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Show 1 WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS BY JOSEPH W. LaMISh. Nazi-Russ Thrust Into Balkans J Feared Next Move in Europe; Reich Threatens Low Countries (EDITOR'S NOTE When opinions are expressed In these columns, they are otiose of the news analyst and not necessarily of this newspaper. I Released by Western Newspaper Union I TREND How the wind is blowing . . . BUSINESS The commerce department de-partment reported a 48 per cent rise in U. S. exports to Latin America during the first six months ot Europe's war. Biggest Big-gest gains: Mexico and Argentina. Argen-tina. 55.7 and 54 per cent, respectively. re-spectively. SCIENCE Announced by Du Pont was a rayon cord tire, claimed to be 3,000 per cent sturdier stur-dier than cotton, having greater great-er tensile strength than structur al steel and capable of running 80,000 miles under conditions which destroyed an ordinary tire m 3,000 miles. AVIATION - BranifT airways lskcd for permission to extend its lines eastward from Kansas Hty to Washington. POLITICS: Fourth Try Thrice white-haired, silver-tongued Norman Thomas has run for the presidency on the Socialist ticket. In early April, when his party Inaugurated Inaug-urated the 1940 national convention season. Socialist Thomas came back again. At Washington, the convention named as his vice presidential running run-ning mate a 34-year-old economics professor from the University of Chicago. Chi-cago. Maynard C. Krueger (pronounced (pro-nounced Kreeger). Backed by a j $100,000 campaign fund yet to be j THE WAR: Norse Ulitzkrieg "... Tht Hiich's government there-bv there-bv assumes protection of the kingdom of Norway for the duration ... V he I'eich's government is convinced that it series Norway' best interests by this action . . , All resistance would have to be and would be broken . . . Day before. Britain had planted mine fields along the Norwegian coast, hoping thereby to block Nazi trade lanes through Norway's territorial terri-torial waters. Hopping mad. Oslo protested. More resolute, Germany took action. So fast, so secretly that it was over before the world knew, Nazi troop ships seized Copenhagen while the government ordered Danes to offer no resistance. Up north along the Norwegian coast the Reich staged a modernized version of the old Trojan horse trick. At Bergen, Narvik, Trondheim and other ports peaceful looking merchant mer-chant vessels suddenly bristled with guns. Crewmen turned into marines. While warships steamed up the Oslo and France were sinking with their ships, the folks back home were somehow relieved that the war had finally started. 'n the Lowlands. Adolf Hitler's blitzkrieg in Scandinavia brought justified fear to Dutch and Belgian hearts. It was learned authoritatively authorita-tively that the Nazis delivered a virtual ultimatum to both countries. Informing them that any attempt to place themselves under British-French British-French protection would serve as the signal for an Immediate lightning light-ning attack. Strict censorship was clamped down in both countries, while Britain's War Czar Winston Churchill hinted In a speech to the house of commons that the allies expected this to be the next site of Nazi aggression. In the Balkans. Significantly silent was Germany's axis partner, Italy, but a fast developing crisis in the nearby Balkans held great potential danger. Same day as German troops reached Oslo. Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels charged i s.wyw.yMtw(viwtysw .' ....Jaw" n i 't ' V v J "" mujh-(jii udeoDeis cnarcea the British with sabotaging Germany's Germa-ny's Danube river outlet to southeastern south-eastern Europe. Precipitously, the next 24 hours found Russian troops massing on Rumania's Bessaroblan frontier, while Hungary. Jugoslavia and Bui-garb Bui-garb received simultaneous ultimata from Germany: Give us control of all Danubian shipping. Danger here was that the allies might consider this unneutral, bringing war into the Balkans. A few hours Inter it was learned without confirmation that the allies had placed mines In every British-French-owned oil well in Rumania, Ru-mania, threatening