La Grande evening observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1904-1959, July 25, 1945, Image 2

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La Grande evening observer., July 25, 1945, Image 2

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Newspaper Page TextMat? jiances Washington Merry-Go-Round By DREW PEARSON EDITORIAL PAGE La Grande Evening Observer Frank Schiro, Publisher YVMJiNKSliA Y KVEMSC, .11 I.Y 2:, IV 1-1 Fuice 'fvvtf Dismal Looking Place, Ain't II? wnt'Tuwr- - ------ - THOUGHT I'OK TODAY 'I'd prnmiHi! is to tcive, in Iiok: h to enjoy. llclille. Fraternization Apparently the Imn on fnitorniziitioii lictwcfii AmciiMin Holdicrs mid (iermiui fivilimi.M never did work very well, (.'i rcH)oridciit.4 in Ormmiy .sent Imek word Hint tin! Imn wih unu i.'iv, unpopular and KoiiidtlincH u lien forced. Now Unit it is lifted a lot of jieoplo over lions' .seem to linve diHcovcriWl that tin; whole thinjc wh.h wioiij; from 1. ho bcKiniiiiij,'. l'rolmlily ttic leHlriclioii was a pH.v ('liolo)rical blunder. Mont, younjr Anieri ciiiih aid naturally friendly and curious oven those who f o II jr h I fiercely I'KuiiiHl Hitler's armies and Haw or ex perienced or heard of the lioi ror.s of iinzl brutality. Yet for all their rea.son.s for de.spim'nn that manifeslatioii of Geriimii charac ter which was nazism, they could not he forced to maintain that hatred iiirniiiHl. all (iennaiiM J'or 2 hours every day. The hearing of a trnidjfo and tho .'.tiflinK of spontaiieouM friendline.sH can heroine a heavy burden and a weari some frustration. I I'm hard to choke off a friendly word to an need person or a child. And to il lieal! hy yoiiiiH'.slcr 'r from home, a pielty y.h'l is ik,.v ,, M. juS in,y ('.ill, whalever her biiieiiiie.e anil social or political liiickc.riiunil. Sci some of he occupation troops luuke the no I'uiler niziii);' rule, 1 1 1 1- n j; h loneliness or mis chief or the perverse reaction thai made teetotalers drink ihli inj; prohiliil ion. lint would . at home and tlx- cor respondents aliroad have heen happier if tho army had erased the score i'j.;ainst nazism with nazism's downfall? Would we have preferred that the army, contradicting tho evidence at hand, hud placed all Maine on a comparatively small Kioup of provenly war - SJtlilty party members and absolved all other (.'ermans? Would we have likiVl it if our soldiers had been permitted immediately to hold hands with the daughters and sweet hearts and perhaps widows of SS troop ers who, only days before, were killing Americans in a desperate war to avert flu; triumph of decency and tho end of Hitler's sordid roich? No, we shouldn't have liked that either. Perhaps it would have boon the simpler way. Certainly it would have been more cynical, put while non-fraternization may have been an unwork able idea, it certainly was not a malici ous idea, or anything but honest and pure in motive. It anfse from an early manifestation of a difficult problem that will n'w more difficult before its final solution: What shall we do with the Germans? .The problem embraces a multitude of (pieslions. Mow shall we feel about them? Must we forgive and fennel? Can we assist I hem out of humanity and still distrust them out of wisdom anil suhjunalc t Im-iii out of justice? Fortunately these ipiestions will not have to be answered by our occupying forces. They will be answered in high er ipnirters where, fortunately, it will be fnuiiil easier to mil ill I a i M a suspici ous vigilance and to remember the past honors of people whom one doesn't l iiow inlimalelv. wmm Smk ft -, Funnu Ilnsincsit if Vr'V;l v., "I'm gollinj won with lho noighbur who huvo howling ctl" SO THEY SAY II':; ill! wry well to hoie the .l.ii;mese will surrender in the oi nI :m (t;ivs. That would tie the v.nii' tiling for the Japs to do. Hut Hie Jupan.'ic, like their Ucrnuin I'.iU. iiien't .siini'. Atnai 'illn. T.-xie;, News-Cilube. t H'm ui tin- implication tluit "ur Alh.s uil uot live up to their i'llii;:itiMiis. Se'i Cli.ule, W. T"ly of New ll.:llp-.!ine Sp.on iv .it the hciul of nations 111 se. i.il M ,t);t eSS 1 lenet ,il.si:iui Ki'iineisco Fin eo. S.im.sli itietilloi'. VI y .s.miic golfers chonft' I tellies 111 he tofkvM' OMnl it iti evpliiible, ;ls their appc.jlOtle Oil eniel so,; I0't.s tly MUX P.'CII u p. in inn ppimhilitt, sliO R,'t(n', eu: eul ,i t('I).,i. o! iol nvtrC. (X enn lllee I llellese U es lhePhae e. I he. n lieMiiiK out en Hie cloth mil dl ive. O -Mumi, Okla , Ncws-Ht'Ceid. q WASHINGTON The big three have now made two important decisions regarding peace plant for Europe, according to jncen sored diplomatic dispatches cabled to Wash ington. Instead of one big over-all peace parley, they