Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 23 July 1943 — Page 11

FRIDAY, JULY 23, 1943

The

—

Hoosier Vagabond

A THE U. 8. NAVY IN THE MEDITERANEAN (By Wireless—Delayed) —The fleet of 2000 ips that carried the allied invasion forces to Sicily was by all odds the most gigantic ever assembled in the world’s history, many, many times the size of the great Spanish Armada. In reading of this invasion you must remember that at least half of it was British. The planning was done together and our figures lumped together, but in the actual invasion we sailed separate fleets, landed in separate areas. So when you read of 2000 ships in this fleet you can figure half of it or more was British and also the 2000 figure includes convoys that were at sea en route from England and America which arrived with reinforcements a few days later. The invasion, a gigantic achievement, was originated, planned, organized and put into effect in the five short months since the Casablanca conference. The U. S. navy had the whole job of embarking, trapsporting, projecting and landing American invank troops in Sicily, then helping to fight the shore battle with their warships and afterward keeping the tremendously vital supplies and reinforcements flowing in steadily.

Hos Great Respect for Navy

AFTER BEING with them throughout this operati: I must say my respect for the navy is great. THe personnel for this great task had to be built as quickly as the fleet itself. We created from whole cloth. There were 1000 officers staffing these newtypg invasion ships and less than 20 of them were regihar navy men. The rest were all erstwhile civilfans trained almost overnight into sea dogs. The bulk of the assault craft came across the ocean under their own power. They are flat-bottomed and not fddicted to deep water sailing. Their skippers were fll youngsters of scant experience. As one navy man said this heterogeneous fleet was navigated across the Atlantic mainly by spitting into the wind. The American invading force was brought from Africa to Sicily in three immense fleets sailing separ-

Inside Indianapolis By Lowell Nussbaum

YOUNG ENGLISH sparrow provided entertainfor passengers on an inbound Central trackless tiolley yesterday morning. As the trolley passed 21st and Central, the sparrow fluttered from the rear of the car to the front and perched on the fare register box. It rode there all the way down to Massachusetts ave. fluttering out the door when it was opened and flitting away in the direction of Sears Roebuck. . Pfc. George Tilford, formerly with the News, has graduated from Lowry field, Denver, Colo., and is back home again at Stout field, in aerial photography. . . . Richard Bunch, former Indiana personnel director and more recently personnel officer for the national NYA, now is a naval lieutenant (jg. serving in naval personnel work in Chicago. . . . J. Shultz, director of the Shortridge band, has sending his spare moments in building a con249 W. 44th st.

aud 8 Robert been sy

crete-brick driveway at his home, Boe Side Mystery SARL: RICHERT, The Times’ columnist, still is wearing a puzzled expression as the result of what happened to him Wednesday evening. Earl and Mrs. Richert went to the Emerson theater on E. 10th for the evening. He parked his car on 10th st. in front of the nearby Kroger grocery. Then he set the brakes and locked the car. When he returned after the show, the car wasn't there. He found it eventually on the Kroger parking lot, still locked tightly and with the brake set. Anyone knowing how the car got there please tell Far! so he'll stop wondering. . . . The heat segs to be getting even the trolley operators these dak: An operator, off duty, managed to squeeze

In Africa

ALLIED HEADQUARTERS, North Africa, July 23 (By Wireless).—Word gets back here that the axis is complaining about the bombing of Rome. The axis line, as we hear about it here, is that the *allied barbarians are destroying centers of ancient culture and religious shrines.” Two things might be pointed out to keep the record straight for the benefit of anybody who might be concerned lest there be some grain of truth in the axis propaganda. First, we did not bomb anvthing in Rome except railroad yards and similar military targets. We did it in daylight so we could see what we were doing. We did it under the most rigid discipline of precision bombing. In Pantelleria we allowed only 1000 yards between our bombs and our own landing forces. That was a sufficient margin of safety. The nearest church Be ur military targets in Rome was farther away &n that. I hope that our censorship will allow photographs of the raid to be published because they will answer all questions more convincingly than any of us on the raid can answer them. The truth about it is so clear that we need not worry about the misrepresentations having any lasting effect

S¢. Paul's Blasted

SECOND, IT might be pointed out that the axis concern over culture and the sanctity of religious fnstitutions must have been suddenly acquired when nobody was looking. It seems to me I remember geek gz in London only a few weeks ago that buildings all around St. Paul's were down—that is the financial gection of London. The Germans tried to wipe it out in the big blitz two years ago. I aiso remember