to blow them up if the Germans or Russians invaded. in-vaded. In Russia. Silent as a sphynx about these goings-on was Moscow, the Reich's No. 1 ally. But observers observ-ers wondered if Hitler's invasion nf fjord, 30 heavy tri-motored bombers bomb-ers landed troops at Oslo airport and sent them marching against the city. The government fled inward to Hamar, hurling a declaration of war at the invader. After seven months, hostilities had finally started. Reactions What happened at sea the next two days was at best a guess, for no observer knew how many Nazi, allied and Norwegian ships were locked in the biggest North sea battle bat-tle since Jutland. In 48 hours an estimated 27 naval vessels reached Davey Jones' locker, lock-er, 20 of them German. Early reports told that British ships had pushed their way into Bergen Ber-gen and other Norwegian Atlantic THOMAS AM) KKUEUEK They have a program. raised, Candidates Thomas and Krueger promised to stump the country from May until October on a two-point program: (1) complete isolation from the war, and (2) socialization so-cialization of major U. S. industries. Other political news: C. In Illinois. Lieut Gov. John Stelie, who rebelled against the Kelly-Nash-Horner machine, watched painfully many months while Gov. Henry Horner, Hor-ner, ailing badly, let a "regency" Norway and Sweden might be part of a plot for eventual Nazi-Soviet dismemberment of Scandinavia. Sweden, on the hot spot, held her breath. In Sweden. Thoroughly alarmed, certain she was next on Adolf Hitter's Hit-ter's list, Sweden ordered a constant watch, full army mobilization and nightly blackouts. To every pound of Sweden's 1.500,000-ton merchant marine went the radio message: Seek a neutral haven and stay there. L . ifca, i LLnmnnii,.,,,,,,,,,,,,.. ill WHITE HOUSE: Scandinavian Rebound Back from a Hyde Park holiday sped Franklin Roosevelt. It was time to take more neutrality precautions. pre-cautions. Off to the state department depart-ment in search of U. S. aid went Norway's Minister Wilhelm Morgen-stierne Morgen-stierne and Denmark's Henrik De Kauffmann. Soon the wheels began turning swiftly. First presidential job was to extend ex-tend the ban on U. S. shipping against Norway, Sweden and arctic run the state. Finally, feeling his oats a few days before the primary election. Stelie took an unprecedented unprecedent-ed step. He declared himself governor, gov-ernor, summoned the legislature in special session and "fired" Samuel L. Nudelman, state finance director direc-tor and right-hand Horner man. On election day. Stelie lost the Democratic Demo-cratic gubernatorial nomination to Harry Hershey, machine candidate. C. In both Illinois and Nebraska primaries pri-maries G. O. P. Hopeful Tom Dewey rolled up impressive primary votes, unopposed in the first. More noteworthy note-worthy in both states was the way Franklin D. Roosevelt's supporters won delegates to the national convention. con-vention. Biggest upset: Nebraska's defeat of Sen. Edward R. Burke. ! AGRICULTURE: Wheat Forecast With Europe's war apparently spreading, the U. S. took stock of its cupboard. Released was a periodic agriculture department forecast on MODERN TROJAN HORSE Nazi "merchantman" at Bergen ports held by the Nazis. They were even reported steaming up Oslo fjord, threatening to bombard the city unless the Germans evacuated. But such news was premature. Despite fierce fighting, every Norwegian Nor-wegian port remained in Nazi hand3. Though several troop transports were sunk in the Skagerrak battle, it was substantiated within a few hours that 20,000 Nazis had landed in Oslo alone. In London. French Premier Paul Reynaud flew to London for conferences confer-ences at No. 10 Downing street. A few hours later he left smiling, returning re-turning to tell an enthusiastic Paris: "I am sure the allied navies will live up to their glorious traditions." Meanwhile Britain's Neville Chamberlain Cham-berlain told commons: "This fresh ports ol both Russia and Finland. Next, while Envoys Mor-genstie Mor-genstie r n e and Kauffmann Kauff-mann waited anxiously, the President: C. "Froze" all bank balances and foreign winter wheat production, heavy with bad news