OCR Text |
Show SUN LEW UTAH I Wickard Is Made Target Of Farm Policy Critics Attack on Agriculture Chief Seen' as a Continuation of Farm Bureau Assault On Farm Security Administration. By BAUKIIAGE . New Analytt end Commentator. WND Service, Union Trust Building, Washington, D. C. You will read in your favorite newspaper that congress is out to "get" Secretary of Agriculture Wickard. The reason being offered Is: "There's going to be a food shortage and he's responsible." That isn't the half of it In the first place, the folks who have been leaning back with their feet en the Washington cracker-bar rel and watching administrations, wars and panics come and go, aren't taking these fiery debates, these charges and counter-charges too se riously. The fight In congress today on the surface is the farm bureau, the big farmer (who Isn't so big in many cases) versus Wickard. One layer betow the surface, you'll hear it called the fight of the extension services against the Farm Security administration. Back in the cracker-barrel corner it's just the fight against the administration and what's left of the New Deal. Criticism 'Political? One of these old timers shifted his stogie, took down his feet and said te me: "This is Just politics. The idea is that 1S44 is coming up and if yeu are an honest 'out you've got to do all you can to discredit the 'ins, I think Wickard will weather the storm. The Farm bureau people peo-ple have nothing against him except as a symbol of the administration. He's an old farm bureau man himself." him-self." -. . "But," I interjected, "what about the war effort, what about hiking up the farm prices and smashing the price ceilings? You can't give ' the farmers higher prices without having to boost wages." My friend caressed his stogie and smiled. "Don't worry," he said, "nobody is going to do anything in the long run that will interfere with war plans. But in a political fight, everybody leans as far out of the tree as be can without falling. Everybody Ev-erybody says the other fellow is playmg politics but everybody plays the game Just the same." What is this "extension service" versus Farm Security fight? Well, it goes back a long way. In the eld days, the extension serviee, the idea of the "county agents" was started by commercial organizations which wanted to improve im-prove farm prosperity so they could sell more city goeds. Later, the system was financed by the states with the help of federal grants. But the states dominated. Then the American Farm Bureau federation was formed, officially in 1920. The organization pushed certain Ideas for attacking surpluses not very different from what the AAA developed later. As the farm problem prob-lem grew worse, a farm conference was' called in Washington in 1932. This group prepared a bill containing contain-ing many features similar to those finally Incorporated into the Agricultural Agri-cultural Adjustment act T Then came the first friction between be-tween the farm bureau and the administration. ad-ministration. There was a good deal of politics in that, too. It was a struggle between the AAA representatives repre-sentatives in the field and the state set-ups. Farmers Union Formed Later, the Farmers Union came into the picture. It was started among the low income farmers in Texas. It was the left wing of Agriculture Ag-riculture and to the other farm groups, it was "pink." It had the strong backing ef Mrs. Roosevelt; its policies were reflected by the Farm Security administration, rival ri-val of the more conservative Farm Credit administration which ministered minis-tered to the financial ills of the bigger big-ger farmers. The friction has never ceased. A blow-up came when Wickard started his food administration. As an old farm bureau man, he always leaned over backward in an effort not to be prejudiced against Farm Security. Also, as a cabinet member, mem-ber, he couldn't stray too far from White House preachments. So he named Paris ius, a Farm Security man, to head up his food conservation conserva-tion machinery and immediately a nest of hornets was loose. There was no choice. It was a question of making a left turn against traffic. traf-fic. Parisius had to go. Wickard was accused of turning BRIEFS Japanese officials have decided to establish six more training centers to meet present demands for 80,000 brides tor Jap colonists in occupied occu-pied Manchuria. As recorded by the foreign broadcast intelligence service serv-ice of the United States, the Tokyo radio said current plans call for 250,000 "colonists" and that "about 80,000 brides to go to the continent are desired." right by one group but that didn't save him from the wrath of those opposed to the administration. Nor did his incentive payment policy which would not help the Democrat Demo-crat cotton raisers in the