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Show I MILLARD COUNTY CHRONICLE, DELTA. UTAH Czecft Refugee Confirms Crack in Iron Curtain By BAUKHAGE News Analyst and Commentator. WASHINGTON. Is the Union of Soviet Socialist Repub-lics cracking? That's an idea which is being toyed with by some wishful thinkers in Washington while others consider it one of the most dangerous playthings that ever got into the hands of unwary diplomats. In any case, the theory is worth examining. It appears to have been encouraged by some members of the little group of highly intelligent but also highly prejudiced people who form a constantly growing segment of Washington society the political refugees from the countries on the Soviet borders. One can, however, trust this group for certain basic facts. Recently, I learned one of these' facts which may surprise you. Of course, vnil recall W V that Soviet diplo-macy always has explained what we call its aggression aa simply a desire to surround itself with what it de-scribes as "friend-ly" countries. The refugees of whom I spoke are living proof that not all of the inhabitants of Russia's satel-lites are friendly. most of them would have flown away." ' Many did anyway and Czech planes are turning up con-tinually in Western controlled areas of Europe. This occurs in civil aviation too because many of the pilots are former members of the air corps. But if the Red government can-not trust the air corps, it has even less confidence in the Czech armored force. It has been necessary to immobilize it. But the greatest friction caused by partial communiza-tio-n is felt in the nation's econ-omy. Everyone suffers, at least indirectly, because of this, but it can be seen most clearly among workers. Recent fig-ures, which were made avail-able to the public, indicate that there is a sharp falling-of- f in the man-hou- r productiveness. This could be attributed either to conscious sabotage or to t feeling of indifference and re-sentment caused by reduced pay i.nd restrictions on the union labor movement. Before the Russians moved in, 75 to 80 per cent of Czechoslovakia's foreign trade was with countries. This has been considerably reduced under pres-sure from Russia, but even now some 60 to 70 per cent of her ex-ports go to Western Europe. Virtually the entire output of the great Skoda arms factory goes to Russia. The output is largely heavy artillery. Production of small arms for Russia also has been stepped up greatly. Chance of Revolt Termed Small Objective observers admit that there is small chance of an open revolt. That isn't the Czech method. They are great underground work-ers, but they haven't the enthusiasm for blood-lettin- g that people like the Yugoslavs have. If, however, the Soviets became involved in war, undoubtedly the Czechs would join heartily with those they consider their liberators. Those persons who predict a crack in the iron curtain base-par-of their argument an on attitude among Czech leaders which is said to parallel that of Tito's supporters in Yugoslavia. That is this ques-tion of nationalism. There have been recent reports from Europe that Czech Premier Gottwald, who always has been considered Mos-cow's n in Czechoslo-vakia, is about to fall from Soviet grace for the same reason Tito fell. Gottwald is a lifelong Communist who was won over to the Marxian philosophy before he had an op-portunity to see it put into effect in his own country. He was an apt and willing student in Moscow, but he apparently cherished the illusion that his own country could accept the communist forrr. of government and still maintain its identity and its independence. The utter domin-ation by Russia has become not only distasteful to Gottwald but also to at least two other members of his cabinet, including the minister of justice. Gottwald is not the leader that Tito is and he probably can be brushed aside. But the viewpoint he has come to represent is pointed out as one of the weaknesses of the Russian system. There is one other fact which cannot be hidden from the eyes of any careful observer with some military knowledge of Czechoslovakia. That is that the military preparations in the country which the Russians have carried out are almost 100 per cent defensive. Apparently, the Russian fear of invasion from the West is greater than their desire or ability to pre-pare for offensive warfare. As proof of this, my informant told me that although one of the scarcest consumer products in Czechoslovakia is paper, two of the biggest mills manufacturing it were limiting their output to