Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 26 June 1942 — Page 19

FRIDAY, JUNE 26, 1942

The Indianapolis Times

SECOND

I Washington

WASHINGTON, June 26.—In the face of White House coolness, James A. Farley appears to have put his own man over for the Democratic nomination for goversior of New York. The Brooklyn Democratic organization pledged itself to Attorney General John J. Bennett Jr. this week, and that gives him enough pledges to insure nomination. President Roosevelt has made no statement but he is regarded as having been cool toward the nomination of Mr. Bennett. Friends of the White House were interested in Owen Young, Senator Mead and Lieut. Gov. Poletti. Mr. Farley recently went to the White House and presumably stood firm behind Mr. Bennett. At any rate he continued to go after pledges and to get them, evidently figuring that if Mr. Bennett is nominated the president will be obliged to support him. Two objections have been raised to Mr. Bennett. One is that he is a colorless figure who has demonstrated no notable gifts of leadership. The other is that the American Labor party, which may control some 200,000 votes or more, has declared it will not accept the nomination of Mr. Bennett under any circumstances. In a close race such as the one between Governor Lehman and Thomas E. Dewey four years ago, the American Labor party might hold the balance,

Dewey Seems Assured of Vote

ON THE REPUBLICAN side, Mr. Dewey has obtained more than enough pledges to be nominated if they all stick. There has been intense opposition but Mr. Dewey had his pledges in the bag before his opponents really went to work. Wendell Willkie has been opposed to the nomina-

By Raymond Clive?

tion of Dewey. When he was trying to get the presidential nomination in 1940, Mr. Willkie was forth- | right and courageous in his stand. He has insisted that Mr. Dewey be equally so now. Mr. Willkie and a good many of his friends felt that Mr. Dewey has not been sufficiently clear-cut. They pointed to his wavering in the past and more recently to a reported statement by Mr. Dewey that he was against Rep. Ham Fish not because of his ideas but because of his associations. That was construed as a two-way statement and led to a movement to draft Mr. Willkie. A number of Republicans and the non-partisan “vote for freedom” group are working on this,

Willkie’s Influence a Deep One

THE HOPE OF these opponents of Mr. Dewey is to repeat the performance at the Philadelphia convention and bring about the nomination of Mr. Willkie by upsetting the convention through outside pressure. The difference is that several candidates were in the field at Philadelphia and no one had a clear majority to start with. The state Republican convention will open with Mr. Dewey in command of more than a majority of the delegates. Throughout his few years in politics, Mr. Willkie has been an aggressive and outspoken political leader. By sheer personal force of conviction he has had a deep influence on Republican policy, perhaps saving the party from drifting hopelessly out of line with real issues of today. Through Mr. Willkie's pressure the Republican national committee and the New York state Republican committee have taken stands against a return to isolation. Because of the storm kicked up by Mr. Willkie, more adequate statements have been coming from Mr. Dewey. Not controlling any political machinery, Mr. Willkie may have to be content with those results, and they are not inconsiderable either.

Ernie Pyle has gone to Ireland. His stories from our army camps there should start in about two weeks.

Inside Indianapolis By Lowell Nussbaum

POWERS HAPGOOD, regional director of the C. IL O., had a couple of negotiating youngsters on his hands the ‘other morning. His children, Barta, 11, and Donovan, 10, tried to make him promise to take them to a movie in the evening and they were reluctant to let him leave home until he made a definite pledge. Powers, reflecting on one evening he could spend in comfort beside the family hearth, refused. He considered the matter disposed of satisfactorily (which father doesn’t?) and went his way. That evening, Powers returned home, sought his favorite chair and plopped into it, gripping his newspaper. And then appeared Barta and Donovan, bearing placards reading: “Unfair to Organized Children.” The Hapgood family went to the movies.

Qur Night Life

THE THREE LONDON firemen here for the exhibit of blitz paintings at Ayres are disappointed in Indianapolis. They told C. M. (Moke) Davis, Ayres advertising manager, they wanted to see some night life. None of it here, replied Moke. They could hardly believe it. One of them, Matvyn Wright, said he considered nightlife joints, floor shows, etc., a typical American art item. And here we've been calling ourselves typically American. . . . If you see your neighborhood merchants stalking around their business districts in the wee hours don’t be alarmed. Merchants from several districts have gone to juvenile court, said that vandalism by youngsters was becom-

ing widespread and that in view of the inability of police to patrol the districts thoroughly, they were organizing themselves to do the job.

