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About La Grande evening observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1904-1959 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 17, 1945)
EDITORIAL PAGE La Grande Evening Observer Frank Schiro, Publisher 1' KID AY KVKNINU, AUGUST 17, 1915 l'uge Two And Thus Ends the Tale of the Rapacious Rat mm.. Ml Ssi1 Jilt EVENING OBSERVER'S PROGRESS PKOGRAM t IRRIGATION Complete the Grande Rond Valley irrigation project. LA GRANDE A city of 10,0(10 Extend (he, city UmlU. t TODAY'S TEXT I was biily with you in tint temple leaching, anil yo took me not: hut tho .scriptures nuisl he fulfilled. Mark 1-1:49.. THOUGHT FOR TODAY lie who oheys with modesty appears worthy of Ijuinjr some day a commander. Cicero. A Radio in Every Pocket Does tlie'slrained, silence of an eleva tor full of strangers embarrass you? Are you ever taken down with drymouthed terror so that you can't oven pucker up a whistle while passing a graveyard at night? Do silence and solitude give you ihe jumps? If these are your symptoms, fret no more, l-'or it says here in the ad that it will fit into your pocket and cost about .?::,. What ? Why, the brave new pocket radio of our brave new post war world, of course. The radio people are going to fix it so that you never need be alone with your thoughts so long as your battery holds out. You can always lie alone with somebody else's thoughts or, if you prefer, somebody else's music. There'll never be a dull moment, or even a ipiiet one. Wordsworths lines about wander ing lonely as a cloud will be hopelessly outmoded. Of course there may be a few minor social problems to iron out. A clash of diverse tastes and interests is conceiv able which might lead to hard words and even blows. For example, a postwar Mary Mar garet AfeBride fan and a devotee of "Life Can lie lienutifu!" might find themselves seated side by side in a ctreet car. What happens? One gives a snort and turns on her pocket radio a b'ttle hauler. The other mutters, "1 can't hear a word they're saying," and makes her radio louder still. Across the aisle a man trying to lis ten to a newscast gives them both a dark look and fishes in his coat pocket for his radio's volume control. A sym phony listener up ahead threatens to complain to the motorman. And what have you got? Incipient chaos. To meet this we may have to amend the I i 11 of Uights to include freedom of listening as well as freedom of speech. Or congress might have to legislate headphones back into existence. Hut a solution surely will be found. We're a great enough nation to tackle the pocket radio problem and lick it. So le us sing a song of sixpence, a pocket full of soap operas and Sinatra. Let us sing of the golden I'uHtre when we shall have, not o n I y a chicken in every pot, but a radio in every pocket. Lot us hail the bright new day when, in every country lane, the singing bird will be drowned out by boogie-woogie, and the noisy drama of the city street w ill be heightened by the endless emo tional dilemmas of John's Other Wife. Fun mi Husincss SO THEY SAY If AnHM'ica has not lost the spirit of George Washington mid Abraham Lincoln, her leaders will cease the cruel perfidy of tins win- against Japan. - T.iyoluk.i Kagawa, Japanese siu-ial reformer. Whali-vr- happens to our farm sluu-tiiie is of vital Importance to every citizen. l-a Grande. Ore., Observer. It is truly remarkable how ar dently guhern;'foial candidates suppoit the Idea of streamlined government and how icily they regard any suggestion for ivfortn within six months after taking office. - Henry Steffcns. former city comptroller of Detroit. "It's the Juggler serving again kecp hit opponent guesting which ono iio'i going to hill" Do you know that . . . more than 90 percent of the land area nf Massachusetts is open rural country, even though this is the third most densely populated slate in the union? Fan haven, Mass., St ir. Washington Merry-Go-Round Side Glances Bj DREW PEARSON WASHINGTON Having made the deci sion to work with and through the emperor in governing, postwar Japan, our problem, now Is not to be fooled by him and the court, ''moderates' as was Ambassador Joe Grew, who up until just before Pearl Harbor kept telling the state department the emperor didn't want war and everything would be all right. U. S. plans for governing Japan to date chiefly call for taking away its colonies and its raw mqterials for making war. But