blackout paper only. These are some of the reasons back of the theory which the people who believe in the old military axiom that you mustn't under-estimate the enemy say is dan-gerous. Britain's labor government of Att-le- e and Bevin declared the dock-ers' strike a national emergency, the first such proclamation since 1926 when Bevin himself was a strike leader. Proves how you can make the shoe fit, even when it's on the other foot. If you keep on your toes you're not likely to get down at the heel. BAUKHAGE However, most of us have been led to assume that at least the govern-ments and the controlling Com-munist ininorities which support them have been able to produce a degree of mutual affection which satisfies the Kremlin. After Tito's action we wondered. What about the frontiers between these countries and Russia? . The answer came from an recently arrived from Czechoslovakia one of the many persons who are seeping out of that and other satellite countries every day. He was asked in my presence if the frontier between his country and Russia was open, in the sense that travel was permitted under the same conditions that obtain between normally friendly nations. The Czech laughed. He said: "The border between my country and Russia is no tighter than a dam would have to be to keep a drop of water from getting through." I have heard the Russian frontiers of other satellite nations similarly described. My informant also outlined other significant conditions in Czechoslo-vakia, first reminding us of three Important facts: 1. Czechoslovakia is the most industrialized of all the satel-lites. 2. It Is also the most demo-cratic in the realistio sense we view democracy. In other words the countrv is thoroughly Indoctrinated with the kind of democratic methods we know. This is due in part, of course, to the fact that so many of the men responsible for formation of the Czech republic spent many years in the United States and were made thoroughly fa-miliar with American methods. It is also due to the fact that they had a long period of prac-tical experience in putting these methods into effect iD their own country. 3. The Czechs had a very high standard of living com-pared to the other satellites. These factors, taken together, made the Czechs particularly vul-nerable to a Communist coup. When it came, because of their demo-cratic training and high standard of living, the Czechs were partic-ularly unhappy as an aftermath of Communist methods and Russian domination. In other words, the Czechs had more to lose than any of the other countries within the Red orbit. Greater Problems Are in Prospect Czechoslovakia is not yet thor-oughly communized. There is still a certain amount of open criticism. There have been no wholesale purges. Undoubtedly, these will come, but when they do and herein those who believe that the Soviet position is weakening are encou-ragedthe prospects are that the harder the Russians crack down, the greater problem Czechoslovakia will present to her Kremlin over-seers. Beforethe coup that ended in the death of Masaryk took place, it was estimated that perhaps 20 per cent of the people had been indoctri- - nated with communism. Another 10 per cent were sympathetic, chiefly from a theoretical point of view. ' My Czech informant declares that it can be T3liably estimated that the taste of practical communism which the people have had now has reduced that communist score to 15 per cent. He also confirmed the recent statements about the army though :J he gave no figures made by Gen. Antonin Hasal who escaped to the i; American zone of Germany in the middle of July. Hasal said that 70 per cent of the enlisted men and officers in the !. Czech army was ; My informant put it this way: I "The air force, many of whose members fought with the R. A. F., is almost entirely If I the Reds hadn't drained the tanks of all the planes before the coup, I WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS Moscow Talks Provide Pease lope; Songress Eyes Inflation, Elapsing; Bed Spy Scare Startles Country I By Bill Schoentgen, WNU Staff Writer (EDITOR'S NOTE: When opinions are expressed In these columns, they are those of Western Newspaper Union's news analysts and not necessarily of this newspaper.) f 'Then There Was . . v;;, . M ' RELIGION World Council "To justify the ways of God to man" was John Milton's expressed purpose for writing his monolithic epic poem of the Reformation, "Paradise Lost." Academically Milton succeeded in providing that justification for his own and an unknowable num-ber of future generations of