La Grande evening observer., September 08, 1945, Image 2

I ;: EDITORIAL ' PAGE j
La Grande Evenhig Observer
Frank Schiro, Publisher
i SATURDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 8, 1945
Page Two
Going to Build Something, Uncle?
EVENING OBSERVER'S
PROGRESS PROGRAM
IRRIGATION Complete the Grande
Ronde Valley irrigation project.
Ji GRANDE A city of 10,000
Eitend the city limits.
TODAY'S TEXT
Can a maid forget her ornaments, or
a bride her attire? yet my people have
forgotten me days without number.
Jeremiah 2:82.
.
THOUGHT FOR TODAY
To murder thousands takes a spacious
name,
War's glorious art, and gives immortal
- fame. Young.
The Farm Home
Heavy concentrations of population
ui the United States are likely to be
affected by the war. Millions of young
men and women who were reared in
our large cities have seen another phase
of living as the result of being stationed
in various localities. More millions who
dwelt in rural areas and in small cities
experienced the crowding and incon
venience of metropolitan centers when
they took jobs in essential war indus
try. Roth situations reacted to the
benefit of the so-called wide open
spaces.
The big city young folk want first to
go home when they obtain rcluaso from
the service. After they have looked
over familiar scenes, however, many of
them are going to recall some locality
to which their service introduced them.
The more they compare, the more con
vinced are they going to be that their
futures will be improved by making a
new start where there is elbow room
and a less killing pace day after day.
Many who originated on farms and
migrated to populous centers are going
to think again of rural life. And they
will find it vastly improved in recent
years. There are better roads, and the
post-war era will add sharply to their
number. Electrification of farms is
proceeding rapidly and the comforts of
the dwelling as well as the convenience
of farm operations will be enhanced
sharply by the extension of this service.
One-room rural schools are becoming
scarce and the farm dwelling youngster
of tomorrow will usually enjoy educa
tional advantages equal to those of ur
ban children, for they will more often
than not be side by side in the same
classrooms and laboratories.
Henry Ford began encouraging his
workers, several years ago, to locate on
small acreages, where many 6f the fam
ily needs might be provided and fac
tory employment would supply tho
money income. Industry in this coun
try will be decentralizing more and
more in the future, giving rise to more
opportunities such as Ford pioneered
in Michigan.
A farm or an acreage will not run
itelf, and a novice with no knowledge
of crops, poultry or livestock, will find
it necessary to learn how to make good.
Hut when this has occurred, the farm
dweller will be so far ahead of tho fel
low crammed into a city tenement, de
pendent solely upon the weekly pay
check, that no comparison will be pertinent.
Funny Business
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O SO THEY SAY
Discussion is betrtcr than si
lence, reason better t h a n vio
lence, co-operation better than
anarchy and democracy better
than tyranny.
Edgar S. Brightman, professor
of philosophy, Boston University.
The people have surrendered
liberties to win the war; they did
not surrender thrni in imitation
of or liking for the totalitarian
governmenlalisnis against which
they fought. They want wartime
control rndod as soon as possible,
Danville, Va., Register.
Our political and economic
system saved the world in two
wars. It will save the peace if
given a chance.
Bernard M. Baruch.
"tt floaau iMhll ra roi-U-outll wiaj ha t foriJ er
toUwri"
A diplomat is a person who can
tell you to go to the devil so
pleasantly that you're anxious to
get started.
Waterloo, Neb., DoilglM Coun
ty Gazette.
Washington Merry-Go-Round
Side Glances
By DREW PEAHSON
WASHINGTON Release of the Pearl
Harbor reports now makes it possible to
tell the long-withheld story of the battle of
Midway and the reason why the Chicago
Tribune was never successfully prosecuted
for revealing certain war secrets at the time
of that battle.
It has now been made clear through the
Pearl Harbor reports the U. S. navy was in
possession of the Japanese secret code and
thus was able id break down messages sent
between Tokyo and Washington and be
tween various units of the Jap fleet.
