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Show THE PROGRESSIVE OPINION 'rSs Hitler in Mental' Decline? Close Observers Say Yes .Reliable Reports Indicate Fuehrer Subject to Uncontrolled Emotions; German Physician Believes He Will Have Mental 'Explosion.' By BAUKHAGE New Analyst and Commentator. ' WNU Service, Union Trust Building, Washington, D. C. I Where is Hitler? That question can't be answered with any certainty at this writing ' and nobody seems to care. For more than a month, the communications from the German High Command have not borne the Fuehrer's signa ture. The anniversaries of two of the great events in Nazi history have come and gone, the celebrations were held with very little display in comparison with other years and entirely without appearance of the No. 1 Nazi himself. Hitler has made no public appearance for months. It is true that communications supposedly from the Fuehrer have been made public but always through a second party, notably the speech on the anniversary of the founding of the National Socialist party. The set excuse is that Hitler is with his troops in the Russian, front. But at the rate that front is moving these days, it is doubtful it he is very near it. It is quite pos-sible that he is elsewhere or even nowhere but the interesting thing is that this man, who has managed to turn the world upside down, does not nomenal mental power but some day.it is going to explode." Suicide the End? Without revealing the source, have heard the opinion expressed bj a man who has seen and met witt Hitler many times and is exceeding-ly familiar with his life, that it is quite possible that a mental decline has started which, he believes, may end in suicide. On my own score, I may say that when I heard Hitler deliver his fa-mous speech at the start of the wai in 1939 in which he said that he was going to the front and would lead Germany to victory, that he would not take off his uniform until this had been achieved, and in the nexl breath named his successors, 1 thought he was preparing for suicide. I doubt if he is now dead. He may not even be ill but the thing is, there has been no report of any public appearance for a long time. That, of course, is hearsay evi-dence or' diagnosis but what Oechsner reports comes from, first-han- d authority. So Hitler may already be in a padded cell and nobody seems tc care! seem at ml cardinal wj ure 61 cat political and military machine he has built up. It may be functioning without him and this would seem to indicate that if he is not dead, but Should suddenly die, it wouldn't make much difference. Some time ago, a report received from underground sources was re-ceived in London. It said that "Hit-ler either has been given an ultima-tum by his generals, who pointed out his military blunders, or he is suffering from one of his hysterical fits and is In ill health as a result of his Russian reverses." Recent Developments What about these fits? They are no fiction but events. Before several witnesses he has frequently burst into tears, a'nd in other ways given vent to ut-terly uncontrolled emotions. But these fits are of less importance than certain other likewise but not widely known devel-opments which have taken place within the last year or two. There are several stories which' I heard from the lips of a man who has closely watched Hitler's career from its earliest beginning. The man is Fred Oechsner, a former Fourth Term Does FDR Want It? Will the President run for a Fourth Term? A number of cross currents are definitely in motion, some directly moving toward an attempt to draft Mr. Roosevelt as candidate in '44; some which at present seem to be carrying him in the opposite direc-tion. One thing that many people fail to realize is the fact that when the precedent against a man serving in the White House for more than two terms was broken, the first olive was out of the bottle and the chief ob-stacle to a fourth term was re-moved. As has been pointed out, the American people never before want-ed a man for a third term candi-date, although twice before candi-dates would have made the attempt Grant and Theodore Roosevelt. When the first whispers for a pos-sible third term for Franklin Roose-velt were heard, I talked to a sea-soned political observer. He said: the President doesn't want to run again but he will be persuaded to by his friends. I make bold to state at this junc-ture that exactly the same state- - instrumental in having him sent to Berlin as correspondent for the Con- - solidated Press just about the time Hitler was beginning his political career. Long before anybody else took Hitler seriously, Oechsner wrote to me: "This man is some day going to be the bull in Europe's china shop." Oechsner, who is now in Washington, told me the following story which he also repeats in his excellent book, "This Is the Enemy." As