Friday, Feb. 14, 1941
SOUTHERN OREGON MINER
Pago 2
GENERAL
HUGH S.
JOHNSON
Hi. Phillips
OBtà
Washington, I). C.
U. 8. OBSERVER IN GERMANY
Washington, l>. C.
LEASE-LEND QUESTIONS
Avra M Warren, chief of the state
department's visa section, uncorked
a sensational earful about condi
tions in Germany and its conquered
countries when he testified at a
closed-door session of the house ap
propriations committee.
Warren had returned from a pro
longed inspection tour of Germany,
France. Poland, Holland; and the
information he disclosed about their
internal situation was so confidential
that a committee stenographer was
instructed to leave much of it un
recorded.
Highlights of his testimony were:
(1) That Germany had enough
crucial supplies «food, gasoline and
war materials) to continue the war
for some time, but was beset with
serious internal problems in the na
tions sh» has occupied.
<2) That France, Holland. Belgium,
Poland and Denmark were not “co
operating” with Germany—in fact,
civilians in these nations were at
the point of rebellion against the
wholesale confiscation of foodstuffs
and other necessities for the Ger-
man army.
(3) That German prisoners of
war, on the whole, were treated de
cently.
The internal situation in the occu
pied areas, Warren reported, was
becoming graver by the minute.
Civilians were bitterly resentful of
German troops quartered among
them, and kept in subjection only
by the sternest military discipline.
Germany has plenty of gasoline
supplies, though of poor grade, he
said, but the shortage of lubricating
oil is so intense that its use for
civilian purposes, such as in opera
tion of elevators, is prohibited.
PLAN DEMOCRACY
PROPAGANDA
The New Deal has hired more
publicity men and run off more
miles of mimeographed press hand-
outs than any other administration
In history. Yet the biggest and most
worthwhile job of propaganda today
remains completely untouched. It
is the job which George Creel did
for Europe during the last World
war.
For it is an indisputable fact that
American
propaganda
and
the
speeches of Woodrow Wilson, perco
lating behind the lines in Germany
and Austria, helped materially to
cause the 1918 collapse of the Cen
tral Powers.
Today. a confidential plan for a
similar propaganda agency is some
where in the White House—where,
no one knows exactly. Drawn up
two months ago by certain chiefs
of tne war department, it was sent
to the White House with the recom
mendation that such a plan could do
almost as much as airplanes to
bring about the defeat of Hitler. But
nothing happened. The idea still is
reposing on the desk of one of the
six White House secretaries.
U. S. war chiefs are convinced
that this country can perform two
important propaganda functions:
1. Get across to the people of
Italy and Germany the disadvan
tages of Hitler, the advantages of
democracy, and the general idea
that there is no quarrel between the
peoples themselves.
2. Bring about greater national
unity within the United States, espe
cially among foreign-born, natural
ized citizens of German and Italian
extraction.
It is probable that the great ma
jority of Italians and Germans in
the United States are anxious to
be good American citizens and are
all too glad to be out of Europe.
However, national and racial psy
chology can easily alienate them if
not counteftcted.
To date the only agencies which
have attempted to influence German
and Italian opinion inside the United
States have been the Bund, the Fas
cist Black Shirts and similar Nazi-
Fascist organizations.
There has
been no active propaganda from the
democratic side.
Furthermore, these Italian-Ger
man groups can be the most effec
tive spearhead in getting propagan
da into Germany and Italy. Leaf
lets printed in England and dropped
from British airplanes have had no
perceptible influence in Germany.
But propaganda sent from purely
German organizations in the United
States to fellow Germans under Hit
ler is bound to carry weight
This was what George Creel did
under Woodrow Wilson. Czech, Po-
lish, Austrian and Slav groups from
Chicago to Pittsburgh created such
effective organizations that eventu
ally they brought about the fall of
the Austria-Hungarian empire and
the crumbling of the entire war
front.
MERRY-GO-ROUND
Congress has a nugiber of lin-
guists, but only one who can speak
Japanese.
He is gentle-mannered
Sen. Elbert Thomas of Utah, who
learned the language in his youth
while serving as a Mormon mis
sionary in Nippon.
One of his
daughters, born in Tokyo, is named
Chiyo, which means a “thousand
years of happiness.”
West Virginia’s hard-working Rep.
Jennings Randolph receives a lov
ing reminder from his mother ev
ery day—a rose.
The good old industrial "rule gov
erning action” should be applied to
"aid to Britain short of war” as
proposed in the “lease-lend” bill.
That rule is to test every proposed
new action by asking three ques
tions in the order named. (1) Why
do it at all? (2) Why do it MM '
<3) Why do it this way?
If it gets by Question No. I with
a good answer, it must reply to No.
2—otherwise it stops there. Only if
No. 2 is si. ‘sfactory does it proceed.
If this happens, its acceptance, re
jection or amendment will depend
on the answer to question No. 3.
