Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 14 March 1942 — Page 1

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By FREMONT POWER bs MANY AN INDIANAPOLIS citizen still hasn’t learned to keep his mouth shut.

The president has asked every man and woman loyal to America to stop aiding the enemy by giving away mili-

tary secrets. ; ’ But still some tongues wag. A 90d 4 deal of gossipa and loose’ talk continues. This week I have spent considerable time loitering about defense plants, near the shop gates, in the taverns, pool halls and restaurants frequented by America’s “army behind the lines.” \ It; cost me the price of a cup of coffee to learn why it would be advantageous to the enemy, to bomb one plant

here and leave another beside it standing. A few days ago

neither would have been a military target.

Its Time to Put Up—and to Shut Up!

A WOMAN RESTAURANT keeper, who sees and talks to the workers every day, gave me that information. I was sipping the coffee. "I simply asked: “What are they doing over there?” In a few minutes she had spilled the whole thing. The plant across from her restaurant is being retooled.

She said they were getting ready for “heavy work.”

I paid up and left. The pathetic part of the story is that the woman probably is as devoutly patriotic to the Stars and Stripes as any woman in the land. I walked around to the other side of the factory. There I found a big door—large enough to drive a truck

. thtough—wide open.” There were no guards or employees

«around that I could see. 1 think I could have walked in, planted a time bomb and been on my way by the time it went off.

F.D.R. FAVORS 40-MILE LIMIT

TO SAVE TIRES

Governors Also Also Asked to Make Rules Calling for

"Frequent Checking. WASHINGTON, March 14 (U.P).

—President Roosevelt proposed to-| day in letters. to state governors that speed Hmits. of 40-miles ani

hour be established ‘throughout the nation to conserve rubber. - Urging: “federal-state co-opera-tion in the war effort,” the presi-

dent also suggested that governors):

promulgate regulations “requiring frequent checking of tires in order to insure their repair or, where possible, retreading at the proper time.” “1 would greatly appreciate your co-operation,” the president wrote, in an effort to achieve ‘these obJectives throughout the country.”

Tirvs Would Last Longer

| The Far Eastern situation makes {conservation of rubber “very necessary for the successful prosecution of the war effort,” he said. Mr. Roosevelt noted estimates that a considerable part of the nation’s rubber stock pile “is on the wheels of the more than 30,000,000 motor vehicles of the country.” Conservation efforts by individual mo-

torists “would make their tires last|

longer, he added. If such conservation is undertaken, the president continued, “tires will last much longer, cars will run much farther and civilian life will be-less disturbed because of lack of sufficient transportation * facilities.”

Governor Schricker said today he could not comment on the -President’s, request until he had received the letter and had an opportunity to confer with Attorney General George Beamer on the legal status of the matter. :

Pointing out that his order could)

not countermand a state law, Governor Schricker said, however, that “Indiana will do everything it can to co-operate with the presi- . dent in his request.”

24 YEARS AGO TODAY—

Times Special WASHINGTON, March 14, — Twenty-four years ago today, the United Press cabled to America: Thursday - “Col. Douglas MacA ‘with troops in the Luneville region, received the Croix de Guerre, He’s the salogel who went over the top with the French recently, capturing a prisoner and

traversing the German barrage, He |-

_ also went over the top in Saturday's raid.”

TIMES ove ON INSIDE PAGES

. 13

Cincinnati about May 10.) »

: % ve : : . A Weekly Sizaup by the Washington Staff of the Scripps-Howard Newspapers

WASHINGTON, March 14—Won't be long now till all the rest of ‘us are registered by government. Mobiliza-

tion of manpower (and womanpower) seems to be next major step

on home front. ‘In general, plans call for listing skills and aptitudes of‘ all poten-

tial workers, including housewives; preparing master index on them;

establishing labor priorities for war industries. Officials hope this will help meet labor shortages, reduce unemployment, and pirating of skilled ehtrg, nelahn men for fighting forces. Workers “won't be “arbitrarily frozen to Jobs or removed to new ones—not yet. Paul V. McNutt, federal sovurhly administrator, looks like the one to get the job, though Sidney Hillman hasn’t given up.

