Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 24 December 1942 — Page 9

Hoosier Vagabond

The movies are few and pretty poor. There are no |"

ORAN, Algeria (by wireless)—Oran, as a city, is not a bad place at all. But most of the Americans here w trade the whole layout for the worst town $i the United States, and throw in a hundred dollars to boot. ‘That's the way Americans are, including me. Most of us had never heard of ‘Oran till"the war started. we it is bigger than El Paso. I has palm-lined streets, broad sidewalks, outdoor cafes, a beautiful “harbor, ' restaurants ° with 'softcolored lighting, and apartments with eleyators.On the other hand it has § Arabs dressed in ragged sheets, ~ garbage in the gutters, dogs that are shockingly ‘gaunt, and more horse carts than autos. Most of the Americans talk shout: how dit Oran is. Which just goes to show . they haven't been around, Oran is cleaner than some ‘ofthe poorer Latin cities in our own hemisphere. And #t this season it doesn’t even smell very bad. . .. World travelers had told me that Oran had an ntal atmosphere,’ but I can’t sense it, It seems ouch more like a Latin city than an Oriental one.

; Officers Itching to Move On

"wou COULD COMPARE it in many ways with mn Paso if you discounted the harbor. The climate is

roughly the same. ‘ Both cities are in semi-arid counAry. Both’are dusty in the spring and very hot in summer. Both are surrounded by fertile, irrigated Jand that produces fruit and vegetables ang grain. Our. troops are rather lost here, dfficers and men ‘both. There aren't the usual enertainments to he had at home and in England. Nothing much is left to drink ‘but ‘wine, and most of the Americans haven't learned to drink wine with much relish.

#75 Jae : ve

dances. There is a professional “line,” but the parents of nice girls are very cranky and won’t let the girls out. Officers stationed here at desk jobs are already itching to move onward. Troops camped far out in the country—which the vast majority are—really are better satisfied than those in town. .. Everybody is plenty busy. That is, almost everybody. There are at the moment two correspondents in Oran, and several times that many army censors to handle our stuff. I turn in one piece & day, and the other correspondent one piece a week. * The censors are so bored that when I bring my column in the entire office staff grabs for‘it and reads it hungrily, everybody makes flattering remarks, and then we all go out and have a bite to eat.

What Was It That Goat Was Eating?

.. FOR SOME REASON communications from here are faint, you might even say mystic. I can’t find out how my copy is, transmitted. The censors themselves don't know. We write the stuff and send it away with about the same assurance of delivery as

though we'd put it in a bottle and tossed it in the|.

Mediterranean. I'm positive I saw a small Arab boy feeding my column to his goat yesterday morning. Outside of the poor censors, everybody is busy here. The army’s immense’ supply organization is working at fever pitch,’ unloading supplies and getting them started forward. The scenes at the docks and warehouses are thrilling. It is astounding the amount of rolling stock we have here. There seem to be just as many trucks as I ever saw in America. The coastal highways are good | macadam, and our -trucks roar over them constantly. Day by day the whole of North Africa grows nearer the saturation point with American soldiers, machines of war and supplies. Before long they will be ready to spill out in a smothering flow, over the enemy.

Inside Indianapolis By Lowell Nussbaum

rox PAYNE was asked by his wife to do a bit of last-minute Christmas shopping for her. She wanted him to buy a couple of princess slips. Afraid ! he'd forget what to ask for, she wrote it out on a alip of -paper. Mr. Payne, who is assistant superintendent of distribution for the - water company, went to a store and, without saying anything,

handed the note to a clerk. She

read it in silence, went and got several types, then wrote a note asking how he liked them. Gravely, he. took her pencil and wrote: “Okay.” Then he cleared his throat and said: “Give me two of these,” The clerk blushed. So did he... . Have you noticed the women bus announcers in the bus station on the circle? Besides notifying the passengers when the busses arrive, they make change. That speeds up the loading of busses.

Elevator Roulette |

FLOYD HUNTER reports seeing a half dozen high school youths playing “elevator roulette” at Block's. The store has a “board” with rows of lights which indicate the location of the various elevators by floors. The youngsters seemed to be waiting until several elevators started up from the first floor, then betting - on which one would reach the top first. . . . Virgil Martin, community . fund executive director; who leaves here Dec. 31 to become administrative director of Community Chests and Councils, Inc, was .the honored guest at a going away party the other day. The fund employees gave him a metal utensil of the

Washingt - WASHINGTON, Dec. 24 —A reader sends in from Uvalde, Tex.—No it wasn’t Mr. Garnerg-a quotation from' something I wrote during Christmas week last year. . The quotation was as follows: “Peace has been the dream of the ages, but only a dream. For two thousand years the star has been shining and nothing has come of it. Or has something come of it? I wonder.