you know, Hitler was always a teetotaler. He never drank any-thing but some very weak beer es-pecially brewed for him and he only ment can be made today with one modification: The President doesn't want to run for a fourth term but his friends are trying to persuade him to. I feel sure that the President does not want to run again. I do believe he passionately desires to preside at the peace table. But some of his friends have a different view. As Joseph Tumulty, secretary to Pres-ident Wilson, once remarked about the White House: "It's a nice board-ing house, you hate like the dickens to move out." Friends' Demands Two things are acting in favor of took sips of this pale beverage. Recently his habits changed. "Persons who visited him at his headquarters early in the winter told me," Oechsner says, "that he was becoming grave and irritable and that it was not uncommon for him on a cold night to drink three or four glasses of grog. He also took occasional drinks of a Bavarian liquor called Enzian which is not unlike gin." Now Oechsner is an exceedingly reliable reporter and when he says the Fuehrer finished three grogs in an evening, I believe it also I be-lieve that a man unused to taking alcohol must have been higher than Berchtesgaden when he went to bed. Oechsner also said: "There is a German physician of international repute who believes that some day Hitler will have a brain disturbance of a serious nature. This physician has treated Hitler since 1921 and knows his physical condition as well as his personal life. It is his opinion that Hitler is an outstanding exam-ple of a d person with a phenomenal talent for absorbing and infor-mation and detail gleaned from oth-er sources. This attention to detail and pattern, he says, is obvious in Hitler's drawings, in his speeches, his military campaigns. It is a phe- - persuading the President: One, this earnest and insistent demand of his "friends" who don't want "to move out" and some of whom honestly be-lieve that it would be for the general good if the President stayed on. Their arguments are many. The second factor and the one which could elect Mr. Roosevelt for a fourth term, if he does run again, can be expressed in the n slogan, "Don't swap horses while crossing a stream." It is the rea-soning behind this homely expres-sion which, of course, provides the most persuasive argument to any President. On the other hand, if by 1944 Hit-le- r has been defeated, the' President might feel that he could serve even better at the peace table if he were not the head of a political party, il he were not bound by certain do-mestic policies which the head ol an administration must administer with one eye on the votes in the next election. I believe that if the President fell positively that he would be allowed to play the principal role in the peace-makin- even though someone else were in the White House (per-haps a Republican), or if he felt that as President, he would be less effective as a peacemaker, he would not consider a fourth term. WEEKLY MEWS ANALYSIS Meat Ceilings to Check Black Market; Bismarck Sea Triumph Forecasts U. S. Drive to Sweep Japs From New Guinea; Small Firms Get Billions for War Work (EDITOR'S NOTE: When opinions .re pressed 'n Western Newspaper Union's news analysts and not necessarily oi giV",wa' Released by Western Newspaper Union. - NORTH AFRICA: Rommel in Reverse As Allied troops continued their drive in Tunisia, it became increas-ingly Rommel s clear that Marshal short-live- Kasserine Pass offensive had been a gamble. If he succeed-ed he would follow it up. U n failed, he would waste no time in re-tiring. This was emphasized by the rapidity with which American and British forces had regained the ground lost in Hommel's first push. Reports disclosed that some units of the British Eighth army had made contact with American troops in the Gafsa area of central Tunisia after circling the Mareth line from the south and advancing through the Chott Djerid marshes which had hitherto been regarded as impassa-ble. American forces pressing Kom-mel- 's retreat from the Kasserine pass were reported well beyond Sbeitla on the way to the Faid Pass, the key to German north-sout- h com-munications. In the northern mountains west of Axis-hel- d Bizerte heavy Nazi at-tacks had bent the British lines back. The Allied air arm remained dominant over North Africa, how-ever, and in the Mediterranean, sharp enemy losses to British sub-marines were reported. Seven Axis ships were sunk and nine others damaged. ABSENTEEISM: Wage Docking Urged "Hit them in the pocketbook. If you dock their wages you are hit-ting them where it hurts." This was the prescription for cur-ing the problem of persistent absen-teeism by war plant workers pro- - i r, Mn t AT ) ; ' V i',-- 1 . ?J 'Mi v-- " - f , - , - Even the most advanced air base in Tunisia gets its mail, as