The Ladies Show Us How

AUTOMOBILE DRIVING north on Meridian st. the other night, slowed up abruptly at 11th st. and the occupants peered pop-eyed into the Johnson Chevrolet place. There, lights ablaze, were more than a score of women—all sizes, shapes, descriptions and ages—going through first aid work. A white-clad nurse was directing and the whole group was going through a lesson in artificial respiration. One army officer stopped in his tracks and stared for several minutes. “I feel a million per cent better,” he grinned. «That's the first real preparedness thing I've seen by civilians around here yet. They're not doing it right, but it’s grand.” Ditto.

The Why of the Heeby-Jeebies

Egypt Needs

By RICHARD MOWRER Copyright, 1942, by The Indianapolis Times and The Chicago Daily News, Inc.

CAIRO, June 26.—In general terms, the British-axis setup in the Middle East is as follows, taking the army, navy and air force angles separately as well as the problem of supplies and communications:

Army

The British have lost much territory.

Having lost

much territory, they have lost quantities of equipment, and arms, not to mention war materiel lost in combat. The axis forces, on the other hand, have captured much equipment and, remaining in possession of the battlefields, they can recondition and repair knocked out tanks, trucks

and damaged guns.

The axis forces have lost few prisoners, the British many, pa-ticularly at Tobruk. The British have lost the chance of taking the initiative of combat, which in the

first days of Field Marshal

Erwin Rommel’s offensive,

was within their grasp. The axis forces have the initiative and probably will not relinquish it until and unless

they get socked hard.

The loss of airdromes in Libya is the most serious blow to British 2a power in the Mediterranean, following

the axis advance into Egypt. naval operations, is now not as extensive as it was. It is more difficult for British surface vessels to seek out and intercept enemy shipping between Sicily, Greece and Libya, or between Benghasi, Derna and Tobruk. Conversely, enemy shipping can benefit by more extensive air protection from axis air forces. Malta is more isolated because the axis controls more of the distance separating the island from the British Middle East than the British do at present. The quickest solution for easing the British navy’s situation in the Eastern Mediterranean is to get a strong force of longdistance bombers, fighters and reconnaissance planes to the Middle East. These could compensate for the navy’s diminished strength to a considerable extent by interfering with the enemy’s shipping in those areas where the navy cannot get to. In other words, drastically increased air power here is essen-

tial. ”

Air Force

AS A RESULT of the British withdrawal from Libya, the Royal Air Force's greatest problem at

" »

CONFIDENTIALLY, the state health board is get-| ting the heeby-jeebies thinking about the Camp At-. terbury problems coming up. | Atterbury is the new camp to be set up near Columbus. There probably will be about 30,000 soldiers there. About 10,000 of them may be Negro troops. One third of them (10,000) will be allowed away from camp each night. Indianapolis is the place they're going to come. And all of us know that Indianapolis is no more prepared to give proper entertainment for 10,000 soldiers a night than Kuibyshev, Russia. That's why all the worry about the street walkers and such. Can't blame ‘em for stewing, can you?

The Work Horse By Major Al Williams

NEW YORK, June 26—The most dangerous and least advertised plane in the entire German air force is the humble JU-52—a low-winged trimotored monoplane with a cruising speed of about 145 miles an hour and capable of landing at about 55 miles an hour on remarkably small fields. Until the beginning of the war this ship was the backbone of the Lufthansa—the German air lines. It is exceedingly stable and easy to fly, and can carry great cargo loads. Like our own trimotored Ford transport of beloved memory, it is a grand workhorse. It has no tricks and requires no special training for its pilots. I have flown both the Ford and the JU-52. Neither could challenge our modern Douglas DC3 in form or speed. But shortly before the war even the British Imperial Airways depended on the JU-52 for transport night flight schedules over dangerous routes. And, while military experts were discussing only warplanes of 350 and more miles an hcur, the Germans were building thousands of humble, squat JU-52s. It is true that Germany's super-speed combat and bomber planes provided the protection for the most revolutionary innovation in modern warfare—the air invasion of Norway—but it was the old work horse, the JU-52, which carried the paratroops, the artillery, the tons of food and ammunition and the thousands of infantry soldiers through the air in that invasion.

