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About La Grande evening observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1904-1959 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 29, 1945)
EDITORIAL . PAGE La Grande Evening Observer Frank Schlro, Publisher WEDNESDAY EVENING, AUGUST 29, 1045 Wars May Come and Wars May Go UmL. 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 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will 1 confess also before my Father, which is in heuven. Matthew 10:32. , Why Delay Good News? The war department doubtless felt that ib had good reason for delaying for several days the announcements of the identities of the four Doolitllo To kyo raid flyers liberated by American paratroopers recently from a Jap prison camp near Pciping. But, if the reasons were good, they nro not likely to so appear on the surface to the casual observer. . The only announced reason for the delay was the one given in connection with till military casualties. Identities were withheld "until next of kin could be notified." In the case of casualties, that soil of delay doubtless is merciful. It may tend to cushion in sonic degree the shock resulting from tragic news. Hut the release of the Doolittle raid ers definitely was not tragic news. It was glorious news for loved ones of the fortunate young men. So what was the sense in delaying its transmission? The war department tacitly confessed that news agencies could have moved the happy news faster by its statement that identities would not be made public un- Fumiy Business jf ,Tji '""'r &r'-f-- "Swoko ilgnaL hock! That vai my blankot burning upl" Page Two til "next of kin could be notified." What difference could it have made where the announcement of the identities came from? Wouldn't the fastest notification have been the best in such a case? And what of the families and friends of the Doolittle raiders still not ac counted for? There are several of these. Surely their hopes must have been aroused to a pitch of almost desperate eagerness by the announcement that some of the raiders had been released. Beyond any doubt, they must have lived in an agony of suspense while waiting for the identities to be reported. Can anyone pretend to imagine the tragedy of their disappointment when finally they learned that the name for which they were watching was not on the list? If the war department's course was intended as a consideration for the families of the fortunate men, il cer tinly was cruel to those of the men still listed as missing. It may have been, of course, that the delay was due to the desire of the mili tary to make, absolutely certain of identities before they were released. Mistake in such a matter would have been tragic. Kill another possibility is that the particular course was followed in this matter because the army was in the rut of handling such matters in a fixed way from which no deviations were al lowed. If iron-clad regulation was the only reason for die delay, then it's time In put a little flexibility into the rules to permit special treatment of special cases. Certainly there is no reason why news should be delayed after its accur acy is checked. o SO THEY SAY I am confident that tile Amer ican people will remain united in the days to come. Gov. Thomas E. Dewey of New York. It is time to recall that the cm poior and the big business fam ilies, as well as the militarists, have boon responsible for every Japanese war of conquest. M. J. Coldwell, national Cana dian Commonwealth Federation Party K-uder. It is a well-known habit of the war department to make gener ous estimates of its needs, and to fit ils demands to those estimates. Ficcport, lit., Journal-Standard. I wouldn't care to slate pre cisely the sue of the fortune I have accumulated, but I'm will ing to admit that I've used my presidential position to gel credit when golden opportunities fell in my lap. Anastasio Soniota, president of Nicaragua. Washington Merry-Go-Round By DREW PEARSON (NOTE In Drew Pearson's absence Herbert Bayard Swope, long a student of .British political affairs, contributes a guest column on the new labor government.) By HERBERT BAYARD SWOPE NEW YORK The conservative defeat in England is not so striking a blow as some portray it. Unquestionably, there will be a trend toward socialization, but I think this will be confined, at least for the next few years, to the natural monopolies power, light, heat, transportation, communication (already in the state's hands except for ca bles) and, of course, mining, steel, and the bank of England. But much of this has been on their program for the last 25 years. In fact, even the Lloyd George govern ment gave support to the basic plan. There will be a trend on the part of the radical movement in this country to affiliate Itself with the British program. And I think there will be efforts to gain a wider and deeper association Politically with Britain and Russia. But I do not discern any trend toward communism. Whatever Britain does will be done not by dictatorship, but under democracy. That characteristic saves it from becoming a repe tition of Stalism. After all, only two com munists were elected out of 27 who ran. That's not dangerous, even thoiigh the prop agandists can and do claim 100 percent increase! (The commies had one member in the last house.) No New Foreign Policy I doubt there will be any decisive changes in foreign policy. Britain has adhered to a pretty well formulated foreign policy for 300 years. However, it is reasonable to expect a greater sympathy on the part of the Brit ish foreign office for the movement left of center. An approach to self-government in India is to be expected. I think foreign trade will become more international minded and more collective. I think it will move toward further carteliza tion. The question about British commerce growing will be dependent upon their- rate of wage. Labor will drive for wider employ ment and higher pay. Prohably it will take over many features of Bevcridge's plan. To hold the British position in world markets will require subsidies. In other words, Brit WE, THE WOMEN By RUTH MILLETT War docs strange things to men. But per haps the most amazing effect it has had on any group is the report we have on liberated British prisoners of war who after years of isolation have developed a genuine fear of women. .