Southern Oregon Miner. Thursday, December 6. 1945
Six Thousand New Members Join American Irgioti
B ehind - ,
the N ew s
SERVICE
BUREAU
EDITON'S \O T E : This newspaper,
through special arrangement w ith the
II nshinglon Hureau of H estern News­
paper I nion nl ,6 / 6 Eys Street, N. W .,
„ ashington, D. C., is able to bring
readers this w eekly colum n on p rob­
lem s of the veteran and servicem an
and his fam ily. Q uestions may be ad­
dressed Io the above Hureau und they
w ill be answered in a subsequent col­
umn. Vo replies can be made direct by
mail, bul only in the colum n which w ill
appear in this newspaper regularly.
B y P aul M allon
EISE N1ID W E It—HE M DC R AT
DR REPUBLICAN
WASHINGTON. — When Admiral
Dewey returned triumphant from
caiguring the Philippines in the
Spanish-American war, newsmen
asked the conquering hero whether
he was a Democrat or a Republi­
can. The admiral wasn’t quite sure
which. That ended the Dewey boom
for President.
Today, Gen. Dwight Eisenhower
Local Service C enters
Viay be put in the same position as
Gen. Omar N. Bradley, adminis­ Admiral Dewey. Both parties are
trator of veterans’ affairs, in a re­ considering new blood for 1948 GOP
cent statement declared that the leaders are convinced that, given a
most pressing need, insofar as the candidate who can win labor votes
civilian population and the veteran yet not alienate the Hoover conserv­
is concerned, is the establishment atives, they can win. Obviously,
of a single service center in every Eisenhower is important presidential
community so that benefits to the timber.
Popular impression is that Eisen­
veterans can “get down to the grass
hower is a Republican. He was ap­
roots of the home community.”
Many communities already have pointed to West Point from the rock-
set up these centers where the re­ ribbed Republican state of Kansas
turning veteran may go for informa­ by GOP Senator Joseph P. Bristow.
tion. for service, for advice, but And nobody in those days could get
there are thousands of home com­ anywhere in Kansas unless he was a
munities where no such benefit is Republican.
However, though it may be news
available to the veteran.
“We have the plans.” General to GOP leaders. Dwight Eisenhower
Bradley said, “but you can't help a put himself on record early in life
veteran with a plan. We need the as a Democrat. Furthermore, he
help of business, patriotic and civic was an energetic William Jennings
organizations, of the press and ra­ Bryan Democrat, and in November,
dio. in solving a problem of space 1909, made a speech at the annual
and personnel which is slowing up Democratic banquet held in Abilene,
I Kan. The other speakers were
our job.”
In the meantime, the veterans ad­ older and seasoned Kansas Demo­
ministration has inaugurated a six- crats; but Dwight Eisenhower, then
point program for amputee rehabili­ only 19, was picked to stand up with
tation to include: (1) direct veteran them and harangue the crowd. He
contact to learn problems, invite did.
criticism and provide corrective IKE’S OLD FRIEND
measures: (2) a survey to determine
*1 am indebted for this information
availability of prosthetic appli­ to J. W. Howe, now of Emporia. Kan.
ances; (3) to provide each veteran a Howe not only published the Abi­
booklet with essential information; lene News, but was a member of the
(4) a program of scientific after­ school board and knew young
care designed to meet the need of Dwight better than anyone outside
the veteran; (5) a conference with i his own family.
artificial limb manufacturers to es­
The Abilene News office was head­
tablish fixed limb standards; (6) to quarters for a group of high school
establish a museum of prosthetic ap­ i boys who came there to discuss
pliances.
their problems, talk sports and poli-
. tics, read the papers and do odd
Q u estion s a n d A n sw e rs
| jobs for the paper. J. W. Howe says
Q. I want to know if a man who , of Eisenhower:
has been in the army over six
“ Dwight liked to read the ex­
months, is 30 years old and has a
change
newspapers from ont of
wife and four children, will be sent
town.
He never complained
overseas or will he get a discharge
about working, seeming to take
soon?—Wife, Strasburg, N. D.
that for granted. In school dis­
A. According to regulations at this
cussions, he was always for the
time your husband is eligible for
under-dog and contended we
overseas service. According to the
needed
a somewhat better dis­
information you give, he has only
tribution of wealth."
approximately 42 points.
William Jennings Bryan at that
Q. I want to know if my husband
can get a discharge. He has been in j time had made many speeches in
service 21 months and overseas 14 Abilene and the young folks liked
months and has four children and is to hear him. In fact, Bryan made
needed at home since his mother is some definite inroads on the Repub-
his dependent, too, and very feeble. | licans. The Republican party at
He is in the an ly and is 29 years that time was beginning to be split
into two groups, led by Taft and
old.—L. B., Pisgah, Ala.
A. Without any points for battle Teddy Roosevelt. The fight in Abi-
stars or decorations, your husband i iene was bitter, and this was the
has 71 points so he would be eligi­ situation when Dwight Eisenhower
i started out in 1909 to get the proper
ble for discharge.
