EDITORIAL PAGE
La Grande Evening Observer
Frank Schlro, Publisher
TUESDAY KVKNINO. JUNK 26, 1945
Page Four-
The Nips' Dilemma
0RL ll
La eh J
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
And ye shall hear of wars and rumor?
of wars: hcb thai ye be not troubled:
for all these things must come to pass,
hut the end is not yet. Matthew 2l:(.
THOUGHT TOR TODAY
To be prepared for war is one of the
most effectual means of preserving the
peace. George Washington.
A Start Toward
Industrial Peace
On the day that Senators Hall, Iliir
lon and Hatch announced their proposed
now labor relations code, the wartime
no-strike 'pledge was in effect. Yet some
20,000 workers were on strike in war
or war-related industries. Production
was stopped or curtailed on a variety of
needed items, including stool, arma
ments, tires and farm machinery.
The army was operating a chemical
plant and truck lines. Jurisdictional
trouble had broken out between the
AKI, and CIO in Detroit auto factories
as first steps were being taken toward
the resumption of civilian production.
The day's news added up to a dis
quieting reminder that the critical per
iod of reconversion might be rendered
more critical by a sudden flaring up of
long - suppressed grievances between
management and workers and within
the ranks of lalmr.
So it was good to see beside that
day's news the proposal of three able, '
progressive, public-spirited senators to
reorganize the whole industrial struc
ture toward the end (,f., avoiding what
might well be a chaotic and destructive
free-for-all.
"We propose," said Senator Hatch,
"that the last surviving field in which
civil warfare is tolerated shall be trans
formed into a field of industrial peace."
It is a little shocking to see industrial
strife described in such blunt terms.
Hut when one recalls our industrial re
cord of pitched battles, bloodshed, and
loss of life and property, "civil warfare"
is the only proper term.
The national shame of that record is
probably the worst instance in Ameri
can life of a clumsy, retarded, wasteful
and sometimes brutal system still exist
ing in the midst of material progress.
With the world's powers on the way to
ward evolving a system whereby na
tions can live in peace, it is certainly
time that this country really went to
work to lick the comparatively simpler
problem of settling industrial disputes
without physical violence and economic
suffering.
The reason why that problem hasn't
been licked is that all concerned have
been too greedy, selfish, spiteful or
stupid to tackle it with complete good
faith. That goes for industrialists, un
ion leaders, and the congresses and ad
ministrations which have variously
played off one side against the other.
The three senators and their advisers
do not claim the new bill to be the last
word. They invite criticism and sug
gestion, and they will gel plenty. Hut
they have chosen an excellent model in
the railway labor act. And they have
shown admirable wisdom in attempting
a code that would promote the whole
people's welfare instead of just drawing
up another set of rules for class war.
Funny llusiness
APO 15 J
ffw
Q SO THEY SAY
Wo dare not say that there will
lie no mole wars. Failure to pro
vide universal training has al
ways constituted an open invita
tion for aggiossinn on the part of
militarists.
Dunlap C. Clark. U. S. chamber
of commerce.
) tavor tho Uretton Woods pro
posals. Ti e export of American
capital will lie highly desirable
in the postwar pu.od, for tho
economy of the world as a whole
and for our own country.
KdwaiM K. Brown, chairman
First National bank, Chicago.
"We've drafted him as a ilamp licker we haven't any ipongesl"
Tho German prisoner of war
in this country is learning how
America, described to him as a
dcc;idei deiniWicy', lives and
winks and how it fought a war
much belter than his country was
able to fight it. He is being thor
oughly iv-cducatod.
-Hrig-Cien. B. M. Bryan. Jr..
assl provost marshal general.
Washington Merry-Go-Round
Side Glances
Br DREW PEARSON
WASHINGTON Thronging tho marble
halls of congress these days is one of the most
effective lobbying groups in Washington.
Their goal is oil but you won't hear them
mention the word. '
Their aims are much more lofty namely
"quieting titles of states to lands beneath
tidewaters and navigable waters." Ex
pressed with less adornment, this means
that beneath the Pacific ocean and the gulf
of Mexico are rich oil landsi-some people
think potentially the richest in the country.
The oil companies want these submerged
oil lands to be leased by the states, not by
the federal government. They know they
can handle the state house boys much more
easily than the interior department in Wash
ington; so they now demand that congress
pass a law giving these tidewater lands to
the states. The attorneys general of 40
states are backing them.
