Mat? 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
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