Christ-ians. But since the 16th century days of Milton human society has turned an increasingly cold cheek to the spiritual values preached by every great Christian since Paul. Particularly since the outset of the 20th century man's attention has been claimed more and more by the dramatic power of mate-rialism which has been brought into full play as a result of this technological economy with its as-sembly lines, power politics and repetitive wars. Thus, the problem now is not so much how to justify God's ways to man as it is how to justify man's society in the eyes of God. And if, as many churchmen believe, no such justification is possible, then how to work a reasonable and beneficial change in the society which men have wrought. It is that problem which the World Council of Churches, com-posed of 148 Protestant and Ortho-dox churches from 40 nations, will endeavor to meet squarely at its first world assembly in Amsterdam August 22 to September 4. Four hundred and fifty church leaders laymen and clergymen alike are determined, among other things, "to assess the strengths and weaknesses of presen-t- day Christendom" and "to de-fine a basis of common principle upon which Christians can co-operate for world order." Under the conference theme, "Man's Disorder and God's De-sign," the delegates, will attack such questions as: How to infuse more spirituality into our mechan-ized society without advocating the destruction of all mechanization? What action can the church take among its members to aid in es-tablishment of world order and what is the church's answer to the amoral power politics of the pres-ent day? If these are tough questions, the World Council of Churches is likely to prove itself spiritually tough and realistic enough to go a long way to-ward providing some of the ans-wers. Heave Ho Whittaker Chambers, a senior editor of Time magazine and an admitted former member of the Communist party, got a load off his chest when he told the house activ-ities committee the names of a few more higher echelon gov-ernment officials who had par-ticipated in the notorious Wash-ington spy ring of a decade ago. His testimony included the names of Alger Hiss, for-mer state department official; Nathan Witt, former attorney for NLRB, and Lee Pressman, former CIO general counsel. ? W - ttsi ", s 1 MOSCOW; Conference Practically all that anyone knew during the initial stages of the Mos-cow conference between Josef Stal-in and the ambassadors of three western nations was that there was a conference. The opacity of a thick censorship ban overlaid any details of what was happening. Nevertheless, the impression was that the talks, fathered by the desperation inherent in the Berlin crisis, might be the first step in eas-ing of! the strain between Russia and the western powers. Some information that slipped through the secrecy wall indicated that both sides might be willing to make some concessions in order to further negotiations between Rus-sia and the U. S., Great Britain and France. The talks with Stalin and Molotov were reported to have produced at least one new suggestion that prior to another ' Big Four conference there should be a meeting of the U. S., Russian, British and French deputy foreign ministers. Such a conference would, theo-retically, be accompanied by a grad-ual relaxation of the restrictions which the Soviets have clamped on the western areas of Berlin and which brought the East-We- rela-tions to their present boiling point. Although it might be the height of optimism, Communist Russia be-ing what it is, there was some faint hope that such a piecemeal lifting of the Berlin blockade might bring about a provisional meeting of minds on the subject of German currency and other Irritating is-sues. At the worst, such a discussion at least would tend to act as a broke against a drift to war and provide a breathing space for talks with Moscow on more basic controver-ies- . There was, however, still another Interpretation of the discussions be-tween Stalin and the three western ambassadors: Russia, having car-ried its Berlin blockade virtually to the ultimate point short of war, might be thinking that it had brought the western powers to a position where they would have to accede to Soviet demands if they wished to avoid conflict. CONGRESS: Unwilling Probably the only accomplishment of the special summer session of congress called by President Tru-man was to provide both parties with a bigger and better supply of political ammunition for the elec-tion campaign. Democrats would be able to say that the GOP congress simply