Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 12 September 1942 — Page 9

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§ Hoosier Vagabond

. LONDON, Sept. 12—~When I was in Northern

Ireland - I somehow had a ‘neighborhood” feeling

about our American troops there. True, there were many thousands of. them and I personally knew only a few score. Yet Northern Ireland is so small and I traveled it so thoroughly that I came to have the feeling that all the troops were old friends of ‘mine, In England it is vastly different. England is so much larger, there are by now: so many troops here, and they are arriving in such enoromus thousands that it’s impossible to keep yourself ac- - quainted with all the outfits. All that “personal” feeling is gone. Our forces in the European - theater have now become so big. you Have to look at them objectively, instead of personally. Coming from our troops in Northern Ireland to our troops in England is like going from your little home town up to New York, where you can know only a tiny fraction of the people. The troops over here, just as in Northern Ireland, are anxious to get going. But they, perhaps more than the boys in Ireland, realize how vast the preparations must be. And they realize also how much we have t0 learn from the British before going into battle,

The Bombings Are on Again

SOME OF OUR American troops know already what it is like to be bombed from the air. London has: started having two or three alerts a week once more, but the planes seldom come over the city, and only once since my arrival have the guns opened up. The German technique at the moment is to send small raiding parties of not more than 10 planes over coastal towns, killing a few vacationers and

By Ernie i

knocking down a 68 shop. or two. They seem especially fond of machine-gunning the streets of resort Also they are trying to maintain a Widespread reconnaissance in the air to keep themselves right up to

the minute on troop movements, and doubtless to] Le

keep a searching eye on. the whereabouts of the new American contingents. If the Gefmans are ever able fo open up heavily on Britain again; it will be different from the last

blitz. For they, as well as Britain, have new types]

of bombs, : The latest is an explosive incendiary, which can be set to go off anywhere from one to five minutes

after landing, during which time it is burning furi-|

ously. ‘When it does explode it throws Phosphorus, which produces a very nasty burn. Water-Drinking Amazes ‘Em

SEVERAL THINGS about ‘the Americans stand out in British eyes. Probably the No. 1 item is the

amount of water the Americans drink. The British] |

are absolutely appalled by it. The average Englishman never has water on the table. But the Americans demand glass after glass, and the English look on with utter amazement. The American penchant for ice is the last straw. “I just

can’t understand it,” one waitress told me. “Imagine|

drinking ice-water and hot coffee at the same meal!” Another peculiarity—our enlisted men’s uniforms look so much like officers’ that it confuses the British privates. "I have one friend . here in London—Pvt. Mark Senigo on The Stars and Stripes—who is constantly being saluted by British enlisted men.

At first he just grinned or passed on without|

doing anything, but, finally realized that this would cause bad feeling among the British troops toward American officers. So now he returns all British salutes as gravely as though he were Major General Senigo.

Inside Indianapolis By Lowell Nussbaum

PROFILE OF THE WEEK: Henry Louis Dithmer, head ‘man at the Polar Ice & Fuel Co. for 40 years, president of the board that runs the Gas company, past president of a lot of other: organizations, and one

of the gumesk men in town. , He just doesn’t know when he’s licked. Six years ago, he had a severe stroke that paralyzed his entire right ‘side. Most anyone ‘else would have been a helpless invalid for life. But not Henry Dithmer. He's too doggoned stubborn. Through ‘sheer grit, he was back on his feet within a few months. . He’s 72, now, and his right side’s still paralyzed, but he still rules the roost at Polar, goes to Gil : the plant seven days a week, and , gets a big wallop out of his work. Hr. Dither About 5 feet 9 inches tall, he’s a little stooped, weighs maybe 170. His eyes are a china blue, and his iron gray hair is thinning around the crown. It usually needs combing because of his habit of running his hand through it and tugging at 4 a forelock.

