Capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1919-1980, September 21, 1951, Image 4

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Capital journal., September 21, 1951, Image 4

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Newspaper Page Text"' Capital Aournal An Inc'epeocent Newspcper EsfcblisKed 1SSS GEORGE PUTNAM, Editor and Publisher ROBERT LETTS JONES, Assistant Publisher Published every chernxn except Sunday ot Hi Oe meketa St., Ss'em. Phones." Business, Newsrcom, Wcnt Acs, 2-24C6; Society Editor, 2-2409. Full Leased Wire Service of the Associated Press and The United Press. The Asscocted Press is exclusive'', entitled to the use for publication cf oil news oisoctcHes credited to if c- otherwise cred'ted in this pcper end c'so news published th.e-ein. SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Bt Carrier: Weekly. 25c: Monthly. Sl.tt: One Tear $1J.. Br Mail in Orecon: Monthly. 75e: i Mos.. S4.: One Year $!.. C S. Ootside Oregon: Monthly. SIM: S Mos St.tt: Tear, III. A Salem. Oregon. Friday, September 21, 1951 CONGRESSIONAL ECONOMY The honownes.5 and insincerity of congress in its econ omy efforts was never better revealed than in its over riding of President Truman's a'.most single effort to save money by his veto of the bi!! increasing- pensions of vet erans disabled in civil life. The measure calls for the payment of $120 a month to certain disabled veterans whose disabilities are in no way connected with military service. They now get from SSO to ?72 a month. In his veto message Mr. Truman called it a bare-faced grab of public money that will some day call for an expen diture of $16.7 million the first year and eventually $400 million a year. He declared that such veterans should be cared for under measures that apply to the whole popula tion and not under a special group, that while veterans disabled in service are entitled to adequate pensions and received them, others were not. The grab was passed by both houses, and the veto overridden by both houses. In the house the vote to override was 318 to 45. The 45 were mostly of the younger group and largely of World War II combat experience, the nucleus of those who a year ago defeated the Rankin bill to give everyone who served 90 days in any war J90 for life at the age of 62. The senate overrode the veto by a vote of 69 to 9. In its "economy" efforts the house Thursday shouted through by voice vote three pay increase bills for more , than a million and a half, postal employes and government white collar workers, of around $400 a year. The bills are retroactive to July 1 and total $670 million annually. The senate had approved similar bills earlier the biggest pay boosts ever given federal employes at one time. About 500.000 employes of the postal field service get the basic $400 pay boost, although new employes entering the postal service will get as much as $700. Postal em ployes who have not received an advancement in the three .lowest pay grades since 1945 would get $600. Postmas ters of small fourth-class post offices would get a 20 i per cent increase in their salary. Hourly employes would get 20 cents an hour more. . In another bill, the house also voted salary boosts aggre gating S16,900,000 to the nation's 42.000 postmasters and 26,000 postal supervisors. Principal difference in the house and senate postal bills is that the senate voted a $400 flior and an SSOO ceiling, while the house provided a basic increase of only $400. The house postal pay bills total approximately $252,000,000 a year. The house then voted $417,445,000 a year in increases for approximately 1,043.614 employes of the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government. The sen ate bill for non-postal employes provides a 10 per cent increase and an $800 maximum for all. The big salary hike even had the house talking about more money for its own members, now getting $15,000 a year in salary and expenses. Democratic leader McCor mack of Massachusetts told the house he hoped that be fore the next session ends 15 months from now. congress would have "the courage" to vote its members $25,000 a year. Members applauded. He said the present pay of cenators and representatives is "unfortunate" and he thought their constituents favored more money for hard working congressmen. "I have the courage to vote for such an increase in my salary and I am sure all of you have," he said. Congress shouts continuously for economy just as the Kremlin shouts for peace but the clamor of both is belied by acts. ADMIRAL TALKS BACK It was only two years ago that the then secretary of defense, Louis Johnson, tried to scuttle the United States navy. He fired the Navy chief of staff, Admiral Der.feld, and