OCR Text |
Show THE BULLETIN, BINGHAM CANYON, UTAH MM1 . DemobilizationCommittee Completes Initial Report Congressional Group Provides for Action by Legislation Rather Than Executive Decree; Small Business Gets Break. By BAUKIIAGE Netm Analyst and Commentator. J, in lijawni manufacturers to assure themselves that when converted war Industries resume their peacetime work, they will not be thrust into competition with prewar Industries which can make the same product. The report of this committee rec-ognizes this danger and also the need of handling the sale of sur-pluses In such a manner that they will not flood the market so that the regular producer will have to meet an unnatural competition. The report of the committee visu-alizes the need of regulating such conditions and there are many which must be foreseen and met. I will not go into the details of the report which is a straightforward statement he who runs may read it without encountering the usual "whereases" and the other impedi-menta which many legal documents contain and which makes them quite safe from the danger of perusal by the layman. WSV Service, Union Trust Building Washington, I). C. At a recent White House press and radio conference, the President, In talking of certain measures he had recommended to benefit men and women leaving the armed service, explained that long before the de-mobilization of the fighting forces ac-tually begins, many veterans are "demobilized" who, for military or other reasons, are returned to civil life. One million have already been discharged and the process contin-ues, while others are being taken Into the service. To some degree this process Is paralleled by other forms of demo-bilizatlo- n and congress has realized that the machinery for reconverting the American economy to peace-time operation must be set up Im-mediately. One group, a . special committee on postwar economic pol-icy and planning of which Senator George Is the chairman, has finished Its first report which deals with Vnnoellnflnn nf war pnntraets. dis- - Board Recommended Briefly, a board is recommended. The President would appoint the ad-ministrator, subject to confirmation by the senate. The administrator would pick his own staff, not repre-sentatives of any group but men of special ability, fit to represent the United States as a whole, men cho-sen for their outstanding qualifica-tions. This board would report to congress, a congressional commit-tee would keep its eye on the reports and its members would sit in at the board meetings. ' The board would not be an operat-ing agency. It would be purely ad-ministrative, making use of the ex-isting government agencies. It would be called the Office of Demobilization. For the duration, it would be a subsidiary of the WPB; afterward, it would be su-preme in Its field. The Importance of this action, as far as the general public is con-cerned, is this: it represents one of the first steps of congress looking toward taking back its policy-makin- g powers which, of necessity, have been delegated to the administrative branch and does so in a most vital field of endeavor. It is pointed out that these policy-makin- g powers as applied to conversion may affect the economy of the nation for many years to come. For instance, as Russell put it in the interview con-gress doesn't want any one man, or any one agency, to decide such vital issues as to whether the govern-ment remains in the rubber making business, whether we shall have a large merchant marine or a small one. Important Points Briefly here are some of the points which the committee recommends: 1. That demobilization should be so handled as to preserve free en-terprise. 2. That full employment be as-sured. 3. That government-owne- d or con-trolled plants be disposed of In a way as not to affect the national economy adversely. 4. That disposal of government-owne- d plants should be in line with American foreign policy, with the prevention of monopoly, with the en-couragement of full competition and small business. 5. No plants or surpluses disposed of where their existence is vital to the national economy or such dis-posal affects it adversely or under conditions which would make it im-possible for the small business to acquire them. And this word of wisdom is added: "The shutting down of factories, the stoppages of work, and the un-employment of workers, through de-lays in contract settlements, will cause far greater loss of revenue to the government to say nothing of general economy than could possi-bly be saved through conventional pre-aud- it of contractors claims." In other words, "the law's delay" will be expensive. It will be interesting to see if the lawmakers themselves cause unnec-essary delay in this undertaking. In-telligent and unselfish consideration and action is the keyword to a just realization of this practical example of planning. position and sale of surplus proper-ty and Industrial demobilization and conversion." Quite aside from the content of ( the report, the document Is Impor- - tant for three reasons: First, it provides for action by leg islation rather than by executive de-cree, and envisions a board whose first responsibility Is to congress rather than to the Chief Executive. (An Important step In returning to the natural