Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 23 February 1943 — Page 13

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TUESDAY, FEB. 23, 198

PRESIDENT GOES

*T0 OWI DEFE

‘

{ gence service,

Gives Davis Precedence

Over Donovan’s Strategic

Services in Dispute Arising From Psychological

Warfare; Mowrer Resignation Accepted.

By CHARLES T. LUCEY Times Special Writer

WASHINGTON, Feb. 23.—A sharp behind-the-scenes

-contest between the OWI and

the office of strategic services

over control of America’s world-wide propaganda and psychological warfare has been settled, on President Roosevelt's

order, in favor of the OWL

The OWI, under Elmer Davis, has set up a world-wide press-radio network to tell wartime America's story.

But about two months

ago the joint chiefs of staff

issued and executive order which appeared to give the OSS

considerable latitude in the field of psychological warfare —the science of using expertly devised propaganda themes to weaken enemy resistance. ~The OSS, headed by Col. William J. Donovan, has a highly secret job of intelligence and operations, allied closely to active - military campaigns. The chiefs of staff order set up 1a psychological-warfare planning group, headed by an OSS official, in which OWI and other agencies were to be 1epresented. But Mr. Davis’ agency, fearing the OSS sought to invade its field, refused to name a man to the planning committee. :

Considered Real Conflict

OSS officials have contended _ there was no controversy, that they had no thought of invading the foreign-propaganda field, and that all they sought in psychologicalwarfare planning was to let the OWI know the military results that were desired, so that OWI activity in softening up the will of the enemy would be keyed to this. But the conflict was considered a. very real one by OWI, and the issue was taken directly to the president a few days ago. The result was an assurance of a green light to the Davis agency to continue its present operations. There were three other important developments today affecting OWI: A somewhat strained relationship between OWI.and certain sections of the state department appeared to have been eased with the granting of passports to 14 OWI overseas representatives, which OWI officials had believed unnecessarily delayed. A comprehensive reorganization of the overseas branch, headed by Playwright Robert Sherwood, became effective.

Mowrer Resigns

The resignations—long rumored ‘—of Edgar Ansel Mowrer, former foreign correspondent, who had an important niche in the OWI overseas branch, and William Dwight Whitney, head of OWI’s intelliwere disclosed to have been accepted. An important factor in the resignations, according to friends of Mr. Mowrer and Mr. Whitney, was their disagreement with White House-state department policy in North Africa, particularly the appointment of Peyrouton as gover-nor-general of Algeria. There has been much disagreement with this policy irr higher OY1 circles, but most of the dissenting officials are sali to recognize that it is essential that OWI foreign operations be strictly within the framework of established policy. The state department, by refusal to issue a passport, recently blocked a North African assignment for Mr, Mowrer. The stakes in any contest over conduct of foreign propaganda and

psychological warfare are sizable.

’/

OWI has outposts stretching from London to Johannesburg and from Dublin to Chungking. This type of warfare is not entirely new to the U. S. government, but past efforts have been puny in comparison to the present OWI campaign. There never has been anything like it in this country. At home, too, OWI has become inJfuential in establishment of government policy, and exercises what at times comes close to being a veto power on decisions made elsewhere in Washington.

Step On Official Toes

Growing to such importance, OWI has stepped on official toes and has Jad opposition in Washington and in faraway outposts. Reports sharply critical of OWI foreign operations - have come back here from certain state , department representatives. Secretary Hull is said to have been deeply concerned about this. OWI officials say the state department has modified much of its opposition. :

FASTEST NAVAL PLANE IN ACTION

Has 2000-H. P. Engine; 1600 Jap Aircraft

Downed So Far. By REAR ADM. suHN S. McCAIN

Chief, Navy Bureau of Aeronautics (Writt'n for. the United Press)

WASHINGTON, Feb. 23.—The tide of world war II is being turned by the united nations. Naval aviation has carried its full share of the burden in'the monumental job of absorbing the first treacherous blows of the enemy. It has rallied to the long, gruelling task of fighting back to a more even footing, and has finally reached the point where campaigns designed to lead to final victory may be planned. . We in the bureau of aeronautics are charged with providing highlytrained aviators and highly-devel-oped aircraft to the fleet whence they strike out at the enemy. These aviators and these aircraft must be the best. Second best in personnel and equipment won't even come close in the grim business of war. The story is told in the balance sheet, in the columns headed ‘“destruction of the enemy” and “naval aviation losses.”