. Why should we give in? Why should we give in now when we

may be pulling up the long last

mile toward the top of the hill? “True, people have been climbing for centuries and they are tired, but we are a long way up the hill now. It is worth while to press the journey still a little farther.” * Those words of last year reached me on a day when I was leaning on the pessimistic side. Sometimes lately. I have been wondering whether we were going to make that last mile. And I'll tell you why . 3am just a little down about ite

Administration May Well Take Stock

~~ ‘THE STATE OF MIND of people toward the | administration which is their government is not a happy one today. We might as well face it. The. grelation of the people to the administration is clouded by so much doubt and suspicion now that te consequences could result. \ It is a terrible thing when a majority of people lose faith in the administration they have put into Foe a ch + Gane wel be cal tn

“We saw the -tragedy happen to Wilson and to - Hoover. In each case the couniry went through a period of violent stress while its faith was finding new foundations. In the-case of Wilson the country ‘was shaken from the idea of. collective security back inte the dies uo ‘safety thraugh isolation

‘up into. grotesque proportions.

type commonly used in nurseries. scription to the magazine Fortune.

Just Call Me Pete

THE MAILMAN arrived at the state house the other day with a Christmas greeting card addressed simply to “Mr. Pete, State House, Indianapolis.” knowing what to:do with it, the mailman took it to state police headquarters. There, Safety Director Don, Stiver looked at it and said: “Humph, from South | Bend. Take it up to Pele Béczkiewicz.” happens to be a member of the state tax board, is a former county treasurer at South Bend, And since his name is a trifle difficult for inexperienced tongues, he used to get letters containing tax payments addressed merely to “Pete the Treasurer.” Incidentally, his name is pronounced something like “Biskayvitch,” with the accent on the second syllable.

Too Much Racket

HARRY REID, big boss of Indianapolis. Railways, takes exception to our suggestion that streetcar motormen and bus operators “jangle their bells or tootle their horns” a half block before they get to stops where there's a drug store or grocery. The idea is to make is possible: for people to wait inside the store, in the warm, during cold weather. “Don’t you know,” Harry chides us, “that we get quite a few complaints about the ‘jangling of bells and tootling of horns’ on our equipment already? Our phones would be Busy with complaints if we tried that. We got one long letter from a man who complimented us on our service but complained bitterly about the noisy fare registers on our vehicles, He forgets that that noise is music to our ears.”

In it was a sub-

By Raymond Clapper

In the case of Hoover, the country was shaken from its confidence that business prosperity would keep two chickens in every pot and it turned to the. idea that Mr. Roosevelt would have the’ government maintain an ever-normal two-chicken pot, for one and all. This administration and all of its friends may well take stock now, before it is too late. It would be a tragedy if the nation had to finish this war and begin shaping the peace under an administration in which a majority of the people had already lost confidence as in the case of Wilson. |

War Affects People in Strange Way SOME OF THE CRITICISM of the conduct of the war is overdrawn, a substance of truth .blown To | a considerable extent that will right itself in time. . | But beyond that people are affected by this war in a strange way. Ii is an offshore war and so much is secret that its magnitude is difficult to grasp. So it reaches out like an unseen hand to clutch people by the throat, with rationing, with goods disappearing completely, with sons and husbands disappearing into the unknown where they may be either alive or dead. - The psychological strains of os a war are heavy and. lead to bitterness against those regarded as the authors of these circumstances. President Roosevelt and his whole administration need to work on this and work hard. There has been nothing more important in our generation than that America make this victory stick. We can’t afford to have the chances wrecked by an internal upheaval that would wash everything down the drain again. Mr. Roosevelt missed one bet in mot making better: use. of Wendell Willkie, He must, for the sake of ends that are bigger than he or his administration, leave nothing undone to deserve and hold the confidence of a majority of the country so that the task that destiny has lodged in his care can be | carried forwa:d. 4 X | \

“TN 7a

By Eleanor Roosevelt

seas : have received, not only Yom Great Britain but from “other united nations as well.

They are provided with services and materials

[8 Hon

By Ernie Pyle|

¢ terrifically tired.

Not |

Pete, who |.

