Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 5 January 1943 — Page 11

‘Hoosier Vagabond

WITH THE AMERICAN FORCES IN ALGERIA (by wireless).—I have been delving furthér into this

- gtrange business of axis sympathies among the people of French North Africa. It is very involved. ‘The population is all mixed up—Arabs, Jews, Spanish and French. And there doesn’t . seem to be much national loyalty. It looks as if the people, being without any deep love of the coun-

most likely to feather their nest.

Outside the big cities, Algeria - win.

hadn’t fared badly under the Ger‘mans. The cities were actually starving, because the Germans bought produce direct from the and the cities couldn’

: America has already contributed shiploads of food to the Algerian people; but for some reason little of it has showed up in the public markets. City housewives find the stalls bare as usual, and mutter about “les Americains.” The Germans paid high prices to the farmers for their crops, and paid in French money. They didn’t levy the terrific indemnities here that they did in France. Hence*the farm population actually prospered, and had almost nothing to kick about.

People Don’t Want to Fight

WHEN . THE GERMANS took control they demobilized the French North African army. That suited the people fine. They didn’t want to fight anyway. But now the army is being mobilized again, and people are saying: “Under the Germans we didn’t have to fight. Un-. der the Americans our leaders make us go into the | army again.” . They. are passive about it, but many of them are ¥ not happy. } There was a deep Fascist tinge among some of the officers of the regular army, .I've tried to find out the reason. And as far as I can learn, it was mostly seeking for an ordered world to live in. © °°

Tho seogiosas Hae mses alk were. dialisaoned and shattered by the foul mess info which Paris had resulted in catastrophe to

They want no more of it. They want things to run smopthly. They want security—and they visualize it as guaranteed by. the

. methodical rule of the axis. try, favor whichever side appears -

The German propaganda here has been expert. The people have been convinced that: Germany will Lacking any great nationglistic feeling, the people jump onto whatever seems to be the leading bandwagon, and they think it's Germany.

‘The More I See, the More I Like Us’

ALSO, OUR TROOPS have made a poor impression, in contrast to the few Germans they've seen. Our army doesn’t have the strict and snappy dis-

cipline of the Germans, - Our boys sing in the streets}

unbutton their shift collars, laugh and shout, and forget to salute. A lot of Algerians misinterpret this as inefficiency. They think such a carefree army can’t possible whip the grim Germans. They can’t conceive of the fact that our strength lies in our freedom. Out of it all I gather a new respect of Americans, sloppy though we may be. They may-call us Uncle Shylock, but I know of no counfry on earth that actually is less grabby. In all my traveling both before snd during the war I have been revolted by the nasty, shrivelled, greediness of soul that inhabits so much of the world. The more I See of the Americans and the British, the more I like us. And although Germany is our bitter enemy, at least the Germans have the character to be wholly loyal to their own country. Once more I want to say that this stratum about which I am writing is not a majority of the people of North Africa. Much of the population is just as fervent for allied victory as we gre. But there is this axis tinge, and I wanted to try to explain why it existed. Personally, I don’t feel that it can do us any grave harm.

Inside Indianapolis By Lowell Nussbaum

MRS. POWELL, who lives at 252 N. Oxford st. reports the first signs of spring this year. She thinks we're going to have “nice warm weather soon because there’s an ant hill in my back yard and the ants are active all around it.” happy. But we already had sneaking suspicion that spring w coming, as we have just received our copy of Burpee’s seed catalog. And the illustrations in full color are more delightful than ever. Even the spinach looks good-—on paper. . . . One of Gen, Tyndall's first observations after becoming mayor: “There are too many lawyers around. Every time I start to do something, one of them pops up with some sort of a legal obstacle to keep me from doing ft.” . , . The Indianapolis Medical Society's current bulletin lists 181 members (one deceased) in the armed forces as of Dec. 20.

