La Grande evening observer., July 26, 1945, Image 4

Side Glances
Washington Merry-Go-Round
By . DREW PEARSON
EDITORIAL PAGE
La Grande Evening Observer
Frank Schiro, Publisher
THURSDAY EVENING, JULY 26, 194.
Page Four-
'Carry Your Baggage, Mister?"
y
'
EVENING OBSERVER'S
PROGRESS PROGRAM
IRRIGATION Complete the Grande
Ronde Valley irrigation project.
LA GRANDE A dty of 10,000
Extend the city limits.
Still in the Saddle
"Spain," says Generalissimo Francis
co Franco, "is at the head of the nations
in social progress." In one sense, that
is true. As a matter of fact, Spain is
almost in a class by herself. The trouble
if that her social progress is in the
wrong direction.
Franco's Spain is the orphan child of
European fascism whose parents, fas
cist Italy and na.i Germany, have pass
ed into history. The tide of popular
feeling is running nn opposite course.
There was abundant proof of this in
the stern and unanimous rebuke of
Franco's Spain by the assembly of the
f0 United Nations in San Francisco.
Among the world's nations, Franco's
Spain is a mora! outcast. That fact
cannot be lost upon Franco. Yet, as his
annual 17th-of-July speech showed, he
remains arrogant and confident.
Franco dismissed his critics lightly,
blaming his foreign unpopularity on
Spanish exiles, "the liberal democracy
of France and communism generally."
lie boasted (perhaps in reference to
Argentina) that Spain's achievements
are being studied to incorporate them
in the reconstruction of "other coun
tries." And in the face of a rising tide of
world democracy, Franco promised his
country a return of the "traditional"
monarchy. He didn't say who would
ascend the throne, or when. If he meant
the deposed House of Bourbon, then the
late Alfonso's son, Prince Juan, is in
line for the job.
But Juan hag said he wouldn't rule
over a falangist-government. He has
asked Franco to resign, and has pre
dieted civil war if he doesn't. Appar
ently Franco is even too much for one
of the reactionary line that i.he Span
iards threw out nearly 15 years ago.
Though he boasted that Spain's na
tional life is based on "individual lib
erty," among other things, Franco told
the Spaniards that "there is no option
in the regime to be chosen, which is the
traditional regime and which I defend
ed repeatedly."
In other words, Franco will pick
whom he chooses.
Those are the orders of a dictator
who obviously is still powerful. And his
power is hugely supported by the Brit
ish and American governments. Brit
ain's support has been active, dictated
by Spain's geographical position and,
apparently, by the British fear of an
entirely Kussian-dominated Europe.
America's support has been less active
and less easy to explain.
Franco's purge of falangist party
ministers from his cabinet would seem
to be a result of that British-American
support and pressure, and a major step
toward real friendship between Spain
and the British and American govern
ments. In fact, Franco's dismissal of
his minister without portfolio, Jose
Luis Arrese, appears to be the "begin
ning of the end" for the falangists.
Funny Business
ryri
ri;mnrrnrnT7rr
SO THEY SAY
I've got a one-track mind: Get
ahead of Tokyo and keep going.
Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid,
commander, U. S. 7th Fleet.
The tariff question is the loosest
guessing game on the interna,
tional horizon.
Wuterbury,
Democrat.
Conn., Evening
"You can't beat Jot ht'i alwayi ready (or an emergency I"
Some of us feel tluy (the Japs)
have the planes, but we can't fig
ure w here or what they are sav
ing them for. Maybe they're sav
ing them for the last grand finale
to iry to fight off invasion.
Brig.-Gvn. William J. Flood,
chief of staff, ?th Air Fleet.
Obviously, a corporation can
make more money supplying steel
to enemies of the American peo
ple than by selling it under price
control to our railroads.
C. I. O. President Philip Mur
ray, in commenting on ship
ment of 100.000 ton of steel
rails to Spain.
WASHINGTON Before he left for Pots-
dam, President Truman expressed concern
to intimate advisers regarding heavy Amer
ican losses on Okinawa and his desire to cut
these- losses by getting our allies to share
a greater burden in the war against Japan.
He made it clear this would be one of his
chief goals at the big three conference. Since
arriving at Potsdam, reports indicate Tru
man has followed this up by trying to brin'j
Russia into the war and secure larger British
participation against Japan. If he u'.com
plishes this, he will have succeeded where
President Roosevelt failed.