There are a few earnest, honest,
courageous and sincere men. like
Colonel Lindbergh, who answer
question No. 1 (why do it at all?)
thus: “There is no good reason.”
But the answer of a large majority
of sloganeered public opinion and
also of informed authorities is:
“Because such aid to Britain as will
help to stop a threat of unfriendly
European action westward is enlight
ened self-interest."
It seems a sufficient answer, so
we go on to No. 2:
“Why do it
now?” There is less certainty about
that based largely on the objection
that it will interfere with our own
terribly laggard and lacking defen
sive preparation. But let us assume
that, by wise administration, a prop
er balance can be struck. While no
important aid can be effective this
year without stripping our own de
fense. and while we may face an en
tirely different situation next year,
yet time saved now will be time
saved in 1942. So let us say to the
proposal at the barrier of question
No. 2: “Pass friend and all's well."
That brings us to Question No. 3—
why do it this way?—the particular
way proposed by the lease-lend
bill?
The bill authorizes the President
in his own unlimited discretion to
lease, lend or give away any part
of all the billions of dollars of prop
erty the government owns to any
nation he elects and every dollar's
worth of stuff for which congress
has appropriated or may hereafter
appropriate further billions.
That
includes a great treasure in gold,
silver, copper, petroleum, cotton,
com. wheat and vast equity and first
lien interests in much of the entire
pool of prosperity in America. It in
cludes all of our military and naval
airplanes, warships, tanks, guns and
ammunition.
There is overwhelming further ob
jection.
The “Chief of Military,
Naval and Financial Supply” of a
warring nation is as much responsi
ble for its victory or defeat as its
commander-in-chief. He undertakes
control of its strategy so far as
logistics are concerned—and that is
exactly as far as armies and navies
are concerned. We are not yet in
this war and we don't want to see
our President responsible for its
conduct
The answer to question three (why
do it this way?) is “DON'T.”
• • •
BAYONET TACTICS
As more reports from the Al-
banian battle come through, it is
more apparent that the skirted
Greek equivalents of the World war
kilted Scotch "Damen von Hoelle”
(ladies from Hell) have added a new
postscript to this war—or rather, a
very old one. They have proved
once more the effectiveness of cold
steel, breast to breast, even in mod
ern mechanized war.
The suggestion comes to me from
Roy Tinney, a newspaper colleague,
but an ex-bayonet-instructor of the
late world unpleasantness,
Inter
preting current reports, he says of
these Greek bayoneteers:
‘They
duck dive bombers, detour a round
tanks and ignore machine guns un
til they are in thrusting distance of
Pegler’s bums. Then they proceed
to fight as their forefathers fought.
The Evzones’ ancient method of
fighting so offended Mussolini’s in
vincible legions they simply had to
leave the field.”
No conclusion about this war can
be made too much simplified but, on
the other hand, nothing should be
unduly complicated.
Old military
principles never adjourn "sine die.”
The urge of troops for physical con
tact is the most effective psychology
that can be cultivated.
The Germans, in 1918, feared the
bayonets and ear-slitting knives of
the Senegalese above all weapons.
“As Rome shortened her swords she
broadened her borders.” It is still
doubtful whether you can destroy
good troops with artillery fire or
bombing. The only certain way re
mains the shock of physical con
tact. That doesn’t mean that you
can "ignore machine guns” but it
does mean that war is still a fight.
If soldiers become convinced of
their invincibility at close range,
their guiding thought is to get at the
enemy and that is the only way
battles are won.
This doesn't mean to depreciate
all the power and necessity of mod-
ern, motorized, mechanized arma
ment. This column advocated it all-
out long before even our general
staff appreciated what the Germans
were doing. But, at the same time,
there is such a thing as killing the
offensive spirit by too much armor
—too many Maginot lines.
• SI
DRAMATIC REVIEW OF A 1941
INCOME TAX BLANK
“You Can't Take It With You" ot
"Tax Blank for 1941" has had its
presentation before the American
public, and. while it met with a
mixed response, your reviewer
would describe it as adequate. It
is a straight, direct, merciless, tight
ly written affair which, despite mud
dling passages here and there, gets
its message across. That, after all. I
is its purpose.
“Tax Blank for 1941" is in a sense
It follows the pattern of
other years but has been extensive-
ly rewritten, with many new lines
■and some startling effects, particu
larly that part of the narrative
where it is discovered that Jona
than Q. Doe. our hero, supposing he
gets the same exemption as in the
past for being a married man. finds
the exemption has been cut from
$2.500 to $2.000 This is an obvious
slap at matrimony, and, since it is
a widely cherished institution, we do
not think the authors have done a
service to society by belittling it in
this way.
a revival.
—
i ! 1
The upper stories of a six-story building at Mil-3 Broadway, Brooklyn,
N. Y.. take on the appearance of a roaring furnace during the four-alarm
blaie fought by more than -‘00 firemen who played streams of water on
A moment of high drama comes
the
flames from roofs of adjoining buildings. Storrs on the lower floors
bleak scene laid in the Upper
Brackets country. were protected by the fast action of the tiremca.
