Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 31 January 1945 — Page 10

The Indianapolis Times

PAGE 10 Wednesday, January 31, 1945

WALTER LECKRONE HENRY. W. MANZ Editor Business Manager

(A SORIPPS-HOWARD NEWSPAPER)

ROY W. HOWARD President

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RILEY 5551

Member of United Press, E Howard ewspa~ per Aliiadce, NEA Seryice, and Audit Bureau of Circulations.

Give Light and the People Will Fina Their Own Way

PACIFIC ADVAN CES

HE war against Japan has enter ed a new phase. Major developments of the past few days indicate that we are moving into position to strike the enemy in all-out offengives hitherto impossible. Here are some of the significant changes: - Adm. Nimitz has jumped his supreme naval headquarters from Pearl Harbor several thousand miles westward to an island not long ago far behind the Jap lines. Adm. Halsey announced Monday that the U. S. fleet has wrested control of the South China sea from the enemy. Those strategic waters are between Japan and her conquests of Southeast Asia and the Indies, and between our Philippine bases and China. When Halsey says our fleets can' operate there “any time we want to,” he is recording a shift in sea power in the Far Pacific that will lead first to the isolation and then to the defeat of Japan.

HALSEY SHOULD know. In the past three weeks his 1500-mile sweep through those waters to the Indo-China and China coasts, and on up to Formosa and the Ryukyu is- | lands, has cost the enemy 165 ships sunk and 280 damaged, plus 597 planes shot down and 695 damaged. This capped five months of U. S. naval victories which destroyed 2,000,000 tons of Jap merchant and {ransport shipping, 90 war-

- ghips and 7315 planes.

Meanwhile, MacArthur's advance in Luzon has been more rapid than expected.” His troops are now only 16 miles from Manila bay and about 30 miles from the capital. The unopposed landing of Indiana's own 38th division and elements of the 24th infantry at Subic bay on the Bataan peninsula has cut the Jap defenders of Luzon into four isolated units. Subic bay was the back door for MacArthur's own heroic stand on Bataan, and any Japs electing to duplicate that strategy now will be cut off. completely from supplies and reinforcements when Manila falls. Possession of Bataan will greatly hasten the reconquest of the vital fortress of Corregidor, commanding the approaches to Manila. At the same time the allies have. opened the LedoBurma route—"“the Stilwell road”—and ended the isolation of China. We now can Tush in supplies to strengthen the Chinese armies and Anerican air forces.

THAT THE BIG battles against Japan must be fought in China, where the enemy has most of his forces, is obvious. Two authorities emphasized that yesterday— Gen. Stilwell in"Washington and Gen. Hurley in Chungking. And Adm. Nimitz has repeated it many times.

successes, our whittling down of enemy sea and air forces, |

|

But whether the blow will come | first in Indo-China, or on the South China coast, or on | Formosa, or farther north—or at several places at once |

and the removal of our naval headquarters to the Far Pacific, are building up for an eventual invasion of Asia. The Japs know that,

—or when it will fall, they do not know. Moreover, they fear that Russia may strike at the | same time, if the European war ends this spring. Stalin has shown his interest in America’s march across the] Pacific, and not long ago he mentioned publicly that Japan is an aggressor nation. new phase of the Pacific war were high on the discussion list at the Big Three meeting.