South nor the Republican wheat raisers in the north since what we don't need to feed America today is more wheat or more cotton. So the storm rages. Farm Security Se-curity will probably be the burnt offering of-fering as anything with even a faintly faint-ly pink complexion is a red flag to congress. Gardens Nothing New; They Were Old Treat You've heard the expression: "he ain't what he usta be and what's more, he never wuz." In a number of ways, these United States of ours ain't what they used to be-but they WUZ! Take these victory gardens.' My goodness! It was long after we moved into town (population 20,-000) 20,-000) that I had my real private gardening experience. Back on Spruce street, of course, there was a whole orchard and the garden was so big, it was ploughed. But big or little, the backyard could produce plenty for mother to "put up" (we never called it "canning"), everything every-thing from tomatoes and corn and those cucumbers'what memories the name conjures up' to those wonderful watermelon pickles. I was talking with another old- timer, and he isn't so old either, about his little Kansas town. He said he couldn't remember anybody who didn't have a garden; or had milk delivered to the doorstep either ei-ther When the onions and the radishes stuck their sprouts up, I used to watch them with an eagle eye hoping I would be able to deliver a luscious bunch of them before the corner grocer had his somewhat wilted product to display. Of course, I never could beat him by much and by the time the fat tomatoes were asking for a piece of lath to keep their chins out of the dirt all the neighbors had them too. But that didn't matter. Came the day when the kitchen was redolent with entrancing' en-trancing' odors and the womenfolk's aprons were stained red as a victorious vic-torious banner, and when evening feU, the mason jars were cooling in the pantry before they were stored in the cool cellar. In those days, about the only time a can opener was used was when somebody broached a Sunday evening eve-ning can of sardines as a special treat to go along with the fudge (made in a chafing dish if you were a little doggy) and flavored with songs around the piano to mandolin obligato. And what about the dry throats? No ice cubes. No cocktail shakers. Perhaps a bottle of raspberry shrub from the top shelf from the preserves pre-serves closet a rich purple ' liquid which had been squeezed through a cheese cloth bag with strong and loving hands, the fat berries inside plucked from those sprawling bushes along the back fence. What good things came out of the backyard garden by way of the fruit jars and the jelly glasses! Can you forget the quinces, smooth and shiny and hard that hung on the gnarled tree, harsh fruit that mysteriously mys-teriously turned into a delightful pink delicacy, which spread over a crisp cracker like a benediction. Drill Congressmen On Tuesday, March 2, 1943, there appeared for the first time in the history of America, the following item in the Congressional Record, the journal of day to day happenings happen-ings of congress: RECESS THE SPEAKER. Pursuant to the inherent power lodged in the Presiding Pre-siding Officer in case of emergency, the Chair declares this House in recess re-cess subject to the call of the Chair for the purpose of participating in a practice air-raid drill The alarm has sounded. Members will leave the Chamber as rapidly as possible, and the galleries will be cleared. Accordingly (at 2 o'clock and 10 minutes p. m.) the House stood in recess, subject to the call of the Speaker. AFTER RECESS At 3 o'clock and 4 minutes p. m., the House was called to order by the Speaker. by Baukhase The treasury's cache of gold now amounts to $22,743,000,000. The German people, who are getting get-ting about an ounce of fats a day on their present ration cards, began to get less butter and more margarine during the present ration period which began March 8, according to a D.N.B. dispatch transmitted from Berlin. See-Saw Offensives Rage on Red Front As Nazis Hurl New Divisions Into Drive; Battle Lines Drawn for Skip-Year Tax; Aerial Action Paces Activity in Tunisia (EDITOR'S NOTE: Whca pinion ar cxpreaaeS In th lurnn. LpVS'Jr?) Waatera Newipaper Lnion'a atw analysts and net naeeasarilr ' "WF Released by Weitern Newapaper Union. With snow underfoot, these muffler-bound, ear-muffed members of the New York Giant pitching staff are going through their paces in one of the most unusual spring training seasons In baseball history. Their camp is located at Lakewood, N. J. Left to right: Cliff Melton, Van Mungo and Carl Hubbell. Southernmost of all major league training camps is that of the World Champion St. Louis Cardinals, at Cairo, 111. GIVE AND TAKE: In Russia Kharkov had fallen once more to the Nazis and still they pushed