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EDITORIAL ' PAGE
La Grande Evening Observer
Frank Schiro, Publisher
TUESDAY EVENING, APRIL 10, 1945
Cross-Roads
EVENING OBSERVER'S
PROGRESS PROGRAM
IRRIGATION Complete the Grande
Ronde Valley irrigation project.
LA GRANDE A city of 10,000
Extend the city limits.
TODAY'S TEXT
Now therefore como, lot me, I pray
thee, Rive thee counsel, that thou may
cst save thine own life, and the life of
thy son Solomon. I Kings 1:12.
Death Sentence of the
Manpower Bill
One sente'rico out of the thousands in
James F. Uynies's latest report to the
president jiyd congress seems to have
Riven the coup do grace to the dying
manpower Kill. That was the one in
which the director of war moliili.ation
and reconversion urged the bill's pass
age not only, for war production, but for
producing essential civilian goods and
"later, to facilitate reconversion."
The bill was already drowning in a
flood of diluted amendments and com
promises tending to render it ineffec
tive as well as inoffensive. It only need
ed an ill-advised remark in an other
wise excellent document to push it down
for the last lime. ;
Even Senator Johnson of Colorado,
who helped write the compromise bill,
said he wouldn't vote for it after Mr.
Hyrnes's .suggestion. He or one of his
colleagues might have offered an
amendment to limit the duration and
rial ure of the bill's provisions, and
avoided the "reconversion" possibilities.
Hut, toward the end, many of the peo
ple's representatives seemed to be look
ing for the nearest exit from the whole
subject of manpower.
!!ul 'the argument for a bill to draft
manpower for essential production is as
tinny husiness
pa i evpeiimenting he had his beard
fys? ' ' "", ' -i':; :
"GtBrVd
Page Two
of the War
valid as ever. After Germany's defeat
there will still be a major war to be
fought and won, and most of our able
bodied soldiers and sailors will be need
ed to fight and win it.
The recommendation that manpower ,
control extend to the wartime recom
niencement'of essential civilian produc
tion is sound, if by essential Mr. Byrnes
means such things as trucks, busses,
automobiles, farm machinery, tires and
similar items whose lack would hamper
the war's prosecution.
Conscription of industrial manpower
for military production is undemocratic
by peacetime standards. But that is
not to deny that it is as necessary as
conscription for military service in time
cf crisis. However, it should be limit
ed to the time of crisis. Industrial con
scription has no place in the normal
American economy.
That is why the suggestion of man
power control "to facilitate reconver
sion" has a disquieting sound, even
though the suggestion is unlikely to
find approval in the present congress or
the general public. Kor it is sympto
matic of a typo of thinking found in
certain branches of government.
General reconversion will come with
the end of the war. The problem then
will be to creat peacetime jobs, not to
control and ration manpower like a
scarce commodity. The only apparent
reason for wishing such control would
be a lack of faith in the ability of pri
vate enterprise to create those jobs, or
an unwillingness to give private enter
prise the chance.
In wartime every American has the
duty to serve where he can do the most
good. But in peacetime he has the right
to seek the type of work he prefers, and
to live where he chooses. Private enter
prise applies to workers as well as em
ployers. The proposed manpower freeze
during the reconversion period would
have denied workers their freedom of
choice.
Q SO THEY SAY
Wo are joined together now in
ti common purpose, and we must
remain so joined in older to pre
serve fur ourselves, and for
numy others as well, the peace
for which we fight. .
Sir Herald t'.inipliell, British
Minister to the U. S.
From now on everyone must
provide for himself. We are in
n position where every square
yard of soil must he tilled, every
wasle lot must he used to grow
food--evcn every flower pot.
German Food Ministry spokes
man What uc have dene to Ger
many wc are going to do to
J-an. The payoff will ho the
same. Wo ai going to use the
same overwhelming air power.
' AAF (."fen. Homy H. Arnold.
It is against all tradition of
our policy to allow unity among
the great powers to become a
means to bully the smaller ()
Br;':;h Korean eceittary An
thony Eien.
transplanted!''
Washington Merry-Go-Round
By DREW PEARSON
WASHINGTON Despite tTie Increasing
U. S. meat shortage, it remains an unpub
lished but actual fact that 2,000,000 pounds
of Argentine canned beef has been sitting
serenely in Mexico for two years awaiting
admission into the U. S.- and. because of
British-American red tape, jt is still sitting
there.