State-Owned Car

ONE OF OUR AGENTS gave us the license number of a state-owned car parked in front of a grocery at Drexel and 10th about 3:30 p. m. Saturday. Two en got in with sacks of groceries and drove away. thought the governor and other state officials had succeeded in stamping out pleasure riding in stateowned cars and on state gasoline. (License on request, gov ) ... Those military police at the bus terminal do a nice job of keeping peace between eivilians and soldiers. The other day, a civilian drunk got a private cornered and was telling him all ‘about _ 4 “my son over in Australia.” He put his arm on the ' (4 goldier’s shoulder and the latter was looking hored but too polite to pull away. A military policeman * walked up, said not a word to the intoxicated civilian,

? 3 SE Washingt -ashington WASHINGTON, Jan, 5.—At Aberdeen proving grounds the other day, a group of us saw what the ordnance department is doing to provide the best weapons used in this war. The new little carbine is a neat number to re- { place the automatic pistol. It can kill accurately at 300 yards, and is going in quantify to the fronts although production began only a few months ago. The enemy has nothing like it for close-up action. ‘We saw the amazing weapon known as the “bazooka.” That's

all they will allow to be said. They showed us new secret weapons

that make the American soldier

the most deadly individual in the - war. We who have the highest _ standard of living in all the world, see to it that our men have the best, whether for living or killing.

Legend of Rommel Blasted

ROMMEL’S $8-MILLIMETER gun that became a legend when he was winning in Egypt last summer, an exploded legend at Aberdeen proving ground. They fired one of Rommel’s guns for us. It was in the sand-colored /desert camouflage, Ordnance officers pointed out that the gun was of three-piece _.. construction, a method abandoned long ago in American srdnance. Beside it were fired several of our 90-millimeter and our 105s. They make the German 88 and the German 105s look awkward. Our officers say it was the method of use, not the weapon, that made Rommel’s 88-millimeter gun so sensational last summer, We pass him with a 105-millimeter - howitzer, mounted on an M3 tank chassis. That's the tank &iller, or what the British call “The Priest.” It

My Day

: NEW YORK CITY, Monday, —This is Jan. 4, the ay on Whe thy VIR ok can puiin oor 1943 : There £ one thing which every one of us can

Mrs. Powell, you make us very

but politely led the soldier away--to safety. Tactful, eh?

Case of the Missing Hat SAM BRADFORD, a field representative for the employment security division, was up in the Junior C. of C. offices—eighth floor of the Board of Trade

building—the other day and laid his hat on a window sill. When he looked for it later, the window was open and the hat was gone. He searched all over the street for a block or so, then gave up and bought a new one. A couple of days later his partner, Ralph Smith, was telling him of a funny experience reported by his sister, Thelma Shafiner, who works in the rent control offices—sixth floor of the Board of Trade. The day Sam’s hat disappeared, a hat came sailing into her office. Sam investigated, and now he has two hats. It was the one he had lost,

Our Service Column

DAVID MARSHALL, the former Times reporter, is home on leave from the royal Canadian air force for a couple of days, sporting the uniform of a pilot officer. He has just completed navigation school at London, Ontario, now goes to Manitoba as a navigation instructor. While at London, he needed a certain astronomy hook in his studies and wrote to Bassford Getchell, Butler astronomy teacher, asking to borrow it. That was three months ago. The book arrived the day before graduation. It had gone to London, England, by mistake, and then back to London, Ontario. . . . Lieut. Patrick J. Smith, the lawyer, is home

on leaye after finishing training at the naval school}:

at Ohio U. He’s enthusiastic about the navy. His next destination is a military secret. . « « Jesse W, Peden, the former assistant city attorney, is now Pvt. Peden down at Ft.. Benning, Ga. He expects to be home soon on furlough,

‘

By Raymond Clapper

went into action against Rommel last fall and helped drive him out of Egypt. They fired that one the other day, too, and all of the other weapons including the giant 16-inch coast defense gun that belches its mass projectile out of sight over the horizon. Arniored vehicles, our own, and Russian and German, were shown. Some of our ¢wn, including experimental - models, were run over the washboard track.

