"EDITORIAL PAGE
La Grande Evening Observer
Frank Schiro, Publisher
TUESDAY KVKNINf., AI'IIIL 21, 1915
I'age Two
First Thing on the Docket
EVENING OBSERVER'S
PROGRESS PROGRAM
IRRIGATION Complete the Grande
Konde Valley irrigation project.
LA GRANDE A city of 10,001)
Extend the city limits.
TODAY'S TEXT
The life is more than meat, and the
body is more than raiment Luke 12:23
THOUGHT FOR TODAY
To the victors belong the spoils.
Andrew Jackson.
Some Fateful Questions
Answered
. President Truman's first address to
congress and to I ho people as t heir new
chief executive answered many ques
tions which had disturbed the minds of
his countrymen in the four preceding
flays. And when ho had given the
answers the great majority of those
countrymen must have found their
minds eased and their fears quieted.
Earlier Mr. Truman had pledged vig
orous prosecution of the war to vic
tory, the conference at San Francisco
as scheduled, and the carrying out of
President Roosevelt's programs and
policies. Hut this last was only rela
tively possible, since the program was
now seen through different eyes, and
future decisions to match constantly
changing events would have to be those
of Harry S. Truman.
Would there be a change in the high
command'.'
"This direction (of the war) must
and will remain unchanged and un
hampered," the new commander-in-chief
promised.
Would there be any backing away
from this country's lull commitment to
an international organization for peace?
"It is futile to seek safety behind
geographic barriers," the president
said. "Real security will be found only
in law and justice . . . We have learned
to fight with other nations in common
defense of our freedom. We must now
learn to live with other nations for our
mutual good . . . To destroy greedy try
ants with plans of world domination we
cannot continue in successive genera
tions to sacrifice our finest youth. In
the name of human decency and civili
sation, a more rational method of de
ciding national differences must and
will be found."
What approach would the new presi
dent bring to the occasionally difficult
position of the United Stales 'in the big
three, ami to its relations with its great
allies?
"Nothing is more essential to the
fill lire peace of the world," said Mr.
Truman, "than continued co-operation
of the nations which had to muster the
force necessary to defeat . . . the fas
cist powers . . . The responsibility of the
great slates is to serve and not domin
ate the peoples of the world . . . Amer
ica has become one of the most power
ful forces for good on earth. We must
keep it so."
What approach would the new presi
dent take in achieving these ends? '
To the members of congress he said,
"Only with your help can I hope to
complete one of the greatest tasks ever
assigned to a public servant."
In these and others answers to the
fateful questions raised bv the suddeli
passing of Mr. Roosevelt, President
Truman revealed himself as n man con
eernvd but hopeful, humble but not dif
fident, frankly in need of help but un
hesitating and unafraid.
And in doing so he revealed himself
as a pilot who, though new and untried
and wholly different from his predeces
sor, has taken the helm in steadv and,
capable hands.
Funny Business
mmmm
WSrl
I I
: A3
SO THEY SAY
The purposes anil structure of
the United Nations organization
must lie everywhere understood
mid children throughout the
orld must come to think of it
as a part of their common herit
age as an institution to l-c cher
ished and developed.
--Dr. J. K. Morgan, edtior The
Journal, national education association.
"He doesn't like anycf j to get loo closo when he't on sentry dulyl"
With victory in both sides of
the world now so clearly in pros
pect . . . wc :ihuiild not forget
ell might have been been ill vain
if men of science had found no
ottcctive answer to the prepara
tions which enemies to our free
dom had for years been making
in secret.
Sir Henry Dale, president Roy-.
quI society of London.
Hitler will biing down trie
whole show. German public
opinion canHrt say they are sick
WV- So it i got to go on.
-Field Marshal Sir Bernard L.
Montgomery .O
Washington Merry-Go-Eound
o Side Glances
By DREW PEARSON
WASHINGTON Harry Truman had two
meetings with republicans in one week. One
held after he became president, was pub
licised. The other held while he was vice
presidnt, was not.
The latter was just before Roosevelt'j
death, when Truman attended a luncheon
given by senate republicans elected in 1!)42
and 1944.