Half of Ships Sunk From Air

The swift tempo of modern air warfare makes it impossible to tabulate with any degree of exactitude these columns, but from incomplete reports, these facts stand out: From Pearl Harbor through 1942, navy and marine corps airmen destroyed at least 1600 planes. Navy and marine corps aviators have been credited with at least one-half of the Japanese ships (approximately 525), which have have been sunk or damaged by U. S. naval forces. Hundreds of millions of dollars worth of enemy ground installations have been wrecked by naval and marine corps airmen. Scores of thousands of Japanese personnel have been killed or wounded in these actions. Balanced against these gains are very small losses of naval personnel and loss in combat of only about 300 airplanes.

New 2000-H. P. Plane We might at this time also ask another question: Is naval aviation prepared to carry on, with ever-in-creasing effectiveness, its part of the job of destroying the axis? In answer, I can only say that we are constantly developing new air war weanons which we believe will surpass anything the enemy can put

manufacturing industry, aided by scores of allied industries, is being

Only last week, our newest fight-

er, the Vought Corsair, went into

action. This we believe to be the

est range, hardest hitting navy

craft engine in a navy fighter, However, it is not to be supposed that we think we can win our bat-

something bigger and better than the Corsair. So are we—and not just one new fighter, or two, or three, but many more.

air weapon. New methods to im-

are constantly sought. of aeronautics is determined to keep on handing over to the fleet the best war planes and the best aviators in the world,

FUNNY BUSINESS

__-[6o)IT]sTq

into action. The engineering and production genius of the aircraft

focused completely on our objective.

most heavily powered, fastest, long-

fighter in the world. Its introduction to combat marks the first appearance of the 2000-horsepower air-

tles with any single type of airplane. We know that the enemy is planning

Similar research is under way in connection with every type of naval

prove. the quality of our aviators The bureau

Several Russians wander through before they fled leaving the city to the advancing Soviet army.

REN

THE INDIANAPOLIS TIMES

: Kharkov Wrecked by Fleeing Germans

BRITISH LOOK TO

I. S. AIR POLICY

l Post-War Domination of

rubble cluttered street in Kharkov which the Germans destroyed

This is the eighth of a series of 12 articles of expert advice for victory gardeners this year. It is suggested “hat you clip and save each installmeni °~r ‘uture reference. Mi VICTORY gardens don’t just grow like Topsy—they have to be cared for and watched over and protected. In other words, to = the most out of your garden, yo have to hoe afid weed and water. Cultivation of a garden should be steady and restrained—not too aggressive. Weeds should be kept under control by pulling or shallow hoeing. Deep cultivation of vegetables—that is, too much weight one the hoe — should be avoided’ in most instances because of the danger of cutting or disturbing roots that grow near the surface. If allowed to grow uncontrolled, weeds will rob the garden plants of moisture and plant food, and will shade them from needed sun-

shine. ”

Watering Important

AS SOON AS the soil can be worked after a rain, it should be thoroughly hoed to kill the weeds that have sprouted and to put the surface’ in a loose, porous condition to absorb the next rain. Weed control is the main object, of course. Garden specialists and experienced gardeners point out there is no proved benefit from stirring an already cultivated soil - that is free of weeds. As all experienced gardeners know, frequent. light sprinkling or irrigation of the garden is the wrong way to provide the moisture required by the growing vegetables. If water is needed, the . garden should be thoroughly and deeply soaked, as by a fairly heavy rain, and watered again only when the soil shows signs of becoming dry. Proper watering will prove a decided advantage during dry periods, but if not

