4 Capita Journal, Salem, Ore.. Wednesday, Mar. 21, 1945
Capital jkJournal
SALEM. OREGON
ESTABI.ISIIKI) lS
An Independent Newspaper Published Ever? Afternoon Except Sunday
at 444 Chemeketa St Phones Business office 3571: News Room 3572;
Society Editor 3573
GEORGE PUTNAM.
FULL LEASED WIRE SERVICE OF THE ASSOCIATED
AND THE I'NITED PRESS
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all news dispatches credited to It or otherwise credited In this paper
and also local news published herein.
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The News Is Good, Too Good
News of Allipd successes in Europe and nf American vic
tories in the Pacific these past few days have been Knd,
too good in fact to react advantageously to the future prose
cution of the war which depends in a large measure upon
the sustained efforts of those of us here at home. In the
face of reports of crumliliiiK German defenses on the western
front, of routed Nazi troops retreating in disorder, of whole
sale destruction of the enemy's mobile equipment, and of
the capture of tens of thousands of prisoners, it is hard to
convince ourselves that the war in that part of the world
is not nearly over.
Yet President Roosevelt in addressing the nation last
night said that he was not one of those who predicts an early
end to hostilities in Kurope. And Prime Minister Churchill
in his latest ventured opinion foresees that fighting may go
into the summer or early fall.
The news that carrier planes of Vice Adm. Mitscher's now
famous task force 58 has located long sought .lap fleet in
the inland sea and has attacked and damaged it seriously,
even when coupled with the highly successful R-2!) raids on
Tokyo and other war production centers on the home islands,
the reoccupation of the Philippines and the conquest of Iwo
Jima, fails to bring the end of the conflict in the Pacific
into guessing range. There is no indication that even a
successful invasion of the home islands would bring Japan
to her knees, but might only transfer the bitter struggle to
the mainland of Asia.
What expenditure of men, money and materiel still lies
ahead no one knows. What grief and hardship and sacrifice
may yet be demanded of us none can estimate. This is a time
for prayer and work, not for rejoicing over victories lhat are
but incidental to the whole task and which ure being bought
dearly in blood and lives.
Combat Engineers
The life of a combat engineer may be neither a long nor a
merry one, lacks the glamour of many other branches of the
armed services and most of the attending publicity. En
gineering is the oldest branch nf the military service and
West Point was founded for instruction along this line before
becoming a training college for officers. Top graduates
are still assigned to various branches of engineering.
The combat engineer is in the vanguard of every advance
of troops and provides rearguard protection and demolition
in event of a withdrawal. Diversity of activities is matched
only by ingenuity and over any given span of time is not
monotonous.
Combat engineers were on the job when the Remagon
bridge collapsed and it will be combat engineers who restore
it for use. It is combat engineers who clear the pathway
of assaults, throw up temporary bridges and man pontoon
boats to carry the storming troops across a waterway, be it
canal, stream or river.
"Our troops advanced .... after paths had been opened
through mine fields by combat engineers," reads a line or two
in a press dispatch. Hecause of specialized training, reports
indicate that comparatively few of this branch are fatalities
and casualties light. Searching for and destroying land
mines is just another job for the men of this versatile
service.
While not trained to the point of perfection acquired by
his brother in arms in the infantry, he is familiar with many
small weapons, particularly rifle and sidearm, and in many
instances is called upon to fill in gaps left by infantry cas
ualties. Hence his title of combat engineer.
The combat engineer wears red and white piping on
his cap and a castle is his insigia.
The Fight on Williams
A strong fight in the United States senate is heing made
against the confirmation nf Aubrey Williams as rural electri
fication administrator. Mr. Williams is a professional social
uplifter; entered government service with the New Deal in
lil.'ili with the Federal Emergency Relief Administration as
assistant administrator and promoted the loaf raking proj
ects nf the depression era. In 1 035 he was appointed assist
ant WI'A administrator and also director of the National
Youths Administration until that costly bureau was abol
isned by congress in l'.M.'i, and has been liquidating its affairs
since.
