ft
2!i
II i
J.
111
'(I
EDITORIAL PAGE
La Grande Evening Observer
Frank Schiro, Publisher
SATUKIMY KVKNIXC. APRIL 7, 1915
Page Two
"d'Did lie Dot Our Cool Fuehrer Vas Misinformed?"
J:;-,
i : 1 I
EVENING OBSERVERS
PROGRESS PROGRAM
IRRIGATION Compli'le the Grand
Hondo Valley irrigation project.
LA GRANDE A city of 10.000
Extend the city limiU.
TODAY'S TEXT
Thou shult furnmh him liU'inlly out
of thy flock, and out of thy floor, and
out of thy winoprex.s: of that where
with tlie I-ord thy God hath blessed
the1 thou shall jrive unto him. Deuter
onomy 1":II.
THOt'Girr HHt TOIIAV
tie that will not stoop for a will
never Ih.' worth a Miund. IVpv.o.
Sa;i Versus German
When thin war litrnn the German
xple doubtless liolievod that Hitler
was sending them into Untie to win
land, power and uloiy for themselves.
It may be thai even Hitler deluded him
twlf with the same notion at first. Hut
the fietion has lone; since been dispelled.
To any (Ionium with aeeess to even
a smattering of truthful news it must
iave been clear for some time that the
war was heimr fought for the iiuzi.i, not
the Germans, 'today that fact is abun
dantly evident to all.
Since the allied breakthrough from
the Rhine, the German civilian has been
tmiiipliiitr the fate of the people pf oc
cupied Kurope during their temporary
compicst. l iianued citizens have len
machine gunned when they tried to sur-
render. Guns lit their liiu'ks have for
ced the untrained ajted and children to
face the allied lV.ms More tltem.
Probably the lutzis defend their in
humanity on the grounds that it is a
German's "riutv" to defend his fatlier-
and airainst the "hated invaders," the
"terror bombers," the "bolsheviks", or
whatever. Theoretically, that might be
so. I!ut actually it is obvious that the
heilintr throngs of yesterday are by now
heartily sick of the nazis and their Wat':
Kill the nazis are nut so busy with
efforts to save their own skins that they
neglect to punish civilians even in ter
ritory that has fallen to the invader.
Kor example, they could spare thrizo
men to return to Aachen and assassin
ate Krunz Oppenhof, the allied-appointed
mayor of that city.
The nazis may call Oppenhof a "col
luliorator." Hut even they must realize
that the term has a different meaning
here.
Aachen's fall ushered in l.o alleged
"new order." It was the beginning of
the last act in the terrible drama of
tia.i ambition. That's all that it was.
Hut life slill had to be lived. Ami it
was Oppenhof's job to help restore n
semblance of orderly life, and to help
dispense a stein but reasonable justice.
Kor that Oppenhof was murdered.
The nazis had threatened to kill those
who aided the allies. Now that threat
was carried out. It can scarcely be the
last of such murders. Oppenhof's fute
will Ivcome known. His story will be
whispered in the conquered portions of
Germany ami proclaimed where the
nazis still stand.
Thus any non-nazi asked by the allies
to serve in civil government will fear
for his life. And so long as any ardent
nazis remain at large there will he rea
son to fear. A desire to end the hope
less struggle and aid in a restoration
of peaceful livimr will U overshadowed
by the constant dread of the nazi assas
sin's bullet.
Thus the inevitable may be defied a
little longer. It cannot avert the nazis'
defeat. Hui it can and may complicate
the conqueror's task and prolong to
some extent the fighting ami the occupation.
.w?;"-.
us.
Funny liuninens
1;
t.' v
--7 :,
' ' ' ' y -7:- jV.."' Vi
O SO THEY SAY
We caiinst deny Uie American
ci niman.t the ability to make use
of the overwhelming malt-rial' at
their disposal. The targets and
energy with which these were
followed up remind us of Gorman
methods in the fr.st years of the
-war.
l.t.-lten. Kurt Dittmar. German
militaiy analyst.
IV'.'iv'.'v''----'
ai.ft.. . -. v..
Tars.
lij-yi. 1 n 'l"i' )'f,' V' m
"Do you luppote we'd better go around it or try it again?"
War preparedness in the fu
ture w ill not tx- a matter of stor
inc up vast stocks of war sup
plies. To bo properly prepared
we will have to maintain a b:h
stage of development in the de
sign of all types of war material.
Ma). -Gen. Levin ft. Campbell.
jr., chief cf ordnance.