HITLER AGAINST THE WALL

JITLER’S 12th anniversary speech was almost drowned out by the advancing Russians 73 miles from Berlin, the crash of Anglo-American bombs over most of Germany, and Eisenhower's big guns in the west. Under the cirtumstances, the one-time master of propaganda at home and abroad seemed at a loss. So he just repeated the old line, with the same whine and threats: But the bluster must have sounded awfully hollow to the faithful—doubtless the dwindling faithful. C ~He appealed to every German, every man, woman and child, young and old, sick and well, to rise in defense of the fatherland, Germans, no less than others, naturally respond when their homes are in danger—even those who hate their government. Only when they know that defeat is complete will any large number of them on the fighting front or the home front sabotage the defense or desert; that, at any rate, has been the record of the regimented and goose-stepping Geérmans. Nevertheless, Hitler's appeal has been repeated so often, the Germans have been taking the bombing and the retreats so long, and their Military situation is now so obviously hopeless, we cannot imagine this speech having much effect. That there is some spirit of revolt beginning is indicated by his threat that “all Ww ho stab the nation in “the back Will be destroyed,” rt ae : o ” LJ : HITLER'S CHIEF propaganda effort, as usual, was to inspire fear of the “Red menace,” and to divide the western allies and Russia. As to the effect in Germany, such propaganda is reinforced by the guilty conscience of

_ those who know what barbarism "and German invaders

practiced in Russia and who fear+Russian reprisals in kind. To cause -division among Russia's allies he said, “I * repeat the prophecy that Britain will not be in a position to tame bolshevism,, but will be increasingly subdued by this force.” Then he lied in saying that allied statesmen had promised to destroy Germany, buf more recently were covering up this. Actually, of course, Roosevelt, Churchill Stalin have proclaimed from the beginning the allied | Sinsation to destroy Nazism but not the German Though no. allied words can be as potent: as allied iwis. he Big Threé will publicly gil this lie in a joint ‘they have previously in separate statements. d that unconditional -surion, but the longer they will be their fate,

REFLECTIONS —

Undeclared War

By Harry Hansen

. THE BITTEREST BOOK ever written about China is “The Vigil of a Nation,” in which Lin Yutang, generally looked upon as & pleasantly ironic philosopher who writes perfect English, declares ‘with great vigor and indignation that the United States must hear the truth about the “undeclared civil war” in China, - Although tiis book has the appearance of -a_ pleasantly written report of a fall of 1043 and spring of 1944, it is packed with controversial dynamite. (John Day, $2.75.) Dr. Lin declares the Chinese Communists have had a sympathetic press in the United States -and

ernment is -Fascist and riddled with graft. While Dr. Lin thinks Chungking entirely too paternalistic for his taste, he accuses the Chinese Communists, whose headquarters are in Yunan, with putting partisan issues above country, fighting national troops and evading the Japanese, burying opponents alive, disrupting the family and forcing a totalitarian regime on everybody.

Examine Both Pros and Cons

HE BELIEVES the Chinese Communists are afraid of retribution of Chungking gets plenty of planes and dmmunition, but that the only reason Chungking cannot act against the Japanese more effectively is for lack of supplies. He says Chiang Kai-shek wants a peaceful solution and looks upon the Communist split as a political and not a military problem. Unless China is unified, it is lost and may gravely affect the progress of the war against Japan. However, as an intelligent man who cannot be

guided solely’ by his feelings, Dr. Lin examines both the pros and cons of the Communist and the Nationalist positions in such detail that the American reader is likely to emerge with an intense headache. For we read that, while the Kuomintang in Chungking has democratic intentions, it has not done much for democracy; China needs an immediate enforcement of the bill of rights, with freedom of the press; con- | stitutional rights are important, but “when one thinks of putting the elective machinery of self-government in the hands of a people with a high percentage of illiteracy, one realizes the size of the problem.” . . . “Every tinie I watch an election campaign in America, I lose faith in democracy, The spirit. of- democracy resides elsewhere.” :

Obeyed Comintern to the Last |

ALSO WE LEARN that, while theoretically the | Communists have the best provision for self-govern-ment, actually they are run by terror, secret agents and commissars, packed elections, purges and liquidations. Although Communist, they are not followers of Lenin; they are anti-Confucian, but even Madame Sun Yat-sen says Confucianism must be rooted out; they obeyed the Comintern to its last day. But=and here comes the-bewildering qualification —“the Chinese Communist party is caught in the process of transformation by the shape of events of this war . . . even 2s. Russia moves toward democracy, nationalism, private property, the family and the church, that is away from Marxism, so Will the” realistic. Communists, . This truculent, affected anti-nationalism cannot “last long. > This is where we detour. Pass the aspirin, please.