That was how Cordell Hull knew at 10
p. m. on Dec. 6, the day before Pearl Har
bor, that the Japs were going to hand him
an abrupt note flatly , refusing his peace
proposals. That was why General Marshall
was censured in the Pearl Harbor report
for being out horseback riding on the morn
ing of Dec. 7, so that word of this pending
break in U. S.-Jap relations was not flashed
to General Short at Pearl Harbor until such
a time and through such a slow channel
that he received it only after six American
battleships were at the bottom of the har
bor. Advance Midway Preparation
That was also why, two weeks before the
battle of Midway, the navy knew Japan
was preparing a mighty attack on our key
island base of Midway, which, if successful,
was to be followed by a tremendous naval
drive oh the Hawaiian islands and the Cal
ifornia coast. The information had been
picked up from Jap radio messages imme
diately after the battle of the Coral Sea in
the south Pacific, and gave time for tho
U. S. fleet to rush everything it had north
tp Midway and prepare a trap for the un
suspecting Japs.
Ships and planes from all over the Pa
cific were sent to Midway. The west coast
of the United States was left almost un
protected. Had the Japs become aware of
what was happening and shifted their tac
tics, the cities of San Francisco, Los An
geles, Seattle, etc., would have been almost
defenseless. But the Japanese coded radio
messages were unmistakable. They gave the
name of every ship in the Jap fleet which
was steaming to attack Midway.
The result of that battle is well known.
Not well known, however, is the manner in
which the Chicago Tribune's Stanley Johns
ton revealed the navy's secret, and how he
escaped prosecution.
Johnston had been aboard the ill-fated
Lexington which sank in the battle of the
Coral Sea, was taken aboard another ship
Which rushed north to participate in the
battle of Midway, and while on tiiis ship
he learned tho navy knew in advance the
Japs were preparing to attack Midway and
that we even knew the names of every ship
in the Jap fleet.
Chicago Tribune Prosecuted
After landing in the United States, where
he was not subject to naval consorship,
Johnston wrote and the Chicago Tribune
published a story regarding this, even nam
ing the complete list of Jap ships. This was
information which U. S. naval officers ob
viously would not have obtained without
being able to decode Jap secret messages,
and the navy hit the ceiling.
Adm. Ernest King, commander of the
fleet, called at the White House and de
manded that the Tribune be closed down.
He pointed out that the Japs were sure to
change their code, and thus we would lose
one of our most priceless wartime assets.
Secretary of the Navy Knox, owner of
the Chicago Daily News, an opposition pa- .
per to the Tribune, was loath to prosecute.
So was Roosevelt. He feared it would look
like an attack on his severest newspaper
critic. The navy, however, insisted. So Wil
liam D. Mitchell, republican attorney gen
eral under Hoover, was selected to present
the case to a Chicago grand jury.
What finally happened during that trial
has never been revealed. The navy, which
had been insistent in demanding the prose
cution, suddenly backed down. It refused to
let Mitchell tell tho grand jury about the
secret Jap codes and the fact that the Trib
une's disclosure tipped off the Japs that we
were breaking them down.
See WASHINGTON . . . Page 0
WE, THE WOMEN
By' RUTH MILLETT
In California a former film star divorced
her producer husband, charging mental
cruelty. As proof, she told the judge her
husband's bickering frightened away the
servants and she had to do her own house-.
work.
Now that any housewife will agee is
cruelty of an extreme degree.
But the husbands who have had their
home life run to suit one or more servants
during the current shortage are bound to
feel the Hollywood husband was something
of a hero.
For the average man, whose Wife has
hold help through the last few years, has
found that he couldn't call his soul his own
in his own homo. '
He was hushed promptly by a terrified
wife if he started to complain because the
new maid had hidden his shirts again, or
straightened up his desk.
He didn't dare complain about a meal
no matter how poorly it was cooked. Not
only that, he was prompted to "Say some
thing nice to Susie about the dinner," and
managed to do it even when the meat tast
ed like leather and the biscuits were light
as a brick.
If he were to be an hcur late to dinner,
it was cooked at the regular time and serv
ed cold by the little woman. For after all,
you can't ask a maid to stay over-time
not these days.
And he knew good and well he had bet
ter not bring an unexpected guest home to
share the evorling meal not becauso of
Mama's wrath, but because Susie wouldn't
show up for work next day.