Roosevelt Iriod among other things to
tap the vast reservoir of manpower in In
dia, where the British have an army of
around 2,000,000 men chiefly engaged in
preventing Indian revolt. But when the late
President suggested that political conditions
in India be improved in order to give the
Indian army an incentive to fight, Churchill
banged on the table and proclaimed India
Is part of the British empire.
Indian Mrenary Army
Roosevelt had before him a confidential
report from his personal ambassador, Wil
liam Phillips, that '"the Indian army is pure
ly mercenary. "General Stilwell has express
ed to me his concern over the situation,"
Phillips said, "and in particular in regard to
the poor morale of the Indian officers. The
altitude of the general public toward the
war is even worse.
"It is not right," Ambassador Phillips
concluded, "for the British to say 'this is
none of your business' when we alone presu
mably will have the major part to play in
the future struggle with Japan."
Later the British denied that the Indian
army was mercenary and lacked the will to
fight. But U. S. military advisers point to
the following significant fact. It required
the Japanese three months to take Singa
pore, all Malaya and Burma. In contrast, it
has now been two years since Churchill
announced at Quebec in July 1843 that Lord
Louis Mountbatten would command the cam
paign to retake Burma. In those two years,
Burma has not yet been cleaned out and
Singapore is a long way from being back
in British hands.
In other words, the British Indian army
with a total of around 2,000,000 men includ
ing reserves, has yet accomplished in two
years what a Japanese army of under 300,
000 men accomplished in three months.
This leads U. S. military experts to the
conclusion General Stilwell's description of
the British Indian army is correct. It also
leads them to the conclusion Truman will
have to be more than blunt with Churchill
if the United States is to receive aid against
Japan from the great manpower pool of
India.
Anti-American Propaganda
For many months, during both the Roose
velt and Truman administrations, this sub
ject has been pounded home by experts in
the state, war and navy departments. They
h;.ve pointed out that the United States,
through lend-leose, has helped equip the
British-Indian army,' that this lend-lease has
been used not to fight the war, but chiefly
to prevent revolt.
They have argued if Great Britain is to
give any real manpower assistance in the
war against Japan, India is the nearest, great
est, quickest reservoir of men. But they have
also pointed out that the British government,
instead of endeavoring to cooperate with
the United States, has actually pulled in
the opposite direction.
These are strong statements. But they ace
made by responsible people in the state de
partment. For instance, last year Wallace
Murray, then political adviser to the secre
tary of state, now U. S. minister to Iran,
addressed a memo to Secretary Hull to the
effect the British are spending money on
an anti-American campaign in India. Basing
this on high-ranking Indian official sources,
Murray reported:
"The British are spending 100,000 rupees
this year in India for anti-American propa
ganda and are spending 200,000 for anti
Indian propaganda in the United States.
"One question that often crops up is lend
lease and how does it work. This was re
ferred to New Delhi and although nothing
was written down as the standard stock an
swer, the word was sent around to every
body that the stock answer was to be to the
effect that lend-lease is a means thought up
by President Roosevelt hereby, after this
war, the Americans would control all mar
kets in countries where lend-lease existed.
A great deal of emphasis was to be placed
on the effect of American control of trade
in India."
In conclusion, Mr. Murray commented:
"It is recognized that the British feel that
the American influence is prcjudical to their
interests and that anti-American propagan
da in one form or another is encouraged by
the British."
WE, THE WOMEN
By RUTH MILLETT
Students in a public high school in a
Southern city have decided they want a
canteen where they can dance, play ping
pong and billiards and have a place of their
own where they can "hang out."
The idea is commendable. But the stu
dents propose to finance their canteen. First
of all the school's faculty has agreed to
pledge $10 a month toward support of the
canteen, and the students are sending out
letters to parents asking that they pledge
$1 a month to start the canteen and keep
it running.
In these times when any nigh school stu
dent can get a job, and when it isn't usual
for a boy working in a war plant to be
making as much as any of his teachers, the
kids could support their own canteen, in
stead of begging help from school teachers
and parents w ho have so many calls on their
pocket books.
One bad effect all of this "juvenile de
linquency" talk has had on kids is thot they
have come to feel self-righteous about de
manding this and that for themselves. All
too often they take the attitude toward their
elders: "If you don't want us hanging around
dives then get busy and do something
about it."