propose dividing the European peace problem into two parts; (1) A separate peace conference for Italy; (2) A separate peace conference for the Balkans and the Satellite sta'.e, Bulgaria, Kuinania, Yugoslavia, Hungary and Finland. After these two peace conferences are held, the plan is to sage a third and final peace conference for the entire world. This, how ever, would not take place until after Japan has been defatd. The above decision has been tentatively agreed to, according to diplomatic cables; but all conversations for the big three will be subject to review before the final com munique is issued.. It is understood both President Truman and Marshal Stalin found themselves in com plete agreement regarding the importance of an early peace conference to settle Italian problems, but that Churchill was not too en thusiastic. Italian peace conference will in clude the United States, Great Britain. Rus sia, France, Greece, Jugoslavia and Albania. It is not entirely definite whether Ethiopia will also participate. Ethiopia, the first vic tim of aggression in the prelude to World War II, is still occupied by British troops. The idea of a second peace conference, per taining to the Balkans and other smaller European powers, results from a proposal made by Marshal Stalin last May when he sent identical telegrams to Churchill and Truman regarding the recognition of Bul garia, Rumania and Finland. At that time, Truman suggested that the whole matter wait until the big three could discuss the matter, although he did not object to the immediate recognition of Finland. Churchill telegraphed Stalin he also felt the entire question should wait until the big three meeting. However, the problem of iron ing out all the details of permanent peace among thes smallr countries of Europe is so complicated that it cannot be worked out at Potsdam; so it seems wiser to refer the matter to an entirely separate peace con ference. This latter parley will probably take place somewhere within the soviet sphere of in- WE, THE WOMEN By RUTH MILLETT There is something wrong with the Amer ican conscience. In Chicago bogus ration stamps have so flooded the city that one official hs pointed out their number is enough to sabotage the nation's entire meat rationing program. A check of stamps turned in by 10 Chicago merchants picked at ran dom showed that 85 percent were counter feit. Ceitainly the great majority of persons who turned in those bogus stamps for meat wouldn't pass a bogus check in order to buy fine clothes. Not one of them would delib erately slow down the war effort by placing a lime bomb in an airplane factory. But somehow they ease their consciences when it comes to stealing and sabotaging with ration stamps. Maybe they haven't enough imagination to realize that when they get meat for nothing they aren't being smarter than the next guy and therefore doing something of which they can be proud as family providers, but instead are actually stealing from the honest folks who play fair and square. And maybe they haven't enough imagina tion to see that if the whole meat rationing program fails because of their crooked deal ing, they are sabotaging the war effort as definitely as though they were conscious enemies of America. Perhaps we haven't been harsh enough in our judgment of the folks who cheat rationing in small ways. Perhaps we should have called them from the start by the names that they deserve. Perhaps the folks who play square should n't have been quite such ladies and gentle men in dealing with the crooks who brag, "I got a pound of butter without points" or "My butcher just winked when I told him I didn't have enough points for steak." The proper answee: "Didn't it ever occur to you that you arc stealing from my family and me, and every one like us who is willing to share anJ share alike?" Behind Scenes in Washington By PETER EDSON, La Grand Erening Oburrat Washington Comspondani WASHINGTON, July 25 A standing gag around Washington is that anyone having anything to do with disposal of surplus war materials will piobably end his days in the penitentiary. As if to illustrate the gug, the first press conference for W. Stuart Sym ington, new chairman of the surplus prop erty board, was held in the District of Co lumbia police headquarters. And the only room big enough to hold tho gathering was where the cops and painclothcsmen size up the night's haul of petty crooks at morning police lineup. The reporters sat on the dicks' stools and Symington stood up in front where he could be given the third degree, lie turned out to be a nice looking young feller, blond hair, clean cut, dressed in a natty brown suit and matching tie. Ho han dled himself