| Show WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS By Edward C. C Wayne Current War Front Shifts its to o Syria With it Oil Fields Fieldsa o of a Iraq as Prize Draft rat Everything Legislation Aims To o Break Strikes in Defense Plants ants EDITORS EDITOR'S NOTE When NOTE When opinions are expressed In these columns the they are those of the news analyst t and not necessarily of this newspaper Released by Western Newspaper Union Kr- Kr If WAR AR IN U. U S. S Citizens o oj 0 near Dear Mountain N. N V. V re re- r a taste of 0 what actual star liar attack 2 s r i might mean u ien the coast const artillery and 4 v West Point cadger put on a diec bombing due bombing I attack and ants anti aircraft aircraft defense of 0 a big I bridge near that point Guns and equipment equipment equip equip- I ment used were Here in same sante positions the they f would actually occupy in an actual battle I i for defense of thc o the bridge 55 DEFENSE Production Returning foreign correspondents making a junket of the defense production production production pro pro- industries as guests of the war department found that airplane motors considered one of the potential potential potential poten poten- bottlenecks are being rushed into production at one plant in Connecticut Connecticut Connecticut Con Con- to the tune of horsepower monthly One official of this concern reviewing reviewing reviewing re re- re- re viewing what he knew of the potential potential potential po po- po- po production of this industry predicted that between and airplane engines will be turned out during 1941 The total airplane industry from froma a motor standpoint should eventually eventual eventual- ly be turning out horsepower horsepower horsepower horse horse- power a month While these producers had no accurate accurate accurate ac ac- ac- ac curate figures on Axis ACis production it was figured that it might be between between between be be- tween and a month at the present time with future capabilities In addition to the three great American aviation motor concerns' concerns output the automotive industry has been asked for some and while not in production yet they will eventually eventual eventual- ly contribute a large percentage of the total This turned the pages back to World War Var I when Americas America's most important fighting airplane motor the Liberty was turned out in quantity quantity quantity quan quan- in a leading automotive factory This factory also by the way was making the recoil mechanism for the millimeter 75 gun then gun then a war bot- bot bot bot- DRAFT Ever A stiff fight against President Roosevelt's draft everything measure sent to the congress c closely following his freedom speech appeared appeared appeared ap ap- ap- ap likely though the administration administration administration adminis adminis- forces seemed w willing enough to modify the measure from its first draft The President softened the shock of the measure which at first sight looked like an effort toward a complete complete complete com com- economic dictatorship by a later announcement that its major purpose was to permit the administration administration administration admin admin- to break strikes in defense industries which were still a 3 knotty problem all over the nation Both Senator Byrd of Virginia and Senator Tydings of Maryland had taken the floor to demand that the President himself take the leadership leadership leadership leader leader- ship in halting strikes Byrd saying There are 60 to 70 strikes in defense defense defense de de- de- de industries and new ones are occurring every day I dont don't assume assume assume as as- sume the government would want to take over and operate all these plants A prohibition against strikes and compulsory arbitration would be a better method The bill which in its original form would give the President under his proclamation of a state of unlimited ed emergency power to seize and sell anything in the nations nation's long list of private property found its first compromise offer coming from administration administration ad ad administration ministration leaders in the form of ofa a time limit on the Presidents President's powers powers powers pow pow- ers t together with a proviso that congress must first itself declare a national emergency before they could be used minded Labor-minded members of both houses wildly suspicious of the measure started their own investigation investigation investigation gation to try to determine its origin U-BOATS U Bigger Range b of eight British ships by torpedoes fired from U-boats U revealed revealed revealed re re- re- re that the German submarine instead of being a smaller vessel with a shorter range operating in greater quantity is becoming a bigger bigger bigger big big- ger boat with a bigger range Some of th these se reported took place within miles of the United States well within the supposed supposed supposed sup sup- posed neutrality patrol area s WAR On New Front The collapse of the Greco-British Greco defense of Crete was followed by a good deal of backing and filling as the forces of Great Britain wondered wondered wondered won won- dered where the axe was going to fall next The preponderance of British belief belief belief be be- lief was that it would be in Syria and two things happened at once The British started mobilizing toward Syria and began air attacks on Syrian points and the French started propaganda efforts to prove that they needed German aid to repel repel repel re re- re- re pel British attack The British countered by announcing announcing ing inn via their Turkish friends that Germany already had landed men in civilian dress who would doff their tourist garb and take up arms just as soon as sea-borne sea transports landed them Also the British asserted that German planes were already at Syrian airdromes ready for an attack attack attack at at- tack on Iraq's British army from bases supplied in defiance of Franco-British Franco friendship by agreement agreement agreement agree agree- ment with the Petain government headed by Darlan The observers in this country were not fooled by this sort of diplomatic byplay and were able to recognize the same maneuvers with some variations that had preceded the German occupation of the Balkans and the subsequent blitz