Q. My husband served nine months endorsements to enter West Point.
in World War I, five of these over­ DWIGHT GOT TO WEST POINT
seas. While in service, one of his
The Eisenhower family had no
ear drums was affected from roar ! political pull — on the contrary.
of guns and he can hear but very Dwight’s father was listed as a
little. During this time his service Democrat, though he took little part
record was lost and now he cannot , in politics. Dwight himself was
get help because he doesn’t have a more active than his father, but
record of his ear. Does he have to whatever pull he had was with
be handicapped because the army the Democrats. However, the fac­
lost his record? He can do very tional Republican fight helped him.
lit'.le work.—Wife, Deatsville, Ala. I Editor Howe, the town’s chief Demo­
A. Your husband's service record cratic leader, advised Dwight to
should be in the war department in go get the endorsement of Phil W.
Washington. Would suggest that you Heath, editor of the Abilene Chron-
immediately file a claim for pen­ | icle and s p o k e s m a n for the
sion, due to disability, with the ’’Square-Deal” Republicans; also to
Veterans administration at Birming­ get the endorsement of Charles M.
ham. Write to the bureau of en­ Harger, editor of the Abilene Re­
listed personnel, war department, flector, spokesman for the “Stand-
Washington, D. C„ concerning his Pat” Republicans.
service record, giving all details
Since young Eisenhower was not
possible.
allied with either faction, Heath and
Q. I was called for the army Sep­ Harger were very friendly, and
tember 4, 1918, and went to Fort gladly gave him their support. Thus,
Riley, Kans., and got my discharge he was able to obtain not only the
at Fort Riley September 14, 1918. I endorsement of the Democrats, but
got the $60 bonus and the whole out­ of both Republican factions—a real
fit of uniforms. Did guard duty anil compliment to his standing in the
my serial number was 3474300. I | community.
asked for the soldier tax exemption
Eisenhower’s first and only ven­
in Iowa and they turned me down. ture into politics occurred while he
-—E. J. H., Webster City, Iowa.
was taking postgraduate work at
A. You were apparently in the the Abilene high school, preparatory
army only 10 days, but the in­ to West Point. Chief speaker at the
ternal revenue bureau says there is Democratic banquet was George H.
no federal tax exemption for veter­ Hodges, later governor of Kansas.
ans except on disability payments I Dwight's subject was “The Student
and the $1,500 exemption on active in Politics.”
service pay. There may be an Iowa
Two themes ran through the
state law providing for some form speech of the 19-year-old future
of tax exemption for veterans. Sug­ commander of the Allied armies in
gest you apply to your state or local Europe—preparedness and helping
tax authorities.
the under-dog.
Q. My husband, who is in the
According to the Abilene News:
vy, has three children and is 26
_____
"To
say that he handled himself
ars old. Under this new system of ' nice]y wouid be putting it mildly
icharging fathers of three chil- | Hj(j
SDeec^ was
received.”
His speech
was well
well received
en, will he be eligible for dis-
A few months later, Ike Eisen­
large?—Wife, Vanderbilt, Mich.
hower was in West Point, where no
A. The navy department says one is supposed to be either a Demo­
res."
crat or a Republican.
Q, How long will boys 18 or 19 EISENHOWER MERRY GO ROUND
ars of age, who entered service
In high school, young Dwight was
the spring of 1945 and arc now on called ‘Ugly Ike." . . . One day a
eir way overseas, remain in the gang „ of schoolboys trooped into J.
rvice?—N. G„ Lancaster, Wis.
W. Howe’s editorial offices to nar­
A. Under present regulations, un- rate how Ike fell off a horse. “The
they have the required number of horse turned his head to knock off
ints to make them eligible for a fly and Ike just fell off,” they
scharge.
said, . . Dwight had come in walk-
Q. I want to know If a man who ing on one leg and guarding his
s'been in the navy 21 months, I* arm. . He Just grinned. Actually, the
years old and has a wife and horse had stepped in a hole and
ree children will be discharged?- fallen, but Ike never tried to ex­
fe, Owens Cross Roads, Ala.
plain It to the other boys. . . , The
A. Yes, he Is eligible for applies- Eisenhower gang at school had odd
n for discharge.
traits.
RelsaMd liv Wsidsrn N»w»|wl*i Union.
('(INGRESS ORDERED
TO ACT ON LEGISLATION
WASHINGTON. — Senate FI O0I
Leader Barkley came out of the
White House and announced the re-
cess for which congrei hud been
panting will be de­
layed until the very
eve of Christmas if
n e c e s s a r y to get
through the two
CIO bills Increasing
unemployment com­
pensation und the
fu ll em p lo y m en t
m ea su re pledging
the government an
eternal but unde­
fined spending pol-
Truman
icy.
This is merely the latest develop­
ment in Mr. Truman's battle with
The American Legion ha* seen msny thrilling things at its 27 conventions, but never a more stirring sight congress and nn expression of his
than was presented in the Coliseum in Chicago, as pictured above. Some 6,000 men and women veterans uncharacteristic firmness and insis­
of World War II were sworn into the Legion while spectators held their breath as the candidates repeated the tence in a rather Roosevelt style
pledge. The Legion plans to recruit five to six million veterans of the last war to add to their ranks.
upon the top two points of his pro­
gram which are so unpopular in con­
gress that they have been allowed Io
lie dormant without arousing a pub­
lic clamor.