then ordered work stopped on the huge aircraft car rier, the United States. Denfeld was tossed out of his ranking position in the Navy,becausc he stood up for equal consideration for the naval service. In those days the air force was the fair-haired branch. The K.jrean war changed all that. The Navy was suddenly brought back to life. The ships which the Brass Hats had decided were obsolete were the ones which transported the bulk of men and equipment to the war zone. The ships of the line the cruisers, destroyer? and aircraft carriers went right into action in cooperation with the ground troops and the air force. The huge aircraft carrier was ordered back on the ways again for construction with its name changed to Forrestal in honor of the first secretary of defense. The Truman administration decided that it missed a calamity by a bare margin with its attitude of belittling the value of the navy in this atom age. The late Admiral Sherman, who succeeded Denfeld. didn't have to wait long to show that the navy was still a vital part of the defense team which is composed of all branches of the armed forces. Earlier this week Admiral Fechteler, the new navy chief of staff who filled in when Sherman died, showed that the navy is going to continue to fight for its con tention that a balanced team of defense forces is what the nation needs. He said that air power alone could not stop a Russian -advance into western Europe any more than it had stopped communist ground force advances in the Korean war. Ar.d he added, "The conventional type of warfare with which we are all familiar has not become obsolete," He was referring to the foot soldier, the navy ship, and the other so-called "obsolete" units because of atom war fare. If Fechteler had talked that way publicly two years v ago, he would have met the same fate that Denfeld, Crommelin and the others did. He would be in civilian clothes now. That Fechteler can pet away with talk like that is an Indication, it is hoped, that the Truman administration is finally acknowledging the need for proper recognition for each branch of the armed services. That recognition realir.es that no one branch can do the job alone of pro tecting the Ucited .States from enemies abroad. BY BECK Life at Its Lowest i , j ,v i s A"t all Rorr. t ! ' f 1 S V0U ST-- tYlMG r l J :J I AFTPR THE OTHER -V;-,"VKi Kw VOU VEREDO THOSE V 0THE3 BRUTAL BOVS -C --V W . Kyl,"'' " I " POO? AUN'S PHILOSOPHER Think You Have Troubles? Consider These Veterans By HAL BOYLE New York ---P So you think you have troubles, and life's got you down? What would you do if you actually had a permanent handi cap in life? How would you iace it? The American Legion is gelling some wonderful answers to that question in "Operation Comeb a c k. a nation-wide con test to honor veteijans who have overcome physical handi caps. . The 586 entry letters are a rollcall of hu man spir i t u a 1 valor in rising above adversity. Take the case of Jepiha C. Tanksley of Atlanta, Ga., a young West Point graduate hit by an enemy mortar shell in It aly in 1944. Both arms were fractured, his left eye was gone, both legs were amputated. "There wasn't much left for a young man who had planned an army career." he wrote. "The facts were cruel but clear; one life had ended a new one must begin. "I made a definite decision . not to worry one bit about my injuries, to treat tbem as an existing condition and to do whatever was necessary to master the situation and per form some worthwhile service in the future." He spent two years in hos pitals getting eye-and-limb fit tings and learning to walk again "Since that time everything has been wonderful."' Tanksley said. He went through law school and was elected presi dent of the student body. He was married, bought a house, has an 18-month-oid son. is en gaged in law practice in Atlanta. "1 drive my own car when and where I please, and most of my friends do not suspect the full extent of my injuries,' his letter continued. Equally gTateful is Lewis As tor Moore, a nearly blind insur ance executive of Gadsden. Ala. Moore, a survivor of the Ba taan death march in 1942, a'.I IN HOT AND COLD WARS How This Week's News Balanced for Good and Bad By HARRY FERGUSON Balance shc-et for the week between good and bad news in the hot and cold wars: GOOD NEWS 1. There are signs that the communists are ready to resume the cease-fire negotiations in the Korean war. Apparently the orders have come down from Moscow and Pei- pir.g to try to 1$ end the fighting rather than risk everything in all-out Red fensive. There is r.o guar a n t e e that a cease-fire is imminent, but both sides are in the mood to talk about one. Mirrr Til 2. The North Atlantic treaty powers concluded nm-Mtful meeting in Ottawa and cleared the wav for bringing Greece and w iItDor government remain, Turkev into the European ami- in Power or Winston Churchill communist coalition. Thev also conservatives take over. Until have made it possible for Italy to lh voters decide the issue. Bri. increase her armed sirengtS and u wlU unble ' undertake the three nations will be able to n? mor international commit cor"ibute substantial strength menSs T ct Jvely in imple to Gen. Dwight i. Eisenhower's mUng commitments already army. 3. The tension in Berlin has been eased by an agreement be tween communist east Germany ard west Germany for $100,000. 