Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 30 November 1943 — Page 16

-— %

Tk PEACE RUMORS . | SECRETARY OF STATE HULL says the rumors of peace negotis are untrue. He goes further, hinting that they- are inspired by the enemy to slow down allied war

is would not be the first time Hitler had planted such reports in Stockholm and Bern. But never before has he been in such desperate need of confusing and weak"ening the allied countries with false hope of an early end of the war. And never before have the allied populations been such a pushover for unreasoning optimism. . The publicity. buildup for the anticipated meeting of President Roosevelt, Prime Minister Churchill and Marshal Stalin, and perhaps of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, has . created widespread hope that these leaders by some un-| explained diplomatic device can frighten Germany into unconditional surrender before Christmas. = ”, . ~ . | : } . . » : A MEETING of the Big Three, or Big Four, is probable. It is reasonable to suppose that exceedingly important | ‘military and political decisions will result—no such con- |

RILEY 5551

WAL Pind. Their Own Woy

{ 1 | i

ference would be held unless the participants felt assured

of its success in advance. But to assume that an allied | agreement on a plan, however potent, could in itself destroy | axis military might immediately is to expect a miracle. If the object were to make a compromise peace with | Hitler or the German militarists, that would be easy. But - since that is precisely what the axis wants, and is the opposite 6f the unconditional surrender. terms to which-the f ‘allies were irrevocably ‘conimitted, the only acceptable axis

by a political conference.

” . . !

more susceptible to peace rumors is the unprecedented | success of the air offensive against Germany in general | ‘and Berlin particularly. ten | This revives two forms of wishful thinking: One that | the German people cannot take bombing, and will overthrow Hitler to escape it; the ether that bombing alone

scale fighting will be physically possib

much before April. : Plenty Tough in First World War * . I SPENT MOST of four years in northein France during the first world war. I know something ot the weather conditions there and what the men had . to undergo. - During the winter of 1918-17, the allies mapped out what was to be a “breakthrough” between Arras and Aisne. The Germans got wind of it and, early in March, began a systematic withdrawal from that salient, . The allies. discovered the movement about March 15, but though they realized this would ve the ideal moment, they refrained from attacking largely because of the weather. It was not until April 9 that the British attacked at Arras with the French following a week later. Even so, these synchrgnized drives came to a halt within a fortnight, The Hindenburg line held.

Sir Douglas Haig, the British commander-in-chief, { then shifted northward. In June, he stormed Messines | | and the great drive across Flanders, with Passchen- |

daele ridge, Ostend and Zeebrugee as its objectives, was under way. Although he finally won the ridge, he failed to reach the vital, ‘U-boat infested. Belgian coast. ! ; Save for the attrition it had cost the enemy, th allied offensive ‘was largely a failure, and weather and the flat land were to blame, British soldiers staggered through mud up to their middles; some sank out of sight in the loblolly and drowned or were suffocated. Tanks mired up and were pounded to pieces by German artillery. This was in mid-summer,

Bad Eneugh Even in Summer oo "ALL MAJOR fighting ceaséd. when winter. came

A-during . the. first. .world..war, . or. simmered. down to / —

~The Hoosier Forum I wholly disagree with what you say, but awill defend to the death your right to say it.—Voltaire.

local thrusts. True, the attack on Verdun began on

defeat is military—which can be planned but not conipleted | Feb. 21, but that was in eastern France in hilly, well- | : | drained country. Moreover, there the German objec- | tive was to reduce a fortress, hence it was not really a | ss = = . ) | war of movement. The plan/was to smash Verdun— A SECOND REASON Americans and Britons are now | a four or five weeks job, the Germans thought—so that |

sometime about the first of April the crown prince's forces could march on Paris down the ‘valley of the Marne. : Marshal Von Hindenburg's do-or-die push - in 1018 came on March 21. This was between Arras. and: the Aisne, the terrain over which the allies will have to fight their way when they open up a second front in western France. Von Hindenburg knew he had to win the war in’ the summer of 1918 or be de-

can destroy axis military might.

Until the improbable happens, it is necessary to remind

| feated, so it can be assumed that he got under way { as soon as he dared take the risk.

i i i i i

iF !