Our Jeep Better Than German

WE SAW THE GERMAN jeep which 1a fragile car. Actually it is the two-cylinder Volkscar that Hitler was going to distribute to the German pPéople. This German car iS a frail, weak little vehicle compared to the tough American jeep. They study many captured German weapons at Aberdeen. One of our ordnance officers said that there was nothing magical about any of the German equipment, nothing unusual or unexpected about it. He thought it important to impress our own forces with that fact. We overrate the enemy's weapons when as a matter of fact, so thes¢ ordnance officers insisted all day long, we have scme *weapons that are unmatched anywhere. Gen. Levin H. Campbell, chief of ordnance, went around with us and you could see he was very proud of what they.were showing us. Ie . At the end, Gen. Campbell said the ordnance de-|2 partment had to depend on industry and on scientists to work with ordnance as a team. | He said: “We make no bones &bout giving credit to industry for what it has done {o help us. If the Nazis catch us and get ahead of us, it will be because we of ordnance, the long-haired scientists we've got working for us, and industry have {allen down on the job. But I don’t think that is going to happen.” Other government agencies could learn from the way ordnance and industry have organized to work together. £

1 | |

By Eleanor Roosevelt

our armed forces. If each one of us does our best, this campaign will be a success, but unless each one of us con- ~ tributes, there will not be enough books. I am always interested in {He little Christmas books, which are published every year. I was specially

+ fortunate this year, because some friends in Texas

sent me Hendrik van Loon’s “The Message of the Bells,” or what happened fo us on Christmas eve. ' It is a simple short narrative with charming illustrations and I am glad Dr. van Loon heard his “own” bells, for it must have given hope for his Holland which he so dearly loves and has worked for during}. thése years of her suffering. Fannie Hurst sent me her little story of “White

Christmas” in Washington. Into it she has woven the

By Ernie Pyle

Malta Defies Bombs, Still Is Holding Out

By RICHARD MOWRER

Copyright: The Chicago Daily News, Inc. "CAIRO, Jan. 5.—Fearful of invasion from the south, the axis is speeding up the construction of a defense system along the whole of

its Mediterranean flank. The Nazis are said to be setting up a coastal defense zone of 60 miles in depth along the coast of southern France, as well as_ other parts: of occupied Europe. They are extending their minefields in Mediterranean waters, particularly around Sardinia and Sicily. They are laying thousands of mines in Aegean waters, hitherto fairly free of them. In this new setup, at present shaping itself on the Mediterranean front, the islands of the inland -sea are increasingly important. Islands which the axis holds: the Dodecanese, the Aegean islands and Crete in the eastern Mediterranean; Sicily, Pantelleria and Lampedusa in the central Mediterranean, and Sardinia and Corsica in the west, are- being converted into strong forward bastions .of Europe's southern defense barrier. Islands in allied hands: Cyprus, in the eastern Mediterranean, and Malta in the central Mediterranean, on the other hand are, increasingly important as possible jumping-off places for attack against southern Europe. They are bound to come into the limelight as soon as axis forces finally are liquidated from their last foothold in Africa—Tunisia.

#8 2 2

Axis Belt Strong

THE AXIS’ island belt in the Mediterranean is strong. Crete and the Dodecanese block - the way from the south to the Aegean. The Germans, furthermore, have taken over all the Aegean islands that were once Greek. Fortifications work has been going on for a long time on Crete, the axis’ most ‘important air base in the eastern Mediterranean. Crete is a natural aircraft carrier whence axis planes can cover practically . half the Mediterfanean waters as well as the Aegean behind it. The Dodecanese, the most im-

(The following dispatch, second in a series on conditions inside Germany in the fourth winter of war, deals with the food that Germans eat and how much they pay for it.)

ON THE GERMAN FRONTIER, Jan. 5 (U. P.).—If the Germans

played in shop windows, they would be well fed and warmly clothed. But in too many cases there is nothing on the shelves to correspond with the window diessing, Persons who have been irside many report that there is less ood to be purchased in the Reich now than there was at the beginning of the fourth winter of world war I. “The windows of the big shops are stocked, with an assortment of good things,” said a Belgian who had escaped after travelling across Germany, “but they cannot be purchased without a permit. Inside the same shops there is practically nothing for sale except plaited straw articles and small glass trinkets.” There is a joke in Berlin to the effect that in addition to ration cards two things are needed to buy ‘food—vitamins B and Ut. Vitamin B stands for “beziehungen”—to have a drag or influence. Vitamin Ut means “unter dem tisch”—trading undler the counter. There is still a black market in Germany where delicacies can be purchased if one has the money,