eastward. east-ward. This was the story from the Ukraine sector of the broad Russian front. In another important sector, further to the north, the Russians were having the better of it as their four-pronged offensive swept swiftly swift-ly through the area around Smolensk. Smo-lensk. ' '. ;:. :-.5 This and the fighting around the anchor point of Orel were more immediately im-mediately important to the Russian cause than what happened at Kharkov. Khar-kov. For Orel serves as the turning point between the southern and central cen-tral fronts. Hitler could ill afford to lose this base. While Russian sources admitted that Kharkov was important they also pointed out that a strong defense de-fense line had been established beyond be-yond the city and further claimed that Hitler's troops found nothing but dead Germans on the city's streets when they took it. Military experts reasoned that Hitler had thrust about 25 fresh divisions into his drive for that point Moscow said that the reason Germany wanted want-ed the city was to atone for the great losses suffered by . the Nazis at Stalingrad in midwinter; TUNISIA: Aerial Action Bad weather which has slowed ground activity in Tunisia has been no barrier to the growing Allied Air force. As a prelude to General Montgomery's Montgom-ery's expected push against Marshal Rommei Allied planes have been pounding the Mareth line. An elaborate elab-orate system of fortifications hewed into the mountains, this line stands between the bulk of the opposing armies. After a month of offensive operations opera-tions against the American and British Brit-ish lines Ja central and north Tunisia, Tu-nisia, Rommel has pulled in his wings. Although the Allies restored much of their original position, they have concentrated their effort on softening up the enemy from the air. Allied air operations have been particularly extensive over Sicily. American and British bombers have been pounding the great Axis base at Palermo. Prosinone and Pozzal-lo Pozzal-lo were the latest Sicilian centers hit. MORE TIRES: On April 1 Liberalizing tire rationing for the second time, Price Administrator Prentiss Brown expressed the belief that all motorists would be able to keep their cars on the road as the result of the release of additional tires by Rubber Administrator William Wil-liam JerTers. Effective April 1, grade 2 tires will be available to drivers with gasoline gas-oline (Mileage allowances exceeding 240 miles a month. This includes most B, C and T card holders. Motorists Mo-torists eligible for 560 or more miles will be allowed a limited number of grade 1 tires, the highest grade casing. cas-ing. However, all must be obtained with certificates issued by local ration ra-tion boards. These changes do not affect A card holders, who are eligible for used or recapped casings. Most of the rationing formalities on recapped re-capped tires have been removed by Brown. HIGHLIGHTS . RATION: Food ration points on blue stamps in April will remain at 48. DEEP WATER: Representative William Rowan of Chicago has prepared pre-pared a resolution asking for the deepening of the Illinois waterway and Mississippi river to 12 feet to permit major navigation from the Great Lakes to the Gulf. SKIP -YEAR TAX: Battle Lines Drawn When House Democratic leaders decided to support a tax collection system, without abatement, as approved ap-proved by the ways and means committee, com-mittee, their action presaged a pay-as-you-go tax battle which may reverberate re-verberate in the 1944 political campaign. cam-paign. Party lines in the house were well defined, for the most part. Republican Repub-lican leaders were lined up for and Democrats against the Ruml plan to skip an entire income tax year. However, there was some cause for worry among opponents of the skip-a-year proposal. In addition to the powerful Republican membership which had lined up for abatement, some Democrats indicated they would vote with the Republicans. THUNDER: Over Germany Since the RAF staged its first colossal 1,000 plane bombing of Cologne last spring, Nazi industrial and communications centers in both Germany and the occupied countries have been subjected to concentrated pounding from the air. Out of 500 bombers, 475 returned after the last shattering attack on Essen. Railroad lines and the big automotive auto-motive center of Rouen have been the principal targets in France. The extensive system of canals has been bombed in Holland and Belgium. And in Germany, the great naval base at Wilhelmshaven, the big port of Hamburg, the steel industries of the Ruhr, and the engine factories of Dusseldorf and Nuremberg have been steadily plastered. In flights into the interior, the RAF has been using giant Lancasters, Halifaxes and Stirlings, which carry the devastating block busters in their bomb racks. Wellingtons