Wrapped up in the whole thing is the fu
ture of one cabinet officer, plus the pros
perity of the Democratic national treasury,
plus a lot of internal Democratic politics.
Two men have' waged the toughest fight
to keep these oil lands in federal hands At
torney Genial Biddle and Secretary of the
Interior Ickes.. Biddle has already lost his
ob. Now the tyvys are ganging up to throw
out Iekts.
Trumi Didn't Hesitate
For some years, Biddle and Ickes had ar
gued that the U. S. courts should decide this
question. Several times they put it up to
Roosevelt, but he postponed a decision.
So when Truman came in, Biddle put the
matter up to him. Truman didn't hesitate,
immedately agreed that the courts should
decide who owned these tidewater lands.
Now the politicians are sore as blazes.
They claim Ickes and Biddle should not have
put Truman on the spot. The question
should have been allowed to simmer on the
buck of the stove, they claim.
Ickes' Death Battle
And while Biddle will be out of the cabi
net next week;5" Iekes is figbting mad and
determined to, battle things out even if it
is the last thing he does.
Meanwhile, the politicians are out to get
Ickes. They have nominated almost every
one in Washington to take his place. Han
negan, who isn't mixed up in oil, wants him
out for other reasons.
"His whole interior department contribut
ed only $800 to the last campaign," Hanne
gan complains. "And when I send anyone
over to Ickes for a job, you might think they
had a' recommendation from Hitler."
Lovely Lady Lobbies
Vivacious, beautiful Madame Maria Mar
tins, wife of the Brazilian ambassador, is
very popular with social Washington, but
even so, officials don't appreciate her trying
to tell the Truman administration what per-
sons should be retained or fired as assist-,
ant secretaries of state. , '
The lovely lady has been much concerned
lately over Kilson Rockefeller, assistant sec
retary in charge of Pan American relations.
At first Madame Martins was down- on
Rockefeller. She came back from the San
Francisco conferene telling friends how the
young oil millionaire had let Brazil down.
Madame1 Martins, who gets around to a
great many parties, talked so much that
eventually Rockefeller's friends warned her
that she went too far. So at a cocktail party
given by Bill Stanley, formerly of the us
tice department, the lady spied sedate
Speaker Sam Rayburn. Rushing over, and
being introduced by a friend, the beautiful
Brazilian said:
" Ah, you arc the speaker. I have always
wanted to meet you. I hear so much about
you. You are such a great man. I kiss you
on both cheeks." And she did.
Then, after more conversation along this
line, Madame Martins continued: ,
"Now you must do something for me. You
must help poor Nelson Rockefeller. He is
such a nice boy. He is so good friend of Lat
in America. You must not let President
Truman get rid of him. You will speak to
President Truman and you will tell him
he must keep Nelson Rockefeller, and then
you must telephone me. Yes?"
The blushing speaker, one of the most con
firmed bachelors in Washington, finally said
he would. Whether he did talk to Truman
is doubtful, because Sam does not believe
in interfering in problems outside of con
gress . Anyway, he finally called Madame
Martins and told her to "keep her feathers
down." '
Merry-Go-Round
Following this column's disclose that the
army was burning millions of feet of sur
plus films which educational institutions
wanted to buy, the army has decided to turn
over all surplus films to the surplus prop
erty board .... Many tons of powdered
soybean soup with cheese are now being of
fered for sale as animal food by the war food
administration. Because of a surplus of soy-'
beans, WFA got the idea that a mixture of
the beans with cheese would make an excel
lent soup for Russians. Hugt quantities
were prepared. But the Russians tried a
few samples, turned thumbs down.
WE, THE WOMEN
Br RUTH MILLETT
When Rep. Hubert S. Ellis heard a report
that the state department was trying to
make it easier for girls engaged to American
servicemen to enter the United States, he
stood up on tho floor of the house and cham
pioned American girls.
He said that since Europe has four or five
women to every three men all the girls
would be clamoring to come to America, if
it were easy to do. He dicni see much sensu
in that since there are plenty of beautiful
and healthful American girls waiting for
soldiers and sailors to conic home so that
they can find husbands.
