Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 1 December 1944 — Page 19

i ° ot

lantic Crossroads

da in

By "

Peter |

(Mr. Edson, Washington columnist for The Times, who is now making a tour of North. Atlantic bases of the army air transport command, is substituting today for Ernie Pyle, who is on vacation. Mr, Pyle's dispatches from the fighting fronts will be resumed in the near future.)

REYJKAVIK, Iceland, Dec. 1.—The sign over the door at U. 8. army air transport command headquarters near this Icelandic capital says Washington 2096—Prestwick 850. In other words, it is about the same distance from Washington to the Pacific coast as it is from Washington to Iceland. and about the same distance from Washington to Chicago as it is from Iceland to the air tsansport command's big base in Scot~ land. © Comparing the distances that way, Iceland isn't a remote, isolated, out of the way place at all, but by air 15 hours or less from Washington and four hours from the British Isles. The A. T. C. having proved that the ‘North Atlantic can be ! flown in winter, the people of IceJand have flying ants in their pants and when the war is over, they do not wish their country-to lose the place it has gained as one of the most important crossroads of the great circle route from the United States to Europe. Iceland’s position is perhaps typical of many other small countries who feel that they want a place in the coming air age, realize that they haven't the resources to compete with the major powers in (ransport operation and manufacture, yet don’t want to be left off the aviation map.

In ‘competitive, commercial operation, it may prove to be more economical to fly the Atlantic in several hops—New York to Newfoundland, to Iceland, to the British Isles, to the European continent, than to fly non-stop. Twenty-hour hops in an airplane can become pretty tiresome. If long journeys can be broken at four to eight-hour intervals,’the passenger doesn’t hdve to spend a day to recover from the few hours time he may have saved in making his journey non-stop.

Weather Uncertain

ai OTHER FACTORS entering into the situation are uncertainties of the weather, which may suddenly close in over one route or at one terminal, making it highly desirable aid even necessary to have optional goutes and stopping points where planes can sit down 30 wait out storms for the safety of their passengers,

. The importance of these termediate stops as switching points cannot be overlooked, A New York to ‘London plane might easily drop off at Iceland passengers bound for the Scandinavian countries. Or

traffic originating in Scandinavia might logically].

transfer to London-New York service at Reyjkavik. This general need for diversity gives Iceland and countries similarly situated a definite place on the international air map, in addition to which the domestic requirements of Iceland in providing fast air transport for its own citizens and their mail and express have to be mel. And Icelanders, like the people of any other country, would like to see their own citizens get at least a part of this business for planes flying the Iceland flag.

Two Companies Formed

TWO ICELANDIC aviation companies have been organized for flying operations, one of the companies recently getting a Catalina type transport from the United States. The Icelandic legislature now is considering a bill which would combine these two companies into one and give that one company 50 per cent backing of the government, So organized, it becomes a “chosen instrument” for possible operation to the United States, Great Britain and the Scandinavian countries with which it has most of its business. The new Icelandic government of President Sveinn Bjornsson and Prime. Minister Olafur Thors has committed itself to international co-operation, Iceland had delegations at UNRRA and Bretton woods conferences, as well as at Chicago. On air policy, the Icelandic government has yet to decide whether it will grant air rights to foreign countries on a reciprocal basis only, whether it will show preference to the air-borne commercial ambitions of any one country, or whether it will grant equal air rights to all countries and ‘welcome all planes that may wish to fly here, whether they be British, Norse, Swedish, Russian, Scotch, Canadian or American, There is much jockeying for position now. The British are in here, as well as the Americans,’ for military operations. But these military rights expire with the end of the war and both will have to dispose of their elaborate aviation ground facilities to the Icelandic government, on terms yet to be arranged or disclosed.

Inside Indianapolis By Lowell Nussbaum

VEDDER GARD, head of the telephone company’s public relations department, is getting tired of explaining to inquiring friends why he has his thumb bandaged. It's really nbt news—he merely got bitten

while refereeing a dog fight. If he had bitten the dog right back, that would. have been news. The fight occurred Thanksgiving day at the home of Vedder's brother-in-law, R.. T. (Toby) Brocker. A huge bulldog trailing a leash showed up at the Brocker’s. Someone opened the door to look at the dog, and it darted into the house. That was very irritating to the Brocker's smaller bulldog, Lucky, and the two animals put on an exhibition of -plain and fancy dogfighting right in the front room. With the dogs snarling and growling fiercely, and the women and children screaming, Gard became confused and tried to separate the dogs with the aforementioned results. Toby, being more experienced with dogs, succeeded in breaking it up. Vedder had to have a doctor patch up his thumb. ., . It's Capt. Ted Nicholas, now. Ted received a letter telling him of his promotion from lieutenant yesterday, He was so tickled he grabbed a taxi and hurried right downtown from his office at Selective Service headquarters and bought a captain's bars. His captaincy came through just two years and a day after he entered the army as a private, rear ranks,