well, considering he had been on the job less than 48 hours. Choice of the police lineup room foi this first question ing was not deliberate. I Just happened to be the only assembly room big enough to handle the crowd. When a gnl reporter fig ured out that al the current rate of $40, 000.001) sales a month it would take over 200 years to get rid of the $100,000,000,000 worth of surplus war materials, and asked Symington about it. he said, "Well, I don't expect to lie here that long." Undersvcretiiry of War Robert P. Patter son retains all his pre-war interest as a judge in the administration of military jus tice. He's pu tty proud of the record of fair ness I he army mlge advocate anil provost marshal's office have hunj up in this .u Hack in World War I, howevtr, Judge Put terson hud u shghlly different, slattt en tins subject and he tells a stoiy on himself to prove it. IK- was a captain in thV A t. F. then, and it saems that sifrne of h Yrks in his command, billeted in a JT.all Firr.ih f.i.'H- vibogp. at.ile fa huncj) o dc'fm the hccl'.ivcsbcli4rt 1 a peasant the bees ti ed I'M lic It: AW:- j. 4 ,0 ft CtDl.1V 2s it Jsii.iwiuR mis 'VvAt.i "iiuji sloicfV the (iiificy. '.l ,tpY tiyic liVrfjt, ., $ti!j clascit' (li) Ule !'() keepei(i) home w; asses.tef. (or) tile damage, regauiless of wlu'tlufor net they were guilty. That satisfied the French man, but Judge Patterson says he can't de fend it today as an example of good admin istration of military justice. What to do with cranks that write letters asking for endorsement of screwball proj ects is one of the most serious concerns con gressmen and government administrators have. If the official tries to be polite and writes back a letter which says nothing more than, "Your idea on tax-reform is interest ing," the crackpot is apt to take that letter and use it us proof that he has official back ing for his plans. Assistant Secretary of State Archibald Macleish seems to have in vented a formula to beat this racket and still keep everybody happy. When a letter comes into his department asking for ap proval of some crack-brained theory, it gets a reply lo the effect of, "Thank you for sending the letter on the subject about which you wrote me recently," etc. No men tioning any names or any specific causes, it can't be used to claim anything. One of the minor problems of Gen. Doug las MacArthur's service forces in trying to wind up ihe war on some ot the new peace ful islands of Ihe southwest Pacific is what to do with thousands and thousands of cans of silver beets. They were obtained from Australia in reserve lend-lease and wer! minded lo be mcd to the troops. Silver bet, in cas you don't know, are simply beet topa. Why they are called silver beets is on of those great Australian myrteries. but down under they are considered a great diluacy, particularly with mutton. To beef eating Americans that adds up only when you say that you take a bitp of siher bee's to kilt the Uite uf the mutton and then a bi'e of mutton to kill the tjj.e of the silver bctts Aoyway, Americans won't eat silver biets, no maitef what you do to cm or with em. At lew pots where mess scrgcanU , a.e ho wianijig, pet pigs well, tho sivinc ;'e ifafitg1 Jdvcr bests dlwct (win 'the ijin. tT!mt (diicin,'t mewilri.nj the gai'Md cans, 1 fluence, possibly Vienna. It will settle all boundary questions, recognition of new gov ernments, and reparation payments by the former axis countries to the allies. There seems to be general agreement at Potsdam that any world peace conference such as that which followed World War I at Versailles would drag on for months and that it is much better to tackle these prob; lems according to regions. Inside Japan Jap prisoners taken in Burma, Indo-China and the Dutch East Indies haven't the ghost of an idea as to what is happening in Japan. They can't believe U. S. forces are steam ing close to the Jaj mainland, still believe the Jap navy will reopen supply lines to the South Pacific . . . Japan's domestic situation is increasingly desperate. Last week Tokyo ordered a further 10 percent cut in all basic rations, including staple items like fish and rice . . . The Japanese railroads are being torn to pieces by B-29s. Rail junctions are clogged for days before traffic can clear through them . . . The entire Jap adminis trative system has broken down. The Japs have now decentralized their government so every area has its own war production board, Its own local defense system, even its own local tax collections. Jap workers are now being drilled for home defense at noon hours, some even using pointed sticks as spears . . . There is considerable debate inside the U. S. high command regarding the necessity for land