The congressman will have the young
women of the' country with him on that
stand. ' '
And here is why. Let's take the case of
Joe. Joe had a best girl before he went in
to the army. If the war hadn't come along
he probably would have been married to
bar by now.
But he went over-seas and after a cou
ple of years of writing the home town girl
faithfully he met an English girl at a dance,
and in a few months found himself engaged
to her.
Now Uncle Sam could rush that girl
through to America to marry Joe. Or he
could let her wait awhile. That would give
the home town girl or some other American
girl a chance to have as good a try at Joe
as the English girl had.
If, however, the English girl is the love of
Joe's life and he of hers, they'll wait a year
or two for each other.
But why not give American girls a break
by letting hem have'at least as good a
chance at catching American men as foreign
girls have had since the start of the war?
Behind Scenes in Washington
By PETER EDSON, La Grande Evening Observer Washington Correspondent
WASHINGTON After four days of per
sistent, straight inside rumors that he was
going to be fired from the cabinet, secretary
of the interior, the honest and honorable
Harold D. Ickus called a press conference.
Ickes sauntered in. slouched in a big chair
at the head of the 25 foot long table and the
reporters got dijwn to business. With a few
deletions to speed up the action and dia
logue, the fun went some;liing like this:
Reporter Is rthere any new way you'd
like to be asked about your tenure in office?
Ickes (Pleasantly and calmly) I don't
believe there Is1 any new way. This has been
going on since 11133. The papers used to
have this story set up in type and kept
standing. Then whenever they came to
make out (he should have said "make up ")
if they had a little space with nothing to put
in it, they cheerfully dropped in the story
that I was going to lesign.
Reporter Do you mean "hopefully" in
stead of "cheerfully."
Ickes 1 mean cheerfully and hopefully.
Reporter But aren't these stories getting
a little warmer now?
Ickes Well, I made a remark about Ma
thuselah last week.
Reporter (Surprising everyone with his
knowledge of the bible) but Mathuselah
lived to be !)6:i years old.
lckcf No, I den t want to live to be that
old. But I II tell you what to do. I suggest
you wnti it up and then put it in the morgue
and forget about it.
Tli reporters had no idea of doing any
such thing.
Reporter But hvre'j the Chicago Tribune
printing the story that you're going to be
succeeded by Senator O'Malumey, while the
Chicago Sun says you'll be succeeded bv Cap
Krug of WI'U.
Ickes They're both light. , It will take
two men to do my job.
Reporter Senator Downey of California
has also been mentioned as vour successor.
Ickes Who hasn't been mentioned?
(Pause) You know nobody really succeeds
a man who's already succeeding.
Reporter Do you mean to infer that you
are succeeding?
No answer to that one, but the secretary
did have another idea:
Ickes I might not be consulted about who
my successor will be.
Reporter Do you think that's going on
right now?
Ickes That's a good bit like trying to tell
whether it will be a boy or girl. You have
to wait and see.
Things had gone far enough. Reporters
w ith a lot of technical questions about some
oil land suit began to get a little impatient.
Reporter Can't wo go on to something
new?
Ickes Wliy go on? The pall bearers a
still here.
Reporter (accusingly) Mr. Ickes,, you
called at the White House yesterday.
Ickes I went to see Dr. Melntyre. (Vice
Admiral Ross T. Melntyre, navy surgeon
general and personal physician to the presi
djnt.) I had a cold.
Impressed by the fact that even a member
of the cabinet rated such top drawer medica
tion the leportcrs let that one ride for a min
ute, but one persistent questioner tried an
other tack:
Repot ter Let's get this down to essentials.
Ickes You mean bare essentials. Have
you resigned?
Now things were getting1 somewhere. The
secretary let go with both barrels:
Ickes I have resigned. I am the resign
0 ingest member of the cabinet that ever went
tu town. I hav resigned one, two, three,
four, five, six six times. 'v
Reporter (With determination) When
was the last time
Ickes The Saturday after President Roos
evelt's death? '
Reporter (Doggedly) Was it accepted?
Ickes No. ,
Jam iwi by hia MMict. inc. T. . ma u. .
"The sooner we k-.wck off the Japs the better, I suppose, biit if
the war ends this summer we'll get gypped out ol a holidayl"
O McKENNEY ON BRIDGE
By WM, E. McKENNEY, America's Card Authority
BOLDNESS IN BID
DESERVES 7 SPADES
It is quite an accomplishment
to break through the array of tal
ent competing from New York
and Philadelphia in an eastern
championship. Therefore, Mrs.