When the definitive history of
tlmi'Var comes to lie-iiwtttcn, it
will t-e seen th.it men and women
of all races and religions have
contributed in siiS'ificant meas
ure to the final triumph over the
monster fascism.
I.t.-Gen. Robert C. Richardson.
Kaciltc ocean ui'ea commander.
Washington Merry-Go-Round
By DREW PEARSON
(Drew Pearson's column today takes the
form of an open letter to Josef Stalin on
the vital question of permanent peace.)
Dear Marshal Stalin:
I am taking the unusual step of writing
you in this way because I am not sure that
you realize what is happening in the United
States. I am sure 'you must have reports
from your embassy. But almost no embassy,
sitting ahiof in Washington, can accurately
gauge the American people.
Perhaps your embassy has reported that
in tie lust two years, much of the old anti
Soviet suspicion has vanished and that the
great bulk of the American people are
anxious to cooperate with Russia for future
peace us they have for winning the war.
In the lust two weeks, however, this
friendly feeling has received a jolt. I don't
know whether your embassy has reported it,
but it is true.
It has received a jolt because of the gen
eral impression that the Yalta promises are
not being kept and that the rights of little
nutions are being trampled on. To put it
bluntly the American people are beginning
to wonder whether Russia is really sincere
about keeping the peace after the war, un
less thut peuce is one which she dominutes.
Never having visited the United States
and we hope you will some day you prob
ably have no conception of the overwhelm
ing hope of the American people that the
ideals of this war shall be achieved and
that their sons will not have to go out and
fight another war. This is not merely a
hope, it. is a passion. It is the American
people's one great goal.
The other duy I attended a small dinner
where a coal mine operator from West Vir
ginia awarded prizes to the high school chil
dren of his city for the best essays on how
to erect a permanent peace machinery. R.
M. Davis, the man who gave the prizes, has
even written a constitution for the United
Nations and a pretty good one at that, with
one vote for every nation and he has cir
culated thousands of copies throughout the
country.
Davis is a former street-car conductor
and nine-mule driver. He is just one of mil
lions of Americans who are thinking about
this problem of permanent peace. He repre
sents America. And the kids who received
the prizes, were sons of Hungarian immi
grants, and daughters of German, Dutch,
French parents. They represent America
too all thinking about the same thing.
Shortly after the armistice in the last
war, I was stationed in one of the war-torn
valleys of Serbia in command of 100 Bulgar
prisoners and a mule transport team of 100
Albanians. And in the evenings, the Bulgar
prisoners, with their Serbian guards and the
Albanians (who didn't lbRsh being con
scripted into the Serbian army) would sit
around the eampfire and talk of peace.
The war was over and they were awaiting
the results of the Paris peace conference be
fore they could go home. There was no
animosity between the Bulgar prisoners and
their Serbian guaids or the Albainian con
scripts. Their animosity was toward the
rulers who made them fight.
And their great hope was in Wpodrow
Wilson. They knew his 14 points by heart.
. They put special faith in his guarantees for
small nations. So they talked about Wood
row Wilson and their hopes for permanent
peace until long into the night.
I saw some of these people after the Paris
peace conference, after the United States
had withdrawn from the League, after it
became evident that Europe was drifting
toward unother catastrophe. They were bit
ter and disillusioned. They felt we had let
them down.
And they were right. The American peo
ple were suspicious of Europe then. We
had our isolationists. And we pulled out of
the peace machinery of the world.
But we won't do It again. The R. M.
Davises and the school children of the
country and the mothers of the sons who
have fought in this war and the sons who
ure coming buck from the war will never
permit another letdown unless they figure
that the major powers of Europe are letting
them down first.
This time, it is not us but Russia which
is suspicious und has it isolationists. This
is only natural and partly our fault. For
the state department and the chanceries of
Europe kept Russia isolated for years.
Naturally that kind of atmosphere breeds
isolationists. But this time you can't afford
to make the same mistake we did before.
Since Yalta we have learned that the So
viet is concerned over the votes of small
nations in the United Nations meetings; is
worried that they may gang up on her; and
believes that the 20 Pan-American republics
will all follow the United States as a bloc.
But I remember the day after we landed
marines in Nicaragua and sent troops to the
See WASHINGTON . . . Page 6
WE, THE WOMEN
Br RUTH MILLETT
"That's Very nice," the mother of a hero
son said when she was told her boy had
been awarded the Congressional Medal of
Honor. 1
"That's nice," she said afcain when she
was given an account of her son's bravery
and daring. But when she was told he was
coming home on leave she really got ex
cited. That was big news to her important
news. Her son was coming home tor his
first leave after two years of fighting.
