Southern Oregon Miner, Thursday, April 12, 1945
SOUTHERN OREGON MINER
Fubllahe4 Every Thursday at 167 Main Street, Ashland, Oregon
Carryl H. & Marion C. Wines, Editors;Publishers
Entered as second-class mall mattsr In the post office at Ash­
land, Qroynn February 19, 1935, under the act of Congress
of March 3, 1879.
“PERFECT SHIPPING” NEEDS YOU
Transportation and shipping agencies have moved
mountains of freight in these critical war years. The
public and the military services generally feel that a
good job has been done. But those in the transportation
and shipping business are not satisfied. Just moving
the goods is not enough. They must be moved without
damage in transit. To cut down on needless destruction
thousands of shippers, through their Shippers’ Ad
visory Boards, are conducting a month-long campaign
during April in conjunction with the railroads and oth
er forms of transport. Their goal is perfect shipping
The public, as well as those employed in the shipping
and transport business, must cooperate if the goal is tc
be approached. Most damage results from impropei
packing and labeling of shipments. The following is
the advice of shipping experts:
“If it’s package goods, put it up as well as possible,
That’s the first ounce of prevention.’
“Use the most suitable container available. Your
choice may be narrowed ’way down, but it’s just as
true as ever that square pegs don’t fit in round holes
“Make doubtful boxes better by reinforcing, pad­
ding, partitions and all such measures that take up
shock.
“Make the finished package as damage proof as
possible. A good job can usually be done through prop
er use of adhesives, gummed tape, stitching, metal
strap, rope, cord or twine, and, in wooden crates or
boxes, enough of the right nails in the right places.
“eB careful to mark shipments accurately and plain­
ly. Use complete address—name, street, number, city
and state. Show your name and address also proceded
by ‘from.’ Much delay, loss and disappointment is caus­
ed by illegible and faulty addressing.
‘ Be sure to remove old labels, tags and all previous
markings.”
This advice is not complicated. It can mean the sav­
ing of millions of dollars worth of freight if all of us
will do our part.
★ ★ ★
AN OLD STORY
It is dismaying to witness France’s DeGaulle saying:
“We intend to act in such a way that individual merit
and private initiative will remain as the basis of na­
tional activity . . . We do not imagine our French econ­
omy of tomorrow without a ‘free sector,’ as large as
possible . . . (But) we declare that the state must hold
the master switches.” The last words cancel out the
preceding pleasant phases. Where the state holds the
master switches, the individual becomes a cipher.
Whey should any peqple, any nation be subservient
to a small group of men holding master switches ? The
excuse that dictatorship can be confined to the opera­
tion of certain industries and will not be felt by the
people, is bunk. The same fallacious theory is being
espoused in this country. We hear that our natural re­
sources and other basic industries should be controlled
or owned by the government. The idea is encouraged
that a limited dictatorship would promote employment
and security. This is also bunk.
When the test of war came, this country, where the
people were least dominated by government, was the
most productive. Other nations whose industries and
people functioned by the grace of a dictatorial hand on
a master switch, made a poor showing by comparison.
It has been up to tne United States and its independent
industries, to provide the machines of victory and the
fuel to run them, to say nothing of the men.
Certainly, no bureaucratized government enterprise,
European style, produces the 500,000 barrels per day of
100-octane gasoline that keeps the allies’ planes in the
air. Certainly no nation has turned out the planes,
tanks, guns, ships and all the other necessities of war
as has thiss free country.
Such men and such industries, which are the source
of our amazing production in all lines, need no controll­
ing hand on a master switch deciding for them what
must be done tomorrow and the day after. The stand
for freedom and progress. They are symbols of indivi­
dual opportunity. Destroy them and you destroy the
substance of America.
*
★ A
THE TREATMENT OF WAR PRISONERS
From time to time, we read or hear, of the treatment
of war prisoners in this country, and many of us, no
doubt, have gotten the opinion that prisoners of war
are having a pretty soft existence. Our army officials
who have charge of guarding war prisoners evidently
lean over backward to observe the Geneva rules set
forth for war prisoners. It has been told around, which
of course is very unreliable, that most of the prisoners
would rather be in the prison camps than on the out­
side as they are well fed and have very little to do. If
reports are true, they have an easy existence.