Here we have the
same heavy mood
of resentment, of
anger, pain and
despair so char
acteristic in pre
vious years Sel
dom has there
been a more moving scene than
when T. Dudley Softtouch and Lu
ther Gettahcad come face to face
with Paragraph 6. Item 7. Page 4
and find that on tiie same income
as they had last year they must
now pay a supertax of almost twice
as much. Here is action belonging
to the sternest school of realism.
Col.
h at Senate
Adm. Rlehlxabure Nomura, nrw
ambaxxador extraordinary and plen
ipotentiary to the United Slate« from
Japan, ix pictured as he witnessed
the review of the Thirtieth Infantry
at San Francisco presidio shortly
after arriving In America. With No
mura Is Gcneral Hewitt, eommand-
er of the Fourth army, l^-ft to richt:
Admiral Nomura nnd General De-
Witt.
Killed in Bomber
Perhaps the peak of emotion
comes in a little scene where Soft-
touch, almost a mental wreck after
having finally figured up what he
In his second appearance in two weeks before the senate foreign rela
tions committee Col. Charles A. Lindbergh slated that extensive Ameri
can aid would only prolong the war. without materially affecting the re
owes the government (with the help sult. Photo shows Sen. Waller F. George, chairman of the committee, Col.
of six lawyers), is about to make Lindbergh, and Sen. Gerald Nye, a member of the committee.
out a check when he suddenly dis
covers that congress has placed a
separate defense tax of 10 per cent
on top of all! For a moment this
reviewer thought the performance
had all the elements of a fusion of
"Hellzapoppin”
and
“Macbeth.”
Screams penetrated the rafters and
seldom have such lines as “They
can't do that to me.” "This is an
outrage” and "It's that feller in the
White House" been delivered with
such power and feeling.
American Ambassador Welcomed to Vichy
Capt. It. S. Freeman, commandant
of Ladd field, who was killed when a
four-motored huge army bomber
smashed Into Ragged Top nuun-
taln at Lavelack. Nev., killing the
crew of seven.
l^ind Mine!
• • •
There is both drama and comedy
in the later chapter when millions
of Americans in the lower income
group, who have been laughing at
the upper groupers all these years,
discover that at last they must come
across too.
• •
All in all (and that's the way
they take it now), the production is
sure to have the usual appeal, cou
pled with the additional response
always occasioned by the surprise
note. Your reviewer must say in
all candor that "Tax Blank for 1941”
lacks laughs
There is hardly an
amusing line anywhere if you ex
elude the old gag. “Were you dam-
aged by fire or storm during the
last fiscal year? ” But it is set for a
run lasting through to next Decem
ber 15. Nothing can stop it.
• • •
Bill Pfriender says
Roosevelt’s broadcasts these days
might be billed as "Firearms
Chats.”
• •
Wendell Willkie has now gone over
to the administration side so com
pletely that some people are even
speaking of him as Wenlin Wiloo-
velt.
• « «
New York city will have a popula
tion of eight to nine million people
ultimately, an expert says. It is
hard to imagine that many people
running around asking questions on
how to reach destinations in New
York city.
• • •
Admiral William Leahy, U.8.N., the newly appointed American am
bassador to the French Vichy government, is shown In this picture, al
the right, with Marshal Philippe Petain, French chief of slate, ax he was
welcomed to Vichy on his arrival there to take up his official duties.
Mappers of Fifteenth Royal Aus
tralian engineers explode a land
mine by fuse, during maneuvers
near Sydney, Australia.
Tactics
such as this were responsible for de
stroying Italian land mines, opening
the road for British tanks on the
way to Bardia, Tobruk and Berna.
Lord Halifax Gets Acquainted With Wallace
Against II Duce
The annual National Automobile
show has been abandoned for this
year, The public will have to find
some other good excuse for going
to the big city for a two or three-
day spree.
• • •
The Jackson day dinner by the
Democrats will be a unity banquet.
This will require special arrange
ments to see that nobody gets hurt.
• • •
I trust Wendell Willkie doesn't get
into a bombing raid in London and
send Roosevelt a card "Having aw
ful time; wish you were here!”
• • •
The only difference between our
aid to England in the last war and
in this one will be that this time
our aid will have a zipper on it.
discount Halifax, member of the British war cabinet, and his maj
esty’s new ambassador to the United States, has been making the rounds
of Washington, getting acquainted and urging his country’s cause. The
tall, angular Briton Is shown chatting with Vice President Wallace in
this picture, which was snapped in the vice president’s office.
Thousands of Ethiopians have
Joined the British forces In Libya.
This 14-year-old boy of Bardia has
been waging war against the Ital
ians for five years. He is wearlpg
the cap of an Italian officer sniped
during one of his encounters with
the enemy.