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About The Oregon statesman. (Salem, Or.) 1916-1980 | View Entire Issue (April 7, 1946)
fagz roua 1W OREGON STATESMAN. Salem. Oregon, Sunday Morning, April 7, 1948 ? ! ' i I i t t reflDtt0itatemaatt "No Favor Sway U$; No Fear Shall Ave ' rrom Tirst SUtesman, March 24. 18S1 j THE STATESMAN PUBLISHING COMPANY . CHARLES A. SPRAGUE, Editor and Publisher Member of the Associated Preae The Associated Preae la exclusively entitled to the use foe publication of all stew dispatches credited to It or not otherwise credited in this newspaper. OPA Extension r The most important issue before congress at this time is the question of the extension of OPA- The house banking committee voted Fri day to prolong its life by one year J but- made revisions in the present act under which OPA 1 ' operates.' For example price controls are re quired to be' relinquished when supply in var ious; line of production comes into balance with demand, the maximum average price pol icy (MAP of the clothiers) is banned. and his toric margins of retailers are protected by law. The second change strikes at the OPA directive -designed to increase output of low-cost cloth ing and the second to protect automobile, radio ; " and other dealers from being forced to . absorb certain authorized increases in manufacturers prices. i Left to the people as a whole the OPA would j probably be continued by a substantial ma jority. Left, to the business and farming com munity .it would be abolished. The consumer group feels the pinch of price increases but feels some restraining, hand must still be used - to prevent further prkt inflation. The business community. fed up on-PPA regulations, and in many cases eager for breaking OPA's price dike would either throws-price control out the window or force changes in its administration. The upshot will be that the life- of OPA will be prolonged; congress being unwilling to take responsibility for killing it off. "The Statesman favors extension of OPA, . though it ladks confidence in its ability to do the job well! and is fearful of pricer revolt in the nature of added black market operations or of production slowdowns because of the lm X balance of, OPA pricing policies. We are not . all impressed with OPA's praie of itself as it looks at itself, in the mirror. Granting the de- "ficiencies of OPA, it remains true that removal ; of all controls now would be a grave risk to the, economy, from exorbitant price increases. The skyrocketing of real estate prices is,, an Index of what might occur without control- Nor is this paper impressed with the attempts of congress to alter OPA's policies. If OPA is too stiff-necked, congress is too pliant to pres- sure. The reasoning back of OPA's narrowing the margin on retailers of cars and appliances was sound, namely that volume' would-make narrower margins possible without sacrifice of fair earnings. . We shall be heartily glad when price con trols are thrown off. They will become increas ingly irritating as the time from the fighting lengthens. One year is surely the maximum for extending OPA's life; in fact six months might see enough of a change to warrant its demise. Maybe rf we draw on reserves of pati ence we can .survive OPA's control for one more year. That surely Uie maximum to be endured. Hail to Highway - Almost simultaneously with announcement that ay first call for bids on the new North San tiaea highway would be made in May The Statesman publishes on another page in today's issue a -snap of the route of the relocated high way and a profile of the section which will hug the present high side ofs the canyon to get above the high dam across the river and the resulting pooL News of a bid call with its in ference of an early letting of contract (prices permitting) is indeed welcome. For about two decades residents of the country tributary to the North Santiam route have plead for its construction. The section above Detroit to the' junctio nwith the South Santiam was completed about ten years ago; the county roads below Gate were passable the year round; but the 23-mile section between Gates and Detroit re mained a scenic wonder and a driver's agony. The narrow, tortuous trail hung in places over the canyon and at others made hairpin turns , with j "visibility zero." As a result accidents werej numerous, many of them fatal, and the highway gathered ill repute. Given this new, wide road the North Santiam highway will become a prime favorite for travel between the central valley and central Oregon. How fast the construction w"ill be pressed is not announced, but because of the eagerness to get the dam built we anticipate that