pic-tured above. This photo of the mailman arriving and being welcomed at an advanced U. S. air base of Gen. Dwight Eisenhower's army, should be an incentive to those on the home front to write and keep writing to loved Uncle Sam's service they may be. ones no matter how far away on Knox. Testifying before the house naval affairs committee, Knox ad-vocated remedial legislations cover-ing both draft-ag- e and workers. A large share of the absenteeism is caused by men safe from the draft, he told the committee which was studying measures to require periodic reports to local draft boards on absentees of military age. Best results in curing absenteeism would be to deprive such workers of earn-ings for part of the time they were actually at work, he added. DRAFT: Fathers Go Soon Draft boards will begin inducting fathers into the armed forces in many areas of the United States about May 1, informed officials in Washington indicated. These ofB- - SMALL BUSINESS: Good News Ahead Good news for small business con-cerns was forthcoming from Charles E. Wilson, executive vice chairman of the War Production board when he announced that war contracts placed with smaller companies "will run into billions of dollars by the end of the year." Wilson said that more than of work a week is being placed now with small business firms through the efforts of the Smaller War Plants corporation. The WPB's program for small business, Wilson said, includes: 1 An increase in the number of prime contracts placed with small plants; 2 Widening of WPB's lending poli-cy to make loans to small business easier; 3 Certification of more small plants to handle war con-tracts. BLACK MARKET: Action on Meat Action rather than words was the keystone of a program sponsored by the OPA and the department of ag-riculture to smash the black mar-kets in meat. First barrage laid down in this offensive was Price Administrator Prentiss M. Brown's order imposing specific retail price ceilings on meat, beginning with pork products. Sec-ond attack came in the announce-ment by Secretary of Agriculture Wickard of orders licensing livestock slaughterers as well as those who buy and sell livestock for slaughter. Effective April 1, the meat ceilings were expected to check black mar-kets and end an "unjust squeeze" on packers. Mr. Brown said they would also lay the groundwork for the start of meat rationing about April 15. Pork ceilings were to be followed by uniform regulations on beef and lamb. When red meat rationing is un-dertaken, the order will include ba-con, butter, cheese, lard and other cooking fats. With prices uniform throughout a community on all cuts of meat, Brown said, it would be difficult for dealers to get rid of illicit meat at higher prices. RUSSIANS: Repeat Old History Back over the snowy Russian steppes where Napoleon's army per-ished long ago reeled the retreating German legions. While the collapse of Nazi resist-ance at Rzhev had been of high im-mediate strategic importance to the Red command it was prophetic of further Nazi reverses, for with the whole German salient west of Mos-cow unhinged, the fate of Orel and Vyazma to the east virtually sealed. The rapidity of the Russian ad-vance was indicated by the capture soon afterward of Olenino 35 miles west of Rzhev giving control of the vin4nr frnm IVrTftc rnU7 fit Vo. BISMARCK SEA: Disaster for Japs Three facts of major significance to the future of the war in the Pa-cific emerged from the stunning vic-tory of General MacArthur's bomb-ers over the Jap armada in the Bismarck sea, approaching New Guinea. Fact No. 1 was that in sinking the 22 enemy ships and bagging 82 Jap planes, MacArthur's airmen proved that a force of land-base- d bombers manned by skilled pilots is more than a match for a sea-borne invasion force. Fact No. 2 was that the victory removed the danger of invasion to the Australian mainland for the time being at least. Fact No. 3 was that the enemy garrisons at Lae and Sala-mau- New Guinea, would not nowbe reinforced, for it was estimated that 15,000 Jap troops perished when Yankee bombs sank their transports. Military observers believed that one of the immediate results of the Jap disaster would be an increase in pressure by General MacAr-thur's armies besieging Lae and Sal- - amaiio iirUli tha nhlarl nf A yirr a tlla cials added that they expected draft-ing of married men with children to be general throughout the coun-try by early summer. Acknowledging that some married men with children have already been inducted, selective service officials declared that most of these had ac-quired their dependents after De-cember 8, 1941. Other fathers, it was said, may not be inducted with-out authorization from selective service headquarters. It was pre-dicted, however, that such authori-zation would be forthcoming this spring. PIPELINES: Relief for East Blunt-spoke- n Harold