XV A ack

By Sobor

11 1.067 The crew of the pom-poms just ‘below us ‘on the starboard is sitting around playing cards, ready for

action'in

in ‘an instant. The men on the control towers on

the main mast and after-mast are peering into the sky for enemy aircraft. Men are at the 4-inch high-altitude

guns.

The men are getting keyed up at the prospect ‘of

action. You can almost feel the electricity all over the ship. Standing on the flag deck, I look down over the decks of the Repulse. The guns seem no less eager for combat :

«than the. crews themselves.

We're told that Admiral Phillips on the Wales has just sent a. signal to Singapore asking for aircraft protection.

I haven't had time to shave. I just took a picture of the gun crew

playing cards and another, picture of the Prince of Wales. Also snapped Gallagher with ‘the flag-deck / yeoman. if We are now zigzagging. 1 only

see two destroyers #at the mo-

ment. The Prince of Wales is four cable -lengths ahead. 11.07—The communica tions loud speaker announces: “Enemy aircraft -approaching — ac= tion stations!” I see them: 1; 2, 3,4,5,6,7)8, 9. There are~ nine, flying line : astern, one be- : hind the other. I would judge them about 12,000 feet, coming straight over A the Repulse. Cecil Brown 11.14—And here they come. 11.15~The guns of jthe Prince of Wales just let go. At the same instant I see the flame belching

from the guns of the Wales, ours” -

break into a chattering, ear-split- . ting roar. The nine Japanese aircraft are stretched out across the bright blue, cloudless sky like star sapphires of a necklace, © I've never been so close to so many guns firing at onée. The roar of the pom-poms and the hard, sharp crack of the four- . inch high-altitude guns are deafening. The flashes are blinding and suddenly the smell of cordite is strong. I am standig on the. port side of the flag deck, in the:

lee 6f an air funnel, eight feet

from a battery of pom-poms. . I gape open-mouthed at those aircraft coming ‘directly over us, flying so that they *will pass from bow to stern over the Repulse, The sky is filled with black puffs from our ack-ack. They seem a discordant profanation of that beautiful sky. But the formation

DEFENSE TOPIC OF AXIS PARLEY

| ltalo-German Army to Meet Thrust From Africa Sought at Once.

By PAUL GHALI'

and The Chicago Daily News, Inc. BERN, Dec. 24.—Immediate for-

mation of a combined Italo-German

army for the defense of the Italian peninsula, or the Balkans, should |: the allies attempt to land in either area, was one of the chief subjects of Hitler's recent conyersation- at his headquarters, it was learned foday from a responsible source, Der Fuehrer, who also invited Vichy Premier-Dictator Pierre Laval to his last week-end confer-

ences—which many observers con-

strued as a “blind” to confuse thet,

outer world—conferred with Italy’s

Foreign Minister County Galeazzo} Ciano and Chief of Genéral Staff} Gen. Ugo Cavallero, in the presence of Germany's, Reichsmarshal

Hermann Goering, Foreign Minister

Joachim von Ribbentrop, High Command Chief Wilhelm Keitel

and a coterie of political and military bigwigs. : It is yet to be revealed what Hitler’s Italian partners submitted in reply. Although Italy’s press has emblazoned what it claims is “complete harmony” in the axis camp, it is believed by some foreign circles here that ‘Gen. Cavallero raised objecs tions. He is said to have expressed concern lest his peninsular army ike ord to the Balkans by the Ger man high command, thus leaving Iialy to fend for itself. New Fortifications Sn : German troops now :

I feel bleary and I am

learn reliably, hay divisions, located partly in: the F

valley and partly in the so -, er?

of Japanese planes coming over

" one behind the other, is undis- :

turbed. 8 H #

“The Bombs Fall

NOW THEY ARE directly ¢ overhead. For the first time I see the bombs coming down, materializing suddenly out -of nothingness and streaming toward us like ever-einlarging "tear drops. There's a magnetic, hypnotic, limb-freez-ing fascination in that sight. It never occurs to me to try:

‘and duck or run. Open-mouthed

and rooted, I watch the bombs getting larger and larger. - Suddenly, 10 yards from me, out in

_. the. water, a huge geyser springs

out of the sea, and over the side, showering water over me and my camera, : I instinctively hunch over, sort of a semi-crouch, and at that same instant there is a dull thud. The whole ship shudders. Pieces of paint, fall from the deck over the

. flag deck.

11.17—“Fire on the boat deck. Fire below!” That just came over ° the loud speakers. . There are fountains of water all around the

* ship. Some are near misses. Most

of the bombs are hitting the water 10 to 30 yards off the port side.

- Beautiful fountains of thick white

at the base and then tapering up

.- ihto fine spray.