the road Work will be pushed. Maybe by sometime in 1948 the section will be completed. That will be a jday for real celebration,' when the road is opened for traffic. Meantime the county should urge on the highway commission atten tion to the reconstruction or relocation of the roatf from Mill City to Salem1, to bring this portion up to modern standards. An Unwritten Story i Finally captured after being hunted down in the' mountains of Jugoslavia, Gen. Draja Mi Kailovic it to go on trial for treason. This one-time war minister-V the cabinet of King reter, leader of the Chetniks who by, report carried' on the. struggle against the Germans after ;: the fall- of Belgrade, is charged with collaboration with the nazis. But American air men downed in Jugo-Slavia have asked to tes tify in behalf of the general whose forces res cued them and escorted them to safety. Our own department of state has asked permission for them-to appear as witnesses. Here must be a real atory, one not yet writ ten. After Jugo-Slavia was overrun by the Germans the hardy Serbs under Mihailovic. withdrew into the, mountains, and were re ported to be continuing the fight against the: invaders. Time went on, and word came out of Jugo-Slavia that a new, force, the Partisans under a general called Tito, was emerging. This force claimed that the Chetniks were col laborators, that thev. the Partisans, were the true enemies of the nazis. Civil strife broke out between the two factions. The Jugo-Slav government-in-exile supported its war minis ter, Mihailovic. The Partisans were openly leftists and seem ed to be forging, ahead. Then Churchill, anx ious to avert any communist front on the Ad- riatic, sent his son to Tito's headquarters, and threw the weight of his influence and a vol ume of British supplies to Tito's side. - Ameri cans did likewise. The Partisans prevailed. In May, 1944, the government-in-exile dismissed Mihailovic as its war minister and Tito's mas tery was acknowledged. The star of the one time Chetnik chieftain waned, and now sets in the unkind glow! of a trial for treason. Dr. Ivan Subasic, present foreign minister of Jugo slavia, and the prime minister who made the deal to chuck Peter and Mihailovic and accept Tito, said last year that the government had evidence to convict its own former war minis ter and that he would be shot. That probably will be his fate; but the outside world still wonders if his treason consisted in collabora tion with the Germans or in resistance to J.he Partisans. Some American army personnel are unwilling to have hint condemned without tes tifying in his behalf- Before the arrested leader faces the firing squad someone should get his story of the past eventful six years. HUSSEIN AlA IRANIAN STT AT TH un ecuRrry couNgu TABLELIKE A DEFIANT UTTLE ROOSTER- MO OUT OF THE COUNC1U CHAneea RUSSIA'S GOOttYKO ti THE MAN EVEftyeocry 8GTWCSX SeSSKX THE AtOeSewjOYTME WARM SUNSHINE. OF HUNTER COLLEGE ' CAMPUS ASSPRH0I COMCS TO THE BRONX. TELEVISION OF THEPROCECDNGiS ARE. SHOMN IN THE NEXT OOOM TO AUGMENT THE UMrreo6fes;oF the, council cmAMBCO, IT MAY NOT BE THE MOST IMPORTANT WORK GOSKS OH HERE, BUT THE INTERPRETER WHO GET RKW1T UP AN0 TRANSLATE THE SPEECHES PW2ASC TO PHRASE GET THE ACMAT1QN OF THE PCCTATOf?S. K Vf FRENCH VV Nri i DELEGATE HENRI BONNET ms THE. MOVIE CONCEPTION OF A Diplomat Spring and UNO in the Bronx Tho Literary Guidcpost j Br W. G. Racers The St. Helens Sentinel-Mist calls it "bru nette" bread. Gentlemen still prefer blonde. Behind the News By PAUL MALLON (Distributed by King Features Syndicate. Inc. Re production in whole or in part strictly prohibited.) WASHINGTON, April 6 Mr Truman and his reconverter John Snyder have been bragging that the "production of civilian goods and services" has reached the peak of all time. They want to prove by some unexplained generalized figures on income and dollar volume that production has been more than restored and reconversion accomplished. Taint so. There are tricks in it, to wit: A foremost weekly index of actual production from a nongovernmental source places our output for the week ending March 23 at 131 compared with 143 a year ago and about 127 for 1941. Miscel laneous car loadings are less than a year ago, as are steel, electric power and lumber production, but "other car loadings" and paper, board production are above a year ago. Messrs. Truman and Snyder did not tabulate actual volume of pro duction, but only dollar volumes and income, and they made no allowances for price increases. Furthermore, they ;aid only that "civilian" production was at all time peak. There is no way of telling how much of the above-cited production is still army, navy