So far no government offjcals have been
able or willing to cut the red tape and per
mit this canned beef to cross the Rio Grande
northward. It is among the choicest corned
beef ever produced in Argentina and there
is no sanitary restriction against it. Only
red tape keeps it out.
Late in 1042, one year after the war start
ed, the SS Rio De La Plata steamed into
Manzanita', Mexico, carrying a cargo of 2,
000,000 pounds of canned ' Argentine beef.
It was shipped by the Argentine meat co
operative Composed of 50,000 Argentine
cattlemen. ' At that time no permit was re
quired to import meat into the U. S. by
Mexico overland.
However, just as the ship was about to
enter Mexican waters, the British were giv
en the right to be the exclusive purchasing
agent of all surplus Argentine meat for the
United States and the Allies. This meant
the U. S.' government could not purchase any
Argentine meat. Although we supply the
cash, all meat is bought through the British.
Hash' Manufacturers Fume
Meanwhile,' the British would not pur
chase the 2,000,000 pounds of corned beef
in Mexico except at a disastrously low
price. A deaf ear was turned to the fact
that this shipment had been made before
British control regulations were promulgat
ed. U. S. hash manufacturers tried desper
ately to get the war food administration
to allow importation into the U. S., but to
all inquiries the war food administration
sent a sterotyped answer: "The British min
istry of food is the sole purchaser of ex
portable surplus meat and meat products
from Argentina."
So the 2,000,000 pounds of canned meat
has continued to sit in a Mexican ware
house, eating up storage rates. A trickle of
it has been sold to Mexicans and a little bit
was shipped across the United States
boundary to Newfoundland. But most of it
remains. This remainder some time ago
was purchased by U. S. hash manufacturers.
They, not the Argentines, are chiefly hold
ing the bag. They estimate that the Ar
gentine canned beef, when turned into U. S.
hash, represents more than 4,000,000 pounds
of fresh meat.
Note Recently UNRHA indicated that it
would like to buy the canned beef in
Mexico but the British were opposed. Ac
WE, THE WOMEN
By RUTH MILLETT
One newspaper picture will probably do
more to strengthen the spirit of wounded
men lying in hospitals than thousands of
spoken assurances that their sacrifices are
appreciated and that despite their handi
caps they will be able to build good lives
for themselves.
The picture is of a happily smiling 18-year-old
bride, beautiful in her white wed
ding dress and veil, clinging to the arm of
a bridegroom in uniform who is standing
with the aid of two canes.
The picture tells most of the story. But
there's a little more. The bridegroom, bad
ly wounded, wrote his childhood sweetheart
not to wait for him because he was "pretty
badly shot up."
But she did wait until the man she loved
Behind Scenes in Washington
By PETER EDSON, La Grande Evening Observer Washington Correspondent
WASHINGTON In all this squabbling
about who gets invited to the San Francisco
conference, it is all too easy to lose sight of
the one important objective.
That objective is to set up an organization
that will end wars.
Getting sidetracked by a lot of back-room
brawls over voting procedure, small nations
vs. large, Poland, Argentina, the Ukraine
and such small potatoes is utterly futile.
Granting that the making of a secret Bjg
Three deal at Yalta was stupid statesman
ship of the lowest order, still the present
cry that the San Francisco conference must
now be delayed as a result is rank coward
ice. Nothing could set back the cause of world
peace and security more than a postpone
ment at San Francisco. To moan low that
the Dumbarton Oaks proposals arc fore
doomed to failure is to admit that Nazi
propaganda is right and to fall for the Hit-lor-Goobhols
line that peace-loving nations
can never be united. Why be such suckers.'
When the Dumbarton Oaks proposals were
first announced then- naturally much
questioning. Perfectionists could think up
a thousand details that might be changed.
Until the past week the volume of these
criticisms had seemed to he nuhsiding as
people realized that the form of a United
Nations Organization, the mechanics of its
operation, was (ar loss important than itj
objective of nnding wars.
"We're not ititorostrrl in how you woik it
out," the average citizen seemed to bf say
ing to his government, "just give iu peace."
