Kankakee Valley Post, Volume 9, Number 42, DeMotte, Jasper County, 7 September 1939 — Page 7

WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS BY HENRY PORTER British-German Settlement Of Polish Issue Under Way; 'Appeasement’ a Solution

(EDITOR’S NOTE—When opinions are expressed in these columns, they are those of the news analyst and not necessarily of this newspaper.) Released by Western Newspaper Union.

A self-explanatory map of the European continent, describing the strength of the Berlin-Rome axis with that of Great Britain. France and Poland. The strength in man power, planes and ships is shown by the inserted figures on the map.

EUROPE: t f)peasement'f A (move to “appease" Hitler is definitely under way, according to reports from London and Berlin, as this is written. Continued preparations for war. however, are reported from! Poland, France and other European centers. The seeming contradiction of peace talk in the midst of these warlike maneuvers was not explained officially. Arrangements for a settlement betweeh Great Britain and Germany over the Polish issue were well advanced, it was said in diplomatic circles. Pressure was being put on Poland from London to accept the preliminaries which Hitler demands as a basis of settlement with the British. Hitlej' demanding Danzig and the Polish corridor before entering negotiations. It was hoped in London to compel Poland to contact Berlin immediately. Berlin reported that Hitler had gnejd a treaty with Albert Forster, v it-fj of the su.'e < f D,t: . ig. T; •• city is already virtually in posses>icn bf Hitler s men. i Idler has' named a special six man council fi r the defense of Germany. The council was given blanket authority to act on its own init-ia- ’. .f but jv.- st.il may is ",:c decrees ard jtisrect legislation through the reichstag. Other developments tn Germany included the authoritative statement that the German goverhment “weleomck with extraordinary sympathy the tiller of mediation by Queen Wilhelmina and King Leopold." The Gernijans indicated, however, mediation would not be considered pending the outcome of the discussion With [Britain.. What is going on now is believed to be| a war of pn paganglu. ofher'A: e n gigant- me of bluff. with me gfime goo •. tvi the best bluffer tin ally.- lh eve-. Europe breathed a little < rv ;ml tire hope was expressed 1 '.l war again lias been sides tjc p p CM An inexplicable aspect of the situation i is the French censorship. French papers reach London with whole columns of white space marked “deleted by censor,” just as m the World war No eommunicaTs'ii by tea phone with Paris is possible, and yet from London one can telephone easily to Rome, Berlin and other parts of Europe. No effect was given in London ,neatly to the appeal of Warsaw to Britain regarding the concentration of] German troops on the border. i Vat nun?’g then- war propaganda, Germans assert that “a cave-in is unavoidable because 500,000 Rus-s-nns are threatening Poland's eastnrn fhmk while her western and s vithern borders .are threatened by German forces preparing a formid- .• le military placer movement that < a be started at a moment’s entire." Developments leading up to ths British offer for “appeasement” of H.her [were merely a repetition of * guessing and rumors that had kept the world in a turmoil. Nh a barriers in the way of a ■•pc., end settlement of the Polish •earns were raised by Hitler in his latest note in the exchange of communications between the German dictatojr ■ and Chamberlain. Diplomatic. circles which knew the contents of the. reply, were frankly alarmed. Hitler again demanded the unconditional surrender of Danzig the Polish corridor before he was willing to discuss international problems with other powers. Now he adds to his previous demands return of the former German lands of Posen and Polish Upper Silesia. . * While England and Germany are negotiating directly, Germany paid little attention to the efforts of the queen of the Netherlands and the king of Belgium in offering their services as mediators. Events took an uglier turn in London while the Hitler note was being discussed. Aroused by the heavy concentration of troops on its south-