Yet boys just a year or so older than these
high school kids who expect their parents
and teachers to support a canteen for them
are men in the service of their country. It
looks as though whoever is advising the
kids ought to make it plain that as high
school students in wartime, they ought to be
able to earn the money for their own
pleasure.
Any high school student who can't earn
at least a dollar a month to provide a place
for himself to dance and loaf doesn't de
serve the place. Kids ought to have that
fact made clear to them, instead of being
handed money to swing their canteens.
Behind Scenes in Washington
By PETER EDSON, La Grand Evening Obssrrer Washington Ccrreipondenx
WASHINGTON, July 26. H. R. H., the
Duke of Windsor, erstwhile Prince of Wales,
erstwhile King; of England, Ireland, etc.,
came down to Washington for lunch the
other day, and under peculiar circumstances.
Real purpose of the feed, it was explnined.
was to give Eddie a little first-hand infor
mation on American postwar planning for
full employment, reconversion and all that
stuff.
Guests at the luncheon were a score of
U. S. senators interested in these things,
plus a number of top administrators of gov
ernment agencies handling postwar projects.
Host was Hugh Fulton, New York and
Washington lawyer and formerly chief coun
sel for the Senate's War Investigating Com
mittee, back in the days when President
Truman was a senator and its chairman.
News of the affair got a little fouled up
at first because it w as arranged rather quiet
ly and immediately a lot of gossips started
imagining things.
First rumor to spread was that Hugh Ful
ton had been retained as the Duke's lawyer
to get him a divorce from Wally. Definitely
NOT so. The brilliant young ex-chief inves
tigator for the celebrated Truman Commit
tee has a number of good clients including
such American industrial royalty as Henry
Kaiser and Andy Higgins but the Duke of
Windsor and or the former Wallace War
field of Baltimore are not among the clien
tele. He's Not Selling Anything. Either
When that was exploded a rumor started
on Capitol Hill that this was a British prop
aganda luncheon. The report bruited about
was that the clever and subtle British were
merely sending their star salesman of the
empire meaning the Duke to do a job of
selling the senators on the United Nation-!
Charter or Bretton Woods or ncw loan.
That, also is one you can forget. Nothing,
to it at all. No one from the British Embas
sy attended the luncheon and Sen. Tom
Connally of Texas, chairman of the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee, sent his re
grets. Since the Duke quit his job as Governor
of the Bahamas last March, he has spent
much of his time in Florida and New York.
He has enjoyed his new freedom as a pri
vate individual, has met a lot of business
men and talked to them at length about
economic planning.
Several months a g o he asked to meet
Hugh Fulton because of Fulton's past work
w ith the Truman Committee and the com
mittee's early work on postwar planning.
Fulton finally asked the Duke if he would
n't like to meet some of the senators who
were actually drafting legislation that would
govern U. S. reconversion. The Duke said
he would and Fulton arranged the luncheon.
That's all there is to it.
Duke's Future Job Is a Mystery
Just how the Duke will use all th:s eco
nomic information he's gathering isn't
known. It may depend a little on outcome
of the British elections. Prime Minister
Churchill has alw ays been one of the Duke's
supporters but relations with the royal fam
ily may still be a bit strained.
Owing to President Truman's presence at
the Big Three meeting in Potsdam, the Duke
didn't have a chance to pay his respects at
the White House. The two men have met.
however. It was during the First World
War, when the Duke was a young officer
attached to General Pershing's staff and
Truman was a captain of field artillery in
the 35th Division. Pershing inspected the
35th before it sailed for home. Truman's
battery included a lot of pretty wholesome
Kansas City Irish, and as General Perilling
and his royal aide were inspecting Truman's
outfit, a rough and raucous voice rose out
of the nowhere to cry, "What's the Prince of
Wales going to do for the Irish?"
T!ir.t' the Vay Truman tells it anyw ay.
Thin w ay the Dtikc tells it, the cry w as
What's the little so-and-so going to do for
Ireland?" Only stronger.
cow. iw nmt uian. m. i.tmau. .mt. orr. ' 7-27.
"Aw, those Jap suicide pilots ain't so much. Look at me I've
got to go home and tell the wife I lost $30 playing poker tonight!"