what our state and war department planners fail to realize is that many nations, such as Bel gium, Portugal, and Holland may have col onies abroad without being aggressive, and that the wiping out of Japanese belligerency is a far deeper problem .It gets down to a democrat change in trje whole outlook and philosophy of the Japanese people. It is doubtful if they can be persuaded to give up the idea Japanese are born to rule the world until they also give up shintoism, the stale religion which teaches just exact ly that, and which revolves uround the per son of the emperor. Hirohito probably is, as Grew maintains, a moderate man, much more moderate than the militarists around him. However, em perors come and go. And it is the system which they represent, a system which teach es all devout and loyal Japanese that war and conquest are an essential part of their life, which stands between us and perma nent peace, Hirohito and Rig Business Most important thing for our military gov ernors to remember about Hirohito is that (1) He is hog-lied by and is a part of the five big business families of Japan which helped promote Japanese' conquest of China and which wax fat on wars; and (2), he is the heart and soul of a state religion which preaches war. That is what our former ambassador to Japan, Grew, so tragically failed to grasp before Pearl Harbor and what he has con tinued to ignore. How charming and ingratiating the Jap anese nobility can be (or else how naive our ambassador was) is indicated by Grew's own diary und by some of the telegrams he sent back "b the state department just six weeks before Pearl Harbor. Not only did he urge that we continue sending oil and, scrap irpn.to Japan, but in late October 1941, after the bloodthirsty General Tojo . actually had become prime minister, Grew was so naive and shortsight . ed as to inform the state department Tojo "would resign" if he failed to iron out U. S. Japanese troubles. How to Create Peaceful Japan The chief problem facing U. S. governors of Japan is how to wean Japanese psychol ogy away from the idea that Japan's future can only be solved through military aggres sion. Making this conversion with the cm perer still on the throne is going to be diffi cult because he has been the spearheud of the conquest theory in the past. However, the emperor, has not been such a sacrosanct institution in the past as the Grew school of thought would have us be lieve. Twice during the reign of Emperor Meiji, grandfather of Hirohito, there was rebellion against him, suppressed only after terrific slaughter. Once there was even an attempt to assassinate Hirohito. And when the former mayor of Tokyo, Yujio Ozaki, made a speech against the em peror since Pearl Harbor he was given a two year jail sentence; but public sentiment was such the military did not dare put him in jail. Ozaki, a strong friend of the U. S. A. and a bitter opponent of the military, was even elected to the diet in 1942, after Peorl Harbor. Shortly after Perry's time the first signs of democracy began to emerge in Japan. The "people's rights movement" started, followed by the organization of the liberal party in 1881. This threw the feudal aristocracy into a state of jitters and began their careful cam paign to win over the Japanese people to shintoism and emperor-worship. For a time all opposition newspapers were suppressed, Japanese history books were rewritten to show that Japanese emperors had ruled in unbroken line since C60 B. C. (which was definitely not the case) and one of the most intensive propaganda campaigns in history See WASHINGTON . . . Page 4 WE, THE WOMEN " By RUTH MILLETT Come out of the kitchen, Susie. Just leave the dishes in the sink. Here's a story that ought to sweep you off your feet. The head line says: "One Machine To Do Most of Housework." And this new gadget isn't too fur awuy in the misty pbstwar world. It's just arpurfd the cornervthe first of -1940 they say (unless an unexpected material' shortage develops). ( . This machine is going to be a dish washer, butter churn and ice cream freezer, except on wash day when you toss in an extra at tachment and it washes, rinses, and damp dries the clothes. But until that day in 1940 when it is ready to gu to work for you, you'll just have to struggle along. Still, the world of tomor rw gadget that is going to 'step in and take over for you is a pleasant thing to contem plate especially when you sink your hands