But It’s Just a Stop-Gup

THIS VITAL JOB was done by a weight-carrying plane that couldn't stack up against any of the super-transports on our own magnificent airlines today. But the JU-52 can do things which better fit it for cargo and troop carrying than the modern

My Day

NEW YORK, Thursday—Yesterday I attended the French-American Club, Inc, lunch and was very much pleased to be invited to become a member.

Besides our traditional sense of gratitude to the French people for their support at the time of our revolution, I have always been grateful for the leadership in thought given by Voltaire which prepared the thinking of the men of that period. I shall never cease to be grateful personally for the years spent with Mademoiselle Marie Souvestre, who left an indelible mark on many of her pupils. Both Mrs. Davey and Jacques Maratain spoke eloquently. There is no one who is more delightful to talk to, nor a better presiding officer than Louis Bromfield. In the afternoon, I saw Walter Russell's very excellent head of my husband and spent some time talking to various friends at my apartment. In the evening I attended the Hunter college commencebv

airliner. It can land slowly, on small flying fields | without carefully prepared runways. Such a plane has always been recognized as essential machinery for enabling airpower to fulfill its destiny by those who viewed an air force as a military arm capable of operating beyond the immediate range of its shortest-ranged combat planes. Adoption of the JU-52, or any planes of its design and flight characteristics, is only a stop gap until there is a more efficient means of supplying an air force with gas, oil, ammunition, bombs, spare engines and parts and other necessities. The cargo and passenger plane as we know it today is like the locomotive of a train not yet built. We are running these aerial locomotives above on our airline routes, while the rest of the trains still take shape in the development of gliders which can be towed by them.

What the Future Will Bring

AT THIS STAGE of airpower, fleets of big bomber planes skip across wide ocean Spaces at 200 or more miles an hour—and then must sit around exposed to enemy air attack, and wait for surface ships traveling 10 to 16 miles an hour to bring them gas, oil, bombs and ammunition. That vast gap between the high-speed warships of the air and slow surface supply vessels is the real reason why at this moment we have no genuine airfleets that can move to distant bases and begin operations immediately after landing. It is why we are hurrying the building of great cargo planes. These will provide a key piece in the puzzle as airpower works out its true destiny of ability to move and depend entirely upon a‘r-flown supplies. Their usefulness will be increased by their ability to tow loaded, aerial freight cars—cargo-carrying gliders— which can be cut loose by ones or twos to land at places where supplies are needed, without stopping the whole train.

By Eleanor Roosevelt

It is amazing to see so many young women graduating. Almost 1000 girls took their degrees. It was an inspiring evening and I shall watch with interest the girls whom I have had the pleasure of meeting in this class as they grow under their new responsibilities. Dr. George Shuster, the president of Hunter college, announced that the two houses in which my mother-in-law and my husband and I lived in 65th street, had been bought by Hunter college to be used as an interfaith house where the girls would come together in different religious groups and also for social purposes. I should like to mention even belatedly, how glad I am to hear that the Drexel Institute of Technology had given an honorary degree on June 13 to Miss Grace E. Frysinger. Miss Frysinger was made a doctor of science. ‘I have known Miss Frysinger ever since I have been interested in rural organizations. I am glad to pay a tribute here to her and to Dr. Louise Stanley, who heads the bureau of home economics in the department of agriculture. as well as to the many other scientific people working there. They do an

outstandingly useful piece of work for the government ney ;

STORMS BREED IN ALEUTIANS

Rain Falls on 200 Days; Japs Picked Best Time For Invasion.