His Tenis Is Pappery

HE HAS A PEPPERY temper, flies off the handle easily and raises a barrel of hell. Then, as soon as the offender is out of sight—and sometimes before— he breaks into a sheepish laugh. Not long ago while riding in his car, he saw a competitor's truck parked. In the truck were several of Polar’s canvas ice bags. These bags are hard to get now, and Mr. Dithmer's wrath was aroused. He got out of his car and, despife his paralyzed side, climbed up into the competitor's truck, threw the bags out onto the sidewalk, then gave the driver a piece of his mind. He has a lively sense of Sumor, used: to be quite a practical joker, and is known as an interesting “story teller. He has an inexhaustible fund of stories which he tells with a straighf face. His friends enjoy getting him to reminiscing about his early

‘experiences. : Henry Dithmer has grown up with the city.

Washington

WASHINGTON, Sept. 12—For a brutally frank, hard-hitting report, the job just turned out by the ‘Baruch rubber committee will stand as a model for a long time. There doesn’t seem to be a punchpulling line in it. : In view of what the Baruch commiitee reports, it is inconceivable that there can be any longer objection to nation-wide gasoline rationing. Action should have been taken long ago. Now the Baruch committee finds the existing situation so dangerous that unless corrective measures are taken In mediately, this country will fac . both a military and civilian rc ie lapse. That should end the argu- : : ment, and particularly should end the pressure against rationing which came from a _ group of senators and representatives. : To: support its recommendation for nation-wide gasoline rationing as a rubber-saving measure, the Baruch committee reveals this critcial information: Stockpile of crude on hand July 1--578,000 tons. Estimated imports to end of next year—53, 000 tons. Total crude rubber supply to end of next year— 631,000 tons. : “Estimated military and other. essential demands for same period—842,000 tons. Deficit that must be met by synthetic production : by end of next year—211,000 tons,

An Indictment of Bureaucracy

THERE YOU ARE. Unless new supplies of natural or artificial rubber can be obtained in time, total military and export demands alone ‘will ‘exhaust crude rubber stocks before the end of next summer,

We are faced with certainties as to demands—ard

with grave uncertainties as to supply. That's almost all word for word out of the Baruch FEpOLS: as. $. ud 4 Mod Deals Sucre un. pom

By ere fi, the mother of

He was born in Brooklyn, N. Y.. \ but his father died when Henry was 3, and the family then moved here. As a small boy, he carried papers, still remembers who lived where, and even what their house numbers used to be before the numbering system was changed.

Started a Cigar Store

AS A MERE YOUTH, he started a cigar store, But “smoked myself out of "business. ” He. also sold ice cream, and he hardly can bear the sight of it now. After collecting for a piano firm, he went with an ice company, In 1893, he organized a company to take over the firm, and that was the start of Polar. He became the manager, and has been running it ever since,’ ‘He used to enjoy most shorls, played baseball with the children, but now his principal relaxation is

reading — particularly biographies and historical]

novels, chair. Meat and potatoes are his favorite foods, but he’ll eat most everything except salads. He calls them “rabbit food.” He isn’t fussy about his clothing. He's just as apt to have his hat crosswise on his head as not, and doesn’t give a darn. He likes red; once had

Frequently he falls asleep in his reading

his office walls and furniture painted a fire truck red.|

He cares little for the radio or movies; gets shaved every other day.

Feeds Birds Raisin Toast

ONE OF HIS Pleasures is to watch the birds ‘at his home, 3634 Watson road. He feeds them three slices of raisin toast every morning, thinks he has some unusual pigeons because they roost in trees. His memory for names is pretty bad. - Often he forgets even his old friends’ names. It's quite em‘parrassing to him, and he’ll go to no end of trouble to cover up his failing. He scolds others about forgetting names—says there's no sense in getting into the habit. He used to have a nervous habit of jJingling keys. Now he taps his cane, instead. When the tapping gets ‘loud and fast, it's a sign he’s getting nervous or impatient. When Henry Dithmer gets to tapping| that cane and fidgeting af a meeting, the chairman}. usually winds up the meeting in a hurry. He knows it's time to quit. :

By Raymond Clapper

The facts are better raw. As the Baruch committee says, it

in trying to throw in purple adjectives.

is either discomfort or defeat, course.