” ”

Victory Garden—No. 8

| Spare the Water—Spoil the Crop; It Needs Deep, Infrequent Soaking

Shallow cultivation spares the easily disturbed roots of young plants.

done right it may prove injuri=ous. Light sprinkling or irrigation serves to water the roots of shallow-growing weeds, but does not provide enough water for the rows of garden plants. ” = ”

Soaking Method

SOME GARDENERS have had good results from soaking the soil thoroughly about once a week and then loosening the surface by light cultivation as soon as it can be worked. .On a small scale and over a limited. area, watering a few plants can be handled with a sprinkling can, but when avail-

Bombardier in

By NAT A. BARROWS

AT A U. S. BOMBER FIELD, Somewhere in England, Feb. 23.— At the crucial moment, the worst possible thing happened to the United States Liberator" bomber “Little Beaver’—next to getting a vital hit from German flak or fighter bullets. Just as the pilot, Capt. Chester L. Phillips of Greenville, Tex., momentarily ended his evasive action and lined up for a run over the St. Nazaire target, his bomb .bay doors refused to open. All the risks the Little Beaver had undergone to get over France, as part of a tight formation by daylight, were thrown away unless those bombs could be dropped. Phillips and his crew might better have remained ‘back in England. Leaping out of his position in the nose, the Little Beaver’s bombardier, Lieut. William E. Hill of Louisville, Ky., scrambled on all fours into the radio compartment and raced into the bomb bay. The doors still refused to swing out and clear the way for dropping bombs.

Totters on Catwalk

Hill braced himself on the catwalk as he made the desperate decision. The only way left was to release the bombs and let them break through the bomb bay doors —and that’s what “Porky” Hill did. With a splintering impact, : the huge bombs smashed through ‘the steel covers. Jagged edges of ‘the bomb bay flapped beneath the Little Beaver, threatening to break off and damage the other Liberatoss. But Phillips and his. team had but accomplished their mission: Bombs Sropped down from that bleak and frigid world in the substratosphere into the Little Beaver’s target. Their part in the pounding of St. Nazaire on Tuesday afternoon, Feb, 16, was over,

Works Amid Gunfire

Phillips and his co-pilot, Lieut. William R. Cameron of Hanford, Cal, jockeyed their 100-foot wings over along with other Liberators in tight formation..and headed for home. The Little Beaver’s navigator, Lieut. Thomas E. Bartmess of Houston Tex., hunched over his tiny table in the nose, steadying himself against the ship's violent: evasive action as bursts of flak exploded into the thin air and Messerschmitts

|and Focke-Wulf tried to find an ) h Yd

‘Trapeze Act’

Repairs Plane During Raid

Hill, clinging precariously to the catwalk beams as if standing on top of the world, still had a problem, <Unless the madly flapping edges of the broken bomb bay doors could be secured, the Liberators behind the Little Beaver might be mortally wounded if sections broke away. The gun crews joined in massed fire at the German fighters while Lieut. Hill worked himself down deep into the bomb bay with pieces of wire and hung there, fastening the edges. It was doubtless the highest trapeze act in history. : How “Porky” Hill managed to get the doors tied down safely is hailed as a miracle ‘by the Little Beaver’s crew. He is not quite sure himself how he managed it.

FOR PACIFIC BRAVERY

LONDON, Feb. 23 (U, P.).—Admiral Harold R. Stark, American naval commander in Europe, decorated Comm. William R. Hollingsworth with the navy cross yesterday for extreme heroism in last year's

attack on the Marshall islands in the Pacific. Hollingsworth commanded a dive bomber squadron. His citation said he went through anti-aircraft fire to: score a direct hit a Jap cruiser and later: destroyed four grounded enemy bombers and three fighters. b Hollingsworth now is a special navy observer. His decoration ceremony was the first of its kind in the European war theater.