By Science Service Aleutian island weather is fully as bad as navy men say it is, examination of published records of the U. S. weather bureau shows. It’s the kind of thing we hear about Iceland—plus. It must be one of the drizzliest places on earth. The observatory on Attu, one of the islands reported seized by the Japs, shows a mean annual rainfall of about 71 inches, which is not at all terrific so. far as total precipitation goes. Annual rainfall along the Atlantic coast near Washington runs about 50 inches. But the total number of days on which measureable rainfall occurred was 200 out of the 365. That means an endless procession of little rains. And it doesn’t count heavily cloudy days on which no rain occurred; neither does it count fogs that put no water in the rain-

gauge. Never Very Cold

It never gets very cold in the Aleutians—and it never gets warm. Zero fahrenheit has never been reported; the thermometer in winter hovers constantly near freezing point, but never dips below it. Summer temperatures average a trifle under 60 degrees, and rise to near 70 so seldom that such days don’t figure in tabulations of averages. While frosts have been recorded during every month except July, they are uncommon in summer. The frost-free season extends from late May until early October. This gives a growing season actually longer than that of some of the northern states, the weather bureau comments, adding: “However, owing to the large amount of cloudiness and the comparatively low summer temperatures, vegetation except native grasses, makes ‘slow growth, and gardens are not much of a success.” Orchards and forests would be even less of a success, apparently; the natural vegetation of the islands includes no tree species whatever,

Most Sunshine Right Now

The climate of the islands, however dull, is not without its exciting spells of weather. Cold water of the Bering sea on one side, warm water brought up from subtropical Pacific areas by the Japan current on the other, set up contrasts that breed all manner of storms. Many of the cyclonic disturbances that sweep down across North America originate there, or take on their characteristics after emerging as “young” storms from Siberia across the way. There are also the notorious local “williwaws,” violent windstorms in which the air currents seem to blow “every-which-way.” The Japs chose the best of a bad lot of weather to make their attack in the western Aleutians. Weather bureau records show that least rain, and most of what littl

The air cover necessary for

present appears to be airdromes. The air force's efficacy depends much on the location and numbers of airdromes it has at its disposal. Loss of territory automatically has meant the loss of valuable airdromes. Thus, while demands on the air force have increased because of the needs of the army and navy, facilities for meeting these demands have decreased. The range of planes is limited and much depends on airdromes whence they can operate. During the withdrawal the British air force, which includes the South Africa, Greek, Free Fench and Australian air forces, had to give the utmost cover to the retreating eighth army for the longest possible time and, simultaneously, evacuate advanced airdromes in time so as to avoid capture. ”

Based Close to Front

FIGHTER SQUADRONS based on landing grounds kept operating from airfields very close to the fluid front to the last hour. There have been cases not only of fighters still taking off from advanced landing grounds, when the enemy’s tanks were only a dozen miles off, but of airfield personnel being captured by enemy ad-

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B-24 Consolidated bombers in flight.

vanced columns while collecting the last bits of equipment to be taken away. Axis air forces have superiority —at least in numbers. In the battle area, however, the losses on both sides have been about equal. It is pointed out here that the enemy had, at various periods, superiority in numbers because he could draw upon forces accumulated in Sicily and Crete. Because the enemy was advancing and R. A. F. airdromes had to be evacuated, there were periods in the battle—when the axis air force at Tobruk, for example— when there was no R. A. F. to assist the place’s defenders. The reason was that the R. A. F. had been compelled to move back to more distant airdromes whence fighters could not reach Tobruk and help defend it. The Germans were able to use their Stukas—very vulnerable to fighters—unhindered. ” # | 2 THE DISADVANTAGES in-

flicted upon the R. A. F. by the advance of the enemy are natur-

ally big advantages for the axis air forces. They have now more airdromes and shorter distances to go to attack the British rear areas. The R. A. F. would appreciate speedy delivery of more American planes. The R. A. FP. would be delighted to get long-ranged planes, such as Consolidateds, but as an important R. A. F. man put it: “We are not particular— we like to get planes—any kind.” Supplies and communications, having lost so much material in Libya, the supply situation of the British, at least, in the matter of armor, could to say the least be much better. In fact, it had better be much better, soon. The axis has lots of its own equipment, which includes tanks “made in -France,” as well as French heavy artillery, either captured previous to June, 1940, or subsequently passed on to the axis by Vichy. ”