and, marine, but a portion must be. So the discrepancy is somewhat, gseater than the figures indicate, rrodaeers Say Situation Ba Producers themselves tell me the situation is bad. Ford publicly closed his plant for a week the very day the president spoke, because he could not keep; enough steel oh hand to warrant con tinuous operations. Every producer has that same trouble in one way or another. Manufacturers can not get little things. An air conditioning maker finds his particular kind of steel for certain parts difficult to obtain because the steel companies will not manufacture much of it, saying they lose $15 a ton on it because of the OPA ceiling. The steel companies are producing other more profitable lines. Then the air conditioning man finds for a time he cannot get motors, finds a shortage of bearings due to strikes, cannot get production of - special copper bolt which is essential. His pro-, duction line operates off again, on again, off again and the doctors are operating on the manufacturer. As far as "civilian services' are concerned, there are not any restored around here. Cleaners require 3 to S weeks to clean a suit.. Skirtmakers- and many other '. lines inform their customers flatly: "We are not taking any more orders." They will not even consider delivery months hence. Parts for auto repairs are unavailable throughout the United States in some vital cases. Five Months for Fitted Suit A tailor took1 an order for a suit the first of last November and gave the first fitting at the end of March five months later. He will not flRTlV A1VD RF.AR IT promise the suit by summer. Some outfitters are ,jrIVli U 0WI 11 already stopping orders for summer suits Imagine it, next summer's suits. Meat supplies in Washing ton are getting bad again., only inferior grades of a few lines baying been available the past few weeks. There are no autos, coal, refrigerators, nylons, and only a few radios. A' considerable (say 10 to 15 per cent) improvement in sales-stocks can . be noted in many lines, and a bare beginning toward restoration is noticeable. The experience of the average citizen in these parts will strictly deny, however, any claim that production has been re stored in "civilian services." Now there has been a great acceleration in dollar volume of production in such lines as liquor (but not good liquor), department store sales and some particular food products, and these no doubt caused Mr. Synder's figures to swell to the conclusions he induced the president to make from them. "Cannet Yet 8 peak of 'Production' " But if you figure a 25 to 50 per cent increase in such items (I nave noticed in my purchases price increases as high as 400 per cent) even the visible results of greater production in restricted lines do not loom formidably when compared with the job f sizing she production bottleneck, up to demand. As measured with demand,- we cannot yet begin to speak of "production." j But if civilian goods and services are at tan all time peak and going higher in the next few months to satisfy demands, then, Mr. Truman will not need his OPA regulations much beyond June 30, the date at which they are scheduled to expire. If the shortages continues, and no fulfilling relaxa tion of them is yet discernible here, OP. will be needed for many a month and perhaps, another year or more. As Mr. Truman simultaneously de manded OPA, I judge just between us tfoat he does mt anticipate the volume of production we need, anytime soon I CONFESSIONS OF A ECKOPCAM INTELLECTUAL, by PrmM Scb abcraer (MaeaUUaa: SZ.T. Former editor of Auslands post, Jugend and Simplicissimus, which was founded just 50 years ago, this author gives ' a most credible account of the Ger many from which he fled in 1933 afjer a brave battle against the nazis. He is the inspired essayist, who takes up an idea as tho hiker takes an unmarked path, never sure where it will lead . but always arriving at a place i';. worth going to. He progresses something like this: 1, belief in abstract thinking; 2, loss of be- lief after a meal which upsets him; 3, idea that "a really com plete autobiography should also . include a short survey of all tho daily menus." Or like this: 1, lonely office at Auslandspost; 2, crowded editorial sessions in this country; 3, the suggestion that even in a democracy three or four or more men can't do one man's job when that job is to execute decisions. Commenting on the "strange German dualism which separat ed the religious and intellectual sphere from that of political and social reality," he reports "most of the really intelligent people Jwere not interested in politics." trie is not above poking fun at ;; the idea that Hitler could be