WAR VET AID GROUP RECEIVES CHARTER

The Victors Adjustment organization, a group formed to assist in the readjustment of men and women now in military service to civilian life at the end of the war, was chartered by Secretary of State Rue Alexander yesterday. The organization’s headquarters are in New Albany, and its leaders are Straude E. Wiseman of Crandall; James G. Royse of Chicago, and R. W. Elliott of Milwaukee. “We want the V. A. O. to blanket the nation more completely than do the induction boards,” Mr. Wiseman said. “We are going to induct these victors back into their chosen ways. The main thing is to gain fitting governmental assistance. We feel that the coming period of readjustment will be a critical one for our entire social and ‘economic structure.”

ALL-DAY MEETING CALLED BY W.C.T.U.

The Meridian Union of W. C. T. U. will have an all-day meeting

he morrow at the ¥. W.- C. ‘A.

Plans for the made at the the Rev. Leon

lin the afternoon.

1943, by The Indianapolis Times

could buy the things that are dis-|;cnt engugh food to fill the ration

ng

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PLATEAU

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mmm spel fe ——-— hi BS ro

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The tiny islands in the Mediterranean, which will perhaps provide the bridge for the allied invasion of Europe, increase daily in im-

portance as a nervous Nazi controlled continent rapidly sows mines >

ne

ar the shores of Europe.

portant of which are Rhodes and Leros, are strategically located vis-a-vis Turkey—just as British Cyprus is. If Turkey became involved in the war, the importance of both Cyprus and the Dodecanese would suddenly be {tremendous. The Dodecanese, incidentally, were seized by the Italians from the Turks in 1911, and the Turks have never forgotten this. Italian seizure of the Dodecanese is part of the reason why in. the last war Turkey was against the allies, including Italy, and part of the reason why at the beginning of this war Turkey—consistently anti-Italian — signed alliances with Britain and France.

2 #

Leros Is Fortified

THE ITALIANS have fortified Leros, in the Aegean, as a naval base. Leros flared into the picture in 1937 when two Spanish republican ships, coming from Russia, were sunk outside the Turkish Dardanelles by “unidentified” submarines, believed to be Italian, operating from Leros. Sicily, at the toe of Italy, is probably the most important of the axis’ natural aircraft carriers because of its central location in

but the supplies have dwindled and prices are fantastic.

the prices.

German rations were cut heavily in April, 1942, but the amount of

food called for by a ration card.has almost lost its meaning. There

requirements.

The Nazis are having difficulty

meeting demands even for potatoes and vegetables. Persons recently in

Germany reported it was not enough

to present your potato and vegetable card, which entitles you to as much as is “available,” but that it

was more important to make friends

with the shop keeper. Otherwise he probably would tell-you: “Sorry, I'm all sold out.” :

‘Vegetables Hard to Get

A, Swedish woman whe recently

came from Germany told the United Press it was weeks before she had become sufficiently friendly with a

shop “keeper to get vegetables. If

you are rich enough, you do not bother the grocer and butcher, but eal in a restaurant where you can

get at least the amount of meat—

about three-quarters of a pound per week—to which you are entitled. But, the woman added, you must

arrive early or you will not find a

place — all restaurants are overcrowded—or the meat dishes will have heen exhausted.

The Nazis, under Reichmarshal

Coffee ‘costs $53.a pound: butter, $18 a pound; a bottle of cognac, $20. Only high party officials, diplomats can pay

. the Mediterranean. The Gormans have taken over the bik of the fortifications work on tiiis largest island and are laboring like mad to try to make it impregnable. Sicily is connected with the Italian mainland by an excellent - train ferry service across the straits of Messina, which are an important link in the system of axis communications. Sardinia has not been mentioned much in the war so far, but, with the allies now in North Africa, this island assunies greater importance. Sardinia’s most important port is Cagliari, at the soutdaern end of the island, which is equidistant from the Italian mainland and. North Africa. Cagliari itself is closer to North Africa than to Italy. Corsica, just north of Sardini, completes at least at this writing, the axis system of island ch:in defense, - Before the war, Corsica was the object of Italian claims, the fascist-controlled press clamoring that “Corsica is a dagger pointed at the heart of Italy. Corsica is now occupied by the Italians.

