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About La Grande evening observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1904-1959 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 7, 1945)
I EDITORIAL PAGE " p. La Grande Evening Observer Frank Schiro, Publisher FRIDAY EVENING. KEPTEMHKR 7, 1945 Page Two They Were Expendable EVENING OBSERVEK'S PROGRESS PROGRAM IRRIGATION Complete the Grande Ronde Valley irrigation project. I,A GRANDE A city of 10,000 -, j . Extend the city limit TODAY'S TEXT Watch ye therefore:, mid pray always. that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all those things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man Luke 21:36. THOUGHT FOR TODAY Itevenge is a kind of wild justice; which the more man's nature runs to, the more law ouxht to wee d out. Bacon. Japs Must Pay Civilized peoples of the world stand aghast before the gradually unfolding story of barbaric acts committed by the Japanese against allied prisoners of war, Tho U. S, slate department has re vealed that no less than 1!) protests about inhumane treatment of Ameri cans were conveyed to Japan after Juno 21, 1911. Publicity was withheld until X yesterday, since the enemy had indi '1 cated that "atrocity campaigns" would interfere with negotiations for move ment of relief supplies to American captives. Starvation, bestial torture, deliberate murder all of these offenses have been laid on Tokyo's doorstep. Tokyo must answer just as lierlin must, and will, answer for the criminal acts of the nnzis. Tracking down, convicting and pun ishing the Japanese who perticipated in these outrages may be difficult, but the allies must firmly resolves to carry on the task relentlessly until every war criminal is made to pay in full for his misdeeds. "The punishment must fit the crime" the allies must decide whom to blame and to whnt extent the policy of brut ality filtered down from the high of ficial sources. Field commanders could not have allowed their men to commit many of the barbaric acts unless it was understood that approval, actual or im plied, existed on a higher level of authority. Whether the men themselves are to blame should be a matter to be decided by circumstances. At the close of the Kuropean war the Russians insisted that the private who pulled the trigger, no less than the officer who gave tho order, is trained with the blood of a war crime. Tho liritish tended to uphold the theory that the officer is chiefly to blame. It will likely be shown that in some instances Japanese atrocities were practiced by troops giving expres sion to an innate streak of sadism. Drastic and sure punishment of all on whom the finger of guilt descends is a vital part in any educational program designed to fit Japan into an orderly, civilized family of nations. To leave the task unfinished, to permit any war criminal "to get away with it" is to invite secret nurturing of a philosophy that bathed the world in blood. Funny Business if , .Mill.i! ill.' '-lyS o SO THEY SAY The interests of tuitions nnd groups of nations, whether In atomic bombs or strategic buses, must be made subordinate to the well-being of mankind. Dr. O. Frederick Nolile, dean, Graduate School of the Luth eran Seminary, The Soviet Union could for mony years be a huge market perhaps Hie largest for products of Ammican heavy industry. -Dr. John T. Madden, director of the Institute of Internation al Finance, New York Univer sity. We can't maintain the piesent si. navy. It too big. too much of a drain on the country. Adml. Raymond A. Spruoncc, commander, U. S. 8th Fteet. "I couldn't catch any fih for my trophy room to I put up pictures of mytelll If the world is once again to know the value of cultural and spiritual inspiration, we Jews in America must preserve and ex pand our institutions. Prof. Albert Sinstein, Washington Merry-Go-Round Side Glances Bf DREW PEARSON WASHINGTON No secretary of state in years has inherited greater responsibilities than Jimmy Byrnes. No man in history car ries with him, as he goes to London or about his daily work, greater hopes of all man kind. Dimily at first, but definitely now that i the horrors of the atomic bomb are known, the mothers and fathers who sent their sons to war and the wives who suffered at home and tho men who fought the war, realize what would happen if there should be an other war. And their hopes and fears cen ters on the one man who must pilot our foreign affairs through the tangled skein of misunderstanding, international jealous ies, rivalries, clashing interests and person alities to the elusive goal of permanent peace. Some of Jimmy's old friends on Capitol Hill will tell you that he is ambitious, is an opportunist, is always out for Jimmy Byrnes that he underminded the late Sen ator Pat Harrison of Mississippi with F. D. R. Some senators preferred having co-operative Ed Stettinius as secretary of state and weren't at all enthusiastic about Byrnes, even though they reluctantly went through the motions of endorsing him. Has On Drawback Despite their criticism, however, Byrnes is ideally suited' to be secretary except for one defect. He has no first-hand, intimate knowledge of-foreign affairs. He will have to take the word of his foreign affairs ex perts. This is going to be Byrnes' greatest prob lem. Will he, despite his fine qualities, get sucked In by the career experts who have made a specialty of taking new secretaries into cump? For instnnco, here is what happened to Cordell Hull. During the first months of his administration he ran itno a personul feud with Professor Raymond Moley, brain trust er whom Roosevelt had mude assistant sec retary of state and who rushed to London for the avowed purpose of "rescuing" the London economic conference. Hull was a leader of that conference and felt