No Pink Elephants,

THE FAME of Indianapolis’ Prospective zoo has gone all the way to India. Mrs. Robert F. Geddes, 1824 Bazil ave. clips this column out of the paper and sends it to her husband, a sergeant in India. He read about the plans for establishing a zoo here and wrote back that he thinks it is a fine idea, espegially for the Geddes’ three young sons. Thanks,

America Flies

IT IS INTERESTING to study the chahges in puble and professional opinion about the robot bomb. At first nothing but ridicule greeted it. Then realism took charge as destruction of life and property mounted. The original robot bomb-—the V-1—was a jet propulsion job, carrying its own liquid fuel (kerosene or a lowgrade gasoline) and compressed air, “The compressed air was carried in wire wound globes. At the front end of the combustion chamber was a series of shutters, much the same as those used on automobiles of a few years ago. These shutters were automatically controlled by the temperature of the flame in the combustion chamber, The admission of 7.Gomprotsed air and fuel into the combustion chamber naturally raised the temperature. The spurt of flame out the rear end of the combustion chamber, pressing against the atmosphere, was the force which drove the robot forward. It was necessary that fuel and compressed air be conserved in order to lengthen the flight range of the bomb. Hence this belching of flame was checked pes - riodically, measuring the intervals so that the bomb was kept flying at the most economical speed.

800,000 Structures Damaged

THE GERMANS set the control devices to maintain the V-1s in flight at fairly low levels, and anti-

My. Day

WASHINGTON, Thursday. —I had a small Juncheon yesterday for Mrs. Marvin H. McIntyre, who is

soon leaving Washington to return to the West coast,

ob be with her daughter. , Mrs, McIntyre said a rather lovely thing, remark-

Sgt. Geddes. And while you're over there, how about shipping us a couple of Indian elephants? No pink or white ones, mind you. , . . C. V. Viles, who worked for Indianapolis Railways 20 years and now lives in Miami writes that he’s much interested in the zoo, and adds: “I would like to have the privilege of dondting one or .two alligators.” Thank you, Mr. Viles; buf don’t ship them just yet. Wait until we get a place for them. Maybe next summer. . , . A couple of dissenters have written in to say they don’t like the zoo idea. One woman wrote that “most people no doubt would enjoy a zoological park but it seems this is not necessary and we could get along very nicely without a zoo at the present time. This would cost an enormous sum and if the city has extra funds to spare why not use'it in getting rid of this smog and smoke?” It's a great idea. But why not both smoke abatement and a zoo, too? . . . Another reader thought we should switch from support of a zoo to a campaign for a better system of sewers,

Joy Unrestrained

HERE'S ONE to add to your list of appropriate names: A. W. Joy is president of the Riverside Amusement Co., which operates the thriller and the old mill at Riverside park. The park itself and the other amusement devices are operated by the Riverside Amusement Park, Inc., of which John Coleman is president. , . . Maybe we shouldn't call attention to it, but we noticed Block's ad in The Times yesterday and, under the heading of negligees, it read: lounging pajamas, were $6.98 . . . $8.98.” It probably should have read $16.98 . .., $8.98. Bet someone caught heck for that. . . . A classified ad in the Star yesterday read as follows. “I don’t like to work, but I have a family to care for. Don’t know much, not capable nor willing to learn anything. Perfect qualifications for a department head or shop superintendent. Must be big money, little work.” . . , One of our agents reports a sign on an E. 38th st. filling station: “Free jaloppy service to all boys under 18, or cars of 1923 vintage or older.”