"He's coming home," is always the big
r.cws for women who have waited and wor
ried while their men faced the dangers and
hardships of war. Women are interested in
the experiences of their men, and are proud
i! they distinguish themselves by bravery.
They thinks it is fine when they hear that
their son or husband has been decorated.
But when is he coming home? That is
the only really important news for a woman
while her son or husband is in uniform. All
the rest is relatively unimportant, compared
with that.
And there is probably not a woman in
the country who loves a man as his wife or
mother loves him who wouldn't have re
acted as did the mother of the heto who
said, 'That nice," to the news that her son
had won the Congressional Medal of Honor
but subbed with happiness when she was
told. "He's coming home."
It's nice that a man's a hero, but it's won
derful to know that the waiting and wor
rying are over and that at last he is com
ing home.
That is a woman's honest reaction to war.
Behind Scenes in Washington
By PETER EPSON. La Grudt Erasing Oburvar Wuhingion Corraspondani
WASHINGTON Revolt of the congres
sionally created Advisory Coard of the Of
fice of War Mobilization and Reconversion
focuses attention on the entire advisory
committee system that has grown up in
Washington during the war years. There
are now nearly 800 of these semi-official
committees functioning. Over 12,500 citizens
serve on them, with out pay and almost
entirely without travel expenses which
must be borne by the companies or organ
izations which the indivndual members rep
resent. This li one part of government
which doesn't cost the taxpayers anything
directly, at any rate.
The idea back of all this advising is to
bring the. government 'closer to the people
. and vice-versa. But. w hat all these com
mittees do, what advice they give, where
they'ro going and whether the system should
be extended to give congress a lot more
free advice than 'it already gets, are sub
jects of intriguing speculation for ahyono
interested in his government.
In the case of the OW.MR Advisory Board
of 12 members headed by Gov. O. Max
Gardner of North Carolina and made up
of the usual front men for the big labor
organizations, farm organizations and the
V. S. Chamber of Commerce, its ivvolt was
brought on because it didn't have anything
to do. Nobody was asking it for any ad
vice. The president promptly took care of that
by handing the Boord the hottest potato
Gookin' on his stove What should we do
about paying guaranteed aunual wages?
A study on "Industry-Government Co
operation" made by Carl Henry Monsees of
the WPB shows that there BP.' some 750 In
dustry Advisory Committees set up in WPB.
OPA, WFA. OFT. and Ordnance Branch of
War Department. WMC g.ws a little fur
ther by having Management-Labor Advisor
"'Co.unmiccs. WPB also has Ijiibor Advisory
representatives but keeps ' 'them separate
from the Industry Advisory Committees.
Whatever the set-up. the purposes are
broadly the same to give government war
agencies the best technical advice
possible on production, distribution and
pricing policies so as to make government
regulations workable. There has been con
siderable screaming that the government
doesn't listen to the advice which the in
dustry representatives give, but that ex
poses the principal danger of this advisory
system, which is that private interests are
taken into the confidence of the government,
thereby have an open door to give advice
that is contrary to the best interests of the
general public.
Labor representatives also yell that their
spokesmen should be permitted to sit with
industry representatives on all advisory
committees so that management doesn't gain
an unfair advantage over the working peo
ple. As mentioned above, this is the sys
tem of the Manpower Commission Advisory
committees.
But industry and trade association peo
ple charge there is just as much danger in
letting labor representatives have too much
of a voice. What this proves, if anything,
is that government representatives have to
make the final decision in the interests of
the people, so what they should do is listen
to the advice of interested parties and then
do as they please or at least do what they
think is best.
In setting up all the wartime advisory
committees, the government has made ef
forts to guard against these dangers. Mem
bership of each committee is chosen to get
a fair cross section of the industry, geo
graphically as well as by size of company,
so that big business doesn't freeze out small
business. Trade association lobbyist are
shunned like . the plague and that annoys
them no end.
The committees are ..Tented and permitted
to function with the consent of the Anti
Trust division of the D'partment of JusK
tice. TAt'e are canful, tales of procedure,
worked out by John Lord O'Bnan. former
WPB counsel. They have admittedly doucj
an extremely useAB job in wartime. They
will continue to have a job to do in the
period of reconversion. After that, no telling.
Side Glances
' ""cT"
i s ; t y - mm - - v i i'
... ,
4 tJ.CXtf -
COWL 1046 IT MCA HHVICC, IMC. T. M. HtC U. a. PAT. Of T.
