Show WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS death crystallizes red menace as US prepares to act spring rash hash of strikes breaks out released by feature features EDITORS NOTE when opinions loni are expressed in these the columns they are those of t western newspaper union a new news analyst analysts and not ly of 0 th 9 newspaper MASARYK death in prague whether jan masaryk czecho slovakia s foreign minister took his own life or was liquidated by the communists really t make any d fforence the communist government had announced that he had leaped to his death from a first second or third floor window U S news paper readers could choose their dan vers on of the foreign office in prague later reports by highly authora authon dative persons insisted that mas aeryk had been murdered by corn com mun ats an alleged eyewitness test f ed that he had seen mas aeryk s body after its reported fall to a concrete pavement and that t bore no evidence that thit the tore fore agn minister had died in such a 1 manner supporting the murder theory was the tact fact that masaryk was re ported to have met president ed the day before his death and the two were said to have planned something the corn com wished to prevent unidene f ed czech officials who aade escaped from prague re ported also that president benes was a prisoner of the communist regime but whether jan masaryk son of df the founder of the Czech oslo avakian republic had been mur dered or goaded to suicide by his intolerable position one thing was certain communists had killed him just as surely as if they had put a p stol to his head and pulled the trigger if masaryk took his own life it was not just because he was seek ing an escape but because it was the last service he could do for his country throwing I 1 by his own destruction on the terrible destructive force that is comman sm NERVES warlike the alternate ostentatious flex ing of muscles by the united states and russia was it appeared shift ng in status from a cold war to a war of nerves there were the unmistakable signs igns of the military preparing to reassert itself many reserve of ricers had received letters po nt ing mg out that although they were not being called to active duty dimmed abely they would do well to prepare themselves for such a poss pods ble eventual ty in the pe pentagon build ng in wash agton army planners were working late at their desks pro cu rement officers were reported to be showing great interest in ce ment factor es since cement is vital in building underground shel and fort ficat ons russian troops were said to be mass ng to in eastern germany but no one would venture to say whether this was true bluff a threat of retaliation to the mar shall plan and unon un on of western europe or a show of force in tended to influence the coming elect ons in italy but pres dent truman himself pre the worst outbreak of war jitters litters when he publicly pro claimed that his faith in real world peace had been shaken in this ens cris s the U S govern ment was stressing these points which embodied administration policy for meet ng the situation the european recovery plan ithe should be carried out promptly the U S encourages forma 2 tion of what marshall called a political association in western eu rope as the f step toward re storing stab lity spread of communist govern 3 0 ments anywhere in the world ng china is opposed by the american government which will do evereth bryth ryth ng in its power to block communism the U S will continue to 4 work for world peace aher ever possible finally any estimate of the s t bation must include this inescu pable on ne ther russ a nor the U S wants war now and more important neither could at af ford to t f one this part cular decade cont cent to be a period worked by a sh fling of forces and consol dat on of strength where it will do the most good if and when the real showdown comes the way out t ft added to the list of the world P numberless martyrs for or liberty was the name of jan masaryk foreign minister of czechoslovakia son of thomas masaryk who was the first president and liberator of the country STRIKES miners widespread strikes in th the e na tion s soft coal fields were touched off by john L lewis latest foray into the national scene a demand tor for a month pensions tor for his miners the united mine workers leader had asked rank and file reaction to his charge that coal operators had dishonored the 1947 contract by failing to grant pensions and his miners produced the exact re acton act on he wanted as almost of them in 11 states quit to sup port lewis stand at the very out set of the difficult es it was not a strike in the techi techia A cal sense of the word lewis in all his power simply had nodded big a shaggy head anu ana his men quick to catch the signal walked away from their jobs the current mine contract does no not t e expire until june 30 but it provides that the miners nee need d work only as long as they are will mg ing and able impact of the soft coal walkouts showed first in the nation s steel industry where output Is threat ened if the shutdowns continue for any length of time many of the closed mines are captives whose entire output goes to the steel companies packers fraught with an even greater dimmed acy than the mine walk out however was a nationwide strike tor for more pay by members of the CIO packing house workers the str ke went off as sched aled despite an urgent request by president truman asking the pack ing compan companes es and workers rep resent resen tat atves ves to maintain the status quo without interrupting negolia eions I 1 april I 1 at which time a board of inquiry was slated to re port vort to h in m on conditions of the strike in reply to the president the un ion strike board rejected his proposal because it said the pack ing firms would not agree to ing even their wage proposals in to effect during the negotiate on As the str ke began govern ment records md bated that the en tire nation would come to feel the curtailed meat supply after the first week with some areas more severely affected than others government expensive total per cap ta cost of running the federal government for one year has zoomed zoomed s nee 1939 accord ng to a report by the tax Fo foundas on it now is 15 about t 70 a year compared with 69 in 1939 T total 0 t a I 1 estimated expend tures for the f sea seal year 1948 are 3 7 bil ion 1 on dollars war and its after math accounted tor for almost 23 bil lion of that but the blueprint tor for 1949 said the foundation registers an in crease it quoted president tru man in the t f seal year of 1949 79 per cent of our expend tures lures reflect the cost of war the effect of war and our efforts to prevent a future war TREATY 50 commonis Com years munIs communist t expansion was going to meet a roadblock if the nations of western europe had any voice in the matter britain france and the benelux belgium netherlands and lux embourg ern em bourg nations adopted a 50 I 1 year treaty lor for a political eco and military union of west era ern europe in an out and out move to check the communism that threatens their independence delegates from the five co coun un tries completed their efforts after more than a week around the con terence ference table the alliance was a direct out growth of the union of western european n nations a t I 1 0 n s sug in J january a n u a r y by ernest bevin british foreign secretary the treaty was believed to bind the nations to mutual assistance in the tace face of aggression mutual aid in the economic field cooper co oper atlon in improving their I 1 living I 1 v I 1 n g standards and a measure of co ordination ord nation of colonial resources it was just a beginning but a good one in the eyes of U S government leaders the alliance was not only a desirable but nee cesary element if the marshall plan for recovery is to work at all SAY UNCLE palestine people continue to ask the arabs arabs and jews of palestine to stop their futile wrangling france china and the united st states ates sent an appeal to the jews and arabs of palestine and also to the six arab state members of the united nations asking them to take steps to promote a truce in the holy land fighting there was no real confidence among delegates of the three na eions that their request would be heeded russia the fourth coun try taking part in the big power talks on palestine refrained from joining in the appeal because the soviets have taken the typical stand that there is no need for the big powers to consult with the arabs and jews most observers t thought h 0 u g h t the truce appeal looked like wishful thinking for one thing no group among either arabs or jews in pal estine is in a position to control its dissident members and thus guar antee a truce moreover the idea of a military truce does not bear upon the heart of the problem the united na eions is still committed on paper to partition while the arabs adam antly continue to reject that proposal and the jews assert just as strongly that they will accept noth ng else ACCIDENTS y accident rate among ga girls AS and women has been reduced by about one half in the past 35 years as a result of modernization of the amer lean home according to statistics compiled by metropolitan life insurance company illustrating the reduction in home hazards the statisticians said are the shift from oil lamps and gas for lighting to the electric light bulb replacing of the traditional coal stove by the modern gas or electric range and use of central heating instead of stoves and fireplaces |