processes of democracy Interrupted by the war.) Second, it has been written with a realization that In the of Industry, small business must get a break. It is quite probable that Senator Murray, who has taken the troubles of small business under his wings, will contribute considerably to the bill which will be Introduced to Implement the purpose of the report. Non'Political Expert Third, and very important, Is the fact that the report was coordinated and probably largely written by a paid, expert, hired out of the committee funds as its coun-sel. Similar assistance Is always utilized by the tax committee where highly technical knowledge Is essen-tial, and it has long been the feeling of Senator George and others that one of the great weaknesses of con-gressional procedure is the lack of expert staff assistance for this type of work: the coordinating and corre-lating of the information brought out In the hearings and the contributions of the various committees, and the facts and opinions resulting from the investigations and the special knowl-edge of the individual members. As a small group of us newsmen and women sat In the committee-roo- m and questioned Scott Russell, the counsel, we were Impressed with his grasp of the subject and the ' way he separated political opinion from the factual content and the in-terpretation of the various para-graphs as he read them over to us or we questioned him concerning them. Russell was a former district attorney in Georgia and he was also president of one of the largest busi-nesses in the South, the Bibbs Manu-facturing company. Gray-haire-but young looking, and vigorous with an easy common-sens- e approach, Russell gave you the feeling he knew what he was talking about. Business and Government But regardless of the merits of this particular case, it seems to me rather significant that the thinking leaders in congress, of whom there are always many, realize the im-portance of getting (to use a some-what shopworn expression in its best sense) "more business into govern-ment" business in the sense of businesslike and efficient procedure, not the bias of any particular busi-ness. I have gone into some detail in previous columns in regard to the importance of small business in the American economy. I will enly say here that Senator Murray, although not a member of this committee, was called in for consultation, and undoubtedly a part of his legislative thinking will be incorporated into the bill which I imagine will be in-troduced before this is printed. Already the giants are battling. Efforts are being made by the big New Revolution Stirs China as Farmers Learn Modern Methods From U. S. Expert About 2,000,000 mow on the outwash plain along the river is fertile with plenty of available water. The Peng river is diverted to this land by ir-rigation dftches of carefully laid stones without cement or other bind- - rV PrimitivcTools,IIand Cultivation Limit Yield of Tiny Plots By BARROW LYONS Western Newspaper Union Correspondent Probably no man has planned practical farming on so vast a scale as Dr. Walter C. Lowdermilk, assistant chief of the U. S. soil conser-vation service, who has just returned from a year in China. His plans envisage revolutionizing the agriculture of Chinese provinces the size of several states; of freeing several hundred millions of farmers from the soil so that they can build new Industries for China; of seeding 30,000,000 acres of eroded hillsides with grasses, legumes and hardy trees; of educating the masses away from the farming traditions of many centuries through demonstrations of what can be done. Dr. Lowdermilk has a record of solid achievement behind him. With other experts of our Soil Conserva-tion service, he has helped Amer-ican farmers increase the yields of their own fields. The average in- - When farmers try to work together, they generally get to quarreling, he feels. He is likely not to like the way his neighbor does things. Must the same, when he sees the village next to his, which has adopt-ed the new ways of farming, pros-pering as he never thought possible, he is moved to giving consideration to the advantage.of cooperative ac-tion. Then, too, he has heard of the strange things that are happen-in- g In the cities, where cooperative industries have sprung up to make implements of war for Chiang Kai-shek- 's armies. And when he thinks about it for a while, cooperation be-comes worth trying, although at first the hazards seem extreme. 'Bombing' Hith Grass Seed. Perhaps the most spectacular of the plans developed by Dr. Lowder-milk and his experts is the project for reclaiming almost a third of China, which has been ruined for cultivation by deforestation and ero-sion. These intrepid pioneers pro-pose that after the war, when air-planes and pilots become available, this land be seeded with clay pel-lets which contain the seeds of grass and leguminous herbs and hardy trees. After the war the Chinese hope to drop millions of seeds upon the washed out slopes of China when they are damp and soft after rains, so that the pellets will sink in and stick, and the seeds will grow. The chief difficulty will be to obtain enough seeds. In one year the Unit-ed States Soil Conservation service managed to get 800,000 pounds of grass seed for soil reclamation