By Maj. Al Williams

aircraft guns accounted for the destruction of some. " The defense called into play its highest speed fighter planes. These patrolled thousands of feet above the robot flying level, using the excess speed gained during the dive to overtake the robot. However the net result was that 800,000 structures in England were damaged by robot bombs,

True Rocket Principle

THEN CAME another winged, pilotless weapon— the V-2—which from its launching point curved upward 40 or 50 miles and‘then starting down in a curve, which became almost vertical. Thé speeds attained by the V-2's is far beyond the speed of sound. The V-2 is 10 or 15 times heavier than the V-1, probably weighing 15 tons, and has a far greater explosive load than carried by the V-1 (2200 1bs.). And while it is a jet propelled missile, it appears that in order to reach altitudes of 40 or 50 miles above the earth it follows the true rockét plan by burning fuel and pure oxygen. The greater part of this is consumed in getting the V-2 through the thick layer of atmosphere close to the earth. And as soon as this thick blanket is traversed, the V-2 requires very little . fuel and oxygen to keep it going. The idea of sending V-2's across the ocean is not as fantastic as commonly believed, because all that is needed is another charge to be ignited after such a missile could level out in the almost frictionless atmosphere 40 or 50 miles above the earth, + We are just crossing the threshold of a “most revolutionary era in the science of aeronautics.

By Eleanor Roosevelt

of them are trying to gain some first-hand knowledge with the secretaries in certain congressby attending hearings and talking to the clerks of tlie committees on which the particular congressmen in whom they are interested serve.

“Print.}.

he Inc 1anapolis

Nomi etn hie

SECOND SECTION

SOMEHOW you don’t ever think of war correspondents dying on the battlefield. You think of them as spectators in a war—that’s what they are supposed

to be. That's their job. They write about all the death and the horror of war and no one ever thinks that they go through wi. much danger to get the infor- ® mation, But Frank FP Prist (Acme. .. News Pictures p ho tographer) is dead. Frank, who taught the kids in the Philippines to say, “Hello, dere.” Frank, who loved practical jokes even when they were played upon him. Frank, who worked the clock around when it was necessary and who played 24 hours a day when there wasn't work to do. Frank, who could never git still, Frank is dead. » » .

HE GOT IT up on the front line. A sniper’s bullet right through the heart, He never knew what hit him, Jim Hungate was with him and he phoned me, The ’ telephone connection was poor, At first I didn’t understand him. Then I didn't believe him, Escar Thompson went up to the front with a truck to bring Frank back. He came into the office after dark, his face caked with the powdery dust from the road and~said quietly: “T've got Prist's body outside.” Phil North and I went downstairs. We went around to the back of the truck and shined a flashlight inside, We knew what we were going to see, but we were afraid of what we would see. There was a stretcher inside. On it was a figure shrouded in a blanket. I could see a pair of shoes, toes turned up stiffly. » » » THAT'S FRANK, I thought. Yes, that's Prank, Phil and I climbed into the back of the truck and we went around to see the graves registra-

tion people. Every time the truck hit a bump in the road, the stretcher swayed and I didn't want to look at it, . Afterward we came back to the office and Phil sat down to wrife a letter. He began to blubber like a baby. Tears ran down his cheeks. He didn’t try to stop them, Frank had been one of his best friends, I sat down at a table and began to shuffle papers and thought that if I had any decency about me I'd be sniffling too. » » » WE HELD Frank's funeral the next day. It was hot and steamy and the other correspondents and high army officlals stood in a silent group. The guys who used to get drunk with Frank and who remembered things he had done and said seemed to be getting dust in their eyes because they kept digging out their handkerchiefs, . The chaplain said some nice things about mgybe how life “out there” would open up new horizons for Frank but every once in a while a fighter plane would swoop down low over the trees and his-words- would -be -drowned out, * The photographers took pictures, lots of pictures and it seemed right, just as right as it could be. It wouldn't have mat~ tered if their cameras had been empty, just so there would have been photographers hustling about because Frank would have liked it.

Maj. Hofr

® = = AND THEN afterward we piled into trucks and jeeps and staff cars and got the hell out of there, And nobody said a damn thing, but just sat there staring out at the dusty road and the naked kids playing on the sides, Today we heard on the radio that John Terry of the Chicago Daily News had died. That made four from here and I thought of the old superstition of three people dying at a time and thought, but, hell, that's four, That's bad. Today is one of those days I ‘ always liked back home when there wasn't any war. It has” been raining and the sky is sort of leaden and it's just a little bit cool, I would like to be back home lying on the sofa just sort of drowsy like with the radio playing symphonic music.

‘| THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS—

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1944

Chaplain (Capt) Howard J. Johnson conducts the funeral service at a palm-covered grave, in the American cemetery on Leyte island, of Frank Prist Jr, Acme Newspictures war photographer, who was killed by a Jap sniper on Nov. 12. Guard of honor, chosen because of long friendship with Prist, are (left to right): Maj. Phil North, Ft. Worth, Tex.; Clifford Bottomley, Australian department of informa tion photographer; Frank Smith, Chicago Daily Times; Earl Crotchett, Universal Newsreel; Dickinson, United Press; and Lee Van' Atta, International News Service. Photo by Acme Photographer,

AN INDIANAPOLIS YANK WRITES OF LANDING IN PHILIPPINES —

1 Lost a Buddy o on Leyte’ .. By Maj. Earl Hoff

Tom Shafer, for the War Picture Pool,

their stories out.

