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