O McKENNEY ON BRIDGE
By WILLIAM E. McKENNEY America's Card Authority '
FINESSE CAN MAKE
OR BREAK ANY HAND
Sgt. Morrie M. Elis dropped in
to see me the other day just
back from the Pacific. Elis is one
of the country's outstanding play
ers and is Life Master No. 21.
He was about 25 pounds lighter
than when I last saw him, but
7
VK108
K954
K963
4K10S4
V A Q J 8 52
8
75
W E
S
Dealer
QJ5
943
J 10 7 2
Q 10 2
A9S2
AQS3
. AJ84
Rubber Neither vul.
South West North East
1 Pass 1 V Pass
1 4 ' Pass 3 Pass
3N.T. Pass 4V Pass
4 A Pass 6 A Pass
Pass Pass
Opening 7. IT
looked fine. Naturally, we got to
discussing bridge and he brought
put this interesting play.
When East played the jack on
West's opening trump lead, Ser
geant Elis won the trick with the
ace and elected to finesse the
heart. When the jack held, the
ace of hearts was cashed and the
four of clubs discarded. A small
heart was ruffed, which estab
lished the heart suit. A small
trump was then won in dummy
with the king, and the queen of
o BARBS
. "Whatever you can get" seems
to be the brand of cigarets selling
the fastest.
liearUi w,as ledt; Eait trumped
with his good queen of spades,
Elis discarding the eight of clubs.
When the club was returned, Elis
went up with the ace. Now you
con see that a losing club und
diamond are going to be discard
ed on the two good hearts, and
that dummy's losing club will be
ruffe by declarer, and the losing
diamond ruffed in dummy.
O IN FORMER"
YEARS
30 Years Ago
John Frawley returned from a
meeting of 5,000 members of the
Dramatic Order of Knights of
Karassan at Asbury Park, N. J.
Reports from east and west in
c'icated the hottest weather of
the summer. Baker had 97, La
Grande 101 and Pendleton and
Union 94.
The Moose team lost its first
game of the season when it was
defeated by the Eastern Oregon
league champs, 9 to 5. Batteries
lor La Grande were R. Oliver
and Richtcr; for the Moose, Slate
and Shelton. ''
15 Years Ago
Cove coperative association has
shipped out 80 tons of Royal
Anne cherries, and seven cars of
blacks. The association is oper
ating a busy packing house with
two belts in operation and about
00 workers.
La Grande was 15th of 30 Ore
gon cities in amount of bank de
posit increase, La Grande's de
posit is $2,715,316.93, an. increase
of $20,164.66.
The second six-week period of
the summer session of the East
ern Oregon Normal school will
open Monday.
New shoes hurt most when you
hand over the ration stamp.
Before Pearl Harbor, the Japs
liked the way we were delivering
steel by ship. They don't like our
present method.
A lot depends on the Potsdam
conference as to what and when
the world is coming to.
City life has its good points
but so many aren't valid until
long after we need them.
We're not only willing to share
our food with certain countries,
but also our war in the Pacific!
10 Years Ago
Doctors of La Grande support
ed the drive for a first aid car.
The cost of the ear was to be
$1,600. Each doctor agreed to
subscribe $10 to the fund. The
committee in charge was certain
the money would be raised.
Forty-five boys signed for the
first week of the Boys camp at
Wallowa lake. A. W. Nelson, au
thority on Indian legends, was to
he one of the speakers.
The state highway commission
allocated $40,000 for the Island
City-Cove road.
The weather was much cooler
after a downpour had brought a
quarter of an inch of rain.
. This Curious World
it u
1 OUR MOST - ,5tL j
BRINS THE yCm lt "Jf. 3
) MOON ( AFtA f V I
s so close that ir ( L--r 1 fctai lA 1
WOULD BE POSSIBLE L-4 WA W
ly TRAVELIN6 ACROSS (l?4'LtV 1 El Tlii H hi
M ITS SURFACE. f fimmmmmmi
COPR. 1941 BY NKA SCftVKC. INC.
. m mw. y. s. wr. OFF.
ODD TO cOOTt
SlROS
THAT COVE NORTH AUSr
IN SiNi USUALLY ARE THE
last to return south
in Autumn.
mi
A PEDESTRIAN HAk CiBcTi,-irc
UNLESS HE CARELESS.. .THiN Ht
HAS LAST Bites," Srys
BEULAH DEALING,
mi..
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