WORLD AFFAIRS—

‘When Berlin Falls

Qur new power in the South China sea, our Philippine |

‘By William Philip Simms

It would not be surprising if the |

WASHINGTON, Jan. 3l.— What will happen when Berlin falls? Many people are asking. Normally it would mean the end of the war, but the Nazis being what they are, that may not be the case at all. The fall of Berlin, according to informed military attaches here, should put an end to national re-

| Ps EE sistance, as such. It might, hows

ever, mark the beginning of a sort of ‘guerrilla warfare on a pretty big scale. Already the German military machine is badly cut to pieces. Part of it is operating in Italy, part in Norway. Several divisions have been by-passed and cooped up in Latvia and in Poznan, Still others have been cut off by the Reds in East Prussia and sizable armies have been trapped in the principal ports along the French coast. Something comparable is also happening to German war production. The Ruhr;-Hitler's-chief source of armament, has been pounded to pieces by allied bombers. The Saar basin, his third largest coal and iron area, has been more or less wrecked. And now Silesia, the remaining really important coal, steel, rubber, gas and oil center, has been overrun by the Russians.

German Situation Is Desperate

GERMANY FACES a truly desperate situation. If either the Russians or the Anglo-Americans reach Berlin soon, it would seem that little organized resistance, in a national sense, would be possible. ways have been, or are being, cut, bridges destroyed, canals blocked, rolling stock wrecked, highways kept under constant attack from the air. Transport and communications must be a shambles. Reports from neutral countries, however, tell of unusual activities in lower Bavaria, the Tyrol, Austrian Alps, Brenner pass and the Berchtesgaden

‘area. Therewsare tales of huge underground strongholds stocked with reserves of food and ammunition

nitely,

early last fall the Hitler hierarchy had begun to prepare against an eventual break-through ‘to Berlin. The plan, it is alleged, is to retreat to the mountains and there make a “last stand.” -—Hand-pieked-- troops, it-1s said, have already been selected. These would be composed of the most fanatical of the younger Nazis who could be counted on to fight it out to {he death—like encircled bandits who know a noose is waiting for any who might survive.

Political Future Is Equally Yoo

BUT THIS can hardly be more than speculation. Nevertheless, Hitler himself more than once has said he would not survive amother German capitulation, Certainly neither he nor Goebbels, Goering, Himmler nor the rest of the prihcipal Nazi criminals can have much hope of evading the gallows. A Prussian

them as a way out. Politically, Germany's future is equally vague. | If the fighting continues after Berlin falls, it is asked, will there be a “German government” with sufficient | authority to surrender? The European-advisory commission has been working on a post-armistice regime for Germany for more than a year, but its plans are based on a general armistice and there might be no such thing. The Nazis may surrender piecemeal. A possible solution might be for the Free Germany sommjiiee—-Wwhieh the Russians have been agp 4

take over under an allied

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sufficient for considerable forces to hold out indefi- |

German sources in Zurich say that as far back as

equivalent of hara-kiri . would probably appeal to

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: N Ly THE FRONT PAGE 1.

\ELLiorr LINER oo fb AN HOUR, WAITING FOR JIMMY RAE,

~The Hoosier Forum

I wholly disagree with what you say, but will defend to the death your right to say it.—Voltaire.

“NO NATION CAN FIGHT WITHOUT ARMS”

By C. B. Trout, Franklin. There is considerable agitation at

the present moment for universal military training after the war is over so that we may. ably defend ourselves and be prepared for world war No. 3.