ST. LOUIS-RIO AIR “LINE IS SUGGESTED

ST. LOUIS, Feb. 23 (U. P.).—

route for cargo planes is in the planning stage in Washington, according to a copyrighted story in the Post-Dispatch by Marquis W. Childs. i - To be develoved as a safe inland course for transfer of war goods, the eight-stop transport line will be 300 miles shorter than the course now flown between Rio and New York City. Already winning considerable support from government departments of Brazil and the United States, the plan was proposed in the confidential report of

DECORATED IN BRITAIN |

A St. Louis-to-Rio de Janeiro air]

able, a garden hose should be used. A good way of applying the water is to open slight furrows along the rows of plants and'to allow the water to trickle along these furrows. After irrigation the ground should not be worked until it has dried enough so that the soil is not sticky. Mulching between rows with straw, lawn clippings, leaves or other suitable material will help conserve moisture and keep down weeds,

TOMORROW: Insect control.

JAP-HELD VILLAGES NEAR LAE BLASTED

MacARTHUR'S HEADQU ARTERS, Australia, Feb. 23 (U.-P.). —Allied B-25 Mitchell medium bombers, Beaufighters, and A-20 Havocs blasted the Lae area of New Guinea, early Monday, dropping 15 tons of bombs on the Malahang airdrome and bombing and strafing nearby villages, Gen. Douglas MacArthur said today in his communique. Some B-25’s carried 1000-pounders which afmost obliterated the flimsy Japanese-occupied villages. Those attacked were Wagan, : Butibum, Labu, Sappa, Kobo, and other settlements around the mouth of the Waria river. Butibum, two miles north of Lae, was heaviest hit with flames from its ruins visible for 15 miles. For the fifth straight night the Buin-Faisi anchorage area in the northern Solomons was attacked when Catalina flying boats lightly raided Kahili and Ballale airdromes early Monday, firing aircraft dispersal bays and probably destroying some grounded planes, but the pilots were unable to observe results.

Sky Feared in Some Quarters.

LONDON, Feb. 23 (U. P). — Various British organizations now

post-war organization of internanational aviation and it is hoped that the British and American governments soon will begin conversations to establish agreements in principle, said today. Neither London nor Washington can allow public quarrels regarding post-war policy to continue much

«| longer, it was said, lest these quar-

rels freeze into major political differences. : British proposals to solve the problem are taking two main lines: es Match U, S. Strength?

1. Can Britain afford to divert a portion of her aircraft industry to the production of transports - so that she will at least approach equality with the U. S. in civil air resources when the war is over? 2. Can Britain obtain assurances

|from the U. S. that, as soon as

peace comes, America will provide this country with enough transport planes to enable British routes to be operated adequately until British air transport concerns can build their own planes? The majority British view, the informants said, favors an “opensky” post-war policy but emphasizes that this will require international control. Two plans for control have been outlined.

List Two Proposals

1. Complete internationalism with airlines operated under control of an international committee on which all the great powers would be represented: 2. A division of the world into zones, each having its own international authority within which one of the great powers would exercise control. The first scheme is the more widely suvported—but with one reservation, that air transport between points in the same country probably would have to be excluded since such great nations as the United States and Russia hardly would be willing to put any phase of their internal communications under international control. The sacond scheme is opposed in many quarters on the grounds that it would revive old rivalries.

5 ON MINESWEEPER DIE, 8 ARE MISSING

MARSHFIELD, Ore., Feb. 23 (U. P.)—The navy announced today that five crew members of the minesweeper YM-133 which capsized off Coos Bay harbor Saturday have died, 16 have been saved and eight are still missing. Heavy combers overturned the 130-foot minesweeper which was under the command of Lieut. Carl PF. Lietz, most of the crew of 29 was swept into the sea. A coast guard lifeboat, which put out immediately, picked up 21 men who were bobbing in the heavy swells. Several of the survivors suffered

serious injuries.

FEAR INVASION IN N. W. EUROPE

Germans Told Feverish Activity Goes On in British Ports.