into the nail-polish-removing dish washer, when you scrub out your husband's socks in the bathroom basin, when you face a sack of potatoes with nothing to aid you but a paring knife. You can dream then, can't you, of the glo rious day when the gadgets take over your jobs an dtcll you to run along and play? You can contemplate the time when you will say to the morning telephone caller's query about what you are doing: "Nothing, just nothing at all. The machine is whir ' ring away though, washing the dises,' and ton If is' going to peel te potatoes. And I think after it washes, rinses, and dries the clothes I'll let it take the afternoon off." What's your hurry, Susie? Why don't you stick around a while and talk about this new machine. After all, to women it is al most as much of a modern miracle as the atomic bomb. "One Machine To Do Most of Housework," they say. And the one ma chine isn't going to be you, Susie not much longer. What did you say? That it's time for you to get back to the dishes and that you don't expect to have any time for talking about (he wonderful postwar gadgets until you own one? Okay, Susie. See you first of the year. (Unless an unexpected material shortage develops.) Behind Scenes in Washington By PETER EDSON, La Or and Evening Observer Washington Correspondent WASHINGTON, Aug. 17 One of the guys least known publicly, but exerting most in fluence on the public, 'is the government press agent. To make it less obnoxious to congress when appropriation for this item appears in the budget, they are called "in formation men." ; Their job, with variations, is to keep John Q. Public convinced the big boss is the only man in the U. S. for his job and everything his agency does is strictly in the best inter est of the people. Usually, because most of the dealings lire with the press, an ex-newspaperman4 gets the job. If he's doing a good job he knows every thing that's going on in an agency and is present when top policy is being formed. He's the people's representative at meetings when the big-sho'.s get together to decide what new regulation to throw at the public. It's usually his decision as to whether the public can take it or not. Keeping the big boss' out of trouble with the press frequently becomes a major task for these public relations men. Next to Sec retary of Interior Harold Ickes, maybe, who is happy only when he's battling the press, former Attorney General Francis Biddle had the best knack for getting himself in bad in the public eye. If it wasn't taking over a mail order house, it was trying to fire one of his unruly assistants vith each maneuver bla'antly recorded on page one of every pa per m the country. Kolund. jolly Charles Malcolmson, former Washington correspondent for the Philadel phia Hn-ord, had the herculean task of keep ing Biddle out of the public frying pan. What ho had to do frequently, no city editor would ask a cub reporter to do. With an audible sigh of relief, he decided to take a long K-st when the new attorney general U-ok over. It is well known in inner circles Biddle was dead Set against the government taking over Montgomery Ward. But the president and Jimmy Byrnes insisted, so it fell to Bid dle to bj; the fall-guy with Charlie behind to ease tlf (all. With the situation as it was it is recognized he did a good job. Such things as Biddle's being snapped in a picture at the last convention in Chicago with a ri diculous paper hat askew on his head doing some kind of a jib that gave the appearance of his being tipsy gave Malcolmson many a sleepless night. Frcquehtly, these information men turn up with something that saves the taxpayer dough and makes everybody around happy. One of the best recent examples was per formed by Bob Horton, head of public rela tions for maritime commission, and one of the best known of his clan in government and newspaper circles. For many months, the navy had been try ing desperately to dispose of a huge batch of life rafts declared surplus. They couldn't get rid of them at $5 each, and finally in utter disgust turned them over to the mari time. Horton got his staff together and talked it over. Result was a flood of attractive post ers and descriptive material showing how these rafts could be used at summer resorts as beach equipment and their other uses for pleasuer. The whole she-bang was sold at $50 each. Selling OPA to the public has been the toughest public relations job in government. A steady