” ”®

Capture Equipment, Too

THE AXIS, moreover, has a good deal of captured British and American equipment, some of

sunshine |

Writer and Newly-Found Girl Companion Watch Muscovites Forget War at Ballet

By LELAND STOWE

MOSCOW, June 26.—There was scarcely time to reach the Stanislavsky before the ballet began. The others had already started and here I was with an extra ticket. “Never mind,” said Lydia Maximova with her secretarial talent for meeting all emergencies, “the ballet is always sold out. People are always waiting outside hoping to get a ticket at the last minute. Just offer yours to someone at the door—preferably to an attractive young woman. But you must let her pay for it. She’ll. insist on that. But you'll have a nice neighbor. Hurry now or youll be late.” Mr. Stowe It wasn’t that Lily—otherwise Lydia Maximova— was trying to push me into temptation, you understand. Lily simply has a practical mind and a healthy relish for the unexpected in life.

A Companion With a Smile

So here I was in a doorway of the Stanislavsky, quite alone with two pieces of cardboard in my hand and sure enough quite a number of Muscovites were standing watch— hoping they still might have the luck to see this second performance of an entirely new Russian ballet. Shakespeare's “The Merry Wives of Windsor,” if you please, with music by the Soviet composer and conductor, V. Oransky. A young man and woman both started to ask me the same question at the same time, so of course the lady won—and by sheer coincidence she happened to be quite good looking. I couldn't understand what she was saying but she passed me 13 rubles very gladly and handed the ticket to one of her companions—who wasn’t so pretty but had a very pleasant smile. So the two of us found our way to our seats, she chattering things which were quite incomprehensible to me and laughing elatedly and I gesticulating hopelessly—something which I now do so well I can almost do it in my sleep.

Page From Old England

There was nothing forward about my impromptu companion. She simply possessed the great Russian gift of being natural. You love the theater—then why should you worry about sitting next to Leland Stowe, a stranger? In any case only a conventionbound idiot could watch this ballet and worry about anything. The curtain went up on the first of a series of beautifully artistic stage settings and here almost before we could say Jack.Robinson were John Falstaff and his shallow and slender and flirtatious mistresses, Ford and Page, pirouetting tantalizingly

Shakespeare’s characters moving and breathing, completely and unforgettably brought to life, without a single word being spoken. Shakespeare in magnificent pantomime and with such grace and lightness as only the Russian ballet can achieve.

Laughter All Over Theater

Here was Falstaff, huge, redwhiskered and bouncing with fleshly exuberance, guzzling his quart of sack and devouring chickens, whole. And here was Robin, his pert, impish little page, happily munching the hand-me-downs as he leaned against the table leg. And here, surely one of the gayest, most frivolous duels that was ever fought on the stage or off. My companion, the Russian girl, had been captivated long since. There was much laughter all around the theater and much young laughter for fully one-third of this audience, like most Moscow audiences, consisted of youngsters under 20— something I have never remarked anywhere else in the world. “Sie Spielen Gut,” whispered my neighbor. German was the only foreign language in which she could speak a few words. Even now, she would rather speak German than risk seeming impolite. “Yes, very good,” I replied, overworking my only completely satisfactory Russian phrase.

Shakespeare Speaks Again

And here was the foolish, paunchy, amorous-eyed old Falstaff on one knee, before his mischievous mistress Ford, exclaiming: “Have I caught thee, my heavenly jewel? Why not let me die, for I have lived long enough?” No, we did not hear it, but there could be no slightest doubt that was precisely what the lovesick Sir John was saying. And now he was writing identical billets doux to the two charming mistresses, using the bent over back of his page for a desk and driving his feathered pen down to the final period with a great flourish with Robin leaping away

HOLD EVERYTHING

“Ain’t you scared the FBI will nab you for evading the 10 per

[imposed by the sugar rationing pro-

and ruefully rubbing his nearly punctured spine. Who could doubt that this is Elizabethan England and who would have thought that Shakespeare minus speech could speak so truly? All around us were Russian youngsters with shining eyes and smiling faces and somewhere further front, Adm. Standley, American ambassador, and Gen. Faymonville and other officers of the American mission were enjoying themselves as much. There were red army officers here and there, too. Shakespeare and the genius of the new, very young Soviet ballet director, V. Burmeister and the remarkable understanding of these Russian artists had taken them—and taken all of us—far away from the war.

