Men whose devotion and love of country will let no personal, political nor idealistic notions swerve them from the path of duty and service to our common cause. God bless America! God give us real American leaders.

” ® -

A VAUDEVILLE FAN WANTS STAGE SHOWS By Ken Miller, Indiahapolis I have heard many persons ask lately, “Why don’t they have stage shows at the Lyric any more?”

public being deprived of a popular variety show at moderate prices of admission? It seems to me that Indianapolis is a large enough pop-

and directed to the preservation,

ulace to support at least one com-

Side Glances=By Galbraith

Why is the local theatersgoing:

bination policy house in view of the fact that much smaller cities do. Whether it be the Lyric or not, one of the local downtown theaters could present a weekly program of the public's favorite radio shows, name bands, movie stars and vaudeville acts . ., .

In these troubled times, with our nation at war, a goad healthy laugh does all of us a lot of good. Comedy programs are extremely popular in radio at present and they would prove equally popular as a feature in stage shows. ...

THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK, HE URGES By F. D. Slocum Words cannot win ‘a war, but words can lose a war, and panicbreeding words born of fear and

division-perpetuating words born of malice, have lost wars.

Ignorance of this blhod-and-tear-stained truth excuses no words in wartime, the consequences of which are the only two things that can defeat us, panic and disunity. Too often in peacetime we think after we speak when the ill already has been done, of the effect of our words in the common welfare, with which all our private welfares are inextricably bound.

But to think after we speak in wartime is to think too late, when the harm done may mean defeat.

Think before you speak. Think long before you speak. By this rule all of us—editor, commentator, man in the street—must be guided in wartime, for in violation of it

{lies danger of defeat to our beloved

country in this grave hour of peril. ® x =

THANK YOU,

MR. DONOVAN By Arthur R. Donovan, 218 E. 624 St. We think your new. column, “Washington Calling,” is most interesting and a welcome addition to your paper.” ’ ® =.» y's COMPLIMENTS CITY ON ITS FRIENDLY MANNER

By Arthur Engler, Chicage ) I have been in Indianapolis on business several weeks and I can’t help writing to compliment you on

| the friendly manner in which your | city treats strangers.

In most cities a stranger is a stranger, but during my stay in Indianapolis I found an unaccustomed kindliness. Even your policemen were courteous. . And in a couple of weeks I received more pats on the back than I had had

‘lin years.

Keep it up, Hoosiers,

"TO MY. LITTLE SON In your face I sometimes see Shadowings of the man to be, And eager, dream of what my son Will be in twenty years and one. But when you are to manhood grown, And all your manhood ways. are known, at Then shall I, wistful, try to trace The child you once were in your hoor eel les oy «Julia Johnson Davis (1891). i 00 *

DAILY THOUGHT

. Blessed is the man that endureth temptation; for when he is

FRIDAY, DEC. 26, 1941

A London Treat

By William H. Stoneman

LONDON (By Clipper).—This has been a fine week in our household, everything considered.

In the kitchen we have treas- .»

surés such as we haven't possessed in many months: three oranges and six fresh eggs. The oranges were bought, probably illegally, and given to us by a friend. They are supposed to be reserved for children under 6. The eggs were brought all the way from Scotland by an American woman. Ordinarily we get one egg every two weeks. Then again the food has been fairly good. First our butcher got in a new supply of corned beef, which is unrationed, and we got two pounds of it, at the equivalent of 90 cents a pound. According to grocery store advertisements in American papers, it costs 18 cents a pound in Chicago. Here, before the war, it cost the equivalent of 20 cents a pound. We had saved up green onions from the summer in view of the advance intelligence that regular cook<% ing onions were going to be scarce. We were also lucky enough to find two bottles of tomato ketchup in an out-of-the-way grocery store. So we invited in a few friends and had a mighty meal of corned beef hash, dill pickles and salad. For dessert we had almond Hershey bars, sent by American friends,

Butter—~That's a Real Treat

OUR FINAL achievement of the week was Sunday breakfast when we had three others in for pancakes and bacon and maple syrup. This may sound like nothing very fancy to people living at home but it took some doing and it was highly appreciated. Ong of the guests, an Australian lady with image Ination and thoughtful "relatives in Sydney, produced canned grapefruit and pineapple. You can’t buy either in Chelsea. She and somebody else brought along their weekly rations of bacon and that together with our own—minus what we had used with the liver— filled the bill. The maple syrup came from one of two bottles donated by an American correspondent’s wife when she left for home. The biggest prize of all was a can.of New Zealand butter, also presented by the “Aussie.” She liked the pancakes so much that she gave us what was left. Otherwise our diet has been pretty much the same old story. For breakfast there is oatmeal and milk, of which we still get a pint a day. Henceforth it will be two pints a week, Then there is toast and butter until the butter ration runs out—generally about Wednesday—after which it is toast and margarine, We esa still get good American coffee of the standard rands.