have headlined in the bombing and strafing straf-ing attacks on communications centers. cen-ters. The great raids, with hundreds of planes participating on a daily scheduled are believed to have caused considerable damage to communications com-munications which the Nazis will need to shift troops and supplies to meet an Allied invasion. German war industry appears to have been badly crippled. But with the American Amer-ican air force joining in the attacks in increasing numbers, raids to date may have been only a good beginning, begin-ning, y FARM PLAN: From Cornbelt The importance of a strong home front especially in the food sector-was sector-was re-emphasized when officials of 12 cornbelt states concluded a series of meetings to offset what former President Herbert Hoover calls "symptoms of a dangerously degenerating degen-erating agriculture." Governors of eight states and high ranking officials of four others drafted draft-ed a series of recommendations that, among other things, would: Recognize farming as an essential war industry; release immediately all present stock of farm machinery now in the hands of leaders or distributors dis-tributors and provide sufficient material ma-terial for completion of other units not now finished: erant spWt; service deferment for "all experienced experi-enced labor essential to farm production" pro-duction" and "terminate the present unsatisfactory system" which sends farm machinery .where "it is not adapted." . . u the .. .... , LOOK PRETTY: To cut absenteeism absentee-ism among women workers employed em-ployed seven days a week and eight hours a day. the N. A Woodworth company of Detroit has installed a beauty shop in the plant Furnished-in Furnished-in the modern manner, the shop has all of the latest beauty equipment and charges the regular prices. WWOrth emPloy approximately 3,000 women. FLARE -UPi In France Hopeful eyes turned for several days on the high mountain passes near the French-Swiss frontier where large numbers of French patriots had mobilized to launch guerrilla warfare against Italian and German troops. For the most these forces consisted of young Frenchmen who were being recruited recruit-ed for forced labor inside Germany. First reports from Zurich and Berne, Switzerland, Indicated that British RAF planes were dropping guns and ammunition to the men waiting in the Alps. German sources soon claimed that many of the men were deserting because of the lack of such supplies. This claim was substantiated by neutral reports. Much support and advice to the movement was given by the Algiers radio. This source claimed that Italian troops in the area were refusing re-fusing to help pry the patriots loose from their positions. An ultimatum had been issued by the Germans before the fighting began be-gan but the French declined it saying say-ing that they were ready to fight through to the end. While non-Axis nations were cheered by the news of the resistance resist-ance there was little hope that the uprising could spread far. DINNER TABLE: And Points While American housewives were studying what the effects of the rationing ra-tioning of meat, canned fish, butter,' but-ter,' cheese and edible fats would be on their family diets, the Office of Price Administration announced, that April points for processed foods would be same as in March a total of 48 per person. These would be the points on the blue stamps let- RATION DATES March 29 First day for rationing of meats, canned fish, butter, cheese, edible fats and oils. March 31 Final date for first inspection in-spection of passenger car tires for "A" card holders and motorcycles; mo-torcycles; last day on which A, B and C stamps in war ration book 2 may be used. (Stamps of second ration period may be used from March 25.) April 12 Expiration date for Period 4 fuel-oil coupons. May 31 Last day for use of stamp No. 12, good for five pounds of sugar. June 15 Last valid date for stamp No. 17, good for one pair of shoes. , September 30 Expiration date for Period 5 fuel-oil coupons. tered D, E and F in war ration book No. 2. In announcing the meat rationing, government officials were careful to point out that while the total amount to be consumed by the nation would be cut 12 to 15 per cent, there would still be enough meat to allow healthy diets for U. S. citizens. Meanwhile the department of labor la-bor reported that the average increase in-crease in food costs throughout the nation during the past month had been 0.5 per cent. SECRET AIRFIELDS: Held Dutch Harbor The story behind Japan's failure to seize Dutch Harbor, the navy's Alaskan stronghold, is due largely to the "existence" of two imaginary salmon packing companies. The facts have just been revealed. The two packing firms were no more than covers for one of the Alaska defense command's