My Day

CHICAGO, Ill, Thursday.—For nearly 20 hours I have been flving across the United States. We have had some delays, but to me it is always a wonderful 3 Last evening, just at sunset, the sky and land ned suddenly to merge until I could no longer tell which was which. There was a little lake that the sun turned ruby red and a little beyond a much larger lake, with little wooded islands. It was truly an earthly paradise. Then gradually, everything faded before my eyes and only a steel grey sky remained, cold and grim, and night was closing in. It seemed to typify what most of us are living through today We try to hold before us the vision of a world to which we hope our loved ones ill return. A world in which there will be justice and, therefore, we may hope for peace. A world in which people of faiths and races will live as

athens and welcome san other's fesendse upon the : believing h od th C de \ Ite

By Ernie Pyle

Each of these three was in turn broken down} into smaller fleets. It had been utterly impossible to sail them all as one fleet. That would have been] like trying to herd all the sheep in the world With! one dog. Each of the three big fleets had a command ship, carrying an admiral in charge of that fleet and the army general in command of the troops being trans-| ported. Each command ship had been especially | fitted up for the purpose with extra space for ‘war rooms” which contained huge maps, officers at desks and scores of radio operators. It was through these commend ships that the various land battles were] directed in the early stages of the invasion.

All 3 Fleets Not Alike

OUR THREE fleets were not all alike. One came, directly from America, stopping in Africa only long! enough for the troops to stretch their legs, then right on again. The big transport fleets were much easier | to get here, but once here their difficulties began. Everything had to be unloaded into lighter craft. When your assault troops are being attacked by land and your waiting ships are catching it from the air, believe me, the speed of unloading is mighty important.

In addition to the big transports and our hundreds of ocean-going landing craft, our fleet consisted of sea-going tugs, minesweepers, sub-chasers, submarines, destroyers, cruisers, mine-layers, repair ships and selfpropelled barges mounting big guns. We had practically everything that floats. Nobody can ever know until after the war just what a staggering task it was. Huge staffs worked on it in Washington until the last minute, then moved bag and baggage over here. Thousands of civilians worked day and night for months. Troops and ships practiced landings for months. A million little things had! to be thought of and provided. That it all eould i Bont in five months is a modern miracle. *And yet,” one high naval officer said as we talked | about the invasion details on the wav over, “the public will be disappointed when they learn where we landed. They expect us to invade Italy, France, Greece, Norway and all of them at once. The people just can't realize that we must take just one step at a time and this step we are taking now took a half year to prepare.”

ately.

aboard a crowded E. 10th trolley the other day. When the car passed Brookside ave, he frantically pulled the bell cord, explained to the operator of the car that he wanted off because he was on the wrong car; said he thought he was on a Brookside car.

T'oo Busy for Rules

DENNIS DUNLAVY, hearing commissioner for the OPA, was conducting a hearing the other day in the case of a Marion county grocer who was charged with flagrant violaticns of various OPA rules. After hearing the charges, the grocer broke into sobs. Suddenly, he shut off the tears and tbld Mr. Dunlavy: “I can't keep up with all these rules; I'm a volunteer fireman.” Just then, several fire trucks passed with bells ringing, sirens shrieking and engines roaring. “Well” dryly remarked Mr. Dunlavy; “it sounds like they're out looking for you now.” ... H. L. Harshman, the schools’ director of research, and A. B. Good, business director, have been in Chicago this week on business which probably included a baseball game or two.

Hi, Major, Old Boy! SID ROMER read the story in this column the other day about the new recruit out at Ft. Harrison, and relayed another for which he vouches. While his

son, Pvt. Bob Romer, was at the reception center a few weeks ago, Sid says, a rookie was issued his uniform. After putting it on, the rookie stepped outside and met an officer. He saluted as best he could, then told the officer: “You're the first person I've saluted.” “Well,” the smiling officer sald, “it was a nice snappy salute.” “That was a snappy salute you gave, yourself,” the rookie replied. As soon as the officer had passed by, another rookie said: “You darned fool, didn't you knew that fellow was a major?” “Heck no,” the rookie said; “I thought he was a sergeant.”

By Raymond Clapper

that I saw severe damage to large St. Thomas’ hospital on the Thames near Lambeth palace. Obviously I make no comparisons but the historic fact is that Lambeth palace is the home of the Archbishop of Canterbury, head of the Church of England, and it was in the midst of the bombed area. Nearby offices of the London county council were hit, also the parliament buildings were hit, along with Westminster Abbey just across the street. Anybody in London can see the ruins of the exquisite Queen’s Concert hall near the British Broadcasting building. All who walk down Piccadilly can see the ruins of the beautiful Wren Church of St. James. The University of London buildings, now occupied by the British ministry of information, have been hit.

You Can't Complain

OF COURSE, all that proves nothing except that the Germans set out io bomb London indiscriminately. In war you can’t complain much about that. There is no such thing as making war reasonable, or very humane, or respectful of anything. War is a brutal institution with one purpose—to defeat the enemy— and you can't make a game of cricket out of it. The real question is whether mass bombing is efficient, but that is something else. The American air command seems to feel that mass bombing is rather wasteful. So the American air force works on the principle of precision bombing of a restricted target, knocking out the selected area completely so we won't have to repeat. We also work on the theory that the quickest way td break enemy morale is to administer military defeat, hence bombs should be used to that end so far as possible. Anyway that's what we were doing about Rome and all the newspaper witnesses who went on the raid saw with their own eyes that the Vatican was far away from our path. We were after the railroad yards and we got them.