1-1
"Do you know whe.i the war's going to end, Mrs. Jones? Mama '
says you know lots of things that never evo.i get into tho.paperl"
O McKENNEY ON BRIDGE
By WM. E. McKENNEY, America's Card Authority
THE SMOTHER PLAY.
HARDEST IN BRIDGE
(This is the first of six arti
cles on the smother play, the
most difficult play in bridge
to recognize.)
I ran this series several years
ago and do not believe I have
seen more than two smother
plays since. It was first brought
to my attention years ago by the
late Phil E. Leon of Cleveland
and it was named by Sam Nai-
AQJ10
QJ1043
10934
AKSM1 I rTlAA7S
KH VV E
s a 4
K" Daaler
I "J AQ J
lit
VKI7I
AKT
171
Duplicate Both vul.
South Wcti North Em
Pan Pass Pass 1 9
Pan 1 A Pass 2 A
Pus 3 V Pass 4 V
Opening K. f
man, one of the national tourna
ment directors of the American
contract bridge league. Some
times it's called the trump coup.
, This is the original hand giv
en to me by Mr. Leon. It looks
as if the king of hearts, which
is trump, is impossible to cap
ture. The ace and king of dia
monds were cashed arid the third
diamond ruffed by East. The
queen of hearts was led and nat-
Question8 & Answer 8
Q What is the legend of Hon
nef, Germany, across the Rhine
from Remagen?
A Near Honnef is Drachenfels
(Dragon's Rock), 1065- feet high,
with a cave said to be the one in
which Siegfried slew the dragon.
urally South did not cover, nor
did he cover the jack.
Declarer then cashed three '
rounds of clubs then eamc the
ace, king and a low spade.
North was in and must now
lead either his queen of diamonds
or the ten of trumps, which East
trumps with the nine spot.
Now South is literally smoth
ered out of his king of hearts.
If he over trumps, the declarer ,
will o er trump in dummy with ,
the ace; if he puts on the eight
of trump, East's nine holds the
trick and the last trick goes to .
the ace of hearts
O IN FORMEP
YEARS
30 Years Ago, April 7
Wheat by the carload lot,
broken up into 50-pound pack
ages, was being shipped by par
cel post to Burns. The Sawyer
Clark company is the shipper and
the grain was loaded at Island
City's postoffice. The order was
placed on condition that the
wheat was to be sent by parcel
post.
L. Melgarde, a masseur at Hot
Lake, returned fronrlO months in
Tronjem' and other Norway
points. He was accompanied here
by his brother, Gus Melgarde.
Karl J. Stackland, Cove or
chardist, returned from the east
where he visited fruit centers.
15 Yaira f.jo
The highest temperature ever
recorded in La Grande in the
first Week of April was the 78
degree maximum April 6. In
' 1925 the temperature reached 78
on April 9, and on the following
day it was 80.
Mr. and Mrs. Paul Knautz of
the Iowa district had as their
guests Sunday at their country
home, Mr. and Mrs. John Ham
ann, Mr. and Mrs. Johm Speck
hart, Mr. and Mrs. Albert Ham
ann and Charles Hamann.
Q How do Marines on Iwo
protect themselves from the
swirling volcanic dust?
A They wear gauze surgical
masks.
Q Where does the name
Pomerania, German province in
vaded by the Russians, come '
from?
A An ancient tribe called Po
more, or Pommern ("on the sea"),
which lived there in Charle
magne's time.
10 Years Ago, April 7
A building permit was issued
to the Masonic building associa
tion and $1,000 alterations and re
pairs on the tw o-story brick struc
ture on Adams avenue, which was
to be occupied by the Sprouse
Reitz company as soon as the al
terations were completed.
It was reported the average
citizen of Oregon paid $14.81 per
yeai in taxes to maintain his city
government. La Grande's per
capita tax was $12.39.
This Curious World
H CRUISING FTOM THE 3yKf?l'M $mzT ATiV'
A WEST COAST OC THE 6)f&-'U P YStiS Nil' '
CCFA IHlKMlSIR.t ISC
fz,
' ) t (Oi
f"c,,r n..c.,,,T ..". . -1
t' ctu t i yHdE .
'EVE5V TWELVE i,vz:hf it 4 Knnr.
SwTElS! FOOT tfNTTWELVE INCHES,"
-w VS-V4?-CLD
8ETTV EISES'SRSiN
I 1
-9
NEXT: The world's icebox.