most remarkable re-markable jobs the secret construction construc-tion of two airfields to guard Dutch Harbor. When the Japs approached the naval base last June 3 (with two carriers, three cruisers, eight destroyers de-stroyers and four transports perhaps per-haps as strong as the forces which struck at Pearl Harbor) they under- stood there was no airfield within 800 miles of Dutch Harbor. In the midst of their assault the Japs found themselves hit from behind be-hind by land based planes and bombed and torpedoed by land based planes. Their spy work so successful success-ful at Pearl Harbor had failed. LITTLE STEEL: Formula Fades A source of comfort to almost every ev-ery labor union official is the fact that the Little Steel formula is fast disappearing as a factor in wage increases in-creases approved by the War Labor board. The bulk of wage adjustments adjust-ments now is based on "inequalities." "inequali-ties." Reason for the disappearance of the much-debated formula is that a majority of employees already hav received the 15 per cent general in crease permitted by the formula as a cost-of-living adjustment WLB officials of-ficials state that scarcely any important im-portant branches of industry have not raised wages at least that much since January I, 1941. JAP FORCES: Above Australia Word from Allied headquarters in the South Pacific . indicated that Japan's invasion forces appeared shifting to the ring of islands north of Australia. This new menace was emphasized when 49 enemy planes 25 bombers and 24 fighters attacked Port Darwin Dar-win in Australia. It was one of the heaviest raids in months, although the Japs were driven off with only slight damage and casualties. ' MoSfc htm Washington, D. C. FLYING MINUTE MEN' (The brass ring, food for one fre ride on the Washington Merry-Go-Round, Is awarded this week to the CivU Air PatroL) This brass ring goes not to one man but to 68,000 men and women. They are members of the Cvil Aii patrol who have been fighting tht war in little single-motor planes flying fly-ing within the boundaries of tht United States, and who carry thi torch for the future of civil aviatior in this country. How long they will be allowed tc carry that torch is the important question. At present they are orphans or-phans of the storm carrying mili tary responsibilities without military mili-tary standing. They fight submarines, subma-rines, but they had to fight for weapons weap-ons first The army and WPB arc slowly throttling them by refusing new equipment or repair parts. Thus in order to keep their gradually deteriorating de-teriorating machines going, the CivE Air patrol Is almost certain to be swallowed by the army. The army has been wanting tc take over because civilian fliers in wartime are considered a nuisance by the military with justification in some cases. Youths and Fathers. But the owners of 25,000 private planes thought they had something to offer. The younger ones went into military service. Others, many being married men with families, organized the Civil Air patrol, which for more than a year has been flying the coastal waters and maintaining a courier service throughout the United States. These are the "Flying Minute Men." At first their submarine patrol pa-trol was merely a spotting job. Ii they spotted a submarine, they were supposed to radio a shore base and then hover around waiting for a bomber to come to the scene oi action. But they had so many heartrending heart-rending experiences, that they clamored clam-ored for bombs of their own. They would dart low over the water, discover dis-cover a submarine location, radio to a shore base, hold the contact, hover and pursue and then sometimes some-times lose the prey because the army never came along. For months they called in vain for bombing equipment War department depart-ment insisted that no civilians are allowed to carry weapons, and thus the Civil Air patrol should not be armed. The army would not even release life rafts, and as a result several CAP pilots have lost their lives on submarine patrol. Finally the restriction was waived, and today these little single-engine planes carry small bomb racks, bombs, and bomb sights. But they have not been allowed to' reveal the success of their submarine subma-rine patrol. War department calls it "military information," and insists in-sists that CAP shall say no more than that they have "attacked" submarineswithout sub-marineswithout indicating the result. re-sult. Subs Sunk. But we can reveal that submarines spotted by CAP observers have actually actu-ally been sunk. The authority for this statement is Maj. Gen. Follett Bradley of the army air corps, who also emphasizes that these "Flying Minute Men" have provided their own planes, tools, radios, and other equipment. A year ago German submarines were