This report also is a severe indictment of Wash-

' There 1s no middle

ington bureaucracy. It is important as a case study

in bureaucratic fumbling. The Baruch committee finds us in our present jam with regard to rubber largely because of errors, procrastinations, indecisions, conflicts of authority, clashes of personalities, lack of understanding, early non-use of known alcohol processes, and failure to stockpile crude rubber when the chances were known to be good that Japan would make a drive to cut off our sources in the Far East. Those also are words mostly taken out of the report.

The Report's” Real Challenge—

THE BARUCH committee finds it impossible to understand why our government did not request help ‘from Russia in setting up a synthetic system. No satisfactory explanation could be found. Russia has been making synthetic for 10 years, and is the first or second largest producer in the world. Last February Russia offered to exchange information with us. - If we had acted then, plants for producing rubber by the Russian process might be well on the way to completion. Furthermore, the bureaucracy has permitted : essential materials to be used for nonessential purposes. There has been a lack of vigorous inventory and priorities control. Too much complacency was encountered. There has been some disposition to bow to the so-called impossible instead ‘of trying to overcome it. That's the record in this arsenal of bureaucracy as the Baruch committee finds it. Public sacrifices must be made now because of ‘those mistakes, Can we expect something better from here on out? Something better in using Kaiser's ability? Something better in using our lirhited manpower wisely?

up to. Washington.

the family, to the bos in. in the

Inferiority Complex Blamed For Mistreatment of Allied. Prisoners.

(This is the second artiste in a series on ‘the Japanese e by Rie Wilson, Se nr ae ¥ former United Press bureau in Manila Banta

By RICHARD C. WILSON United Press Staff Correspondent NEW YORK, Sept. 12—The slapping of many British and American

soldiers can be ascribed largely to

people, in the opinion of veteran residents of Japan. Face slappings were more common in Hongkong than elsewhere in the Jap-invaded areas of the Far East.

{This was probably due to the fact

Hongkong was the first occidental} territory to be captured by. Japan in the war, and provided the Japa={" nese military their first “victory cel» ebration.” As .a Japanese prisoner in: Hongkong, I saw groups of British, Dutch and Americans ‘herded about the streets in groups for the “edification”| of Chinese, Portuguese and: other neutrals. Faces of “enemy aliens” were slapped at the slightest provecation.

“Must Show People” I asked my Japanese guard, Corp.

was necessary to slap faces of prisoners so often. “You our enemies,”

{he explained. “Must show people

you prisoner.” ; Half an hour later, Uehara stormed into my room and bluntly asked in broken English, how much it would cost him to attend college for one year in the United States. Although my cheek still stung from| the slapping of my guard an hour before, this seemingly innocent question left me bewildered. As it turned out, his question was in all sincerity. Americans who have resided among Japanese for as long as 20 years have admitted their: inability to understand these abrupt changes e feeling. :

Blame War on’ Roosevelt

In this war, Japanese soldiers have been schooled to the belief that President Roosevelt is responsible for the United States and Japan being at war. Japanese soldiers from the hinterland have been inculcated with the belief all ‘occidentals are “foreign . devils” ‘ and should ‘be treated as such. The difference ‘in treatment accorded by a Japanese|

eign devils” before and one who had als was striking.

tives of the Japanese army were invariably fed on the same basis as

Japan—eight ounces of rice daily;

of green vegetables plus a varying

Bitter Toward Chinese 3 * Because ‘of their traditional su , Chinese :

SLAPPING FACES] COMFORTS JAPS

faces in the Far East by Japanese] the inferiority complex of Japanese|

Yasuichi Uehara, one day why it|

. | dicting that less than 200,000 voters

never had experience with occidentBritish, Dutch and American cap-|

allowed for Japanese. civilians in|

two. ounces of flour; « one-half} ounce of sugar, and a frugal amount],

1. Dr. Maurice O. Ros,

and Barbara, Bran.

3. When the student rolls are

president ‘of Butler smiiversity, has the man- ~sized. sob of making the program of Butler fit in drei, the program of an’ America at war. 2. These students in the Butler student lounge manage to laugh ike the typloal collegiate always has, but they're dead serious about their stake in the war, about their uncertsin future.” Left to right are Barbara Renick, Jim Stahley, Martha Bremner, Jeannette Walker, Don Kauster ‘and Bill Schmedel. i , ‘tabu lations ‘may show that 60 per cent of Butler's students are girls—such as (left to right) Sue Van Talge, Norma Jackson, Barbara Yount, Susanne Weesner

Unless Registration Rate Is Tripled.