Stanley Kreps had a right to feel
proud when she and her husband,
together with Miss Constance Lit
tle and Lee Sager, tied for the
eastern mixed team-nf-fuur cham-
A 7 3
VQ74
AK 10 85 2
A5
A64 I N 1 108 5 2
V J 10 8 5 W E 6
3 e None
QJ9H4 n,,iBr KQJ10
4 I "eal8r 8 8 6 3
Mrs. Kreps
KQJ9
VAK92
73
A A72
Duplicate E.-W vul.
South West North
1 A Pass 2
.3 V Pass 4 A
"4 NT Pass 5
6 A Pass ' 7 A
Pass Pass ,
Opening A 4.
East
3 A
Pass
Pass
Pass
21
ruffed high. Therefore, she fi
nessed the 0 and now led another
club and ruffed in dummy with
the ace. She returned, to her
hand with the heart ace and took
out the outstanding trumps'. West
was squeezed. He could not pro
tect the jack of hearts and the
UlUIIIOUO.
O IN FORMER
YEARS
10 Years Ago
Miss Hulda Anderson left for a
summer vacation visit with rela
tives in Minnesota
D. E. Richards, superintendent
of ths Eastern Oregon experi
ment station near Union, and
Lloyd Pierce of Hat Loke attend
ed a committee meeting of the
Oregon woolgrowers at Pendleton
to make plans for the annual ram
sale.
Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Spesk
hart and daughter, Helen Jean, of
the Iowa district, Mr.( and .Mis.
vjicii vvyguvi. Deny, oillie, muiy
Ellen and Bobbie, Mr. and Mrs.
Lucian Whealy, Lois and Junior,
formed a picnic party up Cath
erine creek.
pionship this year.
Mrs. Kreps bid today's hand
very boldly, and I can't blame her
husband for going to seven, hold
ing the ace of trumps. The play
of the hand is very interesting.
The opening lead was won with
the ace of clubs, and a small club
returned, which .West overruffed
with the spade 6 and Mrs. Kreps
overruffed with the 7 in dummy.
She now made a very nice play
she returned a small trump and
reasoned that West did not hold
the ten-spot, or he would have
Questions & A nswers
Q Will Germans be permitted
to live in the Sudetenland if it
should be returned to Chechoslovakia?
A Sudeten Germans g.T
ler his excuse for swallowi
Czech republic. Czech '
now say all Germans mu:
IS Years Ago., ; i
Albert Hopkins a student of
the Eastern Oregon Normal school
and letterman in baseball .at the
normal school and major sports
at the Norman, Okla., high,,school,
was appointed principal of the
Oregon Trail school, Jour, miles
south of Nyssa. ' .';'" '
Mrs. Richard Shanks of this
city, who is a second cousin to eX
presickmt, Calvin. Coolfdge, re
ceived an invitation to attend the
Coolidge family reunion in Wa-.
tertown, Mass., on June . 28 in
honor of John and Mary Coolidge,
who came to America 300 years
ago.
it-he
Q What is the monetary unit
used in Honduras?
A Lempira (50 cents in U. S.),
Cardoba (17 cents in U. S.), Uai
boa ($1 in U. S.).
30 Years Ago
H. L. Andrews went to Har
vey, N. D. "
Alice Hill arrived in La Grande
from coast points where she has
been visiting since the close of
the University of Oregon where
she was a student. ' ' '
Rr. R. E. L. Holt has returned
from Fusno where he was called
on business.
Mrs. Walter Cleaver and son,
Walter, left on a trip to California.
This Curious World
, , S THE UNBLEACHBLEWOOLRavTA
T ) 3lLAe& BMSSiP
(' y) IS WOVEN INTO CLOTHIN& FiS i (
OH. 191 8Y u smvict. me. .
V M Mr. u ft NT. Off. "
ruMDMT UNTUHDWUMTllir
uap in th war fcmr, "Sift
V9HN J. KOENI4,
0
- j . .
m jit:.
werWGeptANft.
4SW AOOUT SO PER CEN"
OF ITS POOD
FROM THE AA. . ! '
6-27 4$
NEXT: . A short-lived speed record.