ern frontier the Polish government decided to invoke the British guarantees under the mutual assistance pact. The Polish communique said: “The occupation of Slovakia bv German troops represents an act of aggression against Polish vital interests and is considered a threat to Polish security.” Prime Minister Chamberlain dumped the whole question of war or peace into Hitler’s lap in an address in the house of commons. The tense but cheering members were told that Great Britain again had made it plain to Adolf Hitler its determination to fulfill its obligations to Poland and added that “the issue of peace or war is still undecided.” "We shall hold fast the line which we have laid down,” he declared, as the house echoes with tremendous cheering, “We still will hope and still work for peace.” Without disclosing the details of the exchange. Chamberlain declared Great Britain delivered “our final answer" to a communication from! Hitler; that “we have made plain! that our obligations to Poland will be carried out," and that "at this moment the position is that we are waiting for Hitler's reply." The prime minister spoke in a firm and assured voice. At times almost bi; •yant, such as when he said': “At .any rate we have not had to begin here by issuing ration cards"—an obvious reference to Germany, Speaking for the liberal opposition, Sir Archibald Sinclair said: "At this moment I agree with his majesty's government that they should have solid support of all peace loving people in this country. The last word rests with Herr Hitler." Offer of their “good offices" for an effort to mediate the PolandGerman crisis from King Leopold of the Belgians, and Queen Wilhelniina of The Netherlands, was reported in a quarter close to the French foreign office. The offers Wi re made to France, Great- Britain. Germany, Italy and" Poland. France promptly accepted, it was said. ! .1 \P V\: \etv Cabinet Gen. Nobuyuki Abe has succeeded in forming a new Japanese cabinet in succession to Baron Hiranuma, who resigned over the German-Rus-sian pact. General Abe has surrounded himself with political veterans for the task of restoring domestic unity while avoiding inter-

GEN. NOBUYUKI ABE Japanese premier.

national pitfalls. For the present General Abe announced that he would retain the post of foreign minister. The new government is expected to pursue an isolationist policy. In line with this, authoritative circles believed that the ambassadors to Rome and Berlin, Toshio Shiratori, and Maj. Gen. Hiroshi Oshima, who had advocated outright military alliance with the axis, would be replaced.

THE KANKAKEE VALLEY POST

BUSINESS: Outlook Good War conditions are accepted today as a nominal business factor rather than a series of temporary economic shocks as has been the case in the past, according to the magazine Banking. The magazine reported a general hopeful outlook for business in spite of the war conditions. “Business is beginning to see daylight and solid ground, although still wary,” it stated. “Improvement has been fairly general, but statistically, trade still falls short of levels reached two years ago.” The magazine cited four factors which, it said, are responsible “for quite a noticeable spirit of hopefulness on all sides.” “Of these,” it stated, “one is the perfectly obvious change for the better that has come over public opinion regarding business. A second factor is the unexpected nature of the improvement and consistent activity of the summer months. Third on the list of encouraging items is the low point of most inventories," it said, adding that the present business reaction to war conditions as a normal business factor constituted the fourth. u. s. ARMA : Weakness Recent army maneuvers at Plattsburg, N. Y., revealed such serious deficiencies in training, equipment, leadership and administration of the nation’s armed forces that Lieutenant General Drum declared conditions were inexcusable and deplorable. General Drum’s citation of errors and mistakes made in the field included the following: I—Extensive additional training is needed by the National Guard, the

LIEUT. GEN. DRUM Criticizes army.

organized reserves, and the regular army units in large-scale actions where they function together. 2 The army is dangerously under manned and the shortage of modern arms is critical. 3 There is a serious breakdown of supply services essential to the maintenance of an army in the field. 4 Staff work has not been speeded up to cope with the speed and great territorial range of mechanized forces. General Drum found that neither officers nor men receive enough experience in operating as parts of a large unit. The staff work was particularly poor as a result. PANAMA CANAL: Safeguarded Extraordinary steps have been taken to guard against espionage, and possible sabotage at the Panama canal, the nation’s lifeline of defense. Washington officials stressed that the assignment of additional guards at strategic locks and control houses is purely precautionary and that there has been no indications of foreign plots against the canal. The safeguards coincide with start of a huge defense program, including construction of another air base, extra anti-aircraft and coast batteries, enlarged garrisons and supplementary locks. The posting of extra guards at vital spots along the canal is part of the general preparedness developed by the army and navy to meet an emergency. Details of the new vigilance measures are being treated as military secrets. Similar steps to guard against foreign spies and sabotage have been taken during recent months in aircraft factories, arsenals and other government or private plants engaged in manufacture of war materials.