Jobs, food, I'Oisonal security, .solution of
economic problems as tl'ey affect daily liv
it'K these aic the thiMfc.. wtltci are uppcr-
m.ist in the mlnd. of ;i majority of the peo
ple. The machinery of government '"id for
) cin, nilan ids are iiitfioi taut only as they
conttil-ttte lasting peice m which their
;fi) fc $)',.' fcod. se-i: .... That is thi
W) Wv worth striving lor.
tually the British have the sble'rifeht to buy
meat from South America, -but the war food
administration apparently overlooks the fact
that Mexico is not South America but North
America.
Priorities For Veterans
For some time, honorably discharged
veterans of World War II have had to
deal through surplus property profiteers in
order to buy war goods to reestablish them
selves in business. I
If they wanted to buy a' jeep, a discarded
army truck,, or surplus anything else, they
got it through a secondhand dealer, who
purchased these supplies in bulk from the
army. '
This is because federal agencies have sold
in large quantities to secondhand dealers
rather than to individuals. However, this
has meant that the war veteran or anyone
else had to pay double or even triple the
original sale proce of the jeep or the truck.
Now, however, the surplus property
board, in cooperation with the procurement
division of the treasury department, plans
to change this. They are establishing a
procedure whereby veterans will receive a
certificate from the armed forces. This will
entitle them to go to the smaller war plants
corporation, which, in turn, will assist them
in finding the equipment they need. Once
the material is found, veterans will receive
a priority from the treasury piocurement di
vision to enable them to buy surplus prop
erty without going to war profiteers.
Cigarettes to Sweden
Guess where some of our vanished cigar
ettes have been going? To Sweden! And
from there? Perhaps to ' the same place
Sweden sent her ball bearings Germany.
U. S. export figures on cigarettes to
Sweden are supposed to be very, very con
fidential. Why remains a mystery. But
when Jesse Jones was secretary of com
merce, he would not permit the announce
ment of export figures on various commodi
ties to any country.
However, the unpublished fact is that
Sweden last year was permitted by treaty
to triple her normal purchase of cigarettes
from this country. She bought two hundred
million.
Why the Swedes should have needed three
times as many cigarettes in 1044 as their
normal import from the United States also
remains a mystery. Some people suspect
the explanation is that the Nazis are smok
ing cigaretttcs which the American public
does not get.
Note Suggestion to Secretary bf Com
merce Wallace: Why not let the public know
about these trade figures from now on?
See WASHINGTON . . . Page 4
could be fitted with artificial legs so that ha
could stand up in a church and marry her
in the kind of ceremony they both wanted.
It will take a lot of pictures like that
and a lot of stories like that to overcome
the opinion service men must have formed
of the devotion and loyalty of American
girls who were advised not to tie them
selves to men leaving for overseas hc.ausc
they might come back wounded or dunged
by war. Promises to wounded men and
pretty speeches won't count for much. But
all will be helpod by stories abou ; the
wounded vetearn who finds such promises
come true because he has been accepted
with understanding and love by those who
are dear to him, and has found a real place
for himself in the civilian world.
A proper perspective on 'his present flare
up can perhaps best be gained by looking
back on the Constitutional Convention in
Philadelphia in 1787, when the document
was being framed on which the United
States of America was to be founded. Only
12 of the 13 colonies sent delegates. Spunky
little Rhode Island stayed out and didn't
ratify the Constitution until two years later,
when she was forced into line by threat of
economic sanction.
Today it is the United Nations of the
world to be organized. What difference if
the Lublin Poles, or Argentina or the
Ukraine aren't at San Francisco? They can
come in two years later, with or without
threat of economic sanctions.
There was an issue of large states vs.
small at Philadelphia just as there is an
issue or large nations vs. "small facing the
delegates to San Francisco. At Philadelphia
the issue was settled by compromise. It can
be so settled at San Francisco if the states
men who represent the nations are of a
mind to do it.
More and more, a feeling grows that the
government or "soviet Kussia may be poli
tically immature in its international rela
tions. That can I said without intended
insult with a slaiiee over the shoulder at
the record of the United Stales of America
This country was that way in I'll!) and '20
and '21. Suspicious, isolationist in the ex
treme, unwilling to cwporalc with otltrr
nations unlcK we could write the lirkct josi
the way wc wanted t. The United Slates,
'Us a nation in l!'?fl, was like Rhode UUti
as a colony ift 1787. It didn't1 worky'H 1787.
it didn't work1' l'!iivind it .probably won't
Owit'.k any hetter in 1945.