L. Ickes, pe-troleum administrator, served notice that he had decided to build a pipeline from Texas to the Mid-dle West, despite the objection of I JJK k : ! I I A r'f Japs entirely from New Guinea. The clean-swee- p character of the American triumph was summarized in General MacArthur's terse com-munique: "We have achieved a vic-tory of such completeness as to as-sume the proportions of a major dis-aster to the enemy." NAVY: Predict 10 Losses A navy "big enough to dominate all seas over the world" was envi- - likie Luki. ' While German spokesmen de-scribed the Rzhev defeat as a stra-tegic withdrawal to shorten Nazi lines, Allied military observers saw in it a threat to all Axis defenses from Smolensk to the Baltic sea. In the South the Russians had moved forward more slowly, imped-ed by the first thaws of oncoming spring. But Red forces were re-ported driving forward from recap-tured Lgov, important railroad cen- - i - f Tr.,-,.- LCI weak Ul UUIOA. WAR COST: ' Exceeds 43 Billion More than $43,830,452,651 was spent for war purposes in the first eight months of the current fiscal year, it was disclosed by the treas-ury department. The war department spent the most for war $27,303,243,684. The navy spent $11,502,653,956, the mari-time commission $1,685,143,236 and the war shipping administration $733,211,740. Expenditures by the government for all purposes during the eight-mont- h period totaled $47,600,944,727, while net revenue totaled $9,512,808,-49- The government's deficit for the eight months was $38,084,682,608. sionea Dy secretary iraruc Knox, who added a warning that the Amer-ican people must be prepared to ex-pect a 10 per cent casualty rate in navy personnel before the war's end. Secretary Knox and ranking naval officials unfolded a program for building up personnel strength to 2,250,000 by July, 1944, in testimony before the house subcommittee on naval appropriations. Appropria-tions totaling $3,816,000,000 to imple-ment this program were approved by the subcommittee. The navy had 3,205 ships in com-mission on January 1, 1943, accord-ing to Rear Admiral Randall Ja-cobs, chief of the bureau of person-nel. This number will be increased to approximately 4,100 by the end of the year, he added. PETROLEUM BOSS ICKES Midwest senators who had urged that any new pipeline construction should be instead, from the Middle West to the East Coast shortage area. This will be in addition to the recently completed line. Mr. Ickes assured the Middle West senators in testimony before a e in Washington that he also hopes to complete a h pipeline from the Midwest to the East coast this year. Meanwhile, he insisted, building the western end of the second pipe-line first would speed the job and increase deliveries to the East coast of from 3,000,000 to 5,000,000 barrels during the most critical period of the shortage. This would provide the most effective method. CHTTT) T.AROT? . 2,780,000 Employed Reflecting the war's impact on the nation's labor supply, a report by the National Child Labor commis-sion revealed that 2,780,000 young- sters of less than 18 years of age are employed either full or part time in industry and agriculture. Citing a noticeable increase in il legal child labor, especially in night work, the report said that 580 000 of the group were in the 14 to' 5 "nd6!?.'1358 remailder CANADA How Canada has been stepping its war tempo was revealed by Fi? nance Minister James V" told the dominion parliament That the fighting torces during 194 would require $3,320,000,000, pared with com $1,913,000,000 in 19. Largest increase was in the force with an anticipated outlL air $1,129,000,000, compared wtn 7f 000,000 in the fiscal year Jh March 31. This increase g ley said, reflected Mr ' Ils- - force strength exPann of air Bolero Frock. but so attractive is this SIMPLE frock which will be worn more and more as the weather gets warmer. Right now, worn with bolero, it has a casual spring-time look. Comes summer, worn without bolero, it can be put to good use as a r. Pattern No. 8207 is in sizes 10, 12, 14, 16, 18 and 20. Size 12 ensemble takes 4 yards material. Young Frock. IT IS called the wedge the in-teresting double line treatment of the smart new frock we show today which starts at your shoul-ders and ends in jaunty slash II WM pockets in the dirndl skirt. C line it with blanket stitch a: watch it narrow inches a.J from your waistline! Pattern No. 8337 is made lor u 12, 14, 16. 