INDUSTRIES: War Program The war resources board is making an intensive study of America's plan for industrial mobilization in case of war. Edward R. Stettinus, chairman of the board and top man of the United States Steel corporation, is charged with the responsibility of seeing that the nation’s industrial machine can be swiftly changed over from meeting' the needs of peace to meeting the needs ofywar/ Helping Stettinus are severaEprominent industrialists.

Flayd gillars'

ADVENTURERS’ CLUB HEADLINES FROM THE LIVES OF PEOPLE LIKE YOURSELFI

“A Ride With Death 99 Hello everybody: Mary Billard of La Salle, 111., is today’s Distinguished Adventurer, and she wins that distinction —as well as the wellknown ten bucks—-with one of the most terrifying yarns I’ve seen in a long time. It happened in 1913, when Mrs. Billard was Miss Mary Blanch, a girl of twelve, and Mary says, “The La Salle papers called me a heroine at the time, and it was all quite exciting for a girl of my age, but it lost its thrill when I thought of my mother lying in a hospital in a critical condition, fighting the dangers of gangrene and lockjaw.” You can see from that statement of Mary’s that there was tragedy in that episode as well as adventure. And it started with nothing but a common, ordinary buggy ride. There weren’t so many automobiles in those days, and most of the streets were mere unpaved dirt roads. Mary’s dad. had bought a horse that had spent all its life pn race tracks and was hard to handle when hitched to a buggy. It had run away twice, and Mary’s mother didn’t drive it any oftener than she had to. But there came a day when she felt she HAD to drive that horse. They had just moved into town, and Mary was finishing a term at a little country schoolhouse three miles out of La Salle. Mary’s teacher was coming back with her that evening, so Mother hitched up the horse and started out to get them. Mother hadn’t been feeling well all that day, but she made the trip to the schoolhouse without any trouble. They were all on their way to town, with Mary in the middle between her mother and the teacher, when, without warning, Mary felt her mother fall away from her, Mary Looked Around and Saw Her Mother. She looked around just in time to see Mother topple from the seat and pitch headlong into the road. She had fainted. But that was only the beginning of a disastrous train of events. Mother had fallen out with the lines still clutched in her hands, j The sudden jerk on those reins, caused by her falling, frightened j the horse. It gave a leap forward. M “And with that leap,” says Mary, “there started the fastest ride I had ever remembered in all my 12 years. “We were horrified at the situation. The horse was plunging along at a full gallop, and my mother was being dragged face downward over

“I pulled and jerked at the reins until I brought the horse to a stop.”

stones and gravel, in a way that struck terror into my heart. The teacher and I were helpless. “We called and screamed to mother, pleading with her to let go of the lines, but all our screaming was useless, for mother was in an unconscious condition, clinging to those reins with a death grip while the horse dragged her along.” And, for half a mile, mother dragged along beside the reeling wagon, in imminent danger of rolling under the wheels, while up in the seat Mary and the teacher sat paralyzed with fear, trying to hang on to the swaying, reeling buggy. Mary says that buggy was running on two wheels a good part of the time. And at other times it seemed to be flying through the air, with nothing under the wheels at all. Several men along the road had tried to stop the horse, .but couldn't do anything with the crazed animal. At last, at the end of a half a mile, mother’s hands loosened on the reins and the lines were free. They gbt between the • horse’s front, legs, and that only served to frighten the poor animal more. The Careening Carriage Flew Down the Road. Still the reeling, careening carriage flew on. They had covered more than a mile, and now they were within a short distance of a narrow culvert, just outside of the business section of La Salle. There were pillars on either side of it, arid it would be a miracle if the crazed horse got through that cramped space without wrecking the buggy. The teacher was the first one to think of that culvert. She screamed to Mary that if the horse couldn’t be stopped before they reached it they would both be killed. “And with her voice still ringing in my ears,” says Mary, “she rose to her feet, stood on them for a moment on the swaying floor of the buggy—and jumped! I shut my eyes as I heard her body hit the road, and thought that surely she must have been killed.” And now, Mary was left alone in that speeding buggy. She knew that, somehow, she had to get hold of those reins that were dragging down there beneath the horse’s feet. Just a little way ahead, now, wak the culvert. And even if the buggy did get through the culvert, it was certain to crash into something in the business district two blocks beyond. So. while the buggy reeled and swayed, Mary began climbing over the dashboard, onto the horse’s back. It was a desperate chance. Time and again Mary almost lost her hold in that precarious trip. The horse was slippery with foam and pei.spiral tion, and only by bracing her feet against the shaft did she manage to keep from being thrown into the road. “I reached the horse’s head,” she says, “and the feel of my body on her seemed to frighten her all the more, and make her go faster than ever. But I got the lines from between her legs and started inching my way back to the buggy.” “I pulled and jerked at the reins until I brought the horse to a halt,” she says, “and it stopped just a few feet in front of the dreaded culvert. A boy ran up to hold the animal, and I left the buggy and ran into town to get a doctor for mother. She was still unconscious when thev brought her in, and to this day she carries, on the right side of her face, the terrible marks of that horrifying experience.” Mary says she’s glad the horse and buggy days are over because—well —because she wouldn’t want any of her children to have such a o experience. (Released by Western Newspaper Union.)