If those who are sincerely interested in maintaining permanent

tions completely disarm, and remain disarmed, .we would have peace, for no nation can fight without arms. Six major nations of the world can keep the peace of the world by enforcing permanent disarmament. Judging from the manner in which conscription is being rushed, evéry-

thing points indisputably to another J world conflict within the next two

decades. * Does that sound like peace? The cry is for peace, hut we prepare for war in the guise of preparedness. It is very noticeable that many of the ardent supporters of conscription have no boy who would have to serve, and they are also | very much concegned about the fu{ture health of American youth. Why do we have to make this drastic change on such short notice? With the rapid changes in the modes of warfare, and in the types of weapons used, both could become obsolete in'a short time, this has already been demonstrated in the presént conflict. Training given today at great expense might be of little value a few years later. v 5 n ” “THAT MADE IT CLEAR AS MUD”

By Percy Vere, Indianapolis.

peace will see to it that all axis na-|

(Times readers’ are invited to express their views in these columns, religious controversies excluded, Because of the vome received, let ters should be limited to 250 words. Letters must be signed. Opinions set forth here are those of the writers, ~and publication in no way implies agreement with those opinions by The Times. The Times assumes no responsi bility for the return of manuscripts and -cannot enter correspondence regarding them.)

baum’s column, in which he attempted to explain the unusual brilliance of Venus by saying it ‘was because Venus was “facing the sun instead of the moon.” That made it clear as mud. The statement was in fact meaningless. (Which side of a ball is the face anyway?) All the planets face the sun all the pime—that is, half of each planet's surface is always bathed in sunlight. Their satellites, too, unless eclipsed. Their apparent brightness is determined by how much of this lighted side is wisible from the earth. If all of it is, as at full moon, they are a maximuny brightness. If none of it is, as at new moon, they are invisible. Distance, too, is a factor. From Venus, Earth would appear as a bright star. Our moon, however, would be quite invisible, except in high-powered telescopes, hence could shed no light on Venus. The planets, as most people know,

It-is surprising how little the average - man seems to know about celestial phenomena. And the occasiofial newspapéerman who at-|

tempts to enlighten him usually betrays himself as in no better case.

course not due to a lack of understanding on the part of either. It's just that there's no money in it. Only the very foolish, such as I, take. the trouble to comprehend things in which there is no money.|

day while reading Lowell Nuss-

This widespread shortcoming is of|

together with their moons; shed-no {light of their own, can only reflect | that of the sun. If the sun were | suddenly extinguished, among the {least of the consequences would be the immediate disappearance from the sky of the moon and all the planets. The ancient constellations, howjevet, and the galaxies and nebulae of the Milky Way, would continue to |shine in undiminished splendor, re- | minding us that perhaps what was