" nn @

OPPOSED TO this string of axis islands-are allied Cyprus and

Hermann Goering’s cynical slogan

not starve,” have exerted themselves

to maintain the food front at a subsistence level. For morale, Christmas they announced a extra rations, including seven ounces of meat, small additional allotments of vegetables, bread, flour and

from dried apple leaves. The big treat was an allotment of a half-bottle of German. brandy for each adult to go with reduced quan - tities of watery, weak beer. Va: workers were granted an extra ration of cheap wine. The Reich is trying to feed he tween 7,000,000 and 8,000,000 fore oi workers and war prisoners working on farms. It also is acting as = clearing house for food supplies [or almost all Europe, prompting claim that Germany. actually is feedi: the equivalent of 17,000,000 to I¢. - 000,000 more persons than befor the war. Germany must be extremely fru with virtually every item .of fooc. except salt, but the greatest and most persistent shortages inch milk, fish and fresh vegetables. Nazi propaganda makes much the food producing potentialities © conquered areas, particularly i Ukraine, and Germany’s future su: cess in maintaining current ratio: will depend on how well she «an exploit these territories.

Students’ Poster Contest To Aid in Cancer Control

A contest offering $125 in cash prizes to high school students for the best posters on cancer control is being sponsored by the Women’s Field Army for Cancer Control of Indiana. ‘The state has been divided into five sections, with prizes of $10, $5, $3, $2 and honorable mention to be awarded .in each district. Indianapolis is the district headquarters for section 5 and Mrs. Emory W. Cowley is chairman. Following the close of the contest on Jan. 29, each section will hold a local exhibit between Jan. 30' and Feb. 5. Winning posters will compete for $15 and $10 state prizes at an exhibition from Feb. 8 to 20 at L. S. Ayres & Co. In addition fo the winning posters, judges will select the 15 best posters for an exhibit over the state.

RN Hasen, A of Foster of lodianspolia FEpigent

co-ordinator for parochial school: and Mrs, Karl M. Koons of Ir anapolis, representing the Indisn: Medical auxiliary. Mrs. Beryl S. Holland of Bloc: ington is state commander sn Mrs. Olive Beldon Lewis/of Ind anapolis is executive secretary anc state adjutant of the Women *h

EX-GERMAN OFFICEF WILL ADDRESS CLUE

Jules Reuben, a former infarir captain in Kaiser Wilhelm’s Im

Operative club tomorrow at the Jo lumbia club. A special guest at .the meetin ‘will be ¥red J. Kuehne of Kas:

i pede of i Co-Gpurm

that “whatever happens elsewhere) (in occupied Europe) Germans 'will|

ab fev

margarine and two ounces of ersatz coffe made from grain or tea mace | starving, although they are far worse

| per week, few could be that prodigal.

the Bavarian city’s famous beer. It

>| snjitied 10 (he, jusisaied Yalu >

5 orobable

Malta. Cyprus has many airdromes and, since the fall of Crete, has been strengthened to avoid a repetition of Crete’s parachute invasion in the spring of 1941, Malta, for long periods in the past, virtually cut off by the axis, is one of the big stories of the war. The most-bombed place in the world, it is now dangerously aggressive for the axis since British convoys are able again to get supplies to it. German blitzes on the island tried to neutralize it as & British advanced air base against the axis and its communications across the Mediterranean, and at times almost succeeded, but never quite. It will be interesting to see if Pentelleria and Lampedusa, Italian miniatures of Malta, will be able to hold out likewise. Gibraltar, at the western entrance of the Mediterranean, is the third advance “island” fort of the allies. To date its importance has been as a naval base and as guardian of the western bottleneck of the Mediterranean.

» ” 2

What of Spain?

