Show weekly news analysis 0 congress debates labor draft issue russ forge deeper into poland EDITORS NOTE win when opinions are e expressed p r eased in in these columns they are r t those os of I 1 western newspaper union analysts and sot not anew necessarily ol 01 this his 1 wa paper WAR BUDGET billion asked assuming that fighting will continue throughout the fiscal year ending in june 1945 president roosevelt asked congress for an appropriation of to cover the period at the same time the president asked congress to prepare for demobilization by 1 planning public works 2 providing mustering out pay to servicemen 3 expansion of the social security program to tide over the labor force during the period and 4 study ways of boosting foreign trade declaring that war spending since 1940 will have swelled to by 1945 the president forecast a national debt of by next year such a debt the president said would require annual interest charges of which could best be paid with a national income of annually far over the prewar pre war level to help whittle the debt the president urged a minimum of in new taxes this year coupled with present collections of 40 ask labor draft no sooner had president roose belts message to congress calling tor for a labor draft been read than sen warren austin vt and rep james wadsworth N Y introduced legislation making all men between 18 and 65 and all women between 18 to 50 subject to compulsory service As congress moved toward consideration of the controversial labor draft issue the senate went toward approval of most of its new tax bill tar far below the administrations demand for of new revenue the senate also voted to keep the present social security tax rate at 1 per cent each for employer and employee instead of doubling the rates as automatically provided by the original law in introducing his labor draft bill which would enable the government to place people in employment senator austin said approximately 4 all men over 38 and an estimate women would form a huge workers pool which could be channeled where needed into industry RUSSIA advance in poland gen nikolai Va first ukrainian army bit deeper into prewar poland in hard 77 rg fighting as other red units maintained heavy pressure on the embattled nazis in other sectors of the russian front the reds continued bearing down on the nazis in the great bend gen where their persistent attacks gradually whittled I 1 down a long stretch of country which the germans held to prevent the russ from cutting through it and trapping of their troops to the south As general Va forces pushed forward in prewar poland the polish government in exile considered dussias Rus sias proposal for a postwar adjustment of the old eastern border between the two states under the prop proposal osil russia would keep the former polish provinces of white russia and the ukraine while poland would be compensated by taking ever vr eastern prussia olt 1 1 f 1 fa 45 1 0 I 1 taly italy torrential rains rain have turned italian battlefront into goo slowing allied drive see europe EUROPE biggest loss fighting through swarms of nazi fighter planes which pressed home their attacks in close ranks and running into new rocket antiaircraft fire that threw up shells as big as a house U S liberators and flying fortresses protected by almost light combat escorts smashed hard at german airplane factories in southwestern germany As the big U S aerial fleet fired the machine shops and assembly ly plants with a record loss of 64 planes other allied bombers struck at the big greek corf port of piraeus outside of athens supply center for german strong points in the aegean sea guarding the near eastern water route to the balkans although heavy weather turned the ground into ino goo U S dough boys beat down nazi mountain posts in southern italy in their advance on cassino key to the 70 mile road to rome in bearing down on cassino doughboys dough boys were overrunning hill positions to the north west and south giving them a commanding view of the town which lies in a plain astride the prized highway prohibition open hearings use your bible to battle the bottle two resolutions I 1 will keep sweet and I 1 will not drink alcohol As leaflets containing these slogans were passed out by ardent pro a house judiciary subcommittee opened hearings on a bill by rep bep joseph bryson S C for limiting alcoholic content of beverages to per cent tor for the duration heading the dry delegation was mrs ida B wise smith president of the christian temperance union mrs smith asserted that hangovers from we week ek end drinking sprees result in war plant absenteeism and she further said that liquor manufacture channels grains sugar and other products from food uses opposing the prohibit prohibitions prohibitionists ionis ts representative forand B R I 1 described himself as a teetotaler but said he that does not give me license to tell my neighbors what they should eat and drink SOUTHWEST PACIFIC batter Fo fonward rivard As V U S doughboys dough boys battered their way slowly through jap jungle defenses in new britain other yankee units pushed southward for a junction with australian troops fighting up the eastern coast of new guinea while yank and aussie alike ploughed sloughed hed through the japs strong brush and mountain cover U S bombers continued their raids on the central pacific marshall islands guarding the ocean highway to the orient airdromes Aird romes and ship ping in the cluster of coral islets were battered by roaring liberators following strengthening of their beachhead at in southwestern new guinea doughboys dough boys moved inland against the japs after heavy artillery bombardment while to the north other U S elements gradually were pushing the enemy back from around the captured airdrome at cape gloucester in eastern new guinea jar jap bases behind U S positions were bombed heavily to slow movements against doughboys dough boys fighting to join hands bands with the advancing aussien to the south FATS AND OILS output larger keeping up with increased demands fats and oils output in the U S for will approximate pounds to top last years production of pounds despite an easing of the supply situation for the current year it was pointed out that stocks might be severely drained to fill needs abroad in case of an allied victory in europe in 1944 soybean production for the 1943 seas season on was set at bushels for peanuts pounds and for cottonseed tons because of decreases in