By Eleanor Roosevelt

human beings, to that in truth there shall no longer be slaves on this earth. This is the only vision which can make the world's suffering bearable, and sometimes it seems to fade into the grey of night and leave us cold and desperate. Then only the words of great leaders can restore the) vision and give us the heart to work for it again, So my plea is that those who have the gift of words, use them in these days to give the people hope by which to live and dream, for without the vision we shall perish. I was reading an article about an industrialist who believes in paying his workers well, for his theory seems to be that wealth for us all lies in greater production at lower cost. He believes his workmen are the ones who can lower costs, so he pays them for doing so. It seems sensible, if his theory is correct. It seems to work for him, anyway, and his workers own 30 per cent of the business, which must add considerably to their incentive, A letter came to me the other day, telling of the work which the Boys Club of America has undertaken this summer. ‘There are about 240 of these clubs, most of them located in congested city areas. They

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apolis Times

SECOND SECTION

Thrill a Minute and No Priorities on Fun

By NAT A. BARROWS

LONDON, July 23 —Any allied push eastward across the Adriatic sea toward the Balkans and the Danube valley will find the largest and most experienced army of guerrillas on the continent waiting in

‘the limestone

mountains and deep forests of Bosnia, Herzegovina and Montenegro. Seasoned by five campaigns against German and Italian ground and air fighters, and thoroughly familfar with the terrain, these Jugoslav partisans and underground agents are in a position to strike devastating blows from within.

They are led by officers as carefully selected and as mysterious as the actual field commanders with the Greek guerrillas, and their overall value as flanking units and saboteurs certainly is not being overlooked in our lcng-range planning.

Mr. Barrows

Hate All Germans

The bitterness of the Jugoslavs against the axis is surpassed only by the anti-German hatred of the Poles and the Csechs. The Jugoslav clandestine press constantly reflects this bitterness in articles asserting that there is no distinction between Nazis and Germans, aithough these underground papers, more than those in some other occupied countries, devote attention to post-war problems. In the tangle, often confusing, disarray of Balkan politics, the question of frontiers, autonomy and territorial restoration occupies much space in the underground press. Resistance movements in Jugoslavia, Poland and Czechoslovakia

RE EE oe“uood prodictioh in 4 big way,

have greatly stepped up their sabo-

Jugoslav Guerrillas Await Invasion to Move on Nazis

uncontrollable reprisals that some of the ravished countries will unleash fully when they get the chance,

Print Death List

The Polish clandestine press, instance, is saying that assassins such as - Frank, —— Becker, Riege, Winkler and others of the gestapo, and sicherheitdienst (security police) “will get what is coming to them,” and that

the executions already carried out are “only a foretaste of what will happen when the hour strikes.” With its tactics greatly revised and improved since it operated against tsarist Russia, the Polish underground today maneuvers with a centralization of authority. Its policy of reprisal is centered about the killing of every possible German, but the press often finds time to educate the people for the reconstruction period. The Czechoslovakian underground suffered in the Lidice reprisal and the mass murders after the assassination of Obergruppenfuehrer Reinhardt Heydrich, but its accomplishments in sabotage continue even more daring and successful under the impetus of the good news about Sicily which the BBC manages to send in.

Gives His 56th Blood Donation

KANSAS CITY, Mo, July 23 (U. P).—Joe Huff, 35-year-old machinist for a steel tank company, was back on the job today, “chipper as a colt,” after donating to the Red Cross the 56th pint of blood he has given for transfusions in the past six years, Red Cross workers said they believed Huff surely must hold the national record, with yesterday's donation bringing his total to seven gallons. The average 4 Bi §& something

for |

It's Biggest Season Ever

At Riverside

By HELEN RUEGAMER

There's a thrill a minute on the high rides, rib-tick-ling experiences in the fun houses and plenty of hot dogs, peanuts and pop—all without ration stamps, gasoline or a priority number. This is what draws Indianapolis pleasure seekers to Riverside amusement park on W. 30th st. which is in the midst of the biggest season in its 37 years of existence, The town's citizens forced at home by gas and tire restrictions and longer working hours, pour their money into the park in a never-ending stream. Already the crowds are up 30 per cent over last year, and on holidays the attendance exceeds by 70 per cent the peacetime record. The milling throngs represent people from one end of the social scale to the other—bank presidents and day laborers, social butterflies and wandering gypsies, college students and barefoot urchins. Families come for all-day picnics, young men and women find it a good place to entertain dates and weary service men seek and find relaxation from the rigid restrictions of camp life.