he didn't need rescue. The man who helped Hull at London was the state department's chief of protocol, Jimmy Dunn, whose job was to make hotel reservations and arrange place cards at din ners. Dunn is one of the most likeable men in the department, and makes up in charm for what he lacks in brains. But Hull never forgot Dunn's help. And later, when Jimmy piloted Hull through the Pan-American conference at Montcviedo, he became a permanent fixture as closest ad viser. Careerists Tie Hands As such,. his influence was almost always thrown against Russia, even after she be came an ally, and for Franco Spain, even when it was obvious that Franco was kept in power only through the axis. What diplomatic observers are watching as the chief barometer of Jimmy Byrnes as secretary of state is whether Dunn can take him into camp as he did Cordell Hull. The betting odds so far arc in favor of Dunn. Newshawks, whose job it is to watch every move of the secretary of state, are betting strong that Dunn once more will emerge as the fair-haired boy, again to run the state department. Also the society ladies are gossiping about the close friendship between Mrs. Hull and Mrs. Byrnes and how, because of petticoat rule, Byrnes will eat out of Hull's hand. However, this columnist, who has watch ed Byrnes for many years, has a different opinion. When Byrnes became war mobilizer, it was reported that Bcrnic Baruch would control. But he didn't. Byrnes went his own sweet way, to such an extent that Baruch went around telling, people what a mess Jimmy was making of things. So this columnist is belting that Byrnes will eat out of nobody's hand neither Hull's nor Dunn's nor anyone's. Byrnes will rely on his own judgment in his difficult job of trying to achieve the hopes and ambitions of mankind. Under the Dome Several army posts with personnel con stantly decreasing have been notified their quota of physicians and dentists has been raised. Discharged point score' for medical specialists remains at 120, with 110 the point score for general practitioners, mean while with the shortage of duclors for the civilian population expected to continue, the veterans' administration is having ex treme difficulty recruiting doctors for its hospital staffs. Pay is too low, the medics say. WE, THE WOMEN By RUTH MILLETT The wife whose husband is on his way home from overseas said: "I want us to com pletely forget these awful years of separa tion, to erase them from our minds as though they had never happened." But they shouldn't be forgotten. They should have taufjht every couple lessons they wouldn't forget if they could. The years of loneliness and fear and sacrifice are bound to have made them think often: "If we are ever together again . . ." And the way that sentence was finished each time it was thought should go into a pat tern for their new life together. Every experience in life teaches its own lessons. And no matter how painful it was at the time, it can be reckoned as a rich experience if the lessons are remembered and carried into future living. So the families of servicemen should ,set out not to forget the past few years but to remember. To remember the plans for a better, happier life, to remember the prom ise never to worry or fret again over tri vialities. Forgetting an experience leaves that ex perience a lota! blank, a hardship gone through with for nothing. Remembering it makes one wiser and consequently capable of building a better life. Let's not forget let's remember. That way, at least, we can salvage something from the waste and sorrow and suffering of war. Behind Scenes in Washington By PETER EDSON. La Grande EYenlng Observer Washington Correspondent WASHINGTON A hundred highly contro versial postwar puzzles dealing with the fu ture life of every U. S. citizen face the re turning congress, If the record of past congresses is any thing to go by, there will be much jawing, a great deal of high powered oratory and extending of remarks about the atomic bomb and our brave boys. But there will be very little action for many weeks. Then there will be a frantic rush to crowd through a lot of important stuff in the last days be fore the Christmas holidays now only a lit tle over three months away. The whole list of things to be done is longer than a Christ mas shopping list and twice as difficult. While private industry appears to be going ahead a.! fast as it can under existing law and regulations, plenty of postwar plans are flanging fire waiting to see what peace time policies congress lays down for tho reconversion rat race. Trying to take care of everything at one swoop is an impossi bility. If congress, in the next 100 working days, would do the job that has to be done, however, it would make out a high priority list and then, taking up one issue at a time, handle it, check it off. There will, of course, be many times 100 bills presented by well meaning souls who believe that their pet projects offer solution for all that ails this country. But putting all these to one side, if congress concen trated on its 23 top priority issues, it would have to knock off one of these items every three or four days, or say two a week, to get the country in a firm peace foundation ani ready to start the bright new year right The problems of business and labor are well deserving of first consideration. Shall the government try to attain and support full employment? Shall unemployment in surnce rates be raised to $25 for J6 weeks in all the states? How shall labor dispute be settled through such compulsory legis lation as the Ball-Burton-Hatch bill, or vol untarily through a govcrnment-labor-lmsi-ness conference now being arranged by sec retary of labor Schwellf nback? What shall postwar tax rates be? War time reorganisation of the government it self must