lard and grease output overall fat and oils production for the season should drop below this years figures NEW AUTOS predicted for fall predictions that new automobiles will be in production and on sale to the civilian population by early fall are being confidently made in trade circles basis for the optimism is the tapering off of war orders releasing plant capacity and the expectation pec tation that the will release large quantities of steel and other materials soon possibly by march 1 government officials are sal said to be concerned about the need for replacements they say that 4 cars are being scrapped daily READY FOR VETS expanding facilities the veterans administration is expanding its facilities to take care of the soldiers of this war hospital capacity is being increased to beds six months ago it was around the financial departments are also being reorganized to handle bandle the immense volume of diab disbursements urs c of all sorts that will be necessary the department is still paying pensions to the widow of a war of 1812 militiaman and to 81 widows of mexican war veterans NAZI PRISONERS suicides reported in the nazi war prison compound at concordia kan four stern faced german officers escorted one capt felix Trop to a room with a beda bed a chair a table and a rope while two of them stood outside tor for 30 minutes Trop hanged himself investigation revealed that the prisoners had set up their own court to try Trop for anti hitler talk and exposing a plot for escape and having found him guilty of disgraceful conduct for a german officer left him with the traditional prussian alternative of killing himself another nazi suicide at the camp was 39 year old franz kettner who took his own life when he feared v violence because of the discovery of his belief in a free austria HIGHWAYS urges U S network construction and improvement of miles of roads which would provide employment for workers was recommended to congress by president roosevelt after more than two years of study by a national interregional highway committee to cost about annually over a period of years the plan embraces creation of a system of country and urban roads that would connect every part of the nation in general the new system would follow routes of existing federal aid highways with costs shared equally by local state and U S government agencies quick congressional action was asked to help acquire land draft detailed plans and accomplish other preliminary work highlights H I 1 G H L I 1 G H T S in the weeks news PICKLES in the midst of an all time high demand for pickles by the armed forces and civilian sources directors of the national pickle packers association at a wartime meeting in chicago forecast a shortage of pickles for civilians unless farmers increase cucumber acreage in 1944 VICTORY SHIP the first of the new victory ships a speedy merchant vessel was launched at the oregon shipbuilding corporation in portland the new ship will travel 15 knots an hour compared to the liberty ships speed of nine it can travel without convoy protection and can reach england in three weeks it is said AIR MAIL A new speed record for transatlantic trans atlantic air mail service has been established by two lancaster bombers they flew from montreal canada to an airport in great britain in 11 hours and 16 minutes the previous mark was 11 hours and 35 minutes established in november T E L E F A C T TYPES OF TANK TRAPS tetrahedrons RAGON TEETH JACK X il MAW ISTIR a sri BLOCKADES awn V M IN PLO S I 1 ES d CIVILIAN GOODS hold back steel although curtailment of orders has resulted in a reduction ot of steel operations the war production board refused to lift its ban on use of the metal in civilian items except in special instances to improve substitutes decision it was said was based on 1 the army and navys post n that limitations on the use of V serials should not be removed ume gnei war needs are clear I 1 2 conclusion that expanded civilian production would result in shortages of coal petroleum lumber for crating packaging paper and transportation all of which are not sufficient to even meet war requirements quire ments STRANGE LETTER hopkins involved while harry hopkins was recuperating in the Beth seda naval hospital C nelson sparks appeared before a washington D C grand jury and turned over a letter which he alleged proved that the presidents no 1 advisor was I 1 I 1 I 1 in close contact with wendell wickie t 0 P leader mitte nitty former mayor 01 0 T akron ohio when willkie was a utility lawyer there and manager of frank gannetta Gan campaign for the republican C nelson presidential nomina sparks tion in 1940 sparks first published the letter in a book in which he assailed Will kies methods in the G 0 P national convention in the alleged letter hopkins was to have written to a prospective democratic senatorial candidate in texas promising that he could get willkie to swing republican support over to him in the primary election claiming the letter was a forgery hopkins asked the FBI to investigate the matter CHINCH BUGS the prolonged drouth is adding a new danger in the corn com belt the threat of a much larger number of chinch bugs next season dry fall weather is favorable to the pests as they can go into hibernation with small losses an open winter also preserves many of the insects who would ordinarily be killed by cold it was said by ento POTATOES the berlin radio has told the german people that it will be necessary to reduce their rations of potatoes in order to provide see for the spring planting th the e 19 c fop crop was short because of a severe drouth GUNS japanese artillery and small arms are both lacking in fire power according to a U S army ordnance expert the japanese rifle is of too small a caliber he said they are now putting a larger cali J ber piece in service the change 1 over he said will complicate the theiry ir supply problems probably fatally BIBLE an american soldier in italy credits a pocket bible with saving his life A piece of shrapnel struck him in the chest tore through his shirt and buried itself in the thick leaves of the book only a fragment got through causing a scratch PRO FOOTBALL three cities san francisco los angeles and but auf y falo have applied to the national league for franchises it is believed tha tha representatives 0 of f football i in these taase cities do not intend to aper their tears teams in league competition until after the war released by western newspaper union |