000 worth of trade. Part of the agreement is that the commun ists agree to end all travel re strictions between the two sec tions of the nation. The immedi ate threat of another Berlin biockadt cu been coded, f Ebb dear OH TVC GRASS BOYS GOT UP I but lost his sight from nutri tional disease suffered in Japan ese prison camps. "I could not possibly have at tained the success I have had (except for) the assistance of the ve:erans administration and my wife, whom I met while in serv ice and who is also a disabled veteran," he wrote. Although his vision has stead ily weakened. Moore in five years built a general insurance agency which nets him S10.000 to S12.000 a year. He is active in social and war veterans' or ganizations. Another impressive letter came from Ralph J. Anslow of Glendora, Calif. An exploding mine in 194S blew both his arms off at the elbows, punctured h is ear drums, severely damaged his mouth and teeth and scarred his face beyond recognition. He was completely blind for four-and-one-half years and underwent five operations. He now has fair vision in one eye. "Exter.sive plastic surgery, tattooing and sandpapering of my face drastically improved my appearance." he said. "And treatment restored my hearing." Using hooks for hands, Ans- low learned how to eat, write, dress himself and use garden tools. He now supports himself. his wife and his cmldren as special service officer for the blinded veterans association, for whom he edits a news bulletin. "The miraculous restoration of my Ttsion has strengthened my faith in God." he wrote. "Struggling with difficulties teaches me patience and ap preciation of the feelings of other. I dedicate time daily to increasing my self-sufficiency and becoming a more productive American citizen.' They are only three of many who have had the faith and courage to fight back, when their world seemed at an end. BAD NEWS 1. The crisis in Iran reached the point where unless a solu tion is reached soon the cation is likely to fall within Russia's economic sphere. The Iranians and Russians are talking about a barter agreement under which the oil that formerly went to Britain will go to Moscow. The Iranian oil is vital to Britain j economy and the defense of western Europe. 2. Great Britain will go through a month of uncertainty until Oct 25 when a general election will determine whether made. 3. Sen. Bnen McMahon, con gressional expert on atomic en ergy, revealed in a speech this week that Russia is capable of attacking between 20 and 30 American cities if she starts a surprise offensive. The United States if comfortably ahead in the race for atomic weapons, but the communists have great de structive weapons available if they choose to us Ima, WASHINGTON MERRY-GO-ROUND Army Chief of Staff Consoles Discharged West Pointers By DREW PEARSON Washington. It was never meant to be published, but Gen. J. Law-ton Collins, the army chief of staff, has written a private letter to the spokesman for the 88 discharged West Point cadets. In it he made the strange statement that while they were not good enough to be West Point officers they were still good enough to be army ofu- cers. 'T will say for the army that your separation from West Point in itself will not be grounds for disbarment from the reserv e onicers train- leg corps, offi c e r candidate schools, or other similar programs under army jurisdiction.'' General Collins wrote to the discharged cadets through their spokesman, Her bert Johns-Dn. In other words, the army's military boss officially recog nizes what reserve officers have so bitterly criticized, that the West Point clique is a separate and superior caste. In contrast. General Marshall who retired last week, was not a West Point er, while many civilian universi ties which turn out reserve of ficers maintain the highest eth ical and academic standards. General Collins" letter, ex plaining his policy, stated: "The frank admission of guilt and wholesome spirit of repentance which I find , . . confirm my first impression that those in volved in this aifair, while open ly admitting their violation