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Show """ imTllimtTITTUJBl Washington, D. C. ALEUTIAN'S IMPORTANT Behind the army-navy attempts to blast the Japs out of the Aleutian islands is more than natural antipathy antipa-thy to having an enemy on American Amer-ican soil or the fear of an invasion of Alaska. These are important. But, in addition, ad-dition, events in Egypt may mean that more than ever we shall have to use these vital stepping stones of the Aleutian islands to carry the war to the heart of Japan. To get the full significance of the picture it is necessary to recall that ever since Pearl Harbor there has been an honest difference of opinion among U. S. war strategists strate-gists as to whether we should concentrate con-centrate on fighting Japan in the Pacific or Hitler in Europe. At one time, shortly after Pearl Harbor, high-up U. S. naval advisers worked out an elaborate war plan, which is no longer a secret, for concentrating con-centrating almost all our naval strength in the Pacific and making a direct attack on the Japanese islandsat is-landsat a time when the Japs had their lines dispersed to Manila, Singapore and the South Seas. But the plan meant leaving the Atlantic coast relatively unguarded, also virtually abandoning convoys to Britain and Russia. In the end it was decided that the Russian front was all-important and must be supplied sup-plied at all costs. The wisdom of this decision seems to have been borne out by subsequent events. Japs Worried. However, those who urge the all-out all-out war in Asia have persisted, and their argument has been strengthened strength-ened by recent developments. One is the fact that the Japs, obviously scared at the prospect of a second front in Asia, are fighting feverishly to clean out the Chinese before China gets important help from us. Fear of a second front in Asia also was why the Japs nipped part of 1 the Aleutian Islands. Main development, however, was the defeat at Tobruk and the serious Nazi threat to the entire Near East; for if the Near East falls, with its vital supply route opened by American Amer-ican railroad engineers from the Gulf of Persia to the Caucasus, then it may be absolutely imperative to open new supply lines to Russia via Alaska and Siberia. And, even more important, the entire focus of the war, so far as the United States is concerned, may turn to the Far East; for, if Hitler secures the oil of Iran, Iraq and Mosul, it may be the wisest strategy to knock Japan out of the war first because the Nazis will have the resources re-sources to continue for a long time. WHAT IS AN EXPERT? When Federal Comumnications Chairman Lawrence Fly appeared before the house interstate commerce com-merce commission recently, he was asked by Representative Clarence Brown of Ohio: "What is your definition of an expert?" ex-pert?" "Well," replied Fly, "I once heard an expert described as any damned fool away from home." "Do you pick your experts at the FCC on that basis?" inquired Con-gressman Con-gressman Brown. "No," said Fly. "We generally take them from the industry, where they have proven their worth." "I am asking these questions because be-cause of a peculiar experience I had recently," explained the Ohio congressman, con-gressman, and went on to tell how a congressional committee had referred him to an expert on accounting, ac-counting, "a young man who graduated gradu-ated from college in 1939 and was still a trifle wet behind the ears." A short time later, Brown continued, contin-ued, he called at the War Production Produc-tion board on another matter and was referred to an "agricultural expert." ex-pert." Lo and behold, the expert proved to be the same young man. "Following this, I again called at the WPB on a matter pertaining to metal," said Brown. "This time I was referred to an expert on copper and, believe it or not, Mr. Fly, it was the same agent. "And," Brown warned the chairman chair-man of the Federal Communications commission, "if I ever come down to your commission and find this chap, you and I are going to tangle." MERRY-GO-ROUND Favorite rejoinder of Senator Harry S. Truman, when a member of his war contracts investigating committee objects to his strenuous pace: "If you don't like the heat, get out of the kitchen." Silver - thatched Representative Cliff Woodrum of Virginia faces a primary fight from Moss A. Plunk-ett, Plunk-ett, a militant Virginia liberal. Mrs. Roosevelt's close friend, Con-gresswoman Con-gresswoman Caroline O'Day of New York, will have Democratic competition com-petition this year Miss Martha Palmer, active worker among the Young Democrats. Buffalo, N. Y.. has joined the selett list of big cities in which all the large storei have turned over their sales forces to pusning the sale of war stamps and bonds. It costs taxpayers $3,500 a year to operate the senate's subway train that shuttles lazy senators one-block from the Senate Office building to the Capitol. |