Statisticians figured about 29 per cent of the 45.014.000 acres seeded last fall had been abandoned for lack of moisture and other unfavorable un-favorable conditions. Total winter wheat production, therefore, will be 426.215.000. lowest since 1933. But this, added to a normal spring crop of 200.000.000 and a carryover of about 300,000,000. will leave Uncle Sam's granary in good shape. MEXICO: Rebuke For almost three years the U. S. has sought vainly to secure a settle- j ment on American-owned oil lands I which Mexico expropriated Though arbiters have been near the goal posts several times, negotiations have invariably broken down. In early April, Secretary of State Cor-dell Cor-dell Hull got angry. Forwarded to Mexican Ambassador Castillo Na-jera Na-jera was an unusually sharp note which the state department made public a week later. One rebuke: "During the past 25 years, one American interest in Mexico after another has suffered at the hands of the Mexican government." ' LABOR: Republic Loses For "unfair labor practices" resulting re-sulting in the Little Steel strike of 1937, the Republic Steel corporation was handed a labor board order last year directing reinstatement of about 5.000 C. I. O. strikers with back pay of more than $5,000,000 Republic protested, but the third clr" cuit court of appeals upheld NLRB's decision. This month Republic's case reached the U. S. Supreme court Verdict: NLRB f'n upheld. fransa "ons MbRGENSTIKKME involving Assets frozen. Norway and Denmark, thus preventing prevent-ing the Reich from seizing those country's assets in the U. S. C Authorized foreign sale of several new type warplanes. CONGRESS: Idle Week Day before Germany invaded Scandinavia, North Carolina's Sen. Bob Reynolds made a speech. Said he: "Norway. Sweden and Denmark did not get into the last World war . . . (they) are today within a stone's throw of a repetition of the same thing, and they are not going to get into it." Rest of the week, outside of ribbing rib-bing Bob Reynolds, congress managed man-aged to spend a little time in committee com-mittee sessions. Most eyes were on the European war, however. Congressional Con-gressional items: C To avoid boosting the debt limit, Colorado's Senator Adams suggested suggest-ed that the treasury be authorized to borrow money to meet specific appropriations. C Several senators got worried about Alaskan defenses. Reason: Russia has recently built fortifica tions in the north Pacific. One sug gestion was that the V. S should take sovereignty over Wrangeli its-land its-land which lies midway between Alaska and Russia. C Ohio's Senator Taft labeled "100 per cent regimentation" several provisions pro-visions of the Wagner-Lea bill relating re-lating to investment trusts. . President Roosevelt vetoed the Starnes alien deportation bill Reason: Rea-son: Its penalties for alien spies and saboteurs were superfluous. and rash act of aggression will rebound re-bound to Germany's disadvantage . . ." Though men of both Britain ECHOES U. S. and the War HANDLING V. S. diplomatic problems prob-lems in Norway is Mrs. J. Borden Harriman, minister to that country the past three years and the second woman envoy in U. S. history. It was she who broke through the barrier bar-rier of silence with the first official news that war had come to Norway. A British army officer's daughter, she married a wealthy U. S. banker who died in 1914. A RISE in U. S. pork prices was forecast since Great Britain's supply source in Denmark has been cut off. Mainly, however, department of agriculture offcials predicted the Nazi occupation would have little immediate effect upon farm exports. THE STATE department worried over the plight of 3.300 Americans in Scandinavia, all of whom were reported safe. ONLY A SMALL part of the $35.-000,000 $35.-000,000 in U. S. credits extended to Denmark, Norway and Sweden by the Export-Import bank have been used, according to Warren Lee Pier-son, Pier-son, president of the bank. The Norwegians Nor-wegians had planned to buy mostly wheat, lard, cotton thread for fish nets and some other agricultural products. Most of Denmark's anticipated an-ticipated purchases were machinery and manufactured goods. |