By PAUL GHALI

"| copyright, 1943, by The Indianapolis Times

reliable informants |

Lieut. and Mrs. Archie L. Wiliman

Lieut. Archie L. Wildman and ‘Miss Margaret I. Ogden of

- Indianapolis were married re-

cently in the post chapel at Roswell Army Flying school, Roswell, N. M. Mrs. Wildman is the daughter of William P. Ogden, 4945 University ave, and Lieut. Wildman is the son of Mrs. Nell Wildman, 303 N. Rural st. He was attending the army air forces’ advanced flight school at the time of his marriage. Both attended Technical high school. .

CITY MARKET'S OUTLOOK POOR

Temporary Boom May Be Followed by Closing of More Stalls.

Although city market vendors expect a momentary “boom” in fresh vegetables sales this week, outlook of the city-owned agency is anything but bright, Roy Jackson, market manager believes. : | Inability of market lessees to obtain supplies already has left the building with about 30 vacant stalls this year, with additional -closedowns continuing at the rate of one every week, Mr. Jackson said. | Application of ceiling prices to fresh vegetables In addition to

canned food rationing will lead to even more market failures, he believes.

Revenue Ebbing

The market’s butcher-shop: sector may soon be decimated, the manager believes. At present he’s considering the possibility of converting the east wing of the market building into an indoor parking lot this spring or summer. | Revenue from market stall rentals has alreddy ebbed considerably, he pointed out, with a further loss of income anticipated. | Inventory of the market’s income so far this year is now being taken, he said. Future course of administering the million dollar : produce mart for the duration will be the ubject today of a closed discussion etween the market's 12-man board

and The Chicago Daily News, Inc. BERN, Feb. 23.—An allied landing somewhere on Europe’s northwestern coast, is considered imminent by the reich’s military authorities, accord= ing to a special dispatch from the French channel town of Le Havre to the Tribune de Geneve. ~ German aviators, flying over the British Isles these last days, the dis= patch says, have been “intrigued” by the intensive preparations being

made at some British ports. A special

report has been drafted by Luft waffe heads in France and sent to the German military commander of France, Marshal Karl Gerd von Rundstedt. What has specially struck Nazi pilots is the presence over some of the southern British ports of an “immense artificial cloud” of great density and proof against the heave iest gales, which, in their opinion, is intended as a screen for the work of preparation. Intense traffic ace tivity also is noticeable, the dis patch continues, on all railroads leading to the south.

Air Attacks Ordered

As soon as Berlin received the luftwaffe report, the Swiss paper says, orders were given for imme= diate resumption of massive air ate tacks on English harbors. The dispatch concludes by stating that Ber= lin circles believe the allies are about to attempt an attack “of une precedented audacity” against the European fortress. Whether this news, coming from Nazi-controlled territory, is genu= ine or merely a trick with the view to ascertaining the truth, it is dif ficult to say. What can, however, be said, is that the Tribune de . Geneve disclosures confirm the belief of many foreign observers here that the allied landing in Europe is closer than the public of this continent generally believes.

Tunisia Not Necessary

In the view of these observers, the elimination of the axis bridge= head in Tunisia is not a necessary precondition to the opening of a& - second European front and allied statements - of intention to finish off Tunisia before attacking the continent may be a mere blind. These observers also are greatly impressed by the similarity of the present period and the days imme=diately preceding the American landing in North Africa. At that time the first news that something was afoot came from a Havas-O, F. I. communique from Algeciras disclosing that an allied convoy was heading eastward.

WAR WORKERS GET A BREAK

CHICAGO, Feb. 23 (U. P.).—Defense workers found today they had another advantage over workers in non-essential industries. To save time for the hard-working riveters and turret-lathe operators the internal revenue office sent deputies to several war plans to assist in filling out ilncome tax ree

of trustees.

turns.

—————

anteed against fading

motif to form a striped design. sailcloth with backgrounds of blue, rose,

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