At the same time Mr Barkley
announced the President would al­
low the youth draft act, officially
known as "compulsory military
training,” und the army-navy uni­
fication bill to modernize the armed
services into one force, to be permit­
ted to go over until after the Christ­
mas holidays.
The youth draft plan of the
war department Is observedly
unpopular — by observedly I
mean a considerable genuine
public sentiment h is been ex­
pressed against it In letters to
congressmen from unorganized
individuals In their home dis­
tricts as well as the most for­
midable array of organized
groups yet presented this ses­
sion against a measure—educa­
tional, religious and even labor.
Including CIO.
The army-navy unification bill
does not seem to be either popular
or unpopular as far as I have been
able to penetrate the normal sources
of public opinion. My guess is the
people do not understand it as it
Involves largely technical training
problems, although most of the
young people in both services with
whom I have c<^ne In contact seem
to be mllitantly in favor of it.
Marine S/Sgt. John J. Kaiser Jr. of East Keansburg, N. J., center, and (p i. Max R. Roemer of Kan-
FIGHT ON ARMY-
__
¿a* City, Mo., right, shoot the breeze with a couple of Chinese opera stars in a backstage "bull session” at
NAVY
UNIFICATION
the Peiping Opera house. Continuous performances were staged for the 1st marine division occupying the
Strange things began to happen to
area by these Chinese troupers. The leathernecks say they plan to master Chinese opera and bring It back
this proposed modernization pro­
to America, with hopes that it may become generally accepted.
gam several weeks ago. You may
recall when the George (lieutenant
general, head of air transport com­
mand) report first appeared in this
■pot setting forth the modernization
program which had been bottled by
the shiniest and biggest brass hats
of the combined chiefs of staff of
both services. I reported that Ad­
mirals Halsey and Nimitz, the fight­
ing admirals, were in favor of it.
Since then both have Indicat­
ed their intention to leave the
navy and likewise have made
known their opposition. You
might guess offhand that I made
a mistake. I did not.
Both Nimitz and Halsey were
for the measure, and so in­
formed the George committee
when it was traveling around
the world accumulating evi­
dence from the fighting men In
the field. What happened to
change their minds I do not
know.
Equally and similarly strange has
been the lack of developments in in­
vestigating the responsibility for
Pearl Harbor. The committee of in­
quiry planned at first to take a jaunt
by air out to see Pearl Harbor, al­
though a half hour’s trip to the navy
department would have permitted
them to Inspect bas-relief as well
as topographical surveys of the
Adm. Chester Nimitz, USN, Is whole islands. What they could find
Bringing a gay, warm tourh to the most Joyous holiday season in shown as he addressed the Ameri­ otherwise at Pearl Harbor now that
years is pretty Phyllis Creorc of Rochester, N. Y. No Christmas card can Legion convention In Chicago. the sunken ships have been raised,
that can be casually tossed aside will come from her. Instead, shining The admiral was honored with the I cannot learn.
tile greeting cards, which later find use around the house as hot plates Legion's Distinguished Service med­
The committee investigation
al.
and coasters, will be sent to the radio star’s friends.
Itself got involved in what re­
porters call a political fight with
the Democrats obviously trying
to hold back matters in one way
or another, then loosening up a
little here and there, and the
Republicans outraged hut con­
fused and unable to penetrate
the administration tactics suc­
cessfully. The sum total of it
has been nothing—an absolute
nothing.
This vacuumized condition can be
rather plainly seen but my authori­
tative informants hereabouts have
wondered if there were any connec­
tion between these events.
In congress you hear aside whis­
pers that what is facetiously called
"top brass,” meaning the invisible
military authorities of both services,
have to a considerable extent, cap­
tured the Truman administration for
precisely what they want—namely
no unification, youth draft act, and
no Pearl Harbor expose. If so, what
Mr. Truman will get out of It may
be difficult to find.
During his recent western trip, Gen. Dwight D. Elsenhower stopped
My information would not encour­
Mrs. Adclair} Hill of Fort Atkin­ age him to believe that congress is
off at Boone, Iowa, to visit with Mrs. Elsenhower’s relatives. They are,
left to right: Mrs. Joel E. Carlson, aunt of Mrs. Elsenhower, Mrs. John son, Wis., Is shown as she cele­ so eager for a Christmas recess that
8. Dowd, mother of Mrs. Elsenhower, Mr. Carlson, Miss Carlson, General brates her 107th birthday. Last year it will ease under the pressure ap­
"Ike," Mamie Moore, and Mrs. Frances Dowd Moore, sister of Mrs. Eisen­ Vice Pres. Henry Wallace attended plied.
her celebration.
hower.
Leathernecks Visit Chinese Opera House in Peiping
Something New in Christmas Cards
Eisenhower Visits Towa Relatives
' Legion Hears Nimitz
Celebrates Birthday