# s »

They're Called ‘War Bonds’ Now

Mr. McNutt NO MORE “defense bonds.” Secretary Morgenthau has finally yielded, consented to call them war bonds. “It’s. part of the wave of public feeling against defensive warfare, ' Incidentally, treasury will make it clear that state and local governments are expecied to put their surplus funds in federal bonds When new government borrowing starts, ’ » 8 o # * Ceiling on wages isn’t so near. Labor is not rota to it (A. F. of L. says 34 per cent of American families received less than $1000 in 1941); administration hasn't yet found a way to freeze profits along with pay rolls, though the search is on. # » = : 2 2 = CONGRESS is in a blue funk. Mail from home has a sharp, unforgiving tone; apparently voters haven't forgotten congressional pensions and don’t intend to; blame congressmen for 40-hour week, slow production, inadequate home defense. Mem of both parties are equally scared. Mail is coming from infrequent letter-writers, instead of usual pressure groups. And there’s lots of it. Latest effort to square things by making a record on economy comes from house appropriations subcommittee where a bloc is forming to force stiff cuts in labor department, NYA and CCC spproprt-, ations,

Arnold Turns Sights on Chemical Plants

NEWEST target of Trust-Buster Thurman Arnold is chemicals industry—which war production board recently asked to go on a 24-hour-day basis. Move has the acid manufacturers dizzy—along with many others. War and justice departménts have been feuding on anti-trust policy; congress, toying for more than a decade with the idea of rejazing anti-trust laws, may Treeze present status for duration. 2 8 = ® Lo.

a Look for another administration speech about suspending politics during the war. (Republicans are holding a national commiitee meeting in Chicago April 20, a conclave of stste chairmen in St. Louis or ® 8 a PE . Pe SPEAKING of POLITICS: Congressmen with big districts are making guarded inquiries of Leon Henderson's office about tires to carry them on their fall campaign circuits. Says OPA: Nothing doing. ® 8 8 ’ \ i. 88 '. * CONGRESS seems to be coming off "best in the set-to over $600,000 information center being built in ‘downtown Washgen. Indications ate that the best the legislators ¢an do is to forbid {Continued on Page Three)

|B NAZI PLANES

Basketball, Relays, Hockey! What Days for Sport Fans!

* 1|—hardly winter and barely spring—

THis is a tough season to explain

but for Indianapolis sports fans it's ; “crucial” of the

Ind, March ‘14. (0: |

AURORA, P.).~The Aurora Red Devils today play basketball at Anderson. They think they'll win, because of an omen. She's a cheer leader, cute, and her name is: Winnie Anderson.

— a - a. ——

fans.” Mare than 200 stars from 20 universitiés and colleges will comPets’ In “sessions beginning; at; 2:30

FALL TO RAF IN CHANNEL FIGHT

Bombed in Sixth Day of Non-Stop Raids.

LONDON, March 14 (U. P.), = Great Britain’s non-stop aerial offensive continued intq its sixth day today with destruiotion of eight erik German fighter planes in’ Battles over the English channel following big scale bombing attacks on the Cologne area of northwestern Germany, The British planes were understood to have engaged the enemy over the channel this ‘morning at a number of places. . : Eight ME-109 fighter craft were shot down by the'R. A. F, it was stated authoritatively, Nazis. Admit Damage The intensification of the British air attacks in which some of the biggest -and newest R. A. F. bombers were said to have participated was regarded as indicating a continuous attack. this spring. Large fires were left raging at Cologne, the air ministry said. The British planes last night made Cologne their chief target and dropped what the air ministry] called a “great weight” of high explosive bombs on vital war-indus-trial areas.

Enemy Waters Mined

admissions from Berlin that the raid was very heavy and that “civilian damage” was done. A formidable fleet of planes, including Stirlings and Halifaxes and perhaps new Lancasters, took part in the attack. . The Friday-the-13th night raid {Continued on Page Three)

FARLEY IS OPPOSED T0'CURB ON POLITICS:

0. K. If Not in Conflict With War Effort, He Says.

Germany’s War Plant Area

- A FEW MINUTES tatar I was at the. gate of Rother defense plant. A shift was just coming off. I climbed on a ‘bus with the workers and spotted a young man who looked like he might talk to me. i ' He did. It cost 10 cents in fare to was producing at capacity. He surprised me with his willingness to talk. 1 decided to ask him more important questions. “How many a month are you turning out?” He didn’t know, and that wasn’t surprising. Plant officials are careful that no one man knows too much about the whole operation. But the surprising thing was that the young fellow was not at all perturbed that I shold ask what the production figures were. I thought he might even sock me in the jaw, or turn me over to the police. . Or at least ask me why I wanted to know all these things. He didn’t, though. When the bus approached his getting-off corner, he pulled the buzzer cord, and with lunch pail under his arm, started off home. Maybe there were a wife and baby waiting for him. I don’t know. But I do know. that he was putting out talk that might make some wife a widow. :

legrn whether that plant.