Animals and Birds Are Accurate Weather Forecasters

If you want to foretell the weather, watch birds and animals It will be fine w'hen swallows fly high, when bats fly late at night, when beetles take to the w'ing, and when morning chimney smoke rises straight up. Rain is indicated when birds fly low, when peacocks begin to screech, when crows fly up and circle around their nests, when spar-

rows become excited and chirp continuously, when morning smoke does not rise, when cattle caper about, and when donkeys bray. A change is due when dogs sniff the air, and if you see birds perching on the lower' branches of trees a storm is not far away The presence of cormorants at the mouth of a river foretells a heavy gale from the sea.

Ask Me Another

A General Quiz

The Questions 1. In what battle of the World War did taxicabs play a big part? 2. An ex-slave is buried at Arlington National cemetery. Why is he? | 3. What is an epithalamium? 4. What kind of a tailor’s instny ment is called a goose? 5. What is an iman? 6. In cavesj which icicle-like projections are called stalactites and which are called stalagmites? 7. Is it possible for a whale to drown? 8. Here is the first lint of a wellknown poem: “Much have I traveled in the realm of gold." Car you give the second lijne? The Answers 1. In the first battle of the Marne, in' the movement of troops. 2. “Uncle Jim" Parks, last of the Arlington home folks. 3. A nuptial song in hbnor of the bride and bridegroom. 4. A smoothing iron. | 5. A Mohammedan tejacher. 6. Projections hanging down are stalactites, and the inverted ones are stalagmites7. Yes. The whale is;a true airbreathing, warm-blooded mammal. 8. “And many goodly states and kingdoms seen."

* 0&* . * tfjf• 4c By burning 25% slower than the average of the 15 other of the largest-selling brands tested— slower than any of them CAMELS give a smoking p/us equal to 5 EXTRA SMOKES PER PACK Which cigarette gives the most actual smoking for your money? Here are the facts recently confirmed through impartial laboratory tests oflbiof the largestselling brands: 1 CAMELS were found to contain MORE TOBACCO BY WEIGHT than the average for the 15 other of the largest-sell-ing brands. 2 CAMELS BURNED SLOWER THAN ANY OTHER BRAND TESTED - 25% SLOWER THAN THE AVERAGE TIME OF THE 15 OTHER OF THE LARGEST-SELLING BRANDS! By burning 25% slower, on the average, Camels give smokers the equivalent pf 5 EXTRA SMOKES PER PACK! 3ln the same CAMELS HELD THEIR ASH FAR LONGER than the average time for all the other brands. Buy shrewdly. Get txitra smokingland •Iso enjoy the cooler, milder, tastier • moking of Camel'long- burning costlier tobaccos. Canicl is the quility cigarette et ery smoker can afford. Camels LONG-BURNING COSTLIER TOBACCOS