stream of everything from 'adver tising executives to college professors have tried and thrown up their hands in despair. A former college professor, Bob Brooks, who has been with OPA for a long time is cur rently trying to do the job. and succeeding better than average. Office of defense transportation has a tough job. With transportation at its tight est, ODT hus no enforcement branch and practically no enforcement power. In spite of this the director of information for that agency, Charles E. V. Prins. who just re signed, succeeded in cutting down civilian trawl nine percent during the first three months of 1945, the first drop it took during the war. This was strictly through public ivlcitiuus. 'I KPT. 1WSBY MA SERVICE. INC. T. M. SCO. U. S. PATJOff "It's kind of nice that you're back on the five-day week, -George ihey don'l deduct nearly so much for income taxes!" O McKENNEY ON BRIDGE 3 By WILLIAM E. McKENNEY America's Card Authority IF YOU HAVE 'EM, BID 'EM FASTI Does it bother you when peo ple go into a .trance in a bridge game over a bid or a play? If it does, you would enjoy playing with Mrs. Doris Fuller, one of New York's outstanding women players. She is one of the fast est players in the game in fact, AK 6 4 3 2 V J 8 K94 J 10 8 Mrs. Fuller AQJ8 7 V K 10 9 0 4 None K73 pirn W E S Dealer A 1095 V 73 Q 10 7 0 3 AQ4 A None AQ52 AJ802 , 9 6 3 2 Duplicate East-West vut. South West North East t Double Pass Pass 2 A Pass 3 V Pass 4 A Opening A Pass Pass I NT 2N.T 3 A Double Pass IE she plays so fast that her oppon ents sometimes become a little bewildered. " Mrs. Fuller lost no lime in making five spades for an over trick on today's hand, because O BARBS It's hay fever itime and the nose knows what organ is being played upon the most. Doing the right thing would be much more popular if It was wrong. Reports from various sources indicate picnic ants have stored away enough food for a million years. It's good news to the family when Mom puts up preserves and they all spread it around. At last the Nips are where they belong down on their Japanese! her opponents nevei' got down to leading diamonds. - She won the first trick with duiriVny's nine and led a heart. When South played low, Mrs. Fuel- went up with the king and, led back an other heart. North win with the jack and led another trump. All Mrs. Fuller lost was , the king of spades and a heart, ' On the first trump. lead, South made the mistake of discarding the deuce of hearts; but I think you will find that as long as de clarer is careful to cash all three clubs, four spades cannot be de feated. O IN FORMER YEARS 30 Years Ago No arrests were made, last night in the tail light campaign. How ever, the night did not pass with out excitement along that line, for the early morning before, someone, as yet unkhown, had stolen the tail lamp from the Eastern Oregon LigM and Pow er company .truck. . .... Personal and factiqnal debate developing into heated contro versy was the chief outcome of the Commercial club meeting last evening insofar as the question in initiating a petition to vote on an amendment to the charter that would make it possible to reassess improvement districts where er rors creep in and thus avoid a general taxation to ,pay for im provement in a certain district. 15 Years Ago The athletic team ., of the La Grande Union Paeifjc Athletic club returned home this morning on a special train from Ogden, Utah, where it topk seVenth place in the system mee, ''competing against such teams as Los Ange les, Portland, Seattle and Salt Lake City. The La Grande drum and bugle corps ranked high in the judging at Baker last weekend during the Amebrican Legion convention, finishing in fifth placo among the 10 competing organizations. Opportunity doesn't give a rap if you are asleep all the time. It wont be long till Johnny can blame cigaret stain on black walnuts. 10 Years Ago The Oregon Wool Growers are holding their annual sale of thor oughbred lambs of various breeds in Pendleton Friday, Aug. 23, at the Round-up grounds. This Curious World COMES FROM A WORD - I V fl ll I THE ROMANS USED FOR ( -a. .1 (I JI , "amaka", and I ,1 LJ5r! , TODAV WE'RE STILL. ) r '&fK 'l tWXfJ DRAWING AAAP5 ON ) I RESTAURANT NAPKINS X WKvH'4iL 1 . QOrR.1MflVftUUI.K(. Ma . IF A FOSSIL. FOUND IN CRETACEOUS ROCKS l esiiwaiEo io b& A BOLT BENJAMIN P.jowuci-iM' uvACTvir ' - --'". wt.r uocy di J ii Mil ANSWER: James Whitcomb Riley. NEXT: Parallel thinking.