sinking merchant ships within sight of the Atlantic coast This brazen activity ceased after establishment estab-lishment of the Civil Air patrol. The submarines were driven into deep waters, for the small planes, flying low and flying slowly, were able to do a better job of spotting than big patrol bombers which whizzed past the scene too rapidly for close observation. ob-servation. WHY THE JAPS KNOW Here is an excerpt from the in terior department's annual 1941 report, re-port, which indicates why the Japs know so much about the Aleutian Islands: "The floating plant Kosei Maru, with auxiliary craft consisting of 9 trawlers, was engaged from May to August, 1940, in taking halibut and cod in Bering Sea about 100 miles northeast of the Pribilof Islands, with one additional trawler during the last week or two of the season. The vessel was reported to have left for Japan toward the end of August "This is the eleventh consecutive year that Japanese floating plants have operated in these waters, the number of vessels having varied from one to four, with the usual complement of tenders." Note: Under international law it Is impossible to prevent foreign fishermen fish-ermen from fishing in foreign waters. MERRY-GO-ROCND C War Transport Czar Joe Eastman says he gets a bushel of letters and postcards every week suggesting that he bar Mrs. Roosevelt from traveling . . . Old Washington ob servers who have seen previous Presidents suffer from getting out of touch with the nation, wish FDR had two Mrs. Roosevelts to keep him posted about U. S. sentiment Any President who loses contact with the people' is finished, and every President especially in wartime, has to keep close to his desk. Ah Wall 8tr,:,urK! yard. end. . r5.mi Wth sheen naT " nvand, "set-rack n "4e Pots i, ftVTe?enDeh0f,l4 uteris on Ct convenience of 2 Emitted, ih atmoeph'ere"rk"iff Thames Street hi ' a chop houses andi ' aer Lon ft Jon't forget to b" Mr- Jessel) l,our at thetopofVeieftTf onthemezzanhe X? Garden leads tot1? dub i town-for6 . stockholder! a,Grdl a cocktail lounge the U.S. fbSiff-PiedbyGenerMwlE' fbSiff-PiedbyGenerMwlE' Butyoun Oar town doesn't mi thing to feed, clothe J Everything weuse, You can get the best Z majestic steel poetry of th! togton Bridge fromVe Fort Tryon along the Drive Cong. Hoffman) . p pub on South Street cinta lusty flavor that you see in movies A New Yorker travel far to find natural mf7eniuythemby8ta tag along the Hudson-mo tiful, we are told, than tl "Df"ub---neHtth Hotel Taft is so cosmopolit, of the maids and t.i,. , C B m tnai aim Port aC icquueo. 10 speak several li ... The false walls to be Chinatown cellars were eH mark dividing lines betwei An4 Tna. . For some unknown reasi en are admitted to the meri the Plaza only after the 3 lsa Bthi change closes . , . Those central Park were once j Indians . . . Some of the M Hoi y able property in town is in where poverty is king . Morgan buys his coffee ti Lane, with his ration card, ... He prefers the green roasts it himself . . . Thi Jewel Market (near Canal ter) resells gems contain nil Inscriptions. Mementoes! vis mances ... The Siamel lad ii late has the softest snap. 1 to take care of more M khe dozen Siamese nationals sayi Hapsburg Restaurant on S5 as I until recently, featured girl who gave you a dime licit hat . . . It's an interesting ta!:f Town . . . Which out-of-toi lege is a nice place to l 11 je PS not to live in . . . But moi Say live in New York City tl itei in i where in the world. It happened daring the rd lov raid oa Tough Touby u N ft Banghart in Chicago . ear Hoover, leading the raj pitch black night, gun in kd dentally stepped on a ... The G-Man's surprise well imagine was as staj the pussy's! But what we started ut tee :aker, 'isut was a comment of Bangy Said: "Mr. Hoover, please i 1 to Alcatraz. I hate where ... Mr. Hoover asked: wrone with it? It has whicl stone wall, to keep out the i haj . . Tn which Banghart 1 don't like it there. Tl ma: pot thieves. They are the wc fctthin. cheats of all!" xou ve piuuv j w nrA ffnt it But I luai b o i rthiM hnrn TT- mum. 1, a vv o i pmoti FUBh opposition, anyhow.' . A nKnnt tTl destroyer, who was soow . . u,a krid ays I The Captain, on u Mir and hunery. He sent 'ad 4 low to bring back a coup find ficer found the cook prostta ... hi minie 01 1 a tatie ... -egg sandwiches tor tne pronto!" he barked. pa 1; cook. "I'm iooooo couldn't look at n t awaaaaaaaajr 'Don't you know wham j ocl-pfl tneM tithe, U you oon i: . .1 What can happen-wMi! ... A h COOK. "The Captain will come A faeitj Pita and snooi ju. , .Ohhhhh" was the --fiTTT TV" m 4 WISH HE .... thi. NatM Ane ho!dla dub agam-;" tf dinner lori--- Semce nixed - J it be hew u. fat salaries to -" .ver j quire signing of J -:t 60 days after 3 rS haw OPA ram-- 4 spots to fcfr. -hoarding, lVh,hera I Car met |