attack upon Greece Britain's plan was not only a delaying delaying delaying de de- de- de laying action but because of the peculiar location of the immensely valuable oil field to try to get into Syria first while the German tourists were still unarmed and to destroy the landing fields there if possible H Home onze Front Churchill's government taking a great deal of criticism because of the Crete disaster because many British people thought the Crete battle battle battle bat bat- tle might have been won if better handled now found itself with an intensely serious problem on its hands There were signs that authorized sources in Britain were preparing the public as gently as might be for a practical abandonment of the Mediterranean as a naval control area since the loss of Crete and one announcement flatly said that American American American Amer Amer- ican aid must hurry if it was to get getto getto getto to the Red sea and Suez in time timeto to get to the British forces in North Africa The British were expecting airborne airborne airborne air air- borne attacks on Malta Cyprus Alexandria Alexandr a and Suez but whether the Germans would attempt parachute parachute parachute para para- chute troop operations after their huge losses in Crete was doubtful In fact the Turkish slant on the attempt to land in Syria was that sea-borne sea invasion would be carried out A dozen or more large ships were to carry supplies to Syria via the islands and from these it would be possible Turkey said to land in Syria by an overnight overnight overnight over over- night sailing under cover of dark dark- ness Five hundred motorized troops had made such a trip Turkey said though France vigorously denied it Harking back to the days when Near-East Near army was estimate estimated estimated es es- es- es at men figures were now being given out in allied circles that De had an army of men at the present time Loyal to Vichy The stories about the first Nazis landing in Syria in fact stated that they were being sent in to straighten straight en out the French forces in Syria whose loyalty to the Vichy government government government govern govern- ment was in question There had been many reports of disaffected troops leaving Syria before before before be be- fore the German infiltration to flee into P Palestine lestine there to join the Free French but just how much of this had occurred was largely a matter of conjecture DOORN Endo End of 0 Road The death of former Kaiser Wilhelm Wilhelm Wilhelm Wil- Wil helm at 82 of a blood clot on the lung and the elaborate military funeral funeral funeral fu fu- fu- fu accorded him by the dictator of Germany Adolf Hitler former Austrian paperhanger brought an odd and dramatic close to a long and interesting career The man who was so much in the forefront of the last war that the slogan Hang the Kaiser was on the lips of half the Allied soldiers died after 22 years of exile after a aripe aripe aripe ripe and peaceful old age even in inthe inthe inthe the midst of a present war which had brought the conquering hordes of his former country in triumph to his point of exile at Doom Doorn Holland Yet even in this triumph though the Germans could have brought the monarch back to his throne had their desire been to do doso doso doso so this was not done and the kaiser kniser and his family remained in exile there for death to find him while the issue of the fate of his country was still in doubt However the relations between Hitler-controlled Hitler Germany and the former monarch were as odd as the position of the civilized world at the time of the kaisers kaiser's death Hitler seemed filled with respect and homage homage homage hom hom- age to his former monarch though what the kaiser thought of the humbly humbly humbly hum hum- bly born Austrian who succeeded him was little in evidence and mattered mattered mattered mat mat- just as little Hitler's final move move to to order a funeral with full military honors was the last there was in the news about the lord of the GASOLINE TE An Issue No sooner had Secretary Ickes suggested Sundays as a means of controlling the oil supply of the country than administration critics began asking embarrassing questions How could this country with control control control con con- of half the the worlds world's oil supply be facing an oil shortage How did it happen that American concerns were selling oil and its products to Japan To Russia To other countries via which it might get into Axis ACis hands The defense investigating committee commit commit- tee in congress was asking some of these questions and getting strange answers The Standard Oil company company company com com- pany had to explain the deal to its stockholders and this brought the issue into more prominence The oil concern admitted the sale of oil and gasoline except the octane airplane gas to Japan but said that when the agreement was made the British American and Dutch governments were consulted and that the terms were entirely acceptable acceptable acceptable ac ac- ac- ac to all three It was one of the puzzling phases of Americas America's defense effort SEA WAR Claims Berlin having claimed that half of Britain's entire merchant ship strength had been destroyed asserted asserted assert assert- ed that the total had reached tons Britain admitted six millions Both agreed that British war pre-war strength had totaled around 21 millions millions millions mil mil- lions or 22 millions of tons The German claim was that her herships herships herships ships sunk Britain was bleeding to death and that a speedup of airplane airplane airplane air air- plane attacks on merchant ships and war vessels might be expected The British still anxious for shipping shipping shipping ship ship- ping aid from the United States expressed expressed expressed ex ex- ex- ex exI I pressed gratification that the United States as announced would immediately immediately immediately imme imme- start picking up the British shipping lines in the Orient and the Pacific thus freeing many vessels for the carrying of munitions abroad Most observers while believing that the German claims were excessive excessive excessive sive admitted that the ship losses were tremendously heavy and that it was one of Britain's most serious challenges of the war |