” » ”

Old Rides Good Enough

THE AMUSEMENT PARK is open every night except Monday and Saturday and Sunday afternoons. The patrons come by streetcar and trolley and on foot. On week-ends about 80 per cent of the cars in the parking lot bear out-of-town licenses as small town citizens drive to the city for a fling. War production cut out the installation of new rides this year. But the public's not particular— the old rides are good enough for them as long as their money holds out. Grown-ups look forward to the panicky thrills of the Flash and the Thriller, and the chance to try their skill along game row, with a kewpie doll as the prize. They stand in line for 30 minutes waiting their turn to sail above the world on the aerial swings or the Ferris Wheel, and can't resist the horses that go up and down on the merry-go-round.

Human Nature Parade

CHILDREN are delighted with the playground, where no adults are allowed, boat riding on the lagoon, jogging along the pony track on the kiddie train. There are those who come to spend every cent they've got, and others who are content just to sit and watch the passing panorama of human nature, Naturally, the park has been hit by the manpower shortage, but it can still handle larger crowds with less help than industries. Several of the ride managers have been there from three to 36 years, and a goodly number of employees from downtown

1. President John Coleman. .. .

Riverside park.

he used to pick up paper around

2. George Golding is the man who hands out the hot dogs and

pop when he's got them.

In his 28 years as a concession man he says

this experience with rationing is a “sorrowful” one.

3. Young people come in droves tn skate at the Riverside roller rink. They bring their own wheels or borrow from the rink which

has 1500 pairs to lend them.

4. The man behind the switch at the popular Mill Chute is I. E,

Irwin, one of the park’s oldtimers.

been there 36 years.

Some of the ride managers have

Bottom (left)—It takes a stout heart and a weak mind at the moment to ride the Loop O' Plane which does everything but pitch

vou in the air and catch you.

raised their ride prices to a straight 25-cent rate, the local entertainment center sticks to its standard 10 and 15 cents a ride—and it's not losing money.

country have

” ” ” RIVERSIDE is home-owned and operated. Thirty-five-year-old President John Coleman started picking up paper around the grounds in 1923, when his father was a stockholder, He went to Wabash college and Indiana law school, becoming assistant city attorney in the 1930's and working at the park in the evenings. In 1938 he took on the full time Job. He knows his business. He's a member of the American Recreational association and a director of the National Association of Amusement Parks, Pools and Beaches, With his brother he recently redesigned the park's Bluebeard's palace into a fun house patterned after a one-horse country town. The _park’s general manager is

LABOR PARTY BACKS 4TH TERM FOR FOR

| opened tomorrow in Christian park

NEW YORK, July 23 (U. P).—

Right wing leaders of the Amer ican |

Labor party were on record today to support President Roosevelt for a fourth term. In a message to the A. L. 180,000 voters in New York City, the Liberal and Labor Committee to Safeguard the American Labor

Party warned yesterday that the

Communist party seeks to gain control of the A. IL. P. in the August primary election, and added: “In 1044 the A. L. P. can be the

decisive factor in the election of a liberal presidential candidate, of President Roosevelt, if he should be a candidate for re-election.” The message, signed by Dean Alfange, chairman of the committee, said that if Communists took control of the A. L. P. there would not be an A. L. P. “to assure casting of 47 electoral votes for a liberal presidential candidate in 1044."

PIONEER IS DEAD

LA PORTE, July 23 (U. P.) Mis. Effie Orr Crane, 83, granddaughter of Maj. Gen. Joseph Orr, dhe of the first, settlers of La Porte county died in her home yesterday, General

Orr made his home here shortly

Upside down,

P's!

they can't fall out,

H. E. Parker, former school teacher. He takes care of the office details—counts pennies, ticket stubs and figures out the government tax.

“u un n

Hamburger a Rarity

THE HOT DOGS, pop, snows= balls, ice cream and cracker jack ~-which make the evening's en

tertainment complete—~are handled by George Golding, an oldtime concession man. In his 28 years of experience at the Speedway, state fair, auto shows and the park, this is his first with ration stamps. He terms it a “sorrowful” one. Frequently he uses 6000 hot dogs and buns in one day, hamburger is a rarity, and on Monday morning his stock often consists of a solitary bottle ,of pop. During an average year the park will draw 1,500,000 pleasure= seekers, This year it'll probably top the 2,000,000 mark and not anly will the management be satisfied, but no one's money will be _burning a hole in his pocket.

DISTRICT 10 TO OPEN CASUALTY STATION

A new casualty station will be

by Red Cross first aiders of district

| With equipment donated by dis

trict 10 drugstores, the station will be open every day from 8 a, m. to 9 p. m. and will take care of minor playground injuries.

HOLD EVERYTHING

SIGHT SEEING