be considered as an aid to the reconversion process. President Truman's re quest for authority to re-organize the ex ecutive departments has been on file with congress for several months inacted upon. Congress has a joint committee studying its own streamlining. Changes in surplus prop erty law and administration are urgent. Dis posal of government operation of the big war plants must be approved by congress. Further aid to small business is a must. The shooting war may be over, but peace time military policies demand immediate attention. Shall army and navy be united in a single department of national defense? Shall the United States adopt compulsory military services for its young men? Se lecting service needs overhauling to meet the need; of the armies of occupation. The GI bill of rights and all veteran's legisla tion needs correcting. Shall congress demand a showdown on Pearl Harbor responsibility ' The atomic bomb raises a whole new series of problems. Social legislation could probably wait, tout won't be pushed aside easily. There is the Wagncr-Murray-Dingcll bill to expand the present social security coverage. Sen ator Claude Pepper of Florida is pushing a board program of federal aids to health, material and child welfare. Repeal of the poll tax and settlement of fair employment practice policies are recurrent questions. Various proposals to create more valley au thorities like TVA have strong barking and bitter opposition. Agriculture is pretty well taken care of with guarantees of parity prices on farm products for two years after Jan. 1, 194U. But farm prosperity depends on urban, in dustrial prosperity and purchasing power, so farms have a stake in every national issue. Vnless repealed sooner by congress, day light saving stays till -six months after the termination of the war." Whenever that is. But with no rationing on petroleum pro ducts, there is no restriction on congres sional burning of the midnight oil to get some of these gieat fights from capitol hill wrapped up and in the mall before Christmas. com iw i HtA irnvici. inc. t. m. mo. u. i. pat, im "The house is a fright, dishes in the sink and things strewn all around we'd certainly be embarrassed by visitors if we didn't know you so welll" o McKENNEY ON BRIDGE By WILLIAM E. McKENNEY America's Card Authority THREE-SPADE CUE BID COPS HONORS The national men's pair cham pionship was won this year by Gintell A3 y 8785 KQ54 KJ032 AQJ10 V 10 4 3 J 1098 7 Q5 W E s Dealer Hazen A 8 7 4 2 V AKQJ A3 J94 A A K 9 6 9 y 82 02 A876 Duplicate Both vul. South West North East 1 Pass 1 N. T. Double 2 3 A Pass 4 V Opening A K. 7 Lee Hazen and Sylvester Gintell of New York against what I con sider the strongest field ever en tered in this event. o BARBS The honeymoon is over when he thinks she is skinny instead of slender. A beach guard at a Wisconsin resort saved the same girl three times. How can a fellow be so dumb? Gintell's cue-bid of three spades on today's hund was the bid that helped them get into thf game contract. The spade king opening held and the ace of spades was con tinued. Hazen (East) duffed in dummy, came back to his hand with a triumph and ruffed an other spade. Returning to his hand with the ace of diamonds, he led a small club. When South played low Hazen went up with the king, picked up tho trumps, then went over to the diamond by leading the three-spot. On the other good diamond he discard ed his losing spade. Now all he had to do was to concede two club tricks to his opponents. IN FORMER YEARS Thirty Years Ago , Two grazing reconnaisance par ties last week completed their field examination on the last of three seasons' work over a mil lion acres of the Blue Mountains 'of Oregon. ' " ' Water in the reservoir south of the city has reached a level but a few inches from the overflow. This will permit a freer' use of . water for irrigation, though it is not deemed safe to turn the sup ply loose for O-W consumption, which is heavy. Fish never realize what a ter rible time some folks have get ting bait. A lazy, impudent clerk is the worst combination in restraint of trade. A California doctor says thou sands have died from kjssing. Just think how many are dying to be kissed. Keep looking down and you find the world is the limit look up and the sky's the limit! Fifteen Years Ago Ways and means to finance the Mt. Emily road for which crews have already started surveying and grading will be discussed by the Union county chamber of commerce. Senator Fred E. Kiddle won the Sacajawea Inn trophy yesterday at the La Grande country club when he defeated Fred Spaeth. Kiddle shot a 03, getting a net 73 on a 20 handicap. Uncle Sam reports there is no butter shortage. We just checked our refrigerator and report there is no butter. Four Illinois men grew seri ously ill from drinking bootleg booze. Stills still still because fools still fool fools. Ten Years Ago , J. H. Aekerman training school opened today, temporarily in the Normal school building. It is ex pected occupancy of the new training school building will be possible at an early date. The Union county Amos L. Helms first aid car fund is grow ing steadily, and committee mem bers believe the goal will soon be reached. This Curious World POLYNESIANS TRAIN AAN-0-WAR 8IROS TO CARRY MESSAGES FROM ISLAND TO ISLAND, SOMETlAVES FOR. DISTANCES UP TO EIGHTY MILES. vONTSAHr TO POPULAR OPINION, AFRICAN LPHArrnr BE TRAINED IN FACT, THES SEEMS LITTLE POLBT THAT HANNIBAL'S FAMOUS KLBPHAMT AY CP SC 6AI MUNCXSSD ANIMALS WAS -UAE Of THE JoeiEs, com. mi av 3t evict me I. M. RCG. U t. PT. OfF. IF VOOR &REAT6RANDFA1WER 3w M. VNUNIfc-OLFIER SA.lt OVEISHEAD, DID HE SEE A or a eeo f m m r ,.n.!!SWu .bll0an' nimi ' he Momgolfier brotheri, ventors of the first successful hot-air balloons? NEXT: Mother Earth's curves, "r in