He spoke of the importance of maintain
ing senate prestige, urging that every mem
ber devote rjimself to maintaining the stand
ing of the senate as "the greatest delibera
tive body in the world,"
"As vice-president," Truman continued,
"I am a partisan, an administration man, but
as speaker of. the senate I am strictly non
partisan. I hope you gentlemen will do
everything in your power to correct me if
you feel that as speaker I am guilty of a bad
ruling on parliamentary procedure."
Again, shortly after Roosevelt's death,
President Truman was host to a delegation
of eight republican senators, who went to
the White House to pledge their cooperation
to their former senate colleague. Spokesman
for the group was. conservative Senator Taft
of Ohio, son of a former republican presi
dent, who entered the private office of a
United States president for the first time
since Herbert Hoover left the White House
in 1933.
"We are 'hire, Mi. president," said Tail,
"to offer yoMj our whole-hearted support,
although there will be' times in the future
when we disagree over specific issues, you
may be certain that we will be sincerely
working along with you for the good of our
country." '
The other senators Senators White of
Maine, Austin of Vermont, Bridges of New
Hampshire, Wherry of Nebraska, Millikin of.
Colorado, Bushficld of South Dakota and
Brooks of Illinois each offered his personal
pledge. Some called him "Mr. President,"
some "Harry." The meeting was completely
serious, with no wisecracks.
Open White House Door
"I'm very happy you men have come
here," Truman said after each of the dele
gation had had his way. "I'm a party man
myself. I believe in the two-parly system
as an important part of out democratic gov
ernment. You men, as representatives of the
minority party, are an integral part of our
government. '
"Although I am a party man," the new
president continued, "I intend to administer
this nation in a non-partisan way." He
paused and repeated that statement.
' Then looking into the faces of his visitors,
Truman said simply, "I will need your help,
and I welcome it. I have instructed my staff
here that I wish to keep in close touch with
congress and with my old colleagues. I want
to assure you 'that the door to my office is
always open."
One thing the republicans have drawn
from those two statements is tnat Truman
will give them full minority representation
on federal commissions. They never serious
ly made an issue of it, but they were strong
ly dissatisfied with Roosevelt's habit of nam
ing liberal "independent" to commlssioncr
ships where the legal number of. democratic
seats was already filled.
Roosevelt Aftermaths
Inside fact is that another Rooscvelt-Chur-chill-Stalin
meeting was arranged just before
the big three left Yalta to take place in Lon
don or Paris in mid-Muy or early June. That
particular time was selected because Roose
velt feared the San Francisco conference
might bog down and a big three meeting
could break the deadlock . . . One reason
Stalin relented and is sending Molotov to
San Francisco is because this May meeting
of the big three is now thrown off balance
by Roosevelt's death.
John W. Gibson, head of the Michigan CIO,
is in a quandary. He was supposedly ap
pointed assistant secretary of labor shortly
before Mr. Roosevelt died, but the papers,
were never sent to the senate. Gibson does
not know whether he will be assistant secre
tary of labor or not.
The Axis propaganda line has switched,
After long saying Stalin was the man who
dominated the big three, the nazis now claim
Roosevelt was the man who really ran the
big three. His death, they say, destroys all
chance of big three cooperation for perman
ent peace . . . Bernard Buruch, flying back
from Europe for the Roosevelt funeral, re
ported that we had captured one under
ground nasti factory 28 kilometers long. In
other words a factory 19 miles long was com
pletely underground built with captured
slave labor. .
Resistance to our recent landing on Min
danao has confirmed the suspicion of mili
tary men that the major factor contributing
to the poor Jap showing in the Philippines
was that our campaign just wasn't planned
according to Japanese rules. Poorly prepared
on Leytc, Mindoro, and Luzon, the Japs had
really set themselves up to repel invasion OA
Mindanao, which they figured would be our
first target in the islands.
They were right. But when Admiral Hal
soy reported to General MacArthur that
Leyte appeared to be a soft spot, our plans
were changed.
In preparing Mindanao for defense, the
Japs called upon a number of "improved"
German technics. Among the most impor:
ance was their installation of electrically con
trolled mines permitting an observer to
blow the mines from a distance when our
tanks or concentrations of our troops entered
the mined area. This is the first time the
Japs have used this technic.