W’hen one considers some of the evidence being un­
covered of the treatment of allied prisoners of war in
enemy hands, it sort of riles us up. when we
the soft life of German prisoners in this country. We Mood Iuilh by duvet action ugaiip
do not mean that we should retaliate by treating our 8t the Nazi«. Tin« cannot be a
prisoners as prisoners in enemy lands have treated our srou^
men, but Germans being held in this countiy certainly cannot win the German people,
should be made to understand that they are prisoners The regereration must come from
and not guests of this country.
Wlthin- We mus‘- “
Vun
sittart put it, break Germany of
We note with interest that in a recent Gallup poll, its national fallacy that only the
71 per cent of the people interviewed thought that weak repent. To which he added:
are just men in Germany
prisoners of war were being treated too easily. There “There
but they are always out.”
must be some basis for the contention and talk that Although tlie public does not
prisoners have a pretty “soft” life in the prison camps. realize it, the organized German
Life With the WACs in New Guinea
By Frances Gallatin
VISIT TO A NATIVE VILLAGE
A visit to a native village is
quite an experience. Trucks took
us close to the setUement, but
the last mile or two of the main
road and into the jungle clearing
was made on foot We had to
cross several streams on log
bridges, two logs wide Fortun­
ately there was a rope handrail
or many of us would have hesti-
tated and perhaps fallen in to the
rocky water below. We also
climed a hill into which log steps
had been placed. After living on
the ground floor for several
months—stairs were a novelty
again and many puffs were
heard as we reached the top.
After following a narrow path
we finally reached a leveled,
cleared area, where thatched nat­
ive huts were paced in even rows
The ceremonial dances were in
progress when we arrived, so of
course they took our immediate
attention. All the dancers were
dressed in costumes—very color­
ful and attractive. The head-
diesses were the most interesting
All sorts of things adorned their
fuzzy hair—(a number of bleach­
ed heads were visiable-you know
they will do anything for a bottle
of peroxide to lighten their hair).
Among the adornments were
shell, strings, of beads, ribbons,
colored paper strips, bones, flow­
ers and even cut-outs from
Lucky Strike packages. The lead­
ers of each group were rather
gruesome looking because of
their painted faces—which gave
them a ferocious look|
There were almost as many
native spectators as GI’s—predo­
minately youthful. In fact, not
having seen children for several
months and certainly not in great
numbers, it certainly floored me
to have so many swarming about.
Those native women are really
trying to increase the birthrate
in New Guinea. The youngsteis
seemed like a happy bunch,
laughing, running after each oth­
er, staring at us jabbering away
with a few understandable re­
quests for gum and cigarettes.
It’s rather strange to see a boy
of six or seven, gravely light a
cigarette and puff it like a veter­
an. Some of them look well but
many are decidely sick—they are
thin, with rickety bodies, their
bellies protrude and there are
evidences of skin diseases. You
can bet I stayed clear of many
of them—in fact I was a bit an­
noyed when one pushed me and
another spit when I refused to
give them anything. I saw few
little girls—a number of young
women w i t h strong healthy
bodies. I just wondered if they
killed off the weak females, and
just let the healthy ones survive.
The same state of health seems to
exist among the adults—many of
which are rather well formed and
strong looking. The old women
were a bit horrible looking—
their skin shriveled, their heads
shaved and many with red rim­
med eyes. They just sat in the
doorway to their huts smoking
cigarettes or just sitting as if in
a stupor.
To go back to the dancers,
their patter was quite rhythmic,
but rather monotonous because
there were so few changes in
their drum beat and the step
wmeh consisted ol u shuttling
and stamping Combined wiui
dns, at tunes the leader and at
times Ute whole group woul i yen
and cry out until their voices
would end in a shriek.
We wandered through the vil­
lage peeping in the doors of the
nuts which didn't compare with
the clean looking outside areas,
brightened by gay flo w e r s.
Scrawny looking, disease ndden
Jogs slinking around gathering
up scraps of food which fen
tnrough the cracks in the tlooi
or dropped from the Kettle, cooK-
jng over the outdoor fire,
After about an hour s visit, the
odor of the village, increased by
the excitement and furvor of the
dancers, made it very apparent
that 1 could stand a wmff or
fresh air, so my Australian com­
panion and I followed the trail
out, crossed the log bridges anu
sat in the truck until everyone
was ready to leave. It was an in­
teresting experience, and it will
be one of the many things to re­
member about New Guinea.
by Sgt. Marge Curry, WAC
WANTED TO BUY a small two
or three room housa on a small
lot. Within walking dlstanca of
town. Phona 8561.