in TERRACED SLOPES, built with much painful labor, are being ruined by erosion, as gulleys cut through the steep lands. This scene Is In the province of Shensi. Dr. Low-dermilk Is standing In the fore-ground, making a survey. ing. The spring floods generally wash out many of the stones and wreck the diversion works, so that, on the average, only one-thir- d of the area can count on a water sup-ply each year. Another 2,000,000 mow on the sides of the lower mountains consist of steep slopes, some of them 80 per cent slopes, which are cultivated, but suffering rapid soil erosion. About 3,000,000 mow are too high for agri-culture, but are capable of growing forests, if properly cared for, and now produce abundant water supply. Concrete Highway Needed. The farmers have cleared the in-termediate slopes and are raising meager crops upon them. These slopes can be. used for growing grass upon which sheep can pasture. But there is at present no means of marketing the sheep from the lower hills, or lumber from the higher hills. Concrete highways will be the answer. But in handling the land sur-face the lessons learned from the Tennessee Valley experiment point the way to reclamation. Penghsien is to be a model guinea pig county for China. Dr. Lowdermilk and his experts laid the foundations for a vast demonstration of replacing loose stone diversion ditches with cement channels and making over the face of the valley so that its crops will never fail. Near Sian, in the Province of Shensi, an actual demonstration was begun. Bench terracing that would conserve both soil and moisture was put in with improvised plows and tools; grass was planted along the FARMERS WATCH a demonstra-tion In American agricultural meth-ods In Hwang Lung Shan region of Shensi province. At first skeptical, they became Interested when larger harvests proved superiority of Yankee ways. creased yield in the last 10 years in this country, due to soil and wa-ter conservation has been about 20 per cent, in some cases running up to 300 per cent. It was this realistic demonstration which led the Chinese to borrow him for a year. ' The basic reason China has re-mained a backward country is that it requires four farm families to .support five families of the popula-tion. In the United States, one farm family raises enough food for five families itself and four others. Let's put it differently. In China 210,000,000 acres of cultivated land and that is nearly all that China can find to cultivate supports, after a fashion, about 400,000,000 people. In other words, less than half an acre per person is used to grow food for the Chinese. In the United States, 365,000,000 acres of cultivated land are used to support 133,000,000 people about 5 acres per person, or 11 times as much land per person for food as in China. Freeing Workers for Factories. Better use of China's land for farming would free millions for oth-er pursuits. China must industrial-ize. China can do so by freeing men and women from growing food. When Dr. Lowdermilk went to China, the Chinese government gave him a staff of eight agricultural ex-perts. For several months he taught them from field manuals in soils, agronomy, irrigation engineering, ANOTHER VIEW of terraced land from a greater distance shows the character of this type of cultivation. As much of China is hilly, this meth-od must be used. this country; but much more will be needed, if the job is to be done quickly in China. Cattle and Sheep Land. Beyond the .Great Wall of China, built to keep out the nomad tribes that wandered over the great grassy areas of the west and north, still other food possibilities are open for the Chinese. Here they can raise blooded cattle and sheep for beef and mutton in great quantities. So the program shapes up like this, 1. soil conservation through bench terracing and the plant-ing of grass; 2. fruit and nut trees for the steeper slopes that should not be farmed with grain or row crops; 3. better irriga-tion; 4. reforestation of the mountains and development of water power; 5. improvement in fertilizers; 6, cooperative farm-ing, which makes possible the introduction of modern machin-ery; 7. cement highways to make possible the exchange of products; 8. reclamation of erod-ed lands with soil saving dams and revegitation; and 9. beef raising for the grassy plains and sheep for the hillsides. "I have utmost faith that the Chi-nese will do these things and solve their own problems," said Dr. Low-dermilk. "They are the best farm-ers in the world, in the sense that they understand the nature of grow-ing things and are extremely hard working. Their government is led by men determined to rehabilitate their country and develop its re-sources, agriculturally and industri-ally. "Let the rest of the world watch to its laurels when the Chinese have achieved their goals. Americans need not be smug. In our country we have the greatest area of fine A BULLOCK DRAGGING a stone roller is the threshing machine for these people in Shensi. ridges and crests to stop erosion; nut and fruit trees were planted on steeper slopes seeded with grass. Over an area of some 10,000 mow the yield was increased between May and October, and erosion was virtu-ally stopped. Chinese farmers from miles around watched 'at first with deep