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Show KaJ YJb OREW PEARSON ( Ja! CJi'- . . i . i 2q Washington, D. C. ADMIRAL KING SLAPS Insiders now admit that friction between Secretary of the Navy For-i For-i restal and Chief of Naval Opera- tions Admiral Ernie King is just as bad as it was between King and the late Frank Knox or worse. Knox and Admiral King rubbed ach other raw. King used to go over the head of the secretary of the navy, even overruled him regarding the navy's new gray summer uniform, uni-form, which Knox and most navy men opposed. When Forrestal became secretary of the navy, it was hoped that rela-iions rela-iions would be harmonious. Last week, however, Admiral King publicly pub-licly gave his chief an adroit slap-down. slap-down. Forrestal, Admiral King and fighting fight-ing Admiral Halsey were holding a joint press conference. The secretary secre-tary of the navy was asked if he had any comment on the fall of the Tojo cabinet. He replied that navy personnel. Including himself, were not supposed to comment on politics. Whereupon Admiral King Interrupted Inter-rupted and, almost as If the secretary secre-tary of the navy were a little boy, corrected him. "I will comment on that," he announced, an-nounced, despite Forrestal's statement state-ment that political matters were not for comment by navy personnel. "Obviously, the cabinet would not have fallen unless there was dissatisfaction dissatis-faction on the part of military leaders lead-ers with the conduct of the war. The Japanese can be expected to continue con-tinue to wage war with all the powers pow-ers they possess." Secretary Forrestal took the admiral's ad-miral's remarks interpreted by those present as an Indirect slap-ovm slap-ovm without saying a word. ... VETERAN STRUGGLE ' One of the most important behind-the-scenes struggles for postwar power is now being waged between the American Legion and the Veterans Veter-ans of Foreign Wars. Actually, the Veterans of Foreign For-eign Wars are in a better position than the Legion to get a head start on recruiting veterans of World War (I. The VFW charter from congress permits recruiting men before they are discharged, while the Legion tnust wait until a man leaves the service before recruiting him. Fact is the VFW has picked up more than 400,000 new members since Pearl Harbor, while the Legion's Le-gion's gains have been relatively paltry. At the start of the war, the Legion had more than one million members, the VFW only a quarter million. But today the VFW magazine maga-zine has the largest overseas circulation cir-culation of any non-governmental publication, is now read by 300,000 men monthly. As a result, VFW is picking up members at the rate of 5,000 a week, while Legion officials fret, plan their own recruiting drive later. One reason for VFW success has been a policy of tacitly bucking the American Legion on key policy matters. VFW helped paint the Legion Le-gion as "anti-labor," then turned around and attempted to arrange a deal whereby all CIO and AFL members mem-bers in the service would join the VFW instead of the Legion when they left the service. More than two million union men are in the service However, labor has not fallen for the bait. Instead, trade-union chapters chap-ters of the American Legion are being be-ing rapidly built up to help combat com-bat any anti-union feelings of returning re-turning servicemen. The Veterans of Foreign Wars also made "hay" with a speech delivered by national Legion Commander Warren War-ren Atherton in the South Pacific area recently. Atherton debunked the idea that men in the front lines fighting the Japs want furloughs home. The VFW immediately took advantage of this statement, set up a terrific howl for overseas furloughs, fur-loughs, soon found membership applications ap-plications pouring in. ... SITUATION IN GERMANY Uncensored military and political dispatches reaching the diplomatic corps reveal that the German army is defeated and that fat Hermann Goering, father of the Luftwaffe, may soon rise as the German "man on horseback" to try to make peace with the Allies. This dramatic turn of events catches Franklin Roosevelt plotting Pacific strategy while the biggest break of the war is coming 5,000 miles away in Europe. Whether Roosevelt does anything more aLout it or not, however, you can write it dwn that Hitler and company are through. It's just a question of how much Germany can salvage be-fore be-fore the last shot is fired. - . . MERRY-GO-ROUND C. The Berlin radio beamed to America tried a new propaganda trick the other night. An announcer introducing a newscaster, said, "The views of this commentator do not necessarily reflect the views of this station." C. Army air corps officials say thai Jacquelin Cochran, head of the Wasps, barges into their offices, pounds on their desks, says, "I used to work in a factory, I know what the little people want," then delivers ultimatums about her lady fliers. |