of the cadet code of honor, are cot fundamentally men of bad mor als or character. REASONS FOR LENIENCY Thev have, however, fallen into evil ways. They have not, in the words of the cadet prayer, preferred the 'harder right in stead of the easier wrong.' and in their failure have brought sor row upon themselves and upon the military academy. "Many of your group," Gen eral Collins continued, "have mace partial amends for this past offense by the straightfor ward way in which you have assisted the authorities in inves tigating this matter and in put ting the situation to rights. r Dm Fami "I sincerelv hope that you will Burnett Maybank of South Car all leave the academv deter- oliDa- but his colleagues some mined to redeem this early fault have Acuity understand- by the character of the lives which you lead hereafter." Note: Though past violators of the honor code received dis honorable discharges, Collins showed special leniency to the 88. He explained to them: "I did not feel that the conduct of the cadets warranted the usual dis- ,k";, cases; that is to say. one wnicn indicated discharge under con ditions other than honorable. However, in justice to cadets who have received this type of discharge for honor offenses in the past, one cannot justify an honorable discharge in the pres ent case. Instead, it has been de cided to allow the cadets to re sign and to receive a simple ad ministrative discharge without specification as to circum stances." EISENHOWER REPORTS General Eisenhower is well satisfied with the progress of western Europe s defense pro- gram, he told a congressional group in Paris recently. Then he acded: "But the job I d like to see accomplished isn t half done." Eisenhower figures it will take another year, "probably by the end of 1952." to get our Atlantic Pact allies in top shape, militar ily and economically. He explained that he was thinking in terms of ' total de fense" against possible Soviet ag gression anywhere this side of the Iron Curtain. This didn't mean, he said, that Atlantic Pact ... . - prepared o give a good account of themselves if called to action in tne meantime. Ike added some pointed pro- OPEN FORUM Ready to Call World Hand To the Editor: Have read of the card game between the free world and Stalin, which appeared in the Capital Journal Sep tember 17 by Harry Ferguson. He is perhaps cot aware that there is another one also in the game, who is ready to call our hand: He is not recognized at the U.N. and not wanted in ' (enough) homes. The All Omnip- Unless we mend our ways, not otence Maker of Heaven and tomorrow but today. He will Earth, who holds a Royal Flush, call our hand and His wrath will and all we have are two duces come upon the world such as it and three other cards which are has never been witnessed before, hatred, selfishness, and immor- A. A. HAUTH. ality. ML Angel. ... j& visos to the capitol hill delega tion, led by republican Sen. Homer Ferguson of Michigan, one of which was that the people of the United States and con gress must not "let down' in their support of the Atlantic Pact program. "I know that most Americans realize that we cannot aiford to let that happen, with the world in its present state," Eisen hower emphasized. "Too much is at stake." SELLING AMERICA Other provisos Ike mentioned were the continuance of some economic aid to our European allies as well as efforts to sell America behind the Iron Cur tain. While be didn't mention specifically propaganda balloons, he made it clear that we cannot aiford to overlook any device to get the truth of our sincere ef forts to Russian satellites. He also strongly endorsed a proposal by Rep. Harold Cooley of North Carolina, chairman of the house agriculture commit tee, that advanced American farming techniques be put to work in western Europe to con serve the soil and increase food production. Eisenhower said he wasn't too much concerned about com munist activity and anti-U. S. propaganda this sice of the Iron Curtain. But he is seriously con cerned about another Israeli Arab outbreak, which Russia miSht V-'r into a third world war. None of Eisenhower's callers had the nerve to ask him about the top political question on this side of the Atlantic whether he will run for president. One or two looked at each other hopeful ly, thinking the other would pop the question. But when they filed out. not one extra ray of light had been shed on this sub ject. SENATE DLLECTS Everyone likes handsome Sen. lug mm. MaybanK comes from the "low country" around Charleston, here bath th Ne- groes and whites speak a dialect of their own. As a result, senators sitting right next to Maybank some times have no idea what he is saying. At a recent senate banking committee