IN THE EVENT of Spain’s entering the axis camp, Gibraltar

A%traveller reported that up to December only a single train load of wheat had arrived in Berlin from

the promised land. The train was | covered with posters proclaiming that “your soldiers send you this food,” but comparatively few Germans could buy any of this “soldiers’ gift.” Most of it went to Nazi officials, military leaders and diplomats. Nevertheless the Germans are not

off than the British. An ordinary meal at a better class restaurant in Berlin or Munich, costing about six marks ($2.20 at the official rate of exchange), consists of thin soup and the choice of two standard dishes, ‘a potato and cabbage stew, or a small hamburger or less than two ounces of steak. A menu of Nov. 1 showed that Haus Hungaria, a Berlin restaurant, .| offered stewed meat and vegetables or roast beef with salad if the customer was willing to part with 100 grams worth of meat coupons. Since the basic meat ration is 350 grams

Munich Grumbles

No noticeable difference in the food situation was reported between Berlin and other large cities, although in winter the capital always suffers from transportation breakdowns. But in Munich the grumbling is much louder and more dgring because of the deterioration in

would reach the height of its importance—and so would the so far neutral Balearic islands between France and Algiers. During the Spanish civil war, Italy and Germany had bases at Mallorca: the Italians, air base at Palma, the Germans, a seaplane base gt -Pollensa. Minorca, easternmost of the Balearic islands, was the only one to remain in republican hands to the end of the war. At that time, it had and presum=ably still has batteries of big naval guns as well as a couple of landing grounds which could be multiplied. a Minorca’s port is Port Mahon —reputed to be the birthplace of Mayonnaise sauce. The port is not large but it is very deep and well-protected by a narrow channel gounded by high cliffs. Though se far neutral, the Balearic islands, nevertheless are important in the Mediterranean picture. It must not be forgotten that Mallorca in early 1939 was still an axis base and it must not be forgotten either that among the axis forces’ Russian front is a Spanish legion sent out there with Gen. Francisco Fran= co’s blessing. ;

If Germans Could Only Eat What's in the Shop Windows

has become a yellowish dilution taste | ing of saccharine and other chemi~ cals ‘and an ordinary glassful costs 41 pfennigs compared to about 20 before the war. During the last three years Ger= man food cards have suffered 37 drastic cuts in the various items and now have exactly two-thirds of the- buying value they had at the outbreak of war’ in 1939. Should. food restrictions continue on the same scale, in 296 weeks the cards’ purchase value would be axactly Zero. A typical sign of deterioration in conditions has been a ‘slackening in black market trading, not because of the authorities, but owing to the absence of goods. There is no reliable comprehensive information available here on what has happened to the health of the German people under their reduced

mothers is known to be inferior to the picture painted in official reports.

“Cases of sorofula and other signs of undernourishment and unsuitable feeding are becoming increasingly frequent,” a medical visitor to Ger=

neutral . country. It also is known that the decrease in diet has reduced the people’s energy, lowered their resistance and made them increasingly irritable.

(TOMORROW: )W: How much damage have the R. A. F, raids

LOCAL MAN GREETS TROOPS IN AFRICA

Ww. Stafford Reid, formerly of Inlianapolis and. now vice-consul at a. Morocco, is seeing history made in North Africa. In a letter to Representative Louis Ludlow, dated Dec. 8, Mr. Reid wrote: “As you can well realize, we have had a rather hectic time over here in the past few weeks, but the greatest thrill that comes only once in a lifetime was neing on the spot and seeing our doughboys and tanks rolling hrough the streets of Casablanca n Armistice day. “yWe are all very busy with the army at this time, trying to assist with. the information that we have sathered over these last 19

months.” 4IGH COURT PLACES CURB ON SPECULATION

WASHINGTON, Jan. 5 (U. P.).—||

The supreme court held yesterday ‘hat owners of land in an area known as “Boomtown” near the Shasta dam in California, were not

ought, nok to gain by speculating on increase in

done?)

LILLY MAN TO TALK TO DEFENSE GROUP,

Garland Cummings, safety super= visor for Eli Lilly and Co. will demonstrate transportation methods at a meeting of first aid district 47 at 7:30 p. m. Saturday in the Brookside community house. Practical work in transportation methods and subdivision meetings will follow. Miss Lilly Burres is district chairman.

HOLD EVERYTHING

1 value due to tivities.”

diet, but the welfare of babies and «

many reported after arriving in &