PARITY

a TE a BR bs ioe rics ot ost te AB a EE em BE EE ite a a A a af aa a Etat ta ta re ara ave i fan ee a oy id if atcssiog dal outa eto co haath ae hp DL

ation. i ne : Every Phase of Life Involved - EVERY MINUTE PHASE of the Dutch civilian

life is now under the closest scrutiny of the as even a cursory examination of the regulations

| reveal. Here are some of the decrees highlighting the

past few months:

MAY 18—The flying of kites is henceforth prohibe ited. Parents, teachers and supervisors found guilty of negligence in not preventing the flying of kites by children will be punished by fines up to 300 guilders or prison terms up to six months. JULY 2—The gathering of wild whortleberry, rasp. berry or hawthorn leaves is prohibited—because they had been used as substitutes for tea. Also on July 2—The quarrying of stone and the

.| manufacture of gravestones, baptismal fonts and sime |

ilar articles is prohibited,

‘shops before 8 a. m. is prohibited. : ' JULY 27—Dutch parents are forbidden to name their children either Margreit or Francisca-—after the youngest of Crown Princess Juliana's daughters, born in Canada. SEPT. 11—The disposal of potato peelings in dust. bins and rubbish piles, instead of saving them for official collectors, is punishable by a fine or six months in prison. : Lo OCT, 1—-Wedding parties may use no more than three carriages, each drawn by a single horse.

“PATTON DESERVES OUR FULL CONFIDENCE” ny. flares F. Goodyear, R. R. 19, Box

Gen, Patton slapped a “shelishocked” soldier. A very horrible crime. One which should cause us to “break” one of our ablest fight-

(Times~ readers are invited to express their views in | these columns, religious con { troversies excluded, Because-

| of the volume received, let-

‘ters should be limited to- 250

Aniericans and Britons that their own military chiefs | “agree that there is veto Sin Whistever of effective Geral vevolt against Hitler, and the wholésale allied bombing is not the end buy the prelude to victory by land invasion.

. ® =» ® = - A'THIRD REASON some people are so ready to believe | the peace rumors is that inspired stories have tied the pope into alleged negotiations of Nazi representatives at the ‘atican. : “But it is unlikely that the pope, with his long diplomatic experience, would permit himself to be put in the position of Hitler's -intermediary. At any rate, Secretary Hull's denial of these rumors should turn this country’s thoughts away from unprofitable speculation about a quick peace to winning the war by hard work and hard fighting—the surest way to hasten victory.

REVENUE—NOW AND LATER MFIFTY-SEVEN billions is a hell of a deficit in anybody's money,” Secretary Morgenthau told the senate finance committee, urging it to approve higher taxes so the government wouldn't run so far in the red this year. He might have added that 194 billions (estimated total the government will owe at the end of the fiscal year) is a hell of a public debt in anybody's money. Cod Mr. Morgenthau was right, also, we think, in saying

“Anyone who has noted the way some people are spending | money nowadays—on high living, rich foods and gravies, |

could do without—must admit that there is a lot of loose | cash that could better be siphoned off to help finance the | war.” . . o - . . . BUT IT IS also true—and Mr. Morgenthau and his = treasury “experts” seem not always to remember this—that. several millions of Americans are not participating in this spending orgy. : : They are not, for the simple reason that their incomes have remained static or have declined, while their taxes and living costs have gone higher and their debts and other fixed obligations have not gone lower—so they have less . to spend for fancy goods and notions. i tt The treasury crowd seems to be more interested in keeping alive a tax issue than in settling a revenue problem. “ They have rejected proposals to levy stiffer taxes against in-. ~ comes that have increased than against incomes that remained stationary. They hav2 opposed schemes for compul‘sory savings for those who have extra income to save. There is only one other way to tax the money that is

going into inflationary spending—that is by taxing “the

_ But when Mr. Morgenthau was questioned on a sales hich would be a tax on spending—he was against THE TREASURY proposes taxes, but congress distreasury is insisting on a tax program which, the political baloney, is aimed not at the spendthe savings of the people and their business instiak the causes of war inflation but at the safe-post-war deflation. Congress refuses to ac- > knowing that if a post-war: public F 294 billions or more is ever paid off it but of an expanding volume of producwhich can be provided only by a busi8 » and capital (People’s savings) which

Mr, Morgenthau and his litéle our system operates—and

| indicate that this is tragically true.

sucker entertainments, needless travel and. luxuries they !.-

If- the allies have to fight their way across the low,

in summer. } . (Westbrook Pegler did not write a column today.)

We The People By Ruth Millett

LETTERS FROM: service men— and at least half of my mail is such —emphasize the fact that they don’t want their women in this

women home, so that they can find them unchanged when they return. It seems to me that natural as their desire is, their attitude is far from wise. For it doesn't take into account the fact that they themselves are going to. change—and change

greatly. If their girls and wives sit complacently at Sanda, induction center doctors are home, taking no part in the war effort, are the men Not supposed to allow men to beipave nerves as are the

going to have much in common with them?