sat back on its haunches and did noth-ing about the pressing problems of inflation, housing and other nation-al issues. Republicans could counter with the assertion that, within the bounds of their political beliefs and judg-ment of what is best for the na-tion, they did all they could under the circumstances. To that they probably would add the stock argu-ment that the whole thing is the fault of the Democratic regime and that the ultimate solu-tion must lie in the election of a Republican atlministration this November. One result of the special session that might be classed as favorable was that it served to sharpen the rough edges of the wide cleavage between the two parties over do-mestic problems and give the voters a more clear-cu- t, definitive idea of what they will be deciding on November 2. Despite President Truman's la-borious diatribes against congress and his repeated warnings that con-trols alone will curb the now dan-gerous inflation, in the final analysis it remained foolish to believe that the GOP congress ever would take the action he recommended. Re-publicans simply do not approve of that method of handling the nation's economy. Republican congressmen agreed only to string along with legisla-tion serving to reimpose consumer credit controls, with some limita-tion on bank credits, and to speed action on a watered-dow- n housing program which does little except ease credit terms for home builders. The anti-po- tax measure, blocked for a week by a droning filibuster by southern Democrats, finally withered and blew away in dust. TAXATION: 125 Billion By the end of this year individ-ual taxpayers in the U. S. will have paid nearly 125 billion dollars in direct personal taxes, according to a survey entitled "Domestic Con-sumer Markets" prepared by the National Industrial Conference board. Last year, the report says, Amer-icans paid more in personal taxes than they spent for new homes, cars, furniture and medical care. ESPIONAGE: Dragon Seed The dragon seeds of international espionage sown during the war sud-denly had begun to bloom with a vengeance and the nation's capital seemed to be overgrown with spies and rumors of spies. First stone was cast by Miss Eliza-beth Bentley, courier for Soviet agents, who revealed that much of her information had come from sources in official government positions. She showed no hesitancy in nam-ing names, among which were those of Nathan G. Silvermaster, board of economic warfare and war assets administration official; William W. Remington, former commerce de-partment official, and Alger Hiss, former state department official ac-tive in the establishment of the Unit-ed Nations. There was no visible proof that any of the persons she implicated ever had furnished information to the Soviet espionage ring, although some had Communistic backgrounds. As a matter of fact, the FBI reported that it had spent more than three million dollars in an investigation of the same matter months prior to the current excitement. The finally gave it up because of lack of documentary proof. ' But congressional investigations were under way in both the senate and house. Testimony included the usual flamboyant accusations and re-criminations but failed to produce any concrete evidence. Rep. Karl Mundt (Rep., S. D.), chairman of the house activities committee, added to the national impact of the affair by as-serting that there is "good reason to believe a Communist spy ring is op-erating in Washington right now." His committee was investigating, he said, although the public hearings so far had dealt only with the testi-mony that a Red espionage system was at work in the U. S. during the war. COTTON: Mechanized Last of the great American farm commodities to remain essentially a man-mul- e crop, cotton finally is becoming mechanized, thus elimi-nating the necessity of maintaining vast armies of laborers to meet the two peak labor periods of the crop cycle. Mechanization is one of the ma-jor steps in the effort of cotton people from Virginia to California to achieve lower production costs. To the 12 million people in 18 states who derive all or a substan-tial part of their income from cot-ton it is of paramount importance that they keep their crop competi-tive cost-wis- The answer lies, to a great ex-tent, in mechanization. Thinning and weeding equipment and har-vesting machines are revamping the farm picture in the South. The mechanical cotton picker is capable of performing the work of 40 to 50 human pickers, varying with weather conditions, land sur-face, and other factors. Typical result