«That first: -bomb -was a direct hit.* Someone on the flag deck says: “Fire in marines’ mess and ; hangar.” That bomb struck the catapult _deck, penetrated, exploded under‘neath, | The bomb hit 20 yards astern of my position on the flag deck. A number of men (50). were killed. 11.21—We got one of the bombers! It is coming down fast, mn ‘black smoke. All our guns are still going. I am now near cone

“of "the multiple Vickers guns. It

is firing 2000 half-inch shells ‘a

. coming up.

“Our : heavy guns break in many guns firing at once, ‘minute. God, what a racket! bomber smacked into the

That. rater

about -a half mile away.

bers ging ales tell,

_ 1123—The high-level = bo! are gone. We are still zigz: like mad. The Prince of seems 0 be firing, but I can 8 # 8

Smoke Hides Damag:

I RUN BACK to see. the age, but the bomb: penetrate the deck armor and only. smo ¢ is Our: ajrerai; - is knocked off: its track and a redbearded New. Zealand flee! -airarm pilot is atop the cran< aftempting to lift the plane tc drop it overside, since its gasoline constitutes a menace. \As I pass the:gun crews seem extraordinarily calm. plenishing ammunition, lau: I hear someone say: “Let them all next time.” A gunner remarks: “FE oody ‘good. bombing for. those blok $7 When I return to the flag deck I note a three-inch hole i: te’ funnel from a bomb-splint r 18 inches above the spot whe :'T'd been’ standing. It’s obviou my number isn't up yet. Smoke is still coming up the catapult deck and stre: uous efforts are under way to cc 2tcol the fire, Four stokers come ¢ to

ams

they re= 2ing. get

‘rom

the flag deck to get first aid. They're blackened and scorcned - and their clothes are water-

' soaked.

They are very calm but wildeyed and stunned, and their hands

are shaking. The skin, is hang- .

ing ‘from their hands and faces like tissue paper.. Someone says: “Make way.for thesé men. They need first aid.” A stoker croaks tremulously, “Water. I want some water.” A glass is placed to his lips. + 11.26—Just heard a report that there are a number of small fires below, owing to near misses. ° The men are giving a big cheer. “They got another one ” Gallagher shouts in my ear. I look over in

‘the: diréction he ‘points. Thera. is /

a splash two or three miles astein’ Some of the gunners are not so

' certain. A pom-pom gunner says:

“Maybe . he ‘just jettisoned nis bombs.” . “Like. hell he .did,” 1 teil Him. “They dropped all the bombs they

srhadionsgs” nriw. Lal

8 8

‘Sight Torpedo Planes:

11.40—The Prince of Wales seems to be hit. She's reduced her speed: and signals, “We've a man overboard.” A destroyer’ ‘pushes up to her ‘side. Standing

Bells of Bethlehem Peal Me sage of Hope; U.S. Soldiers at Church of the Nativity

BETHLEHEM, Dec. 24 (U. P.).— The bells of Bethlehem pealed’ their Christmas ‘message of eternal hope tonight, across a land stern with the trappings of war. American soldiers on leave mingled with pilgrims seeking admission to the Church of the Nativity, |.. traditional - site. of Jesus Christ's birthplace and the ‘most sacred

shrine of Christianity.

. The bells of Bethlehem rang out over blacked-out villages and prison camps filled with Italians. In accordance with Christian - tradition, priests said special masses for the Italians in the camps. The Rt. Rev. ‘Msgr. Louis Barlas|sina,’ Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, will: ‘conduct the age-old ritual of midnight mass in the Church of the Nativity, ; , The high mass begins just before ‘midnight. The bells peal out’ the ‘Christmas message, blotting out, for. the moment, the ‘thoughts of war which has come so close to

the. birthplace of Christianity ‘both -

on the African and Caucasian sides. cof

The climaX.of the uistias mass

'Seinfa Claus, Ind. Postoffic:

1s resched when the curtain citing] the tabernacle is withdrawn, : evealing the figure of the Christ Child. The worshippers intone: “I lessed be He who comefh in the n: me of the Lord. Hosannan in the highest.” Following. the ritual, the patriarch will raise the Effigy, -¢ ad. the worshippers, in the manner >f the ancient shepherds, prostrate themselves as a great, electric : ar. illuminates the shadowed chi. ch. ~The Child's Effigy then i; borne triumphantly to:the manger »: the site selected in the 4th cen uy. by; Helena, mother of the ¥ aperor Constantine; as the tra: itional birthplace - of Christ, ‘and 1 in<

‘tonation of the mass: resum s.