meeting, for instance, , , , , . , . , May bank rattled off an explana tion of a new bill. Senator Flan ders. Vermont republican, lis tened carefully. Then in his New England drawl he remarked: "To paraphrase Voltaire. I don't understand a word you say, but I'll defend your right to say it." WASHINGTON PIPELINE Though she stands aces with new Secretary of Defense Lovett, dynamic Assistant Secretary Anna Rosenberg may resign. She was brought in by George Mar shall to cut the waste out of armed services" manpower and has nearly accomplished her mis sion ...Ina swift week-end Mhi-. c Rair Moodv ind Wa;.er Reutier, of &e a,Jt(J rkerS- talked Defense Mobilizer Charley Wilson out of $800,000 in contracts to keep 40.000 Detroit workers from walking the streets . . . Writer Frieda Utley. a violent Chiang Kai-Shek partisan and ally of the Chinese embassy, is coach ing Sen. Pat McCarran's probe of alleged communists in the state department . . . Conscien tious Sen. Paul Douglas of Illi nois is one of the most sensitive men ever to enter politics. When a senate banking committee loured miserabe dum5 cf Wa5hinE.on. the Qjaker. rv,,,,,,. . . ,,,. (Crorrusi tn LP i BY CARL ANDERSON Henry THE WORLD TODAY Attlee Decided to Find Out Just How Labor Party Stands By JAMES MARLOW "Washington. Sept. 21. J? Britain and any political group running it may be in for a bad time this winter. Living costs are rising.. There may be food and fuel short ages, even though both are rationed now. And labor is demand ing wage increases. In the British elections of 1945 Clement Attlee's labor party handed Winston Churchill's con s e r v a t i ves a -whop ping de feat. The Laborites came out of those elections with a majority of 20O seats in ! i- ) i if Janes Hirln the House of Commons, which has 625 members. This was a green light to the Labor government to go ahead with its programs. With its big majoriry. it was able to push them through. It nationalized, or socialized. the Bank of England, the coal induslry, railroads and long- distance trucking, the electric ac ra-,- oil Hinn the cable and wireless services! Tho Tjbnrit5 artt a national health program. But Britain was still in a foush spot, tryirg to recover from the war. Wartime food and clothing rationing had to be con- tinued. The British government had to get monev from this coun- try to keep going. To hold down food prices and the cost of living, it had to sub- sidize farmers. The income tax in the top brackets went up to 97 -j per cent and the average middle-class Briton had to pay more than 35 per cent of his in- come on taxes. But with its big majority in Commons, tne Laoor partv stayed in the saddle. Then came 1950. five years after the previ- ous elections. Churchill's conservatives promised to halt the march to- ward more socialization of in- dustry but indicated it would undo very little of the socializ- ing already accomplished. And it wouldn't undo the social wel- fare programs, like socialized medicine, at all. The betting was that in the Pi I --Hfg IV " ccot rap""4' Vj elections of February, 1950, the Laborites would win again. And they did. But bv a startlinsly i small majority. Today they have a majority of only six among the 625 seats in Commons. That's a tight squeak for any program Attlee's party wants to put through, although it did na- the 1950 elections. Attlee's own party has been split by opposition from within the ranks. And, in addition to its other problems of getting back to normal, Britain, as a member of the Atlantic pact. has to arm and produce arms, meaning more money the gov- erament has to spend, more ex- penses. All that, together with the prospect of food and fuel short- ases and labor unrest, confronts Attlee with a winter which may be severe economical- and coli- ticaiiy. No mailer wbat happens, Britons will still have to keep their belts tightened. vl Since his administration stilC nas four years to run and since he still has a majority of six votes in Commons, Attlee might haye tried to sweat It out until 1955. Bu' 'ar sooner than that he might have found himself de- feated through a switch in votes on a vital issue. And when that happens he'd have to ask for elections anyway, When a British ruling party has only a slim majority or is outvoted, it faces the question: Does it still represent the wishes w iu ieuiue w ue.uic iaii. lost confidence in it? . In Britain unlike this coun- try where politicians cold office for a fixed period, no matter what happens the only way to get the answer on public confi- dence is to call for elections and let the people vote at once, That's what Atlee did Wed- nesday. The elections will be Oct. 25. He may lose. He seems to have decided: Better find out now than later.