Philippines.

Maj. Earl Hoff, Indianapolis Times' staff member on leave, is now in the Philippines, assisting war correspondents in getting Since the landing on Leyte, he has written these two powerfully descriptive letters home. In the first, he tells of the grim, almost unreal horror that “comes with the loss of a buddy—an experience similar to that undergone by thousands of our boys on the battlefronts. And in the second he tells what he saw of our return to the

Following, is Maj. Hofl’s letter to The Times on the Leyte landing:

But at last A-day came. I could not sleep the night before and climbed up to the bridge. I don’t know .-what I was expecting to see in the darkness. Along toward morning we passed a small island where Rangers had landed several days before. We could see friendly pin points of light winking out at us. They had been ‘successful. As dawn came I could see land ahead, a grey smudge on the horizon, Our warships were pounding the shore line. T could hear the dull rumble of their gunfire, And then up ahead the sky was filled with glowing tracers, They looked like an angry swarm of bees as they reached up for the twisting, turning Jap plane, the first one out to greet us. A black speck in the sky, he was coming toward us and soon our own guns were yelping excitedly and the men aboard were shouting and pointing as though they were at a football game.. The. nippo got away, but I don’t know how. 8 ” 8 AS WE lumbered on toward the rendezvous point, I had a grandstand seat on thé ship's bridge. As far as I could see the convoy darkened the water, plowing, rolling; an unstoppable force, I swung my field glasses toward the shore. The first waves were racing for the shore, The landing was underway. And then I could see that there was trouble there, trouble that meant death for the infantry, Artillery and mortar shells were falling in the water and we were going that way. We couldn't stop. Boats were being hit. One was smoking and beginning to droop to one side, * And then, just a few hundred yards away a shell suddenly landed on a nearby ship. Black smoke plumed up. There was fire underneath Another shell slammed into her. Then another ship was hit. And another, ” ” .

IT WASN'T going to be long

until we were hit, too. But a fascination I cannot explain kept me on the bridge until the captain suddenly snarled at George Lait and me: “Get the hell off the bridge!” We went reluctantly, But still we wanted to see, From behind a boat davit we peered at the shore, at the other ships. Finally we decided we'd better get to safety behind the bridge. | Shortly “after that we got our first hit, The ship shuddered a little. that davit, Now we were not feeling so brave. Another shell Then one struck suddenly on the bridge above®us.

MY MIND began fumbling, groping. It didn’t seem to know what to tell me to do. Lait scrambled up the bridge and I followed slowly. A seaman up there was hit. Blood was on his shirt,

I stumbled back down the ladder screaming nervously: *“Aid man, Ald man!” Then I remembered stupidly that I was aboard a ship, “Pharmicist's Mate!” I shouted. The words were awkward, But help came, Then we carried the sailor down into the wardroom. I was startled to discover that already there were wounded there being treated. Army and navy doctors were busy. I tried to help. » » ”

I DON'T remember much else. We were grounded on a sand bar for awhile and I could see ashore the unreality of war.Shattered coconut trees, blasted pits in the sand, jumbled equipment, men darting from cover to cover, small boats racing bravely through the surf, confusion, confusion, confusion, Of course, after I left that ship and boarded the radio ship that broke the news to the world, it got much better and we're win. ning a tremendous victory, You've read all about it. We've had numerous air raids, One morning I saw five Jap planes brought down by ack-ack, flame flapping from their bellies

shell had struck near |

landed. |}

William

as they crashed into the water throwing sheets of water into the air and then oily black smoke climbing toward the sky. n n n I FINALLY got ashore to see some of the things I had been hearing about. And these people love us. They speak English and punch two fingers up in the air in a “V” shouting “Victoree!” They say good morning and they smile. They ask us to take their houses. They want to give us everything they have, but they haven't much. Theyre hungry and we've given them food and we've treated them like friends.

» » . IT'S JUST like they thought it would be and just like we dreamed it would be, The other morning I saw them coming from church. Their clothes were so clean and spotless it was startling. The women all wore gauzy mantillas over their heads and they had their prayer books and beads in their hands. Occasionally an air alert sends every one scrambling for shelter, but the Jap air force is almost no more, The navy fliers did a Trojan job for ,us, but when our own army planes came sweeping dramatically in to take over we stood in the streets and pounded each other on the back and shouted: “Look at them! Oh, you beauties! You beautiful, beautiful beauties!” And we told one another senselessly what kind of planes they were and we counted them out loud and felt dramatic and choked up.