skepti- - cism but in the fall, when the crops were gathered, they came to praise even to ask that similar work be done on their own farms. Three-Acr-e Farms. One of the great handicaps to modern farming in China lies in the fact that farms are all small. The average farm in most of China is about 3.3 acres. In the Northwest the farms are larger about five acres each. This means that modern machinery cannot be used econom-ically unless villages can pool their WITH A BENT STICK for a plow, and two donkeys for power, this man turns the silty soil near Tiens-ch- ui in southern Kansu province. forestry, hydraulic engineering and farm economics, the methods by which the United States in recent years has made gains in soil con-servation and productivity. Then they went out into the land and got to work. One of their first surveys looked toward improving irrigation along the banks of the Peng river where it runs through fertile plains between high hills in Penghsien. The unit of land measurement in China is the "mow" about one-sixt- h of an acre. land, and farm cooperatively. This is the pattern that is being advocated by the Chinese govern-ment, and is beginning to find ac-ceptance. As the tremendously in-creased efficiency and profit of the use of modern machinery be-come evident, there is no doubt that this type of farming will spread as rapidly as machinery can be ob-tained. (Farm machinery manufac-turers take note.) But there, resistance arises from the intense individuality of the Chi-nese farmer. He is even more in-dependent and individualistic than the American farmer. He likes to work his little farm by himself with-out even hired labor, in most cases. farm land that exists on the face of the earth not even excepting the rich farm lands of the Ukraine. If we believe that no other nation is envious of this richest of all heri-tages, we are living in blissful igno-rance. "It would be easy for us to take out of cultivation the poorest of our farm lands and still support a popu-lation of 300,000,000 from the best of our farms. Some day we shall need that many people to defend our shores from young, strong nations envious of our wealth. That is a thought for our farmers and busi-ness men and industrial workers to think about. It is also worth mak-ing the Chinese our allies." B Wti&k Pit tit " ' REFUGEES RETURN to their home city, C'hangteh, Hunan prov-ince, in the heart of the "rice bowl" section of China. Japanese troops were driven out after bitter fighting on December 9, last year, after holding it about a week. The city of Changteh is especially important because through it great quantities of rice move annually. Freeing of these "rice bowl" cities is one of the most important tasks in the grave problem of feeding the great Oriental nation in wartime. ffSS ON THS mom front; yEKNOW that thett Century is often Cs' golden age of the cabinet We know that the Em act makers, Chippendale white, Sheraton and thV orothers, flourished then ., their work was copied by , 111! fLssj IBll cabinet makers of the k, nial period. The fumitui of their day have become ard with us but we seldois think about the kind of "c and draperies that werec ly used with this furniture Visitors to the reconstructed Williamsburg, Va., are often that Venetian blinds werettl long before the Revolution, tm tailored canvas lined valance u Boor length chintz draperiei i modern to them. Yet these wen tain styles when ladies and wore powdered wigs. Valancwn Just as we make them today i tacked to a valance board in pr, the same manner as is shown: NOTE This Is the second of t modern adaptations of perioc fashions. Another version of f type of valance is given in B the series of ten booklets on s the home. To get copy of IS cents direct to: MRS. RUTH WYETH SPt! Bedford Hills NM Drawer 10 Enclose IS cents for Book Name Address How To Rei Bronchiti Creomulslon relieves prors: cause it goes right to the ses; trouble to help loosen an: germ laden phlegm, and aid to soothe and heal raw, ten flamed bronchial mucoui branes. Tell your druggist to a bottle of Creomulslon with: derstanding you must like to quickly allays the cough orj to have your money bact CREOMULSII for Coughs, Chest Colds, Bra Royal Indian Navj Unlike India's army, tt? Indian navy forbids its and men to maintain their very strict racial and k ferences while in its sen" MEDICATED Soothe,itchft POWDER FOR MexsanMhes medicated po FAMILY USE lieves diape: DON'T LET CONSTIPATK SLOW YOU UP When bowels are iluggiit1 feel irritable, headachy, do do -c- hew FEEN-A-MIN- tbi chewing-gu- m laxative. Simp FEEN-A-MIN- T before you P taking only in accordance wits direction sleep without t turbed. Next morning gentl,' relief, helping you feel iwell H FEEN-A-MIN- Tastes good," and economical.A generous fn-- ' FEEN-A-MIN- T" lMMt ? Try Great Tonic Many Doctors See how good-tastin- g Scott' helps tone up your system; stamina and resistance aga if there is a dietary deficiency Vitamins. It's easy! Simply daily throughout the year. It'sf1 jJfy at your druggist NEW YORK NEWSREEL The theater at 23rd Street and 8th Avenue built by the fabulous Jim Fiske ... To display the talents of his adored one, Josie Mansfield . Her adjacent mansion was con-nected to the playhouse by an un-derground passage . . . "The Great White