OCR Text |
Show Washington, D C. WASHINGTON AND WAR'S END Washington officials who watch the trend of the war admit now privately pri-vately that "things will happen very fast" In the next few months. If pressed, they even make flat predictions predic-tions that Germany will fold before summer. Publicly, they stick to the line that it will be a long war. This is the only sound position to take, as an official line, since no war can be successfully suc-cessfully waged if the people spend their time peeping around the corner for the approach of peace. But the facts allow a hopeful expectation. ex-pectation. Unquestionably the invasion inva-sion of Europe will be a winter invasion. in-vasion. For many reasons, spring will be too late. February is the likeliest month. The exact time will be no secret to the Nazis, because we will be pounding the French coast well in advance. The offensive will be a tremendous operation, combining a cross-channel invasion with heavy drives from Russia and Italy, plus all-out air attacks everywhere. (The Balkan invasion in-vasion urged by Churchill is doubtful.) doubt-ful.) Some experts go as far as to name the length of time in days which this big operation will require, before be-fore the end. One h'.ghly placed official of-ficial says it will take three months and twenty days. Thus, if the invasion in-vasion starts by mid-February, this would mean the end by early June. But military experts won't say such things out loud, because they fear the U. S. public will overlook the fact that the days between February Feb-ruary and June will be the bloodiest days in the history of all the world's wars. ARMY POSTAL SERVICE On a recent visit to the front lines, Lieut. Gen. Mark Clafk found a soldier busy scribbling a V-mail letter let-ter on his mess-kit. The soldier looked as though he had lost his last friend, so General Clark asked him what was wrong. "Oh, I'm getting a little weary of this life, sir," replied the soldier. "What's your trouble?" asked General Clark. "Why, I haven't received a letter in five days, General," replied the soldier. "What does the post office department think we are over here a bunch of arckeologists?" "Personally, I think five days is pretty good service from the United States to the front lines, son," replied re-plied Clark. "But I'll talk to the postal service officials and see if you can't get your love letters quicker. quick-er. I see your point, soldier." . VETERANS EXPAND The Ramspeck committee investigating inves-tigating civil service has spent most of its time trimming the numbers of government workers. But it has now stumbled into a situation requiring re-quiring a complete change of policy. The Veterans administration, instead in-stead of submitting to a reduction of personnel, is asking for more--thou-sands more. Men are being discharged dis-charged from military service so fast that the task of Veterans administration ad-ministration is going up like a skyrocket. sky-rocket. Now employing 45,000 workers work-ers all over the country, V. A. will soon have to double its staff. BACK TO PEACETIME INDUSTRY Donald Nelson is engaged in a behind-the-scenes race with Elder Statesman Bernie Baruch to work out plans for the reconversion of American industry and see who can get it done first. This was behind the war production board meeting last week when Nelson called in his top aides and outlined a big postwar post-war program of civilian production. Nelson wants plans for the changeover change-over of industry to begin at once. This does not mean the actual reconversion re-conversion of factories, since a lot of them may be busy on war orders for some time. But it does mean full speed ahead on plans for reconversion. recon-version. This may provide one clue on how soon the administration expects the war to be over in Europe. However, insiders who know something about personal rivalries of Washington, see in it also the desire of Donald Nelson to grab the ball away from Baruch and "Assistant "Assist-ant President" Jimmie Byrnes. These two long have wanted to get Nelson out, and at one time FDR actually signed a letter appointing Baruch chairman of a special committee com-mittee to take over all war production. produc-tion. Note: Before Nelson got busy on reconversion, Baruch had been asked by the White House to study plans for converting industry back to a peace basis. CAPITAL CHAFF C. The war department is keeping a watchful eye on the labor policies of hard-working Lieut Gen. Robert C. Richardson, commanding officer in Hawaii. He is suspected of playing In too close with the big sugar barons. ft The Russians plan to relieve Leningrad Len-ingrad without firing a shot chiefly by a drive through Latvia and Lithuania to the Baltic sea. This would cut off the Germans around Leningrad unless they could execute a Dunkirk |