- The far is so real that Britain has ATS girls the equivalent of our WACs working in a war prisoners' resettlement camp, so the men can gradually get used to having women around again. The service women serve meals and per form other duties around the camp, and when a man is sufficiently cured of his fear of feminity to want a dance partner, the girls are waiting to say, "Certainly, I'd love to dance." It is undoubtedly a good idea if there arc liberated prisoners of war with a genuine fear of women to get them used to women gradually before exposing them to the bold advances of today's girls. For while they have been in isolation, the girls have pretty much discarded the once male perogrative Behind Scenes By DOUGLAS LARSEN WASHINGTON (NEA) Paul V. McNutt is back in town.' For the past month he's been making a careful study of conditions in the Philippines, Guam and Okinawa. It's the same mission Sen. Millard E. Tyd ings (D., Md.) attempted recently when ho returned in three days after planning to be there four weeks. Why he returned so sud denly is still a mystery. Persons who accom panied him don't know cither but firmly deny the rumor it was because of a fight with Gen. Douglas MucArthur. None of the representatives from the civil agencies who went out there to get information turned up with much dope, either. MacArthur kept a pretty firm hand on everything and all reports were made through him so Truman sent McNutt to do the job. He had been high commissioner of the Philippines and very well acquainted with the whole situa tion. Exactly what McNutt will tell the pres ident isn't known yet. But he has said sev eral times that he favors immediate appoint ment of a high commissioner. Whoever gets the job would serve until July 4, 1946 da'c on which the islands are to get their inde pendence and then become the first ambas sador to the Philippine republic. Secretary of Interior Harold Ickcs has had charge of Philippine affairs during the war. He has been urging for appointment of a high commissioner since the fall of Manila. But Sri gin Osmena, president of the com monwealth of the Philippines is known to have a promise from the president that ho would hold up the appointment. Osmena ap parently was afraid the presence of a high commissioner would hold up the granting of independence. MacArthur was against it, too. Now. however, everybody appears to Info:- it. Something has to be done for the islands soon, and Osmena admits it. Mac Arthur with his new duties in the Pacific also approves. McNutt himself wwuld be the logical man. IU was tremendously popular when he was in that spot before. He couid probably have it if he wanted it but it won't ain will embark upon a speces of protection. Long Labor Rule Attlce is a good man, overshadowed by his association with Churchill, My guess is that labor is in for a long run and, if there is any change it will be to displace Attlee for one of its own, such as Bevin or Morrison. As its name implies, this is a labor victory, built in a democratic framework. Unquestionably, the fact labor received a clear majority of all the votes, will tend to unify the country. I believe there is nothing to fear from England. In fact, we may be able to learn from this great experiment. My hope is that there will not be too great a limitation set upon free enterprise. We should remember that Ramsay Mac Donald's labor government swung steadily to the right. In fact, it is axiomatic that the ins grow conservative and the outs more radical. Universal War-Weariness In my reading, it is almost a settled law of history that every country engaged in a war repudiates the leadership that brought its people into the war. We saw that ex emplified after World War I. All the victors were repudiated Wilson in America, Lloyd George in Britain, Orlando in Italy, Cle menceau in France. And the losers, too. The Hohenzollerns, the Hapsburgs and the Ro manoffs. Attlee's cabinet is a strong one and cer tainly as good as Churchill had. Bolder U. S. Unions The English result will embolden the de mands of the unions and there may be dy namite in that because the returning sol dier, at this moment, is pretty sore at union delays. I think the deep explanation as to the out come in England (although it may not ap pear upon the record) is that war-weariness, to which I refer above. The people want to end the pressure of war and enjoy the pleas ures of peace. One other thought in this connection: In any war, we must be sure the victors do not take on the vices of the vanquished, while the vanquished practice the virtues of the victors. You will see, from this screed, that I am not pessimistic. On the contrary, I think we in America are about to embark on a long of leading the chase. And the man who is afraid of women might die of flight if without any prepara tion at all he found himself thrust suddenly into the social life of today. Perhaps, too, there is a warning here for all women. If the war prisoners have de veloped a real and terrifying fear of women, it may be the ordinary soldiers who have been stationed in places where feminine so ciety was very limited have a little of the same kind of fear. And if they have the girls had better go easy and start playing hard to get. There is no better way of taming a fright ened male who is ready to shy off at the first sign that a woman has marked him for her own than to pretend indifference. For that immediately brings out the deep rooted masculine desire to have what is hard to got, to succeed where others have failed, to conquer against all odds. So if lie looks frightened, girls, retreat. You