Discuss Their Plant’s Job Freely

NEXT, ‘1 SPENT two hours in a tavern-restaurant: across the street from another mammoth defense factory. | ho my ears open,

ing freely, gaily, and perhaps cutting their own throats. In a few minutes I had a hint that certain work in the

plant’ was being curtailed for more important production.

1 ambled over and struck u up a conversation, ‘Before it was over I had information that would make this plant an urgent military target. It would be of vital interest to the enemy to have this place leveled with bombs. Immediately. After two hours, the workers were thinning out. strolled out, too, and caught a streetcar for town. 8

2-Word Lesson to Be Learned

ALL THIS INFORMATION 1 obtained through no more devious means than asking simple questions, I didn’t wear any trick mustache or carry phony credentials. 1 didn’t have to tell anyone why I wanted to know these things or who I was. But I found them out—and with an ease that was shocking, It made me wish our people would learn to: Shut ui '

Thousands of u. s. Troops

battle of the war, waged for three days aro

Navy Gives Details of Three-day ‘Battle Against Vastly Superior Forces; Eight Enemy Vessels Wrecked.

WASHINGTON, March 14 (U. P.).—The biggest nav d Java against a vastly superior Japanese fleet, cost the ‘united nations 12 warships. including the U. S. heavy cruiser Hous-

A shift was coming out for lunch. They were talk-

Check-Up

Hawaiian air force Bomber command check a belt of ammunition for a ‘50-calibér’ machine gun’ before taking off or a flight over the Wands,

U. S. BOMBERS

In Australia, Writer Says

CHICAGO, March 14 (U. P.).—The Chicago Sun reported in & copy-

righted dispatch from Sydney, Australia, today that “thousands of United

States soldiers” arrived in Australia

three weeks ago in a convoy which

survived Japanese attacks without the loss of a man.

The dispatch was sent by Sun

Correspondent Edward Angly, who

said he accompanied the convoy. “Where the soldiers are debarking and

what they are doing is a military secret,” the dispatch said. “But it is possible to reveal that

ome looking for trouble found so

tale. All “Safe and Sound” “On the other hand, every man in

A company that} . they will ngver get ome to tell the

[GERMAN DEFEAT IS

SURE, BENES SAYS

Nazi Fall to Whip Japan, Czech Leader Adds.

LONDON, March 14 (U. P)—

HELP AUSSIES

Japs Thrust Deep Into Isles To North as Allies Plan

Counter-Offensive.

By JOE ALEX MORRIS United ‘Press Foreign Editor

American - expeditionary forces were bolstering the ' defense of Australia ®oday and United States planes led battering attacks on a Japanese invasion spearhead that has thrust deeply into the islands north of the embattled down under lcontinent. : American StopEm-hiouaanA of thém, according to the Chicago Sun correspondent—have been in Australia for some time and have been enthusiastically welcomed by ‘a nation that needs increasing numbers of ements. including planes

iit

ton and the U. S. destroyer Pope, the navy anno In their. desperate but unsuccessful struggle to halt

A pair of Sergeants of the

the Nipponese sea-borne inva= sion of the Dutch t Ine dies, the warships Hof the United States, Britain, | Australia and the Netherlands sank or dam= aged eight enemy vessels, The heavy! cruiser Houston, ‘which was lost, had in pe frequently carried President Roosevelt on fishing frips in the

; land off the southern’

In addition to the

following losses’ by the

tions: The loss of personnel disclosed. A cruiser of

rove

ably lost.

Australia — Two — cru er and sloop Yarra.

Japan’s Losses De

Japanese losses were One cruiser sunk; class cruiser set afire and bly sinking; ‘ another ort aged; one destroyed sunk three other destroyers set on ire and left | sinking. A The communique tab ting the losses was issued by the na jointly with the British admiralty, The navy explained that the full | information on the great tle which began in the Feb, 27, .and on morning . of , March 1 Japanese invasion of Ja yet available. But it had been received to of many facts.

Under Dutch Comman, nd

perths

of the battle, on the afternoon Friday, Feb. 27, an allied force sisting of the Australian ¢

frich of the Dutch navy. At 4:14 p. m, of that day, + (Cuntinusd, on Page 1 Three,