+ plore,” the OC.

"C.1.O. Raps Veterans’ Job

Preference '

By FRED W. RERFIY, NEW ORLEANS, Dec. 1~The C.1.O. has made the frankest statement yet by any labor organization on a post-war question that holds the seeds of widespread con= troversy—whether returning veter= ans shall have first call on civilian jobs, and particularly to the e m ployment they gave up when. they entered the armed forces. “We de-

I. O. said, “the action ‘of cer Mr, Perkins tain administrative officials who have promoted the illusion among veterans that their way of securing jobs is through displacing workers with longer seniority, The application of any such practice would only create a conflict between the veterans of this war and veterans of the last war or between veterans and other workers who were deferred not because of their own request but in the interest of the war effort.” ® 8 =» THE administrative action thus criticized was an interpretation by selective service headquarters of a portion of the selective act as meaning that an honorably

discharged veteran of this war:

has an absolute right to get his old * Job back, with some qualifications relating to the employer, but with none so far as union agreements or arrangements are concerned, The interpretation was made by Col. Paul H. Griffith, former chief of the veterans’ personnel division

of selective service, who recently

was shifted to the post of deputy to Gen. Frank T. Hines in the over-all administration of veteran

and other post-war employment

activities.

Col, Griffith has invited his critics either to take the question into court for a final ruling, or to

ask congress for a change in the

law. » . . : ALTHOUGH it is fully realized that great opposition probably would develop toward any congressional move aiming at removal of any of the.rights and privileges now enjoyed by veterans, such an effort is being considered, on the ground that this particular section of the selective service act was hastily drawn, with no clear idea of the consequences, and needs clarification.

proposed change would have to be handled with delicacy to avoid a danger that many fear—open conflict between veterans and organized labor. The ‘C. I O. solution for the whole problem is to assure “full production, full employment and security for all.” Other parts of its program recommend seniority allowances for time spent in mili-

tary or naval service, and waiving .

of initiation fees for veterans desiring to become members of C. I. O. unions.

BLAMES ‘JEZEBEL’ IN SEPARATION SUIT

NEW YORK, Dec. 1 (U. P)— Mrs. Edith Marko, 31, charged in a separation suit filled in supreme court yesterday that her husband. Robert, 38-year-old radio writer, was infatuated with a “female Casanova” who has such control over him that “she even trans formed his accent from native Brooklynese to Oxford.” Mrs Marko named the woman as Florence Street, whom she described as a former: dramatic teacher, actress, “dilletante and frequenter of night clubs.” “I find that I, a home-loving, devoted ‘mother and wife, was no match for this Jezebel who is full of guile and an experienced siren,” she asserted in her suit. Mrs. Marko sald she and Marko were married 4n June, 1933, and that he abandoned her in August, 1944. She said his income was $89, 000 a year and asked $500 a week temporary alimony. They have a daughter, Roberta, 7.

ROTARIANS TO HEAR PHILHARMONIC CHOIR

The regular Tuesday luncheon, of

the Rotary club held in the Claypool hotel will be thrown ope to the ladies next week when the JordanButler philharmonic choir will sing. Dorothy Munger, a member of the Jordan Conservatory piano Taculty, will be soloist.

Barnaby will be found today on page 35.

By Laurene Rose Diehl

OF THIS

- the house they

We, the Women Servicemen

Will Be Happy

In Own Home

By RUTH MILLETT THE “home of the future” was sold so enthusiastically to Amer-

nia si

Sige hn

ica that a lot of families believe post-war homes $3500 equipped air cogditioning,

they can have costing around. with television, and all the other new devices for luxurious living. Now the American people are being told that such luxuries won't be found in inexpensive houses, at least not in the immediate postwar world, » » » AMERICANS will probably not feel too badly over having their dream houses stripped of many of their “world of tomorrow” features. Because most of them are go ing to be so glad to have a house of their own, it will look good no matier what. The war wife who has heen living with her family or her inlaws for the duration will be

5 SESE Rt Lhe

happy in a home of her own-'

even without “world of . tomorrow’! features, s ® = SO WILL the serviceman Who has been living in such close

quarters he has forgotten what

the word “privacy” means. And so will the war-time rent. ers who have never known ‘When

were in might promt

ERE

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