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Show ' ''mi f Ti'i 1 1 The Picture Changes TJNCENSORED DISPATCHES from behind the iron curtain have increased the fear that Russia may be ready for war now Hitherto diplomats felt certain that the Soviet did not want war for at least two or three years-until years-until she could develop the A-bomb. But here are some developments which have taken place behind the iron curtain. 1 The Communist-controlled Czech government has received orders from Moscow to empty a large number of army barracks in western Czechoslovakia in preparation prepara-tion for the early arrival of large Russian troop concentrations. It's important to remember that Czechoslovakia Czech-oslovakia is adjacent to the American Amer-ican zone of Germany. If this report is accurate, the Red army is moving mov-ing up units to face U. S. troops in the American zone. O The Russians have ordered thousands of bilingual signposts erected all the way from the Soviet border to the German border for use of Red army divisions. Word that these signposts are being set up has leaked out through the Czech underground. They all point in the direction of Berlin and Paris. Russia has occupied 15 new J air bases in eastern Germany, west of the Soviet border. Some of these air bases are staffed with the Russian version of the B-29, copied from B-29s forced down in Siberia during the war. A Russia has quietly summoned home for consultation some of the most trusted diplomats in its foreign service, leaving relative second-stringers in charge of its embassies. 5 Word has gone out from Moscow for the immediate purge of all dissident and weak elements in the Communist party throughout Europe. This means any Communist who doesn't toe the Moscow line unflinchingly is to be ousted. This order repdrtedly has the blessing of Premier Stalin. It is interpreted to mean that the Kremlin is gearing for a' final showdown. show-down. . . Reason for Worry It has been two years since congress, after hot and hectic debates in the month of July, 1946, voted to sabotage price controls. Here are the official figures showing the difference between controlled prices and uncontrolled uncon-trolled prices since the end of OP A: PRICE OF MEAT upped 191 per cent since May 15, 1946. RENTS which remain under un-der Controls, increased only 7.6 per cent. GAS AND ELECTRICITY regulated by state and municipal commissions, have increased only 2 per cent. GENERAL FOOD PRICES have gone up 214.1 per cent over the 1935-39 average. A Dramatic Touch President Truman got some interesting in-teresting suggestions on the Berlin crisis the other day from James Patton, rugged boss of the National Nation-al Farmers union, who urged him to "Do something dramatic." "If I were president," blurted the Rocky mountain farmer, "I would call Premier Stalin on the phone, tell him we had a bad situation sit-uation on our hands and say I wanted to meet him in Berlin to talk it over." "Jim," the President smiled, "I can't be dramatic. I'm not the dramatic dra-matic type." But he assured the farm leader that "ways can be worked out" to settle the explosive Berlin question without war. Patton had one more1 question on the international situation. "How close," he asked solemnly, solemn-ly, "are we to war?" The newspapers, Mr. Truman replied, re-plied, have overplayed the Berlin tension. The Russians, he was convinced, con-vinced, do not want war. "And we certainly don't want war," added the President. Patton also told the President that, while congress had passed farm price supports, it 1 was only the beginning of a long-range farm program. Farmers need other measures, such as soil conservation, conserva-tion, rural electricity and aid to rural schools, he said. U.N. Air Bases Pentagon planners are dusting off a secret plan for a network of United Nations bases around the world in order to enforce the peace. About 50 strategic bases would be turned over to an international security se-curity force, according to this plan, which was first submitted by the air corps in 1942. Military strategists argue that the United Nations must demonstrate demon-strate that it means business-if it intends to stay in business. If a majority of nations jointly operated oper-ated these bases, even a big nation na-tion like Russia would hesitate to attack. |