Mr. Williams has had no business experience, never met a
payroll, and knows nothing about electricity. Senator Willis
(U., hid.), who is leading the opposition to Williams' con
firmation, said in the senate debale that Williams' .only
qualification for the job is his "ability to speak beautiful
words." and that his business experience was as "a clerk in
a man's furnishing store" but he had proven "a profligate
spender, with a careless disregard for the sacredness of
public funds" and "a shodder of crocodile tears for the un
derprivileged." Most of t he object ions voiced by others were
to his "communist tendencies."
In the eyes of the New Dealers, especially to such sup
porters of Williams as the ('K)-PA(' these are supreme
qualifications, especially as be has been "cleared with Sid
ney." He has proven his ability to waste public funds on a
grand scale. Besides, wbal difference does it make? If
Williams is not confirmed, another one of the same stripe
will be named preferably some lame duck that knows his
way about congress if he doesn't know anything about
electricity. "Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise."
Cooperation the Key
Cooperation in the enforcement of nH-n ivmttviU io tVm
key to success of America's home front battle to prevent
disastrous inflation: cooperation by everyone concerned, Ihe
consuming public, the merchants,' local price panels which
apply the regulations and by the higher-ups in the rationing
machine who perform the basic function of establishing
price ceilings. Kut upon those who fix the prices and those
who pay them lies Ihe greatest responsibility.
Ceilings thiii jive t,M, low to permit of fair pvofits only
Invite attempts at circumvention by merchants whose cost's
are steadily mounting, and unprotested payment of over
ceiling prices serves to encourage such violations.
The lot of the merchant, plagued as he is with seeminglv
senseless regulations and red tape, is an unhappy one and
the more so if he be conscientious in seeking to comply with
them. Hut no less vexing and difficult in the set-up' is the
role of the local price panels. I'pon them falls the unpleasant
duty of adjusting and applying to varying community con
ditions the edicts promulgated by a bureau 3tmo miles away.
They must sit in judgment upon their friends and neighbor's.
It is a job that must be done, however, lest runawav prices
upset the economic balance of the country and defeat an
important phase of the wiir effort. It oh n host lie done hv
conMTHtion ami liy a determination on the part of every
citizen lo cluuyr or pay no more than ceiling price, ami to
report. all overcharges to his local rationing board.
Editor and Publisher
ig$ for SsHpgieir
By Don I'pjohn
The controversy over the
start of spring became a nation
al issue today, apparently. Miss
j Nean West called us up on the
! phone and advised lhat Ted
I Collins and Kate Smith on their
jradio hour had a special ccle
j brat ion this a. m. to herald this
! as the first day of sprint? and
i that the New York Breakfast
club did the same thing. Last
night we happened to hear the
incomparable Hildogarde an
nounce on her program that
"tomorrow is the first clay of
spring." This sounds like pretty
incontrovertible evidence when
stacked up against the advice of
one slender little girl in the
front office of our favorite
paper who continued to stand
like a pint-sized Rock of Gibral
tar for her contention that
spring started yesterday and not
today. And behind the pint
sized Rock of Gibraltar, was
that good old f u I 1 - s i z e d
Rock of Gibraltar, The World
Alamanac which advises
in cold black type: "The sea
sons in 1945 (Kastern Standard
Time) begin as follows: Vernal
Equinox (Spring), March 20,
6:38 p. m." There you have it,
Ted Collins, Kate Smith, Hilde-
garde, Sips and the others to
the contrary notwithstanding.
Wa guess we'll have to string
along with the little girl in the
front office and the World Al
manac, let the Kate Smiths, Ted
Novelties
In the News
' B the Aaanrifttrd PrfAS)
Just Kids
! J. t'olnian, an ex-jap prisoner,
says inai me iip is a lougn
fighting man," but he's tickled
' pink if he obtains a Yo-Yo.
j The major asserted that Yo-
I Yos to the Japs were "the most
precious of all," and they would
"strut around" playing with the
! toys.