So a husband who dared to frighten serv
ants must look to the average husband whose
wife has kept a maid through the war like
a man of great courage.
For he has been more considerate of
Susie's feelings than of his wife's, because
his wife has made it clear that however
he might talk to her, he had better talk
nice to Susie.
Behind Scenes in Washington
By PETER EDSON, La Onada Evening Observer Washington Correspondent
WASHINGTON P. S. On the army's
Pearl Harbor investigation report. Cynical
reserve and national guard officers say the
findings simply show that the WPPA is still
powerful in army politics. WPPA, in case
you don't recognize the initial designation,
stands for West Point Protective associa
tion. Neither Gen. George C. Marshall nor
Lt. Gen. Walter C. Short, who was in com
mand at Hawaii when the Japs struck, is
a West Pointer. Marshall was graduated
from Virginia Military institute. Short was
appointed a second lieutenant from civilian
life, after his graduation from University
of Illinois in 1001.
Back in private lite, Nelson Rockefeller
is expected to make some connection that
will enable him to continue work in im
proving Latin-American understanding, in
which he is sincerely interested. Truth is
he would have liked it if Secretary of State
Byrnes had asked him to stay on as an as
sistant secretary of state in charge of Latin
American affairs. Just before his resignation
was accepted, a C. I. O. official came to
Rockefeller, told him the C. I. O. leadership
thought he was doing a good job, asked him
if he wanted to stay in government. Assur
ed that he did, the C. I. O. sent an emissary
to Byrnes to recommend Rockefeller's re
tention. It was a bad political move, and
it may have sealed Rockefeller's fate. The
C. I. O. political action committee, alone,
had been responsible for stopping Byrnes
as a vice-presidential candidate.
G. O. P. National Chairman Herbert
Brownell's recent speech, giving tho im
pression that the republican goal in con
gress will be to "demand a full public state
ment on administration policies," then sit
back and criticize isn't the whole story. Re
publican congressmen will be expected to
do much more than criticize the Truman
program. G. O. P. strategists are at work on
a program of their own. are expected to come
out swinging to have as much of it adopted
as they can.
John U Lewis's sutrmcnt bfor Senator
Wagner's bankinf cotvunittee, iusting re
duction of the work week J ere method
of spreading job s. a to uMain full em
ployment', may indicate the line pnst-ar
liibor demands may be expeuted to take.
The present demand is to increase basic
wage rates to give the war-time 48-hours
pay for the 40-hour week. Next logical step
would be to reduce the work week to the
miners' basic 36 hours, or even to 30 or 32
hours, without reduction of the new 40
hour pay levels. Such a drive would be
based on the assumption that technological
advances have increased the productivity
of workmen to such an extent that they can
now turn out as much work in 30 hours as
they used to do in 50 or 60. Back of all la
bor programs there is, of course ,lhe drive
for the guaranteed annual wage. Coupled
with increased social security, it all sounds
like something out of the millcnium. Labor
regards it as more protection against de
pression. Take your pick.
Sccretaiy of State Byrnes, on the eve of
departure for the London meeting of the
Big Four foreign ministers, confided to cor
respondents lie thought he was through with
compromising when he left the senate, but
had found he isn't. Byrnes has his own plan
for London meeting proceedure, but may
have to give ground on it. His idea is to
let the technical experts work up data on
the Italian situation, Germany, the Balkans
and other questions, find all the points they
can agree on. The points of disagreement
can then be submitted to the foreign min
isters fur decision. Such a program, if adopt
ed, would let the London conference wind
op in short order. Trying to solve the whole
European problem as one big issue might
make the conference drag on for months.
Senator James E. Murray's small business
committee now lias a staff of nearly 50 econ
omists and investigators. They have been at
work all summer and may be expected to
come up with any number of proposals. A
sweeping report on reorganization of the
aluminum industry is ready for submission
to congress. For month's Murray's experts
have been digging into the construction in
dustry situation, hoping to find ways to
stabilize its fluctuations. Chief of Murray's
staff is Dr. Dewey Anderson, former secre
tary of the temporary national economic
committee, who is being considered as a
c.uulut:iti for congress from California in
1SM6.