18, 20. Size 12, short requires 3ft yards material Send your order to: SEWING CIRCLE PATTERN DEPT. 149 New Montgomery Street ' San Francisco call J i Enclose 20 cents in coins (or ea;: pattern desired. Pattern No Size Name Address PCOLDS'MISERIES J ' For colds' coughs, nasal congestion, msj. aches get Penetro modern medicauoc .: mutton suet base. 251, double supply GROW THESE FERRY'S m::.ir.:,.r.: IN YOUR GARDEN These recent Ferry's Award Winners have provtd their merit in thousands of ocxt gardens. PERRY'S MORNING OlOT-Pc- i:i) Gate PERRY'S CLEOME Giant Pint FERRY'S SWEET PEAS Spring Flwml FERRY'S MARIGOLD Melody Available throufhyour locel FERRY'S SEE!) a Sd Co. DlroH Son Fran"" r IN THE ARMY AIR FORCE they say: "STOOGING'for crying "GROUND lOOP'for mental confusion 'STATION AASTER'for commanding officer CAMEL for the Army tnan' favorite cigarette 'With men In the Army, Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard, the favorite cigarette is Camel. V (Based on actual sales records in Post Exchanges and Canteens.) x , FOR jL 1 EXTRA MILDNESS Ar AND RICH FLAVOR A V ME FDR CAMELS 1 i EVERY TIME! THEYVE AJ ' FV GOT WHAT IT I J TAKES I jK I bp. j ASK MS f i ANOTHER I j A General Quiz . j fw. (v. (v o-- O-- C - - O" - O-- - O-- O-- CW - tv. o-- - The Questions 1. How many square miles does the Vatican City cover? 2. Who was the first woman to be elected to the congress of the United States?. 3. For what George of England was the state of Georgia named? 4. How does frost kill a plant? 5. What state is not divided into counties? 6. From where did shrapnel get its name? 7. Who founded the city of Detroit? 8. What South American country is the greatest producer of petro-leum? The Answers 1. Vatican City covers .16 of 1 square mile. 2. Jeanette Rankin of Montana in 1916. 3. George II. 4. The water inside the living cells freezes and this bursts the cells so that the plant dies. 5. Louisiana, where the unit of government is the parish. 6. From General Shrapnel, the inventor. 7. Cadillac. 8. Venezuela. I B R I E F S . . by Baukhage AU rural women are being asked to enroll in the national Victory Home Food Supply program! The brother of the king of Sweden, Prince Oscar Bernadotte, has re-signed the chairmanship of the Swedish Young Men's Christian as-sociation. Reason advancing age. He has held the post for more than 50 years! One reason Russia is not sc anxious to make peace with Fin-land is because 100,000 German sol-diers would be released for duty elsewhere. Twenty-tw- o states have entered into arrangements with the Forest Service to develop a for-est products marketing service foi farmers. Forty-tw- o state legislatures are now considering wartime problems of highway transportation. The first packing center devoted solely to the preparation of Red Cross food parcels for American and Allied prisoners of war in enemy countries has been opened In Phila-delphia. Farmers are asked to seed 5Vt mil-lion acres of flax this year. That's more than 800,000 more acres than they seeded last year. Following Rommel's withdrawal in central Tunisia, the Germans have fortified the old American base at Gafsa. The Allies believe Rom-mel will make the town the south-ern anchor of a new line running north to Faid Pass. The Germans are reported to now have 250, 00C men in Tunisia. Because of the likelihood of re-newed bombing raids on Berlin, the Swedish government is providing adequate shelters for the memberi of its legation there. HIGHLIGHTS . . . in th e week's news I LONDON: "Take a towel with you when you go visiting" was, in ef-fect, what Britons were told in a new set of rationing regulations. In announcing towel concessions for factory and medical workers, Hugh Dalton, president of the Board of Trade, said that in future "we must be prepared to take our towel with us if we go away to stay, or if asked to do so, to the hairdresser." WASHINGTON: Surgeon Gen. Thomas Parran, director of the U. S. public health service, warned that "war nerves" hold a serious threat in coming months to the nation's health. Dr. Parran declared that poor leadership both in private life and national affairs was one of the primary causes of war nerves. Men-tal distress, hatred, unsatisfied de-sires and resentment against the hardships of war which are upset-ting the world today will pose ofte of the greatest problems science has ever dealt with when the war is won, he declared. LOS ANGELES: Canned baby food is becoming more popular particu-larly with adults, according to Sam M. White, secretary of the Southern California Retail Grocers' associa-tion. The reason, he says, is the present rationing system. The low ration point value of canned baby foods constitute their chief appeal. A purchaser can get a 4 or can for one point. BERNE: Diplomatic circles re-ported that Pope Pius XII had been asked to assume the initiative in an effort to obtain agreements among the belligerent powers to refrain from bombing "open cities." Accord-ing to reports, Archbishop Francis J. Spellman of New York, a recent Vatican City visitor on an unan-nounced mission, had examined the possibility of such a move. Well informed quarters said it was pos-sible that Spellman had discussed the question of aerial warfare with the Papal secretary of state during his Vatican visit. |