of mechanization was the experience of a Mississippi farmer who used a flame cultivator to control weeds at a cost of 50 cents an acre at the same time hu-man choppers were costing $5. Of course, complete mechaniza-tion of cotton will not materialize overnight. National Cotton council, representing the entire industry, reports that in 1947 less than 3 per cent of the crop could be classed as entirely mechanized. A consid-erable portion of the remaining crop, however, was in various stages of mechanization. Despite the impression you might have received from reading newspaper accounts of the Olympics, American ath-letes were not the only ones who took part in the games. This straining gentleman, for instance, is Imry Nemeth of Hungary who won the hammer throw with a heave of 183 feet, 11 inches. HOLY LAND: Optimism. Although the July 18 truce in Palestine put at least a temporary end to the military bloodshed be-tween Jews and Arabs, the struggle for rights and power continues be-hind the diplomatic scenes in the Near East. However, there is some reason to believe now that many of the troubles in the troubled spot may be smoothed out when Count Folke Bernadotte, U. N. mediator, pro-poses his next peace plan in Sep-tember. One of the reasons for such opti-mism is the attitude of King Abdullah of Trans-Jordan- , most powerful of the Arab league states. Abdullah has asked for full and careful consideration of any future proposal for permanent peace in Palestine. And, he said, his "Arab nation does not exclude any possible com-promise that secures justice and prevents unnecessary bloodshed. "We would like that the efforts of Count Bernadotte in the refugee problem be successful, and after-wards that any new proposals which he will make should not be rejected outright, but be fully discussed be-fore they are put in final form." CLASSIFIED NEW and BSED 18 CEN'S TRUCK TACOMA, WASH rtfi"S - iiUM) b BlE FURNISHINGS STEEL FOLfc? Cot with wire Jf tached to frame with heU", 8trll sach end. Strong angle i, ,!Pr neavy tubular ends. Ends . ,"' l"- position when set up. 2'6- - u . ! Spring 17" Quantity PrtceslR New "2 R.60..rt . ' " 100 i.OOeach ''I: tOO or over 1.50 each '" J"1"" & METAL CD ' Salt Lake 'ffi SoB' Wi tl MISCELLANFnrs 24 PASS. CHEVROLET SCHOOL BUS PRICED RIGHT Call, Write, Wire t, W. R. HUBBLE, Gen. Mgr. JESSE M. CHASE, nc, Pocotollo, Idoho oHi Center fhm jj Open 7 Mondays thru Situti WANTED TO BUI WE BUY AND BELL ' Office Furniture. Files, Typewrlttri Ml tag Machines, Safes, Cash ReKisierj SALT LAKE DESK EXCHANGE 23 South State Bt., gait Lak. cm, a, Jo. yjOWLjldWlSL I (summer com J QUICK RELIEF WITH J''' PWtHmSSP IRRITATED , IpllWfr't i WNTJW 33--8 When I let myself go last moitk about the way Cutter layoa screw worms, I let myself in foil barrage of brickbats and bouquets Brickbats about the product's unto!; stink. Bouquets about the way i knocks screw worms into kingdoD come. Sure, S stinks! It stinks. ..mi sticks ... and stains. It stinks cattle, on horses, on automobile f holstery, on jeans. An ingredient n it corrodes the innards of any it has anoiMf we can find- '- and ingredient that, under certain con Sometimes the W tions, expands. give way all of a sudden mi stinking stuff squirts all over. Cans of have let loose on 4 gists' shelves, in druggists'' in veterinarians' automobiles, ana ranchers' back pockets. And stink! And do they yelp But b times out of ten there's a P.&- , letter: "Please send me more A We have threatened to take stuff off the market unless til we can get ingredients tn do the work and still not or expand ... and they yelp ( louder. Ranchers say, ' . stinker, but nothing else quite like it does." DrugP the stuff, but .till ca try veterinarian Invented t can under his car so that u w founded thing gave loose, would let him in that night, until it If the car was banished Its skunky odor. it? He Why don't we improve weVebeen trying on working on it But 80J" in our research group ap ranchers that there so good in the long run for" abihtytokiUoffaUthe, and repel the flies without Jg the tissue. So WUkeepon it out -- but if you are ca to want it, you'll have te carry it at your own ru- - CUTTER LABO9 Berkeley J. Cd"" 'S corroaesr, u lor rof ""' aim Wtal i Si fell yij &V?ri La A f - w''u-- " - Thawts While Yawning: Ho, ho, have a switch: Japan now is offering to sell us steel scrap! ... What's all that about Miss Truman's name? Margaret's her middle name, anyhow. Her real first name is Mary. . . . Some nasty person said this colyumist used to be a British booster but "what does he do for