Example Given by Mrs. FDR

THE STORY Mrs, Roosevelt told recently would A’ soldier who had leave to go home felt despondent, rather than

he said. “I don’t think I'm fit to go home. For five months I haven't done anything. but kill. People back home won't want me. I've changed too much.” . .- lsn't that the kind of thing that will come of trying to shield the folks back home from the, reality of war? That is, of course, an example of the awful gulf that can separate a man from his family and friends, his girl or his wife. But wouldn't any returning soldier who had undergone battle find it easier to understand and be understood by a woman who had given up an easy life to help win the war than by a woman who had sat at home staying *unchanged” for her man? Most soldiers probably don't realize how deeply their war experience is changing them and their attitudes. Why let them find out suddenly, by one day returning to find their women completely unchanged by the war? -

Rubber Supplies

By S. Burton Heath

" NEW YORK, Nov. 30.—Dr. Earl N. Bressman of Costa Rica, in an article prepared for the office of the co-ordinator of inter-American affairs, predicts that production of rubber in the tropical Americas will survive post-war competition both from low ' cost plantation rubber from the Far East and from synthetic manufacture. Technically this is true. Undoubtedly there will continue to be some natural rubber produced in Latin America and purchased by the United States and European nations. :

But we may just as well be realistic. The amount | | . |

of Latin American rubber flowing to world markets

war, They want to keep their |

at the cost of over 3000 lives, at

* | Pear! Harbor, are at liberty.

Berlin and Tokyo would be highly pleased to hear that “Old Blood and Guts” was no longer directing any part of our offensive against their mighty war machines. Shell shock is truly a terrible injury but most army and navy doctors will tell you that the -eondition so Hberally labeled shock” is often merely a nervous {breakdown caused by fear and {strain from .the long and bloody battle. Even the greatest of the heroes admit that they were | “scared. to. death” In. battle, . but {their nerves held ‘steady. Many | men haven't the necessary stamina ito stand the strain and have a {nervous collapse. It is difficult for {the real fighting men to under{stand these nervous cases. | According to our own propa-

| inducted who are nervously un{stable. Therefore, there was no i reason for Gen. Patton to have had {such a man in his army, let alone {have such a man be the cause of {his removal. I have no doubt that ithe soldier responsible had given

that the country can afford higher taxes in these boom times. | elated. - “I don't know whether I want to go home,” his general great reason-to lose his

| temper temporarily. [Any first-aid - man knows that {the shock of a slap in the face is {usually successful in a case of fear { hy cs. It is reasonably possible {that Patton was really helping {rather than injuring his soldier. At any rate, my trust and my money are on Patton and victory. I know jthat I am not alone in this faith. { ‘There are always plenty of dogs {to tear down a great man for some minor wrong-doing. . ... Gen. Pat{ton certainly deserves our full confidence, To

}

!ing men in the armed forces while {- a8 SINTER A Ft RE { drainage canals, the ‘going will be plenty tough-—sven

“shell |

. words. Letters “must be

and publication in no way implies agreement with those opinions by The Times. The Times assumes no responsibility for the return of manu-“-.seripts and cannot enter cor--respondence- regarding them.)

i | f

“WHY GIVE ONE INCIDENT SO MUCH PUBLICITY?” By B. R. McFadden, 5122 E. North st. It is hard. to imagine what useful purpose can be served by the public-

take the trouble to point out that Gen. Patton had spent probably as much or more time at the front as the soldier involved? Or is it true that generals are not permitted to

men? Why not, along with your denunciation of him, point out that he has had a long and outstanding career in the army? That he is credited with tioning the Tunisian campaign into a rout? That he is noted for his love for the enlisted man and his generous attitude toward him? Perhaps investigations should be made as to whether commanding officers are being kept at the front too long. Why give this one incident so much publicity knowing full well that it could ruin the career of a great general? The U.S. army is famous for its fighting ability, and this ability is largely attributed to the strict discipline of the soldier in training. Do you think that this publicity will help discipline in the

army?

Side Glances—By Galbraith

\ signed. . Opinions set forth . RR RS a RR ees pa pe ra re eR Cen a Ce Su ne dT RR TER WD DETR Gi RoR: $5 are those of the writers, |

ity given the Gen. Patton episode. | boy: Truly his actions in themselves {were reprehensible, but why not hurts, are a small price to pay for ‘a general who can and does fight

enlisted |

EER

There are too many important {things going on in this world for {you to be wasting newsprint and yaur readers’ time by capitdlizing on such a story, particularly after Gen. Patton's commanding offifficer did not see fit to release the story until several montis after it happened, and, knowing of it, approved his appointment to his permanent rank of