See WASHINGTON ... Page 4
WE, THE WOMEN
By RUTH MILLETT
A Hollywood couple, married 14 years,
and suddenly aware of "differences in tem
perament" have decided on a trial separation
rather than a divorce.
There's one group of married couples in
the United States who will never have to
arbitrarily decide on a trial separation to
find out how they like living alone and what
advantages if any and what disadvan
tages it has compared with marriage.
They are, of course, the couples that the
war lias caused to have enforced separations.
They are learning most of them early in
their married lives just how living alone
compares with living with a husband or
wife.
And for most of them the enforced trial
separation has lasted so long that they aren't
likely to forget it as long as they live. They
aren't likely ever again to think in the mid
dle of a quarrel or during a period when a
marriage is full of problems, "If 1 just had
my freedom." They've had iheii freedom,
and most of them have discovered how
empty it is.
The "trial separation" the war has forced
on them couldn't end soon enough. They
know as much about living alone right now
as they ever want to know.
So it must seem incongruous to them that
in Hollywood a couple have decided on their
own to go in for a trial separation.
Behind Scenes in Washington
By PETER EDSON, La Grande Evening Observer Washington Correspondent
An unofficial yet highly authoritative
opinion that the White House has no power
under existing law to make executive agree
ments which would grant foreign airlines
the right to operate in the United States is
appearing in the forthcoming April issue of
the George Washington University Law Re
view. Publication of this opinion may havo
important bearing on senate foreign rela
tions committee consideration of the post
war international civil aviation envention
drr.wn up at the 54-nation conference in
Chicago last fall.
This G. W. U. Law Review article is some
thing more than just another one of the end
less series of long-winded differences of
opinion among lawyers. U was written by
Arne C. Wiprud, special assistant to attor
ney general in charge of transportation cases
foi the anti-trust division. Wiprud is the
man who did much of the spade work for
the department of justije suit against the
western railroads on charges of conspiracy
to fix rates. For a government attorney in
his position to write an opinion that runs
counter to -the administration policy on
handling postwar civil aviation matters is in
itself unusual. Wiprud makes clear that bis
opinion represents his own views and mt
those of the department of justice. Vet the
fact that all articles written by members of
l:ie department of justice stafi mu.st be
cleared before publication gives these views
more than passing importance.
"Under existing law," writes Wiprud al
the end of his exhaustive reser.rch into all
U. S. aviation. laws and treaties, ". . . . the
conclusion of executive agreements to af
fect an exchange of operating l ights is with
out legal basis. Such executive agree
ments, to have legal validity, would require
the aojivion and ratification of a treatv be
tween ihe gwernmcnt;(ymccrncd." O (
If the Wiprud argument i correct, the
o
White House would have two choices. Eith
er to recall the agreements and send them
to the senate in the form of treaties for rati
fications, or else ask congress for new legis
lation, an amendment to the civil aeronaut
ics act of 1938 which would give the admin
istration the power to do what has already
been done.
If the White House and state department
maintain their position, then the senate must
either back down, admit it's licked by a fait
accompli, and let the executive end of the
government save its face, Or else the sen
at must go into open revolt and refuse to
ratify the permanent convention until the
executive agreements arc sent to the senate
for ratification like treaties.
Arne Wiprud Is not the only lawyer in
government who takes the view that execu
tive agreements permitting foreign aircratt
transport rights within the United States are
not within existing law. Sen. Josiah W. Bai
ley of North Carolina, delegate to the Chi
cago conference and chairman of the senate
rommittce on commerce, has testified before
the foreign relations committee that he be
livcs the interim agreement and possibly the
first four freedoms overing the right of an
airline to fly over foreign territory, to land
for service, to put down and pick up traffic
from and to its own country are within ex
isting law.
But on the fifth freedom Senator Bailey
has his legal doubts. This fifth freedom
would grant any international air carrier the
right to put down or pick up traffic from
and to other countries than ils own country
and the country to which it w.u flying. ;
"I h-M not been able to find in the law
anything that will justify that," Senator
Bailey told the foreign relations committee,
"because I can sve where American com
merce would be shot all to pieces under it."
o
Lil'
... 1 Walfe
COW. 1MS BY NIA SERVICE, IHC. T. M. BfC. U. B. PAT. OFF.