estopped by poking fun at Hit tier . . . which was what Sim plicissimus cartoons did super bly. ' Those of us who keep asking Why the Germans themselves did not succeed in preventing Hitler's rise are reminded, fair ly enough, that they did as much toward that end as the democratic countries did in the early years to check Hitler's Germany. Schoenbemer tells some re vealing stories about. disciplined German citizens who risked their lives by .exposing them selves to bullets in order to obey a sort of "keep off the grass" sign, or nearly starved in the midst of ample government foods for lack of a written, or der permitting them to eat those supplies. Unable to speak English two years ago, Schoenbemer writes it with an understanding of con notations and a sense for phras ing which many American au thors ought to envy, and to "emulate. Dtp GGQOOG0 (Continued from, page 1) misshapen illustrations or tho even more grotesque narrative must have repelled me, for I never managed to get the book read through. Fairy tales I could' endure though they seemed more like girls' reading matter. At least the fancy of -the fairy tales was gracefully drawn, while Alice's wonderland was improbable, unromantic and un appealing. I preferred the red der meat of Cooper's Leather stocking tales or the Henty ser ies, with an .occasional range Into a bootlegged Dick Merriwell story. Noting through the years that a working knowledge of "Alice" seemed indispensable to the edi torial hack 1 have returned to It on occasion, and confess I have somewhat revised my opinion of the book. Mine is an acquired taste, . like that for green olives after the ninth trial. I have concluded though . that "Alice in Wonderland" isn't really a child's book after Practical Religion John U. Knight. Jr. Counselor on Religious Life, Willamette jniversity. In this modern scientific era when we are extremely conscious of natural law, religion needs to re-emphasize moral law. That is, we should be reminded that the moral order of the universe is just as real and as sure as the natural order. Scientific endeavor progresses only as science discovers and utilizes the exacting laws of the natural order. Human living progresses only as mankind dis covers and utilizes the exacting laws of the moral order. As Charles Fletcher Cale once put it: "The Golden Rule works like gravitation." We need to remember that jus tice, righteousness, equality, de cency, brotherhood and love are basic principles so woven into the fabric of life that if we break one thread we mar the whole pattern. all, buf one for adults. For chil dren it is just a nonsense book, the crazier its story the more It is appreciated by the agile mind of budding childhood. It really takes the adult however to enjoy its subtle humor, and Carroll's artistry on the literary lathe. Other people, I have found, did not relish "Alice" until they were grown. And invlooking up some material on the work I find in a printed transcription of a radio dialogue on CBS sev eral years ago Mark Van Doren asking the novelist Katherine Ann Porter: "I was curious to know whether you, like other women of my acquaintance, were horrified by this book rather than made happy by it when you were a little girl. She responded, "I was;, it was a horror story to me." And Bertrand Russell, who admitted growing up on a first edition of "Alice," gave this comment: V "I don't regard it now as a perfectly satisfactory children's book. ... In fact, I should like to lSbel It 'For Adults Only.' I don't think it's a suitable book for the young." ' It is always comforting to find one's opinions confirmed. I doubt not however that scores will testify otherwise and pro fess to retain happy memories of hours spent in childhood poring over the odd misadven tures of "Alice in Wonderland." The wearing quality of the book as literature has been amply proven. Its characters, like the Mad Hatter, the March Hare, Mock Turtle and the Cheshire cat which left its grin behind, are woven into the warp of our literature. And for an Indefi nite time columnar pundits suf fering from fallen literary arches will continue to quote from ""Alice," using its rare humor and quaint speech to brighten their heavy-footed cerebrations. Lewis' Strategy Believed To Presage Unprecedented Demands for Higher Wages By the World Staff of tho Associated FrOaa. WASHINGTON Some bituminous coal operators, who have been mystified' for; weeks by John 14 Lewis' tactics in his -contract nego:. tiations, now think they know what he Is up to a demand for wages r thajt will be higher than any yet granted by' a major Industry. The leader of the United Mine Workers, who have been on strike for s week, so