. . ” . u |“LOSING SIGHT OF. |THE REAL POINT” [my W. C. Laycock, 4933 Kingsley dr. Re the Patton case, It seems to me many of your readers are losing I'sight of the real point, which is that | Gen. Patton cannot -be personally punished without losing his “very great official capacity. S That is, no one defends his conduct and if it were peacetime practically no one would protest an of-

A AREA

ficial hearing or court-martial. But it js practically certain that he will not offend again, and after all two,

{are over it without any permanent

and can lead men, removing Patton take a second

boy say, got slapped and came home after the war in good health because of Patton's experience and undoubted ability than pull Patton, {and have him die in Itally some{where while a new man learned his job? Please God we would. get a capable replacement; we might and we might not, As in the civil war when the elect told Lincoln that wicked Grant man drank too much Lincoln said, “I

words to that effect, Good experienced general officers do not come a dime a dozen; and any man may be a good general without neces-| sarily being a model private citizen, If you have sons in the army, isn’t it a lot better, at least till this mess is over, to have a good general in whose fighting ability and “know Eisenhower is satisfied, in there rumming the show, than trying to break in a new man right now? Nobody defends what Patton did but before you yell too loudly for abstract justice just now, give it a second think and see if you really

|s§

s slapped and cussed out who

Before sounding off in favor of |

thought—wouldn’t you rather your|

can't spare Grant, he fights,” or!.

German fear

- THE FLYING OF kites is banned because ile Germans fear that kites might give signals to low. flying allied planes or to invading parties. Amateur fishing /is banned and the Dutch fleet of some 3000 fishing/ boats has been largely moved to Germaiiy, to prevent offshore communication with united nations forces. ] Manufacture and sale of German uniforms in the Netherlands has been stopped fo prevent thie Dutch patriots, disguised in German uniforms, from making destructive raids on German offices. Gatherings of any sort, even for weddings or in food lines, ars die.

ve a Tae TE Ee order it. - - Sm

It has been khown that thé Germans have evage uated nearly a million people from the coastal areas of France, Belgium and Holland to prepare defenses against invasion. : Trying to feel out the united nations’ plans for invasion, Gérman military commentators have broad cast admissions that the low countries offer the most

| effective landing points for assault troops from Enge

land, But they invariably add that here the German defenses are the strongest. No small part of the strength, apparently, is in keeping the Dutch inhabitants closely under the heal to prevent them from aiding that invasion.

Rocket Planes By Maj. Al Williams

NEW YORK, Nov. 30.—Rockets have come to stay in aviation, In fact, military aviation is well along in their use, A few years Halians launched

i 4; 8

i fa

— power, the as an auxiliary source of power in gasoline motor. The record of attempts to fit the rocket - war plane is still secret, but it appears that military use of rockets was to fit them to edges and utilize their propulsive to take off quickly and in a shorter normally. This gave the originators advantage in that they could operate airports too small to permit a long gr

Useful for Wily Air Fighter

THE NEXT ventute was to utilize the temporary, boost ini power derived from run away from attacking planes that normal faster. This opened up a wide field for the ticians ‘who altered their.tactics accordingly. For instance, aggressive minds devised of employing their rocket speed to launch uncalcu lated attack. The fighting aibman soon becomes

Ii: : skis +

: i §i

-| an expert judge of the speeds of enemy aireraft. In

battle he quickly distinguishes between those le

| planes which are in a position to attack him :

concentrates on them.

ROCKETS ARE a one-shot bet. one short

of speed far in excess of your : burst,

But when you have used that

JULY 10—The formation of queues in front of

;-not-hard .to determine, according to the Ditch -officialy | in this country, Back of them all is the | of invasion through the low countries,

Fear Kites Might Give Signals wt

+f. Broken lines ranges! All gre Men's

SPORT COATS. Be

| MEN'SFU

Stre

[18 we

| FINGER]

4 Herringbone . showerproof pe

21) MEN'S SOI 224 and 246

(13) MEN'S ALL SWEATERS, 350

Phra ians

"1%6) MEN'S BR JAMAS, Sp

MEN aL ;

Few of a kin samples. Pig suedes, All siz

1 mews

- COATS Taken from | sortment. T (5) Were $20 (16) Were 895 Men's Pur

Special STERLI | . FLA Moonglow ‘4 Sonja “1 Irving Violet

Princess Elizabeth

Pie

Women’s 488) FINE HANI & and some le colors, were

RE LRE EER

(60) GYPSY HA $ two-toned

sates

| BETTER Stre LINC ir corps, were. STERLING SILV yv + KEYS, were 1.7

BTER

| Save sts 1 AND Gl

3 4 .. Form 4 : oy Ry 8 Just 25 fine ® sR ornamen _ x] derful Christa oo * Bagi i tel ud Gloves serie | colors,