I was reminded of this the other | happening to us was not so very im-

| portant after all,

Side Glances —By Galbraith

"You em going to tak

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After all wé've spent neh

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“AN EFFORT TO HELP THE PUBLIC” By J. §. Sadler, 3792 E. Raymond st, Indianapolis To the average pedestrian, our Walk-With-the - Green - Light program seems an encroachment on his time and rights. This is borne out by the flush of purple and muffled mumblings when the officer's whistle catches him walking against the red. Actually, this walk-with-the-green attempt is not a crackpot invention, nor is it a political maneuver; it is an effort to help the walking public ‘to walk in more safety, with fewer broken bones, and with a better chance of living a long, active life. Of course, this program was not devised for you, or for me—but for the other fellow. You and I know we can skip across the street without getting hit by a car—never have been hit. But the other fellow, especially the. old folk and the kids, who follow our start, instead of waiting for the green—too bad! Rotten news for somebody, Waiting twenty, or even ninety seconds for the green is boresome because of our total idleness for that period, even though it may be keeping our bones whole and prolonging our lives. Why not, then, harness this regulation and use it selfishly for our own pleasure and benefit? Here is how: During the idle, conspicuous twenty or ninety seconds that we stand on the curb and wait for the green, why not rest? And since we must breathe anyway, why not breathe deeply a couple of times? Straighten up back and shoulders, draw in stomach, lift heels high a couple of times, tense thigh muscles as if to force ankles together, close hands tightly and work arms in shoulder sockets. There will be plenty of time between lights for these brief pepper-uppers, and the red light will soon become a welcome reminder of the thirty-second physical that pays dividends, and is fun. y : » ” n “NO INFORMATION FOR VETERANS” By R. 8.D., Shelbyville, Indiana In writing this I hope that I am expressing the viewpoint of a great many other discharged veterans of world war II, as well as my own. I was medically discharged after having had over 36% months of service. From the moment when comgress began to work on a national service law—or “reasonable facsimile” —there have been numerous articles, hoth of official nature and otherwise, published in the newspapers. In virtually every article there has been information of enlightenment for 4-Fs, farmers, essential workers, etc. In fact, the men in the 18-45 age range of practically all fields of occupation have been informed and forewarned of what they may expect, and how the work-or-fight legislation will affect them, but-no such information has been published relative to veterans. Is it unreasonable for the men who have served to have a least a vague hint of where they stand? Is there any fairness in such a dearth of information concerning our status? It seems to me that a collaboration between the newspapers .and the draft board headquarters and/or other sources of information of official capacity could result in some very enlightening and welcome facts being published. : If ofher veterans are as “in the dark” as I am, I'm sure your efforts would be greatly appreciated by all of us.

DAILY THOUGHTS

And his sons walked no in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took erted

: bribes, and" perv fudgnen 3 Saige] 8:3.

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| POLITICAL SOENE—

Work, Or Ese

By Thomas L Stokes

ex WASHINGTON, Jan, 81.—Con= gress has lagged behind the peo= ple on a number of issues from the outset of the war. That is true with reference to national service legislation to require equal sacrifices in the bure dens of war. In the May Bill now before the | —-house, congress now has a chance .to catch up. This Is not the full : national service - measure that President Roosevelt and the high atitvaryRamitand have asked as essential, but never= theless it should help considerably to meet the dese perate shortages of manpower with which the coun-

try now 1s facéd, both for the army and for industry.

In view of the emergency, it 1§ hard to see how congress can do less. Inquiry among house members, as they face this compelling issue, reveals a confused state of mind | among some of them. They are being pulled this way and that by the professional representatives of varie ous groups—labor, farmers, business—who often do not truly represent the people who are associated with these groups, as has often been demonstrated.

Public Influence Is Being Felt

THERE IS EVIDENCE, however, that the influence of thé public at large—of whom an overwhelming majority are for national service legislation, according to polls—is beginning to make itself felt, particularly one segment,

This is the parents of boys in the army who feel s

very strongly, and who are telling members in letters, that those on the home front should contribute their services where they can best be used to win the war. They are not inclined to condone the pushing and hauling by special groups, either outside of congress or in congress. They are reminding members of Mdividuals "in their own communities who are not being useful in the war and could be and should be. They see all this with a vision made acuté by the fact that their own boys are off fighting, some of them lost forever, Members, knowing thelr districts, know whereof these constituents speak. This measure is to meet a very practical, critical situation. : The army must have 800,000 more men in the next six months, Industry, now short of manpower, must have an additional 700,000. These are cold facts,

| Only men under 30 years of age are being used for | infantry replacements. There are very few men left

under the age of 26. The army must get its replace

| ments in the 26 to 30 age group and not many of these are left in anything but war industry. Those

who are taken from industry must be replaced from elsewhere.

12,000,000 in Service Industries

AN ASTONISHING fact is that there are today just as many people in the service industries, socalled, as there were before: the war-12,000,000. There is plenty of loose money and people are willing to pay for services gf various kinds. Many havé been attracted into this wartime booming trade who could be useful elsewhere and would be utilized elsewhere under proper legislation. The threat of 1 ation has sent people scurrying into war industries. But high military officials and civilian officials in the war department say this flurry will go on for a time, then subside, as has happened after the numerous big gestures of the war manpower commission, as it announces “new and drastic cone trols” from time to time. It is easy to confuse. the issue, as some are trying to do, by saying there has been a misuse of manpower by the army and the navy. Some of this has happened, though the services are doing everything possible to correct it. It is easy also to accuse the

closely enough. There has been some of that. But congress is dealing with a present fact, not with past mistakes.