Hungry Goat
Kansas City In the Kansas
City police station, a room is
set aside for bicycles lhat have
been picked up on t ho street.
A sergeant says the job is to
gel I he bicycles hack into I ho
hands of the rightful owners,
adding it's "a difficult job at
best."
Today, a wayward goat, cor
ralled temporarily with the
bikes, chewed the identification
tags off the recovered vehicles.
"Now we don't even know
where we found the bicycles,"
moaned the officer.
Ach Tung
Cheyenne, Wyo. Tile Wyom
ing department of agriculture
; doesn't know who woo the ar
gument hut it dcs know thai
Adolf Hitler never did, doesn't
i now ami never will own a ranch
i in W online.
I It so ad ised l.orene Harris,
, Folsom. I'alif., who asked the
I department to settle a "hot nr
! Kunient' 'on the subject.
ROOF LEAK?
CALL
Mm?
Dial
KKI'AIKS
FREE DISSEMINATION
OF CUD INFORMATION
iStZZl ESSENTIAL
LET cm
w3
MEWS FLOW E
CZZ3 FREELY
"Passed V
Collins and Hildegardes fall
where they way. Anyway, we
thank Nean West for calling to
back us up in our earlier prog
nostications which fixed today
as the glad and gleeful time.
Our little pint-sized expert on
spring explained it this way:
Due to the fact that last year
was Leap Year with an extra
day in it. spring comes a day
earlier than usual this year.
Next year it will be vernal
equinoxing at the same old date,
she says. Doggone, we don't
know how one mite of feminin
ity can be smarter than all the
big shots.
A lot of towns in Germany
seem to have the word "Bad"
as a prefix. It could be made
general.
Experience Indicates
(Art Perry in Medford Mail
Tribune) The public has started to
wonder how long the current
ration points for food system,
will last after Germany has
surrendered. A conservative
guess holds it will prevail, un
til about 60 days before the
congressional elections next fall.
Happened across Andy Han
sen, the planing mill magnate,
on Stale street. Andy had n saw
and was sawing a piece of alum
inum window molding. He
looked al. us kinda disgusted
like as we stood (here and look
ed Ht him, and then he remark
ed. "How come, here 1 have to
j work like a dog all my life and
all you do is just walk around
i and watch people work? It ain'l
: fair." Aha. Andy, but just think
You have a planing mill and all
we have is a 1!M2 typewriter
and two top notch sets of vario
cose veins. Maybe that evens
the situation up.
Disqusred Robber
Gives Victim $20
Seattle. March 21 (U.RiA
hold-up man was so annoyed
to find a near-penniless victim
that he stuffed a $20 bill in his
pocket.
Charles Hope. 64-year-old
janitor, said the thug, a navy
sailor, attempted to rob him yes
terday. Hope had only AS cens
in his pockets.
The sailor swore vigorously
and then shoved the bill in the
janitor's pocket.
r
OE3QE IOE3Q
1
Shop
WOODROW'S
for
UNPAINTED
FURNITURE
Chests of drawers, baby
chests, end tables, wall
shelves, linoleum top
desks, bedside chests, twin
beds and bunk beds, plate
mirrors.
Liberal Terms
WOODROW'S
n
3:5-34.1 Center
St.
I' IOC3QE
tonoi
375
Chemekeia
NKYV HOOFING
.wttMHMflS
dj
US, Censors,
Drum Majorettes
Contest March 29
Tom Hill and Vernon Wis
carson, co-chairmen on arrange
ments for the annual drum ma
jorette contest which has been
staged by the local Elks lodge t
for several years with drum ma-' ing without which the re
jorette entrants from various gime must perish, and CI) de
parts of the state participating, ' terioration of the German mili
have announced that this year I lary machine to the point where
the contest will be held Thurs
day evening, March 29 at the
armory instead of at the Elks
temple.
Heretofore the contests have
been held in the Elks' hall but
due to lack of space there and
general demand for accomoda
tions to handle a larger crowd,
arrangements have been made
to secure the armory. Already
16 girls have entered from a
number of districts in the stale
and several more are expected.