Hilt) nations learn slowly end the history
(J) of 1787 and lO'-'O will li(f'.opeated if then
who represent the nations now become "in
volved :r. petty proe!;:e!. losing sight of
what they are suyF0:ie:t 10 t''-
Side Glances
E
COPH. 19ti BY NEA SERVICE, WC. T. H. HCC. U. 8. PAT. OH.
"After I've gone to the office, try to make her realize if she wen'i
eat her breakfast quicker I'll lose my job she won't listen to mel"
O McKENNEY ON BRIDGE
By WM. E. McKENNEY, America'! Card Authority
TIMING IMPORTANT
IN A SMOTHER PLAY
(This is the third of six'arti
cles on the smother play, the
most difficult play in bridge
to recognize.)
the king, declarer will over
trump with the ace.
So once again East is smoth
ered out of his king. However,
if the defense had been alert,
they could have defeated this
hand, as I will show you tomor
row. '
o IN FORME!?
YEARS
30 Years Ago
March was a month' of con
siderable building activity. Per
mits amounting to nearly $13,000
were issued. For March, 1914,
building permits totaled $17,074.
W. B. Sargent took a number
of Union county people to Har
ney county to inspect a large
area recently put on the market.
At Ontario the party was joined
by people from the east. This is
the second excursion into the
district.
In executing the smother play,
the most important thing is the
correct timing. That is why it is
very difficult to recognize this
play, as very often you lose the
timing before you find out the
possibility of the play.
In today's hand, the declarer
ruffs the second round of dia
monds and leads the jack of
clubs, which East of course re
fuses to win as he docs not want
to create two entries for the de-
A 8 76 S
V 10 5 3
965
KQ7
49654
A None N AK432
QJ6 yj p V974
KQJ74 e A108
2 A102
I ueaier
15 Years Ago
Discussion of the Connordale
park property took up most' 6f
the city commission meeting.
The commissioners agreed that
some work should be done during
the year toward beautification of
the plot. Suggestions were made
that trees be planted and part of
the plot be seeded.
Plans were being made for pro
tection of the 10,500,000 acres of
forest land under the jurisdiction
of the state forester are well un
der way. As part of the pro
gram new lookout houses were
to be built on the summit of Ml.
Harris, near La Grande, and on
Onion Springs mountain cast of
Glendalc. Twelve miles of new
telephone lines had been com
pleted to connect the new look
out with the district wardeno
office.
AQJ 109
. V A K 8 2
3
J83
Duplicate Both vul.
South West North East
1 A 2 Pass 2 N. T
3 V Pass 3 A Pass
4 A Pass Pass Pass
Opening K. 11
clarer in dummy. Another club
is led and East wins this with
the ace and returns a diamond
which South ruffs.
A club is then led to dummy
and a trump finesse taken. South
then cashes the ace and a king
of hearts and leads a small heart.
West is forced to win and must
now lead a diamond or a club.
At this point dummy and East
hold three trump while the de
clarer has the ace and queen of
trumps and the six of hearts.
Whatever West leads is trumped
in dummy and you can see East's
predicament. If he trumps low,
dummy will be allowed to hold
the trick, while if he trumps with
Questions & Answers
Q How many submarines has
the U. S. lost in the war?
A 41, officially announced as
of March 27.
10 Years Ago
Substantial increase in the
number of farms and a striking
tendency for population to move
toward the farm are indicated for
eastern Oregon in preliminary
census figures released by the
farm census bureau.
Project record books kept by
the Imblcr Future Farmers ' of
America during the school year
1933-34 showed a total labor in
come of more than $1,647. Eighty
boys were carrying projects
which consisted of swine, beef,
dairy, sheep, chickens, turkeys,
geese, bees, potatoes, grain and
forage.
Q In navy jargon, what docs
Busanda mean?
A Bureau of supplies and ac
counts. This Curious World
ALTHCV4-M They i-AvE CLOSE
SLAVES EVESV Sits
AMLES J. MNjViEv,
Ac. ,?,-. c; J.-ff'.-t
j S EDMONTON, (
aBst-a""" ) LIE ON THE ) ;
V-w AiCJ I IMC
f BETWEEN THE.
lfl PANAvACAf-W1- )
ASE tAR&EI WHEN VeVN4
ThAhey aze AFTEC
NEXT: Where they really mike big money.
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