far has refused to discuss wages and hours without a prior commitment from the mine I owners to set up a health and wel fare fund land improve pine work' ing conditions. j But once the strike has created an Industrial crisis, the operators surmise, Lewis will withdraw, at least temporarily, his health and safety proposals and spring a de mand for higher wages and short er hours which would net the miners up to a '30 per cent in crease. The operators already have offered to grant " an Increase of 1$H cents an hour, the raise given CIO workers in steel autos and oil. By Liclity 111 HHW i.isl vjCc. 2gv;-r- building Hearing Set at Burns Regarding PUD Plan Hearing on the preliminary pe tition for creation of the proposed Harney county peoples utility dis trict has been set foeApril 13 at Bums, the state hydroelectric commission announced Saturday. The district would include three large parcels of land with the city of Burns included. Navy Notes: .', WASHINGTON Don't look for any-move soon to fill the vacant position of undersecretary of . the navy. After' getting .Its fingers burnt on the nomination of Ed Pauley, the administration has de cided to let the matter cool for a bit. WASHINGTON r- The naval academy at Annapolis probably will never be turned Into a post graduate school,' despite efforts of several members of the house naval affairs committee. The plan's proponents say distinctions between academy and non-acade my men would be eliminated If all future naval officers were first educated in civilian universities. i PRAGUE Artificial meat soon will be sold to Czechoslovakians. The ministry of information says if is made from a yeast, "Torula Utills." CHICAGO Civilian ; consump tion of meat in the April-June quarter will decline from an an nual rate of 150 pounds a person to 139 pounds, the American meat institute says, but will jump to' 1R6 pounds In the OctoberDe- cetnber quarter. e o rersonals: WASHINGTON Mrs. Oveta Culp Hobby, former WAC direc tor, will be offered another gov ernment post .... Harold Ickes Used to abhor "bromides" In other people's columns. Now; that he's a columnist too, newsmen are watching to see whether he avoids them So fair, he has . '. t Style Change: a NEW YORK B. F. Goodrich Co. finds that most new cars are using tires with a 15 -inch inside diameter. ' For the past decade the majority used 16-inch tires. " MOKE CAPITAL BRIEFS: WASHINGTON Don't expect the first of the commerce departj ment's reports on the incentive system until' early fall . . . The federal communications commis sion says construction of new radio stations will not be too seriously delayed by the veterans housing program. It believes many Items needed to build them are not af fected by the freeze on non-essential construction.' ( SETTLEMENT ANNOUNCED ! PORTLAND April 6 (Special) The OPA announced today ; that price panels of local price con trol boards have reported settle ments for alleged overcharges, in cluding: Salem, H. L. Stiff Furni ture company, $50, rentals on ret rigerators, $360 on used piano. all wu&r blchj fourtt pot's Njr CONTAIN' VFAD- BUT GPP? 'iuc 'it rim. 1ST Tribute Paid - To John Lamb On Retirement Nearly 200 persons attended a banquet at the Marion bote! last night in honor of John Lamb, 834 Center st., supervising wire chief of . the Pacific Telephone and. Telegraph company here, who is ! retiring after nearly 39 years in ; its service. " Company representatives were present from Portland, Tillamook, Astoria, Corvallis, Albany and the Salem office. Toastmaster was Kenneth Barker,! senior switch man, and brief talks were given by men with whom Lamb bad worked. 6 - . Lamb entered the telephone business with the Western Amer ican Telephone company at Boise, Idaho, in 1902. He went with- the' Idaho Independent Telephone company in 1905, and on May 13, 190T joined the P.T. & T, as ap-'- prentice switchman. Later he was ' clerk, repairman, testboard man, wire chief, and In 1923 became district plant manager at Eu gene. He came to Salem in 1935. Lamb's wife and children, with the : latter's families, also were present last night. Presentations included a lifemembership in the Telephone Pioneers'- i association. Lamb now intends to engage in the manufacture of a lawn edger. from the boosing administration, tell him we're it for a veteran with 185 dependents!" building STEVENS Diamonds exquisitely srtyled in the best of: taste. All settings are designed to 'enhance the size and brilliance of each diamond. Available ! individually or in perfectly, matched sets . . . styles in platinum or in gold. .' diamonds reset While you watt Extended Payments vl 339 Court St. i 4 i 1 . 4 i 1 i i I f ( i 4 X -I '