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Show I WEEKLY MEWS ANALYSIS Allied Nations Are Stunned by Stories Of Jap Atrocities to War Prisoners; Reds Surge Forward Below Leningrad; Fifth Army Continues March to Rome 1 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.) j Released by Western Newspaper Union. . , 1:Li n ,;r,Kitii, : ! Vv v U "r -t l ,! I Beauty Parlor Jut like that, T-4 Joeph Drescher of LeavitL- burg, Ohio, dropped into thii chic little salon on Bougainville in the Solomons (or a haircut, shine and manicure. FARM PRICES: M.' Supports Announced Subject to congressional approval, the War Food administration announced an-nounced support prices for 34 prin cipal farm products, with the only big decrease being the $1 per hundredweight hun-dredweight for hogs effective Octo- bLoans for corn and wheat would be made at 85 per cent of parity, and for cotton, rice and tobacco at 90 per cent of parity. Potato supports sup-ports would be pegged at 90 per cent of parity compared with 92 in 194J. On a per bushel basis, support prices would be higher on soybeans by 14 cents, flaxseed 10 cents, barley bar-ley and grain sorghums 10 cents and sweet potatoes 10 to 20 cents. Peanut supports would be raised by $10 a ton, sugar beets $1.50 a ton, and sugar cane 30 cents a ton. NEW TAXES: Only Hope Chest Spared Only the hopeful young misses stocking their hope chests got any kind of a break from senators and congressmen drawing up a compromise compro-mise $2,000,000,000 tax bill. With over $1,000,000,000 in so-called so-called luxury levies agreed upon, only silver plated flatware (knives, forks, etc.) escaped taxation. Otherwise, Other-wise, the lawmakers decided upon a 20 per cent tax on jewelry. In raising $1,000000,000, the legislators leg-islators recommended a 25 per cent tax on cosmetics and toilet articles; 1 cent tax on every 5 cents of amusement amuse-ment admissions; 30 per cent tax on cabaret or night club bills, and $20 annual tax on pool tables and bowling bowl-ing alleys. It was also recommended that ir mail postage be boosted to 8 cents and locally delivered mail to 3 cents. TtltFACT IOWER DEATH RATE FOR MARRIED MEN ACt """"HI ,,.111111111111111 CIVILIAN TIRES: Less Predicted Because chemical difficulties have been encountered in processing oil into synthetic rubber ingredients and military requirements have increased, in-creased, a cutback In civilian tire production from 30 to 20 million casings cas-ings for 1944 loomed. Production of heavy duty tires for busses and trucks also was expected to fall below expectations, since a mixture of natural rubber is required re-quired for manufacture of these casings and the natural rubber stockpile has dropped to a low level, partly because of the failure of South American growing programs to fully develop. The rubber pinch also has affected affect-ed recapping plans, with the government govern-ment again specifying reclaimed scrap for retreads. PETROLEUM WAXES: Waterproofers To help meet the military services' serv-ices' crying need for water and other proofing, the petroleum industry produced pro-duced 390,000 tons of waxes in 1943, a notable achievement since certain crudes have a wax content of only three-fourths of 1 per cent. In 1944, emphasis will be placed on production of micro-crystalline waxes, which have proven especially especial-ly useful in packaging food rations because thin coatings resist moisture mois-ture and the substance retains its flexibility In low temperatures. Micro-crystallines are further useful in proofing army shoes against mustard mus-tard gases and protecting metal parts from the elements. WHISKY: None to Be Made Because industrial requirements for alcohol in 1944 will approximate ITALY: At Nazis' Rear With their supply lines leading to Cassino under fire of the Fifth army advancing inland from their invasion beachheads below Rome, the Germans Ger-mans launched a series of counterattacks counter-attacks in the new battle region while their long-range artillery sought to break up Allied troop concentrations. con-centrations. Near Cassino U. S. and French forces moved through rugged Nazi fortifications to ring that key to the broad highway to Rome on two sides, while farther to the south, British units battered against the right flank of the enemy defense line. By surging inland after their landings land-ings on the sandy beaches below Rome, the Fifth army threatened to cut off an estimated 100,000 German troops in the Cassino area, some of whom were being withdrawn back to counter the new Allied thrust. As the Germans moved back to meet the threat, Allied bombers roared in to machine-gun the columns. ARGENTINA: Breaks With Axis Declaring that a huge Axis spy ring within Argentina was working to overthrow the country's self - rule which previously had deemed relations rela-tions with Germany and Japan to its best interests, President Pres-ident General Pedro Ramirez signed a decree breaking off I diplomatic ties with Berlin and Tokyo. JAP ATROCITIES: 'Death March' "Death March on Bataan." In these four ghastly words, the late Lieut. Col. William Dyess, who led a party of officers and men in escaping from Jap imprisonment, told a still more ghastly story of horror hor-ror and atrocity committed against the heroic U. S. and Philippine defenders de-fenders of Bataan by the enemy. On 85 miles of road leading from Bataan to San Fernando, Colonel Dyess related in a war and navy department release, U. S. ,and Filipino Fili-pino troops plodded along from dawn to dusk for six days, thirsting under a piercing sun. Sick and delirious were dragged from the straggling columns and cruelly put to death. In one instance, prisoners were forced to bury three Americans and Filipinos Fili-pinos alive at bayonet