An additional feature will be
a 100-piece high school band
under the direction of Vernon
Wiscarson.
tff!
FIRST
MIMBIR
The War Today
By DeWitt Mackenzie
An Interpretative analysis of
war developments by a fam
ous Associated Press war correspondent.
So let's talk about war's end
in Europe and peace and all
that sort of thing this being
the beginning of spring, which
not only is the season peculiar
to hope but is the inspiration of
great deeds.
Of course we aren't supposed
to discuss peace not right out
in the open because that might
stimulate over-optimism. I'm
well-aware that I shall receive
letters, written both in sorrow
and in anger, accusing me of
coddling complacence. However,
this isn't a bad time to give
peace the "once over." and not
wait for the war to blow up in
our faces without warning.
Surely we don't need a sooth
sayer to tell us we are near the
end of the European war. In
deed we are so close to it that
the nazis might quit at any time!
Having said this we mustif
we are to justify discussion of
early peace at once recognize
that the fighting might continue
for a considerable time if Himm- i
ler and Goebbcls cling to their
mad scheme of battling to a
finish. Even so, it will be sur
prising if it goes further than
late spring or early summer.
No Delusions for Nazis
The nazi leaders have no de
lusions about their defeat. De
spite their typically Prussian
effort to bully the allies into a
compromise, the Hitlerites have
been fishing for peace and that
is official.
When the armistice comes, it
may arrive out of the blue with
out warning as the result of
sub-rosa discussions of a "semi
official" charcater.
Hitlerdom is cracking up fast,
both militarily and politically.
Always have thought and have
so indicated in this column
that the collapse of Germany
would be premised on one of
two things: (1) The loss of Hit
ler's personal leadership since
1 hp ha hopn nnTicm'c irprv main.
the allies would be able to crash
through the last great barrier
of Hitler's inner fortress the
Siegfried line and the Rhine in
the west, and the powerful Oder
defenses in the east.
Tearing Them to Shreds
We are on the verge of ful
filling the military requirement.
The vastly superior allied ar
mies are tearing the "invulner
able" defenses to shreds. We
have breached them on both
sides and are ahout to pour
great armies through them into
the open plains of central Ger
many. We've done more than
that, for the allied air navies
have so blasted the resurces
ifcu need money . .
TBam Ep& E9I BS9B9 Ess rand
tmva siaW kb eIj da Ja
Bolio,w from (he
FIEST NATIONAL BANE
Becuue,
It costs' less to borrow from a bank.
You establish Your Credit for future use.
You have a full year to repay a loan of
any amount from $50 to $1000.
' EEMEMBEH!...IT'S THUIFTY
TO BORROW FROM THE FIRST NATIONAL
Any Branth
NATIONAL BANK OF PORTLAND
''Merchants of Credit" for SO yars
f I O I R A I OIPOSIT IMSURANCI CORPORATION
of the reich that the Hitlerites
are living off their own fat.
Once the Russians and the
western allies are sweeping ac
ross Germany, organized resist
ance will collapse quickly if
it lasts that long.
The other requirement loss
of Hitler's leadership already
has been fulfilled. He is re
ported to be a brokpn shell of a
man for whom Himmler the
hangman and propaganda min
ister Goebbeis are ghosting in
an effort to keep the facts from
the German public. But truth
will out. and the people will
quit, despite Himmler's rule of
death when finally they realize
Hitler is finished.
Pay Increases to
Portland Teachers
Portland. Ore.. March 21 Ol.tt
Pay increases totaling $2,800.
000 over a nine-year period
were voted for Portland teach
ers last night by the school
board.
Reversing a stand taken a
week previously, the board by
a four-to-three vote approved a
schedule submitted by the su
perintendent's office, which was
a combination of recommenda
tions by teachers' committees,
the administrative staff and the
plan submitted by Dr. John Al
mack, school finance expert at
Stanford university.
The immediate effect will be
to increase salaries for starting
teachers, while under the long
range plan the chief beneficiar
ies among the city's 1600 teach
ers will be the veterans.
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