Way" nickname for Broadway coined-th- ey say by O. J. Gude, the billboard advertising man . . . The Roxy Theatre's foyer which ac-commodates about 3,000 people . . . The swanky private park for Tudor City residents (42nd Street and East River), once the hideaway for the town's most desperate criminals . . . Historic Fraunces Tavern (where Gen. Washington used to imbibe and where he prepared his farewell ad-dress), now one of New York's better restaurants . . . Such is Fame: Tom Paine, the most eloquent voice of the Revolution, has a dusty tablet on a Grove St. house because he died there. Harlem's three square miles, In which nearly 500,000 people are packed like sardines . . . The church for mutes, where the pastor's ser-mon is delivered with his fingers and where the choir "sings" with their hands . . . The luxury of the Radio City Music Hall the lobby ceiling is made of gold leaf ... The Grand Central Deppo, where the number of people who pass through it in one year approximates the population of the nation ... The Sixth Avenue subway five stories down . . . The main building at New York Unive-rsitybuilt of stones cut by convicts at Sing Sing . . . MacDougal Alley In Greenwich Village a privately owned street lit by gas lamps . . . The residential belt (between 8th and 10th) from the 20s through to the 50s the rotting core of the town's shameful slums. The Greenwich Village delicates-sen with a sensayuma. Its sign reads: "Our pickles are dill-iciou- . . . The Chinese laundryman on 181st Street with the sassiest name of all: "Tip Want" . . . The elegant doorman of a midtown night club, who softly says to passersby: "Good evening. Seen our show lately?" . . . The high-tone- d Madison Avenue gro-cery which features fancy dog food with "Sniff Appeal" . . . The closed employment agency because it couldn't get any help . . . The 55th Street eatery which burlesks restau-rants that name sandwiches after celebs. It names sandwiches after chorines who dine there . . . The coffee Joynt on Lexington In the 58s where the latest headline (in cinna-mon print) comes with your rice pudding. Gay 90s Stuff: The beer truck, rumbling along 6th Avenue pulled by horses the drivers with long mustechios . . . The weary, worn-ou- t women sign-carrie- advertis-ing the beauty they probably had ... The pet shop with the sign that doesn't mean what" it says: "Free French Poodles" . . . The pretty barmaids at the Waldorf . . . The tugboat chugging up the East River at, dawn with its anonymous cargo of unclaimed dead. On the way to burial in Potter's Field . . . The down and outers (many are counterfeits) whose beat is Broad-way, where they become "famed" as characters. If they were down on the Bowery they'd be ignored . . . The haunting stillness of Fifth Ave-nue (or Broadway) on a Sunday morning. That husky guy who startles you in front of the swanky Pierre Hotel with a request for the price of a meal. With the want ads scream-ing for men . . . The Lighthouse for The Blind (on 59th) where the pave-ment in front has imbedded iron bars to guide the tapping canes . . . The bowling alleys in the midtown arena where you can't always get an alley to play in around 4 in the morning . . . The colyum's influence on an East 59th Street stationery store's sign: "Are you keeping up with your letterature?" . . . The nifty canteen for servicemen in Chinatown which has entertained American-bor- n Japanese soldiers. The wisecracking panhandler who asks you to stake him to a nickel until he gets his checkbook outta hock . . . Midtown's gaudiest block 50th between Radio City and Broadway where nearly everything is a hawker's . . . The powerful-appearin- g Soviet sai-lorsnever before permitted to wear their uniforms on shore leave here until a few months ago . . . The charming cafe in the Museum of Modern Art garden . . . The melo-drama and misery in The Family Court on E. 57th St. if you think you have troubles. The understanding policemen who turn the other way when they come across embracing couples (usually servicemen and their dates) in dark-ene- d doorways of midtown shops The 48th Street spaghetti place where the headwaiter is a midget . . The Western Union "boy" in the Radio City district a woman ol about 70. And she knows her war news, if you get her started The blind man ho peddles pencils on 34th Street. Wears a swallowtail coat to his ankles, knee pants and a straw skimmer. null Was First Cordell Hull was the t net member ever to at joint meeting of congress. - British The British call their $ process airgraph. B R I E F S . . . by Baukhage ' Tor'ay an apple a day keeps the doctor away, but in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, cocoa was considered the proper tonic. "Dress fashions for girls Japa-nese style, 1944 are to be stream-lined in a new styling of graceful, wartime uniform, according to the Jap education ministry." What? No pin-ups- ? Although 1944 food production in the United States is expected to be greater than in 1943, military and lend-leas- e requirements in 1944 also will be greater so that the total food supply for civilians may even be smaller in 1944 than last year, ac cording to the department of agri-culture. However, civilian stocks may be upped if conditions perinit tapping the government reserve. |