point. Conditions in prison camps were equally atrocious, the army and navy na-vy report revealed. At one camp, the death rate was 20 Americans and 150 Filipinos a day in the first week. In the second week the rate jumped to 50 Americans and 500 Filipinos through starving and overwork. Strike at Supplies To make sure that there will not be another Tarawa when doughboys land in the Marshalls astride our supply lines in the mid-Pacific, U. S. bombers continued pounding defense installations in the islands. On New Britain, Allied bombers struck hard at shipping in the port of Rabaul, which feeds barges supplying sup-plying Jap troops through coastal depots. With their bombers striking at enemy en-emy 'supply lines, U. S. troops drove farther inland, both on New Guinea and on Bougainville. RUSSIA: Form Trap Fighting raged on two widely separated sep-arated sectors of the 800-mile Russian Rus-sian front, with the Reds fanning out below Leningrad in the north, and the Nazis counterattacking to strengthen their position 80 miles from the Rumanian border in the south. As the Reds surged forward below be-low Leningrad, they chewed two big holes in the Germans' positions on the northern and southern ends of this front, threatening to swing toward each other and throw a loop around the enemy's rear. Far to the south, the Germans pushed slowly into Russian lines' above the Rumanian border, keeping keep-ing massed Red armies off balance, more than attempting any real breakthrough. In Poland, Nazi resistance re-sistance stiffened. Reject Mediation The U. S. offer to mediate Russia's claim to one-third of prewar Poland was rejected by the Reds, and the situation became even more complicated com-plicated with Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden's declaration that Great Britain could not recognize any territorial changes made during dur-ing the war without consent of the parties concerned. Russia's rejection of the U. S. mediation bid emphasized Stalin's disposition not to deal with the present pres-ent Polish government - in - exile, which he has accused of strengthening strength-ening Germany by its requests that an impartial commission investigate inves-tigate Nazi charges that the Reds slew 10,000 Polish officers near Smolensk. Gen. Ramirez , Argentina s action followed U. S. refusal re-fusal to recognize the revolutionary government of Bolivia on grounds that the new regime was linked with a subversive movement in South America designed to disturb Allied relations. Obviously delighted by the turn of events, U. S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull declared: "It must be assumed . . . that Argentina will now proceed ... to adopt other measures which all of the American countries have concerted for the security se-curity of the continent." SOLDIER VOTE: Big Issue Already a big issue of the present congressional session, the question of soldier voting in 1944 became a bigger issue when President Roosevelt Roose-velt directly appealed to the legislators legisla-tors to provide for federal supervision supervi-sion over service balloting. Declaring that a system of absentee ab-sentee voting in which states would determine eligibility and print complete com-plete ballots would involve too much shipping and time, the President asked that the federal government be allowed to distribute blank ballots bal-lots on which soldiers would then write in the names, of their election choices or merely the name of the political party they favored. Champions of states rights assailed as-sailed the President's recommendations, recommenda-tions, standing firmly for state supervision su-pervision over registration to assure that each ballot is cast by the registrant himself, and objecting to the services' power to decide the voting time because permission might be given just before or in the midst of a great battle, when soldiers sol-diers might feel that the country should pull together behind directing leadership. 632,000,000 gallons and keep distilleries operating at 150 per cent of their rated capacity, no whisky will be manufactured manufac-tured this year, War Production Czar Donald Nelson declared. de-clared. Alcohol reserves had dropped to 80,-000,000 80,-000,000 gallons by De- Donald Nelson cember, 1943, a dangerous dan-gerous level, Nejson said, because synthetic rubber plants, arsenals, powder plants and tank terminals for lend-lease require a working inventory in-ventory of 30,000,000 gallons. To assure 1944 supplies,' Nelson said the War Production board' was seeking to secure sufficient molasses and corn for distilleries, to persuade the British to meet their own requirements re-quirements by processing molasses from the Caribbean, and rushing new grain alcohol plants to completion. TELEPHONE RATES Interstate telephone rates will be reduced March 1, by agreement between be-tween the Bell Telephone system and the Federal Communications commission. com-mission. Subscribers will be saved about eight million dollars a year it is estimated. Putting night long distance telephone rates into effect at 6 p. m. instead of 7 p. m. wiI1 account for most of the reduction or about 5 million dollars. The remainder is accounted for bv a lowering of the overtime rate on interstate teletypewriter service. RATION CHANGES Dwindling meat supplies have necessitated ne-cessitated a one to two point raise in ration value, Chester Bowles OPA administrator, announced' Cheese of all sorts is up two to four points, while canned fish has been reduced four points. Pork remains unchanged, except for choice cuts Beefsteak is two points higher Roasting and stewing meat, as well as hamburger, have been boosted a point. Shoulder roasts and chons of veal are up by tw other P3 one or two points s |