"Yes. I've got enough points, dear, but I haven't the heart to order
a steak remember how poor Buster almost had a nervous break
down watching us eat the one we had in February?" ' ' -
O McKENNEY ON BRIDGE r
By WM. E, McKENNEY, America's Card Authority
WHITEHEAD'S THEORY
OF QUICK TRICKS
The name of Wilbur C. White
head will always live in bridge
history. Work and Whitehead
were synonymous.
One of Whitehead's chief con
tributions to modern contract
was his theory of quick tricks.
AA1083
y 985
A 10 8
K96
OJ974 I N 1652
VKQ W F VA 106 4 2
J9643 e Q5
J7 loellerl853
Whitehead
KQ
VJ73
K72
AQ 104 2
Rubber Neither vul.
South West North East
1 N. T Pass 3 N. T. Pass
Opening 4 4 25
He set down a rule that an ace
was one quick trick and a guard
ed king was a half trick. His
rule then stated that the prob
able tricks in any hand were
roUghly, double the. number, of
quick tricks.
Today's hand is one of the last
hands played by him before he
sailed for a vaction in Europe
from which he never returned,
Questions & Answers
Q What weapon have the
Japs copied from the Russians?
A The Molotov Cocktail, a
quart bottle of two parts gasoline
and one part used motor oil, with
waste taped to the bottom. It is
thrown at tanks.
dying aboard ship in the summer
of 1931, '
Of course modern bidding on
this hand would be different, but
Whitehead got quite a kick out
of getting a top score on it when
the opening diamond lead gave
him the chance to make six odd.
O IN FORMER
YEARS
30 Years Ago
Mrs. E. D. Whiting of Mt. Glen
left for Logan, Utah.
Mr. .and Mrs, Herman Siegrist
and son Ken returned from a
prolonged stay in Portland.
Driven from their domicile by
a mad dog, a family living at -1115
X avenue was left homeless
until the police arrived and kill
ed the beast. Where the animal,
which is strange in that neigh
borhood, contracted the rabies
which it apparently was affected
with, is not known. As the ani
mal ran into the back door, the
family took flight, closing the
doors and trapping the animal in
the house until the police arrived.
- !.'. ', IS Years Ago ": ; v.. . .1
Plans for a new grocery store
and meat market at Adams ave
nue and Fir street were an
nounced by M. M. Christenson.
The building was formerly occu
pied by M. J. Goss.
The fruit growers of Imbler
expected a large crop of cherries,
except for possible damage by
frost. The trees were heavily
laden with blossoms. Pear trees
also were in bloom indicating a
good crop. Several new cherry
orchards were being set out near
Imbler.
Q What nation will hold ils
first presidential election in
June?
A The new Republic of Ice
land. Sweinn Bjoernsson is un
opposed for the office.
Q What does BUPERS mean
in navy code?
A Bureau of naval personnel,
Q What was the distinction
of Hamm, Germany prewar
population 59,000 before capture
by the allies?
A It had Europe's largest
railroad marshaling yards; four
miles long, three-quarters of a
mile wide; handled up to 10,000
freight cars a day.
10 Years Ago
Margaret McAllister, La
Grande junior at Whitman col
lege, was appointed on a commit
tee in charge of the annual col
lege visitations weekend, a per
iod in which prospective students
of the college are entertained.
The U. S. Forest service noti
fied Bunting Tractor company
that they are sending 10 large
tractor graders into La Grande
for distribution in this section
through the local firm. The ma
chines used in the forest work
heve been sent to Pendleton or
Baker for distribution in former
years, and the change indicated
an increase in the forest service
work to be done in this section.
This Curious World
About one half op the
BIRDf OP THE WORLD
com. iwi.u tumc, wo.
I '""2T c'"-56HTED PERSONS
NOTED FCR ITS WOVSTJ-,"
03ES LEAD OTHER STATES
IN TUB PWOUCTICNOP
AZS FAR-SIGHTED,-. '
r-E I c IN. KHOURY'
NEXT: Class jug sabotage.