IN WASHINGTON—

The Heat's On

By Charles T. Lucey

WASHINGTON, Jan, 31.-It is cold in Washington, but not for congressmen-~the heat is on them as ‘the biggest pressure campaign sincé the 1937 court-packing fight, centering around Henry Wallace's nomination as secretary of come merce, warmed toward a climax. Mail praising or damning the former vice president poured in by truckload; the senate post office handled an estimated 100,« 000 to 150,000 letters Monday, Rumors--of “deals”. to. corral votes came in wholesale lots and there were “strategy” conferences on all sides. Senate sources friendly to Mr. Wallace reported attempts were being made to get President Roosevelt to intervene, either to indicate that he would sign the proposed George bill, separating the commerce department and the federal loan agency, or that he would separate the two by executive order. The hope of the pro-Wallace forces was that, with | the assurance that Mr. Wallace would not boss the! government's huge lending corporations, sufficient | votes might be obtained for his confirmation for the commerce job.

Showdown Expected Tomorrow

‘TIED INTO this maneuvering was another repor§ that Mr. Roosevelt might announce that, once the agencies were separated, Stabilization Director Fred Vinson would be named to head the loan agencies. The whole controversy .seems headed for a senate showdown tomorrow, Senate oppenents of: Mr. Wallace, who would like to see the vote on the nomination come up ahead of the George bill, believe they have 50 certain votes—33 Republicans and 17 Democrats—against him. But if the George bill is brought up first and is passed, anti« Wallace forces might lose a few votes of senators who could take the position that they would be voting on Mr. Wallace only as secretary of commerce and not as the loan agency boss, Nominations usually are considered in executive session of the sénate which comes at the close of the day. The legislative gession coming first, a motion to consider the George bill might normally be first in order, Buf it's not impossible, senators pointed out, to move that the senate go at once into executive session, and if this were done the head-on test on Mr. Wallace's nomination would come first. =

Records of Both Under Scrutiny

' REGARDLESS of possible presidential intervention or senate action on the bill to divorce the loan} agencies from the commerce department, a group of influéntial senators will fight bitterly against con. firmation of Mr. Wallace for any job at all. They're digging into his record as secretary of ture and| are preparing to charge that he lacks ity to handle the commerce post. | But there's deep digging. too, into the affairs of Jésse Jones, whom Mr. Roosevelt deposed to makej way for Mr. Wallace, The senate war investigatin | committee headed by Senator Mead (D. N. Y), 1 begin hearings tomorrow on surplus property ¢ dispo » by the defense Jl corporation, are of the big lo agencies which has been under Mr. Jones’ jurisdiction The committee announced that its investigat

army of errors in its planning, of not calculating

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Educati

“Educatio: | watched carefu tion's legislativ bills calling for of new school b ang their finan ported,” she saic Other measur federation inclu ers’ salaries and passage of a b school attendan Jurisdiction of tendent of pub measures for he:

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Mr. and Mrs. are on a weddi their marriage Madonna chapel tian church. T read at 8 o'clock Brooks. Mrs. Mohler w: Dole daughter Loomis, 3339 'N, ! The bride was brocade made wit line, fitted prin tapering sleeves bouffant skirt. dress of veiling flowers and car stephanotis. Mrs. Leo Louis, was her only atte 8 Mexican yellow loped romance basque, three-qua and a bouffant red roses. Cecil McDole marriage and Pre as best man. The couple will Feb. 15 at 1040 N

Mrs. Bani The Friendly have a card pa today in the hor R. Banta, 903 E group’s officers president; Mrs. M tary-treasurer, an publicity chairma

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