More than 50,000 Marion souniy voters will not be ‘eligible to vote Nov. 3 unless the. rate of registration triples in. the next three weeks. . William ‘P. Flanary, chief registration. clerk, estimated today that| unless unprecedented registrations were. filed the total list. of voters would be only about 285,000. Total registration for the 1940}. ‘election was 306,000. It has been estimated that there are more than 330,000 voters in the county. At present there are 269,000 voters on the lists, carried over from the May primaries. Mr. Flanary predicted that only 15,000 to 16,000. additional voters would: register before | the statutory deadline, Oct. 5. Leaders of both parties are .pre-

will go to the peills here on Nov. 3 the lightest vote in more saan. 10 years. 5

V. F. W. TO BE HOST

The Burns-West-Streibeck post, V. F. W. and auxiliary will. spon-

©

50,000 May Be Ineligible!

sor a.card party at 8 o'clock tonight |

a.

Practical Courses’ Popular: ;

WE REY pe

their: future in terms of the ‘war. girls. : Many ‘of: the students work part. time. and the three-semestér system’ of large schools is not practical. But a new summer session plan inaugurated this year makes it: possible for a student to complete three semesters’ credit in any one year. - The .girls are showing increased | interest in pre-nursing, home eco‘nomics: and teacher training. . The boys are flocking to ‘the mathematics and physics courses as suggested by the army and. navy. The emphasis is more on the beginning . courses in these subjects

vanced. French &nd German languages s| arenot. popular and Spanish is get-

| ing large numbers. The free defense Sciustes With hosted also are pop- ity.

si, Denny and Washington si .

but small, amount of fish or fresh} meat. When complaints were made} that this constituted a slow starva-if J tion ration, Japanese officers re-i§ plied that it was the same granted i "| Jap soldiers in the field. That’s the real challenge We Baruch report puts ’

THIS CURIOUS WORLD

soldier who had encountered “for-| a

By: WILLIAM" CRABB

| This i an. epochal year. for Butler university. == * Never .in the school’s long’ history have so many changes: been’ made | so rapidly and so radically. ; { THe student body is more serious. They seem anxious to talk about |

: The final enroliment figures may. show that: 60 per cent will be

: | stressed. The: 2 torea.

‘s

. 8

(: irls fo Outnumber Boys

: message,

Talks Shows He Has Taken Over. By PAUL GHALI:

copyrighi, 1 1942, ya The’ pl iansbo

a — 12—Violent, tions to President Roosevelt's day gr to congress, which

viable position of being 8 Ls red: to the Nazi’ bull. en

the reason for ‘this latest “od of ‘invective is nos clear, for}. jug

velt's ' message, which they 1 mously regard as an admission America’s critcial economic |

tion.

‘Pear of inflation and: realize

No 3 president Ge able, they hold,

the navy signal school has taken ‘over the fieldhouse. The 1943 sched--ule is doubtful,

|, Freshmen Play, Too

‘this year. There were supposed fo ‘be 20 lettermen back this year— only seven appeared. : The team will have to ‘travel by

Basketball prospects are Sood): Negotiations are: under way for the| Tech high school gymnasium for| thé 10 home games. If that doesn't]: work out, co piace olso. will el:

Up to this year, freshmen and

gram, requiring every student to take three hours a week.

doors with the emphasis. on leg de-

lays: are abandoned, but cross-coun “track will’ be of-

Chub Becomes’ Gym r

be. in’ the. stadium despite the fact].

The squad. is: 50 strong with 21 | of them freshmen admitted to ‘in-| tercollegiate play for the first time,

train—standing up if necessary. a8 The longest trip is to western Mich- pessimism at the, expense of the more ad-|'3.

found, regardless. of seating capac-|

|” since the feldhouse is not svan- |: able, all the work will be out of

° campus’ club~‘student ‘hang- 3

Labor day evening, worry: wishful-thinkers in the +

and omitted to give Lol and ‘Mediterranean-convoy-The Berlin. , Sums disn