COR. 1M5 IV NBA SERVICE. INC. T. W. EG. U. 9. PAT. Off,
"I found out what that smell was in the cellar, dear the dog
probably has been watching you and he's hoarding some dead
mice in the coal pile!" ' i
O McKENNEY ON BRIDGE T
By WILLIAM E. McKENNEY America's Card Authority
HAND WINS WOMAN
MASTER TITLE
When Miss Ruth Sherman of
New York won the national hix
cd team of-four championship,
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2 A Pass 2 N. T. Pass
3 A Pass 3 N. T. Pass
4 V Pass 5 V Pass
6 V Pass Pass Pass
Opening A 6. 8
she collected all her rating points;
and all together she gained
enough points to become Life
Master No. 45, the sixth woman
Questions & Answers
Q What is the estimated
strength of America's peacetime
navy? '!
A Senator Walsh, chairman of
the senate naval affairs commit
tee, recently set the figure at
500,000.
to attain this honor. "
If Miss Sherman had attempt
ed to play today's hand ht six
spades, she probably would have
been defeated. While she held
seven spades and only four
hearts, she was eorrect in bid
ding the slam in hearts.
The opening spade lead was
won with the jack and two rounds
of spades, discarding twb dia
monds from dummy. Now the
losing diamond could be ruffed
and all West could make was the
queen of hearts. At spades a di
amond and a heart would prob
ably have been lost.
9 IN FORMER
YEARS
Thirty Years Ago
Workmen are repairing the
swimming tank in the Y. M. C. A.
ajid expect to be ready" so that
the ladies can resume their clas
ses soon. '
Excavation for the Beaver
creek dam which will stole flood
waters next spring and every
other spring thereafter to protect
the municipal water service dur
' ing the dry months, was complet
ed last night.
Q How do Japanese trace the
lineage of the emperor they wor
ship? A Japs believe Hirohito is the
124th direct ruling descendant of
the Sun Goddess Amaterasu, a
lineage that goes back over 2600
years.
Q What percentage of in
crease did receipts of the Nation
al Foundation for Infantile Par
alysis show this year over 1944?
A More than 50 per cent
1945 March of Dimes totaled $16,
589,874, as compared with re
ceipts of $10,973,491 last year.
Q We know the southern Eu
ropean river as the "Danube."
What other names is it known
by?
A Germans call it the Donau;
Czechs the Dunaj; Hungarians
the Duna; Yugoslavs and Bulgar
ians as the Dunav; Rumanians
the Dunarea, and Russians as the
Dunai.
Ten Ycare Ago
The latest developments in
news transmission were made
available today to the Observer
and its many readers when the
Associated Press practically
doubled the speed of its Circuits
to the 12 leased wire newspapers
in Oregon.
Heretofore Oregon members
outside of Portland have receiv
ed their telegraphic news on au
tomatic telegraph circuits capable
of only 35 words a minute. Today
the transmitters and receivers
were advanced to 00 words a
minute, the speed at which tho
largest metropolitan newspapers
on the circuit receive their copy.
This Curious World
EARTHS CURVATURE
IS 6RE4TEE "CHAN MOST PEOPLE
THINK. A FIVE-FOOT MAN
STANDING? ON THE SHORE OF
A LAKE CANNOT OBSERVE A
FIVE-FOOT AAN ON THE OPPO
SITE SHORE ONLY FIVE MILES
AWAY, BECAUSE THE EARTH'S
CURVE WILL. INTERRUPT HIS
SI6HT LINE.
KJM
0 COrft. (MS BY NEA 36PVCC. INC
Quoting Octet
i . m
MAINS
IS THE ONLY STATE
WITH A
T. U RCd u s. PAT OFF .
NEXT: The disappearing whooping crane.
"A SOUS PUSS LEADS A
DOG'S LIFE' SatfS
ADELINE &EAR HALL.
Cooraco Sof,"Sj Coorjco.
fVlMIIMt ja-
Fifteen Years Ago
In a project that is in line with
national and .state government
advice to face unemployment
facts squarely, t h e La Grande
Salvation Army will establish a
free employment bureau here.
Feminine golfers from Baker
took an emphatic beating from
the La Grande team on the coun
try club course here today.
t.''
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