England now?" He still pays his taxes! . . . Kirna Moor, who has a honey of a blues voice, was Miss Istanbul of '37 when she was only 12. . . . The Cincy Enquirer wit observes that a man who found a valuable pearl in his oysters in a night club almost broke even. The Wall St. Journal occa-sionally seasons its stodgy f-inancial folderol with zany puns like this: "Once upon a time there was a little bee and it was very happy because it got a bumble from heaven!" .) The Show Shops: Critic George Jean Nathan probably doesn't even suspect that in Houston, Tex., it's against the law to sleep in a thea-ter. . . . Ted Saucier is conferring with MGM on a proposed sequel to his "Weekend at the Waldorf." It ranks among the first 10 screen im-mortals as a top money-make- . . . "Annie Get Your Merman" is this kind of humdinger: It opened dur-ing the 1945-M- 6 season but topped all the 1947-'4- 8 moneymakers. . . . The first variety show on television has showmen worked up into a pitch of breathlessness that mebbe vaude can have a big revival via the new medium. Wouldn't that be the irony of the ages? It Vaude came out of the Tomb and slew its murderer, the Talkies? S. Jay Kaufman, a colyuming pio-neer along Broadway two decades ego, recalls when he met Herbert Hoover, just defeated for The told about Cal Cool-idg-who inaugurated the idea of see-ing anyone who wished to see him one hour a week. Mr. Hoover tried the plan but not happily. When he next sate Coolidge he asked "Silent Cal" how he could see so many persons in an hour, while he (Hoover) could see so few. "B ecaus e," dead panned Cal, "YOU answer back!" The Airistocrats: One of the live-liest summer fiestas is "Hollywood Showcase." Mickey Rooney's quick-silver nonsense darts from chuckle to chuckle. . . . The give-awa- y ra-dio shows are shelling out a mint weekly but the dreadful sameness (of the formats) puts most of them in the dime-a-doze- n category. . . . CBS's "Adventures in Science" is enlightening as well as entertain-ing a rare wedding. . . . Robert Shaw's choral group (replacing Chawlee McCarthy) is a refreshing relief from most summer subs. This tuneful half hour deserves to hang around when the leaves fall. "I was happy when I read Betty Grable was the highest paid woman last year," says Jackie Elinson. "It's nice, for a change, to see an actress make all that money without once suing her husband." Several book firms have folded recently. Big ones are doing okay but the small fry can't take it. . . . Irwin Shaw refused to let firms, re-viewers, et al, see the galleys of his next novel. He rates it better than best-selle- r, "The Naked and the Dead." . . . The book trade has labelled Kathleen Winsor's new untitled opus "Mrs. Kinsey's Re-port." (Won't be unveiled until a year hence). . . . Charles Lind-bergh's new book, "Of Flight and Life" (Scribner's), is due soon. His last was "We" in 1927. . . . Ber-nard Baruch spurned $5,000 to do a mag piece giving advice to the President of the U. S. Oh, No! Dept.: Gold-tippe- shoes are the newest thing for men in the loose-wris- t set. . . . Chums hear Bobo Rockefeller is writing a novel. . . . Dor olAy Lawlor, the gal who got all that free space claiming she would marry any man for $10,000. has decided to cash in on the publicity and take some night club bookings. Starts in a Long island joynt. . . . The permanent ad dress of Mike and Anne (of Rumania) is Ouchy, Switzerland. Times Square Ticker: If you see Ethel Merman wearing a hat, it's the only one she owns. And mighty pretty, too. . . . The late Evelyn Walsh MacLean's fabulous Dusen-berg- , which cost her $38,000 (plus lots more for accessories), is now a local cab. The owner paid 3Gs for it at an auction. . . . News services might check with play-wright S. Kingsley. One of the Dead End Kids (who played Milty in Kingsley's hit) has become a skilled surgeon. ... J. P. Morgan's is now at Bar Har-bor with his wife. The millionaire bequeathed him an estate in the fashionable sector and enough coin to loaf the rest of his life. There's a new play about Hollywood making the rounds. The foreword says: "All the characters in this play are pure-ly phony and so are their originals!" That Old Oil Oil is being consumed in the U. S. today at a rate exceeding the total world consumption of only 10 years ago, according to an article in a recent issue of "Busi-ness Comment," bulletin of the Northern Trust company in Chicago. Demand ' for all oils in the first quarter of 1948 averaged 6.3 mil-lion barrels daily, an increase of 7 per cent over the corresponding period of 1947. |