Friend Says Au Revoir

So the final curtain fell at last and the usual crowd of theaterloving Russians surged forward to the front rows, cheering and applauding, Sorokina, the ballerina, Kurilov, the perfect Falstaff, the little, hitherto unknown, ballet dancer, Bulatova, for her masterpiece of a page boy and all the others. With her same smiling dignity, my unexpected theater companion said au revoir and joined her sister. All four of their little group had succeeded in getting tickets at the last moment. They looked very happy as they moved vivaciously toward the door. After all, they had just been to England, or rather, Elizabethan England had come to Moscow. Shakespeare himself would have been more than content. Too bad that he can’t come to the doorway of the Stanislavsky any night now—preferably fumbling an extra ticket in his hand.

THOMAS SAYS SUGAR: RATIONING BUNGLED

WASHINGTON, June 26 (U. P.). —=Senator John Thomas (R. Ida.) told the senate yesterday that sugar growers are “being hit by excessive restrictions on the use of sugar”

gram. He said that Idaho sugar beet growers have been notified by the Amalgamated Sugar Co. that there

tion in current payments on last year’s crop. He blamed the situation on the sugar rationing program which, he said, had been “badly bungled” and should be investigated by congress. Senator Thomas placed in the record a market letter issued by Lowry & Co. of New York City, which asserted that “there is enough sugar to more than meet this year’s requirements in the United States without importing an additional pound from Puerto Rico and Cuba.”

LODGE MEETS TOMORROW Olive Branch Rebekah lodge No.

will be a delay and possible reduc-|

which can be used against the united nations after a brief spell in repair shops. At Tobruk—

elsewhere, too, but especially at

Tobruk—the axis captured stores of food the possession of which will relieve the enemy’s supply problem to a regrettable extent. Possession by the axis of so much material enables it to eliminate much of the delay which

otherwise might be compulsory and which would be valuable time gained for the British. While it can be said—sorrowfully—that the Britishers’ lines of communications are now much shortened, the enemy’s lines of communica=tions are not so bad, thanks to the possession of Tobruk. Axis convoys can go to Benghasi and then coastwise, under air force protection, as far as Tobruk, thus sparing the enemy’s trucks the long overland route. Communications between Sicily and Libya will be safer—unless more long-distance planes operate from Egypt or unless the allies establish themselves in French North Africa. :

2D BOHEMIAN TOWN IN ASHES

Nazis Shoot All Men Village in Avenging Heydrich’s Death.

NEW YORK, June 26 (U. P.).— The Bohemian village of Lezaky, 60 miles east of Praha, has suffered the fate of Lidice and has been wiped out by the Nazi gestapo in retaliation for the killing of Reichse protector Reinhard Heydrich, the British Broadcasting Co. reports in a broadcast picked up by the United Press listening post here. The BBC said that all the men of the village were “mowed down” by German execution squads on a charge that some of the inhabitants had participated in shielding the killers of Heydrich, known as “the hangman” for his ruthless execu=tion of conquered peoples. The number of persons who died at Lezaky and the fate of the wom= en and children was not revealed,

Reprisal Murders Continue

More than 250 men died at Lidice, similarly charged with shielding the parachutists that Berlin held were responsible for Heydrich’s death, The 1000 women and children and aged of the town were imprisoned or exiled. Including the mass executions at Lidice and Lezaky, German reprisal murders in the month since Heydrich’s assassination would total almost 1000. BBC reported that 18 more persons had been sentenced to death in Praha and 12 in Brno.

What You Buy With WAR BONDS|

Barbed wire used by Uncle Sam’s fighting forces is vastly dif ferent from that used on Amer= jcan farms. Army and marine barbed wire is much heavier and the barbs, about three inches in length, are more vicious than ordinary barbed wire.

The marine corps pays 50 cents for each 12 yards, or 36 feet of this specially manufactured barbed wire. The army and mae rine corps needs thousands upon thousands of feet for defensive warfare. Your purchase of w bonds and stamps will insure ficent quantity for their n

10 will meet tomorrow night in

Invest at least 10 per cent