Liver and Mushrooms—$ 1.60

WE HAD SOME liver and mushrooms at the Savoy the other day at the equivalent of $1.60 a portion. A good luncheon comes to about $4 a head and if you are interested in such things as fine brandy you may pay almost anything. Nobody ever blushes at the Savoy, The extra dinners, which you can’t have at home because you have no more food worth eating, can be

had at fairly reasonable prices in a score of good |

small restaurants scattered about town. Some canny people have become members of private clubs which produce sirloin steaks and other things you could never buy in your own butcher shop. Our situation is not typical of the whole population or anything like it. Factory workers have their cane teens and hundreds of thousands of people eat in “British restaurants” where they get roast beef and other good solid food for a shilling a meal. The rich and those who live on expense accounts live in fancy hotels and eat practically what they please—except such rarities as bananas and oranges. Our position is that of the ordinary apartment house dweller who ine sists upon trying to maintain a home despite the war, We aren’t starving and as a matter of fact we like corned beef hash better than we do beefsteak., And there is always the Danish Club.

A Woman's Viewpoint By Mrs. Walter Ferguson

PEOPLE CERTAINLY “got res ligion” in a big way right after Dec. 7. It reminds me of an ¢lde

fashioned camp meeting, with everyone clamoring to testify. Those Japanese bombs on Pearl Harbor did more than damage our Navy; they set of enough emoe tional gas to blow up the world, Editorials and radios have sim ply dripped with agreeable senti= ments. America First disbanded; the Chicago Tribune came out urging full support for the President, which leaves the newly established and much publicized Chicago Sun without a cause to start with; Westbrook Pegler heat his breast in a mea culpa gesture; General Johnson and Al Williams flattened their quills; Dorothy Thompson wrote a lovely panegyric on the sublimity and joys of war; Florence Fisher Parry of The Pittse burgh Press made a vow to readers that she would never criticize Mrs. Roosevelt again, because loyalty to the President, in her opinion, means that we must not carp at anything or anyone dear to himi In short, there has been a universal declaration of na= tional unity.

Must We Sound Like Parrots?

O. K. BUT we can have unity without sounding like parrots—or can we? It ought to be possible to work side by side, and for the same objective, with out becoming vassals to the notion that the only way to win is to hold exactly the same opinions about everything. The President is now our Commander= in-Chief. He is our leader, and everybody with an ounce of sense knows that patriotism demands obedience from us. I believe the people of the United States will give him whole-hearted loyalty. But I should be much worried about freedom and democracy if I thought our statesmen and representatives, our military authorities, our preachers snd editors were planning to “hole in” for the duration of the struggle. For as I see it, we shall need every bit of intelligence and ingenuity we possess and our able citizens must retain the right to discuss policies, for this is a struggle involving all our people. I hope we shall soon come out of the glory clouds.

“Ny :

We've got to think, as well as fight, our way through 4

this war. And the best loyalty we can give our President is to behave, in so far as the emergency allows, as a free people. 2

Questions and Answer:

(The Indianapolis Times Service Bureau will answer any question of fact or information, not inveiving extensive research. Write your question clearly, sign name and address, inclese a three-cent postage stamp. Medical or legal advice cannot be given. Address The Times Washington Service Bureau. 1013 Thirteenth St.. Washington. D, OC.)

Q—Is it true that the Japanese are using leather Hom marine sources because of a shortage of cow es?

. A—Yes, the shortage in Japan has eaused a widespread resort to substitutes. More expensive leathers are being replaced by cheaper land animal leather as well as leather made from sea animals. Most of the leather from the latter is obtained from whales, sharks, dolphins, salmon and codfish.

Q—How much has been paid out by the Social Security Board under the old-age and survivors ine surance program?

A—The amount paid dut in benefits to workers ;

and their families to August, 1941, was approximately $124,000,000. Later figures have not been published, but the average monthly benefits amount roughly to about $8,000,000.

Q—How many men were in the U. S. military

| service in 1932?

A~On June 30, 1932, there were 133,200, Q—From which standard musical number wag the song “Tonig We Love” derived r a