may find that the best it not the boldest strategcy. in Washington NEA Washington Correspondent be the pleasant graceful job it was before the war and the eventual ambassadorship that will result will be a little beneath the government jobs McNutt holds. Other possibilities are Weldon Jones, as sistant director of the budget bureau, who formerly was auditor general of the islands and Wayne Coy, member of the Filipino re habilitation committee and former assistant to the president. The sudden end of the war points up the grave situation which exists in the islands. The government there is running out of money. Many local officials haven't been paid for months and the school system is about to fold. Senator Tydings has introduced a bill which would lend the government there $100,000, 000 in lieu of payment for war damage but the bill is stuck in a committee. Nothing has been done to pay for war damages other than that and the islanders think we should pay for war damages in varying amounts from a half to a billion dollars immediately. Principal reason for the empty coffers in the disappearance of tax sources. The big sugar industries are said to be practically all closed and there is widespread unem ployment. Congress has done nothing to prepare for giving the islands their independence. Some thing will have to be done about trade rela tions. This is the issue most vitally affect ing industry. Under the U. S. there were no regular tariff barriers. If imports to U. S. from an independent Philippine republic have to pay these taxes the principal indus tries there won't be worth a nickel. A lot of it is U. S. capital which would have to be abandoned. Unless some kind of favorable trade relation is established the islands will probably revert to their former state as merely agrarian areas. On top of everything else the politics among the natives is chaotic. General elec tions will be held the first week of Novem ber and it is believed not unlikely that Osmena might be defeated. TMP.1WByMtA8EHraE.-mttT.M.I'E0.U..PAT.0ff. "Why, yes, ma'am, I'm the baby-sitter who put the ad in the paper I just thought I'd earn a little money after sitting with three generations of children free!" ' ' o McKENNEY ON BRIDGE By WILLIAM E. McKENNEY America's Card Authority LET OPPONENTS HELP TAKE FINESSES You will notice in today's hand that I have used a "T" in place of a 10. The hand came from R. C. Jones, secretary to Congressman Scrivncr of Kansas. Mr. Jones made the suggestion that by using a T instead of a 10 for the fifth A73 VQ9653 643 T2 43 JT885 2 8 75-3 71 K JT8 VKT82 A K964 W E S Dealer 4Q865 V AJ4 KQ7 AQJ Rubber Neither vul. South West North East INT. Pass 2 Pass 3 N T Pass Pass Pass Opening 4 J. 30 honor, all cards would be repre sented by a single character. Therefore, I am using the T to day to see how you like it. - In order to make the contract, Mr. Jones found that he had to take four finesses, but he had only one entry into dummy. O BARBS Some women simply can't wait until winter to put on their heavy rouge. The Japs blamed a "typhoon" for delay in executing General MacArthur's orders. Just a lot of wind! Electric fans will be available by December. Wo doubt, however, that winter will need any help in keeping us cool. Bob Feller returned to the Cleveland Indians and picked up right where he left off with the navy in there pitching! Nothing makes your friends bark at you quicker than your go ing to the dogs. More than one-half of the cities of Poland arc on the banks of the Vcstula river. This Curious World I Jfct A. MOHANDAS $4 ,'JfT I MinLl I tSB- derived the ( ffi V ill sfc 'Vra ewvsA5r II jU I'Vi '; X' FROMREADIN& J ' - - 111 1 rIf,'5W THOREAU'S fllB " J lb! - '-JliLfa.-. S ON THE DUTY ffiWllflU I'll -JS"" DISOBEiJlENCE'.SlJllli 11 ) WRITTEN WHEN ( l ' I I 11 T ) THE UTTEg WAS ( U II 4 1 l ( JAILED FCR NON- 11(1, U) N. ( PAYMENT OF TAXES ) ,i.f 8 -sir :WM tHLi ON HIS CABIN "Vl A T "... p1!-ATALOEJOND' j f Hew lcu& does a hi&h tide 7) I REMAIN AT IT5 HI6HEST POINT! JUS ANSWER: It beSins to fall immediately, although thi rhninje of elevation is not noticeable for some minutes. NEXT: The world's old.st coat-tack. Therefore, he had to let .the op ponents help him fane the fines ses. East won the opening lead with the ace of diamonds and re turned the jack of spades, Jones winning with the queen. Hoping to break the spade suit; he led back the five and let it ride. East won with the nine and returned the spade ten, which dummy won with the ace. A low heart was led and the jack finessed finesse No. 2. The diamond king was cashed, and when East showed out, Jones had a pretty good idea of the distribution of the hand. Another diamond was cashed. East had to let go a heart and a club. Now a low spade was led, throwing East in. Ho returned a club, Jones took his third finesse cashed the aee of clubs and threw East back in the lead by playing the queen. Thus East was forced to lead away from his king of hearts. O IN FORMER YEARS Thirty Years Ago' " Robbers have again broken open the postoffice safe at Island City. Some time last night the combination of the postoffice safe housed in the Kiddle store was hammered to pieces and the con tents about $60 taken. For the time being, irrigation of lawns in La Grande must cease this to avert pumping river water into the mains. Fifteen Years Ago "Th? Nook'', a barbecue shop on Adams just off Depot, owned by Ray Moyorsick and the Smit'.i brothers, will be opened this eve ning, although tomorrow will be the official opening date. Plans are progressing- for the open meeting of the Eagles lodge when Ed Bigelow of the national organizing department will be here. Ten Years Ago Dirt in huge quantities was be ing shovelled from the $90,0(10 undergrade crossing between Adams avenue and the U. P. rail road today. The shovel started work late yesterday, ..and the dirt was being hauled to the E.O.N, campus for use there, it was said. INJ RSLO, COUORAPO. ccw iws ov anvice m T. M fit. u. a. MT. DTK;