ing in China Some think a Chinese invasion is necessary to protect our invasion flank when we land in the main Jap islands. Others believe a Chinese invasion would only use tight shipping and result in un necessary casualties. The easiest way to aid China, they argue, is to defeat Japan quick ly, not get bogged down wilh a long fight on the Chinese mainland . . . The Japs are having trouble moving troops and supplies from Manchuria. B-2!)s have mashed up har bors in Korea and Manchuria so it is dif ficult to dock . . . We have also mined Jap harbors so Jap merchant vessels can hardly get through . . . Despite the claims of clean ing up northern Luzon, stiff fighting con tinues. The Japs are beaten but they don't know it. They are still making things tough for MacArthur's men despite official communiques. ' :ceML14f N1A ItKvtct M& 7. It Ua U I PAT OTP 7- i "Juil put the roast in this thoecox, will you, please? My neigh bors would recognize that butcher's paper right away, and I don't want any excitement!" o McKENNEY ON BRIDGE By WILLIAM E. McKENNEY America's Cud Authority YOU GET CREDIT FOR WHAT'S BID I was in Philadelphia recently and met Lt.-Col. Ben M. Colder. It was the colonel's first day out of uniform. He loves to bid, and he does put you in some peculiar contracts, but it is always an evening of laughs when you play W'th Ben. While I admit we went a little high on this hand when everything worked Ben's remark was, "Well, you can't get credit for a slam unless you bid it." Colonel Colder ruffed the open ing spade lead with the four of clubs, and the king of clubs was Colder A None 10BS KJ 10 987954 AKQ654 i VQJ984 2 42 N W E S Dealer A A 10 8 7 V A765 KJ94 Q J93 VK103 AQ873 A3 Rubber-E.-W; vul. ' South West North Eait 1 1 A 24 4 A Pass Pass 5 A 5 A e A Pass Pass Double Pass Pass Pass 'Opening A A. 28 then two losing diamonds would have been discarded on the king of hearts. O IN FORMER YEARS 30 Years Ago The busy season was on in El gin with haying, fall wheat har vest and threshing in the offing. The season had brought one of the earliest harvests in north Un ion county. There was plenty of help on hand for the harvest. Many youngsters had signed to compete in the YMCA junior division water meet in the Y tank. There were eight events in each of the class A and class B divisions. The "Saxon Six," with stream line body, left side steer, "tires generous in size (32 by 3'A)" and "cantilver springs of vanadium steel," was advertised for sale. It was also said to be exceptionally roomy, accomodating five pass engers with ease. . . played, which picked up the out standing trumpi. Ben then led a small diamond and finessed um my's queen, which held. He turn ed to his hand by trumping a spade, and then led the deuce of hearts. East played low and the colonel went right up with the king. Now, of course, all he has to do is to concede the oppo nents a diamond trick. Had East gone in with the ace of hearts, Questions & A nswers Q What is unusual about the town of Brunei, Borneo port re cently taken from the Japs by Allied troops? A Most dwellings are support ed on stilts and surrounded by water. Travel along the "streets" is in native boats. 15 Years Ago ' Deer hunting in Wallowa coun ty was expected to be excellent, a survey of the animal popula tion of the district showed. There had never been a larger popula tion of deer. Prospects for bird shooting were poor. Convention of the Oregon Title association had started at the La Grande hotel with a fair crowd in attendance. B. F. Wylde of La Grande was president of the as sociation. A. T. Hill, president of the city commission, delivered the address of welcome. Fire had broken out in slashings on cutover land of the Mt. Emily Lumber company and had threat ened a oanci ol sheeD and a sheepherders camp burned. partly Q What is the chief export commodity of Cuba? A Sugar, in which Cuba ranks second among nations. 10 Years Ago Union stake members enjoyed a picnic on Catherine creek the day before in celebration of the 87th anniversary of the settling of Salt Lake basin by the Mor mons. The days was spent in games, etc. Julio Samper, chief of traffic of the republic of Colombia, reg istered at the Commercial club. He was studying American traf fic control methods. ' This Curious World SIX MILLION TONS OF SALTY WATER mf wwit--i, mc t-TNUT WAY CUM IS BY j-S-- ) 5AaOA7yoV. . . . HENCE, THE SALT uwMTi LfcrT BEHIND. 13 M KNOT A MEASURE OP OF Ewesy RAJMCROP (5 A particle op eutfrf CKUHtinmai . r..Ma.a.MT.tl ' O (Plier. O. o -s O 1 ANSWER; A measure t( nrto-l, being a speed of one najtieal lie fin hour, tj ,. Cc3 o VTi 0) ' - '"1 r-, O : . j .Utile fn hour WrVT. T 1.: ' ' ., "--"H)"'er we moonf vj O"