L j, .• .../¿ W M
fcr, Wsscurity, too!
trade unions were the first group
•« • • • a s * * *
lo be destroyed by Hitler. next
came the Jews Then the Cath­
olics. From the scattered rem­ k k o ::*:«**:«:****'*-*"*"* •
• * *
nants of the democratic elements
may come the rebirth of Ger­
many - but the move must come
from them. All we can do is to
give them opportunity to act. We ‘you can depend on
cannot permit the continued en­
slavement of the worker and
• Automobile
leave free the industrialists and
the Junkers. Nazism is only to­
• Eire
day’s mask of German inpcrial-
• Life
ism.
O Health-Accident
Here is a warning from the
past: “Justice is the only possible
basis for the settlements of the
accounts of this terrible war.
ON THE PLAZA
Justice is what Germany shall
have. But is must be justice for
all. There must be justice for the
dead and wounded, and for all
those who have been orphaned -....
and bereaved that Europe might NEW MATT II EASES
FACTORY TO YOU
be freed from Prussian despo­
tism.” It was Woodrow Wilson Oi l) MATTRESSES MADE
LIKE NEW
who said that in 1919. Our senti­
mentalists destroyed it. What
NEW BOX SPRINGS
will we do?
WHILE THEY I .A ST
We cannot and we do not
want to destroy a nation, but we
REED’S
can wipe out the cancer at the
heart of that nation. This time
MATTRESS CO.
the cure must be permanent even
Ph. 0271
if the knife cuts deep. The Ger­ 93 N. Main
man people must earn their way
Ashland, Oregon
back to health. Until they have
done so, there is no place for
|
Insurance
Burns Agency
What About
Germany
By Ruth Taylor
Everyone else has ventured an
opinion as to what must be done
with Germany, so here is my two
cents worth.
The advice given to date
ranges all the way from maudlin
sympathy for a “poor misguided
people”, to a Nazi-like cry for
revenge. But it seems to me that
the one thing that has been over­
looked is - what are we trying
to accomplish? Do we want anoth
er war? O do we want peace bas­
ed upon a firm foundation of jus
bee?
To those who plead for len­
iency, I would ask - "Are yau
willing to open the jails in your
own town and let the thieves and
murderers loose upon your own
family?” To those who cry for
revenge, I would recommend the
seventh verse of the eighth chap­
ter of the Gospel according to St.
John.
Some advocate the backing of
an anb-Nazi Group. That is good
Germany In the society of nut-
ions.
i t ’s a Treat
When You -Eat, and Find
•
•
•
•
SUPERIOR FOOD
NICE SERVICE
PLEASANT ATMOSPHERE
FAIR PRICES
A shland C afe
In Ashland Hotel Building
Open 6 a.m to 10 pm Except Sundays
r
THE OLD JUDGE SAYS. . .
Make Our
Place
Your Place
L illy ’s
GROCETERIA
"When title wat Is all over, Judge, there will
ba eome might;- intei esting books written
about i t Expect we’U learn a lot of things
we didn’t know before.”
"Yes. Fred, when the record is finally
w i i t t e r w e ’ll rea lize w h a t a g ig a n tic
operation this war really was and how
impôt taut to final victory many factors
redly were."
"Taka, tor example, just one industry.
Few people realize the importance of the
great work done by the beverage distillers
during the war. A nigh government official
r /iij
called it ‘an almost unparalleled example of
the overnight conversion of an entire indus­
try from peace to war.’ He also said not so
many months ago, while speaking about syn­
thetic rubber, ‘ It is fair to regard the rubber
manufactured to date as being almost solely
the product of the beverage distilling indus­
tr y / That’s the type of thing 1 have in mind
. . . t h e way great American industries at
home cooperated to help our brave fighting
men abroad.”
“ I see what you mean, J u d g e...a com­
plete history of American teamwork.”
a d ie iliitn w U ifio m m iJ
4» C onili in c i of Alcoholic B n craf InAuiMa, /»•».
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