-The ¥Y. M: C, A held its nual campfire - observance in the shepherd’s field near Bethlehe 1 this afternoon. Because of blac! wt restrictions, - the. ~traditional night-| watch sponsored by.the ¥. I. . C. AJ has not been held sincé 1¢ ) The mayor; of Bethlehem. Hanna Effendi Kawas, issued issued his :nnual Christmas message to. the world, reminding that “the gospel ) | piace

Plays Annual Holiday R>le

‘SANTA CLAUS, Ind. ' Dec. 2 .

P.)—No Hoosier Christmas is com«}

installation of aewlux. ligt is. It

plete without the legend of Santa {chi ren % Claus, Ind., the tiny Indiana hamlet gas rati with the fairy-tale name and over- [visitors

worked Jostafice, where one-fourth a

the [regarding the Beveridge plan,

was preached by the .Son of man} in this little shepherd city of Bethlehem.”

“* «T have seen new uniforms in the|

cobbled alleyways and narrow “by-

roads that twist and wind through}

my city of : Bethlehem,” he said. flashing eyes and faces set in the stern key of determination to rid the world of more impending horrors. :

“There are with us here their} -

allies ‘and ours, troops from the British émpire, Poland, Greece, Czechoslovakia, Jugoslavia and ‘Free France. “If you were here you would see it, too, their weather beaten faces shining" with a light that is strange in/ these -war-scarred days—the light of the world.”

PAPERS OPPOSE BAN sl BEVERIDGE PLAN|

LONDON, ‘Déc. 24 (U. P. ~Lon= don newspapers protested editorially

“| today. against a war office ban on

circulation among British troops of a digest of the plan for post-war social security prepared by Sir William Beveridge. The conservative. Evening News

| said: that “the decision: reflects noj-

credit whatever on the war officel{ The reasons alleged are either stu- _ |: pidly. reactionary or silly.” ; The liberal Evening Star said ish “it is topsy-turvy democracy to sug‘gest that the army should wait until} § parliament gives a line of oro | foolish ban will merely whet b the

. army's appetite. 2

newspapers

o.| that the: issue’ might be raised in| on | the house of commons. ; | TRAFFIC HALTED By |} WOMAN'S PANTIES 14

alr — . |p of woman’

“Now they are identifiable.

¢ an ear-shattering, ear-splifting ‘rear. . . I've mever been so close to s0 . » The guns seem no less eager for combat than the crews themselves.”

less than 100 feet away, it’s as incongruous as a baby runniig protect its mamma. deck lieutenant says: “Those Japs

. are good, aren’t they?”

I say, “Too good to suit me, How badly is the Wales hit?” The lieutenant says, “I don’t

“know. They haven't told us yet.” '

We are all lighting cigarets, sucking deeply, and our exhala- ' tions are more like sighs. ' The pause is too brief. 11.45—Distant

torpedo-carrying bombers, circling: ‘four or five thousand yards away at about a half-mile altitude. Cir cling in a huge sweep, they are swooping ‘lower. Now they are like moths around our flaming

guns. A bugle blows to stand by. A . voice over the ship's communica= tions roars: Stand by for a bar= rage!” ey

NEXT: The torpedo planes swarm “in upon the Repulse, as it zigzags for life.’ (Copyright, 1942, by Random House, Inc.; distributed by United Feature Syns dicate, Inc.)

“| SHANGHAICITY & OF STARVATION

Thousands Die Every Weeks

Jewish Children Are Chief Sufferers.

GHUNGKING, Dec. 24 (U. P= “I see young Americans here With{giarvation, inflationary prices and

bitterly cold weather have combine to make China's great Japanese~ occupied metropolis of Shanghai city of misery, reliable sources res ported today. Thousands of Chinese die each week from weakness and disease resulting from starvation, :

Informants said food supplies scarcely ever arrive in Shanghai,

either. because of the Japanese shipping shortage, or hecause of

Japanese intention to “starve” the

city. Shanghai’s milliohs. thus are’ ‘dee pendent upon scanty food suppli which arrive from the surrounding countryside. . Jewish Children Starve Jewish - refugee children suffeg worse than any other foreigners

Shanghai. A traveler recently in Shang

said Jewish children ‘were ‘dying

from starvation at the rate of a week there. He said ragged Je ish boys and girls fight with Chi nese beggar childrengin the st e for food remnants qutside res rants. 3 “One hardily ever sees a heal

The flag

Specks adpear. : Nine