Show ANYTHING P I Cooler Crisis HOTTEST QUESTION of the month in Washington for a while was not Who will win the election election election elec elec- tion It was not Will we get into war It was a question of at who ordered 96 gleaming new 1948 model refrigerators refrigerators re reo re- re installed in the offices of ot every everyone one of the United States senators Government workers were busily engaged in clamping the refrigerators refrigerators refrigerators to the office floors at nt an estimated estimated estimated esti esti- mated cost of well above before anybody thought to ask who had conceived this ingenious scheme THE PROJECT called for moving moving moving ing refrigerators into the offices of senators who never before had had them and putting new ones into those senatorial sanctums that already already al ale al- al ready were equipped with old ones It was a clear case of higher standards of living for solons Senate appropriations committee members staff denied they had approved approved approved ap ap- ap- ap api i proved any appropriation for senatorial senatorial sena sena- tonal refrigerators said furthermore furthermore furthermore further further- more that there was no record of any such appropriation RANKING NEXT to the riddle of who put the refrigerators there was the question of why a senator should need a refrigerator in the first place Somebody said maybe they were intended to replace the pigeonhole as convenient spots to keep legislation legisla tion proposed by the President on ice NO ATOMS iS Two U Unions Mortally afraid of at skulduggery at atthe atthe atthe the atomic crossroads the government government government govern govern- ment has acted to bar unions whose officers refuse to take the nonCommunist nonCommunist non Com oath from its atom bomb plants SPECIFICALLY the atomic energy energy energy en- en ergy commission issued an order telling two CIO dO unions to keep out of atomic installations the CIO United Electric Workers and the thedo CIO do United Public Workers The action came on the heels of congressional charges that a network network network net net- work of Soviet spy rings tried durIng during during dur dur- ing the war to dig up atomic secrets secrets se see se- se crets for Moscow Also the atomic energy commission commission commis commis- sion ZIon said other unions from now on will be recognized officially as qualified med to work in atom plants only if It they can qualify quality for certification by bythe bythe bythe the national labor relations board Said David E. E Lilienthal chairman chairman chairman chair chair- man of the commission all atomic energy facilities must be operated in a manner best calculated to assure assure as ns sure that those who participate in inthe inthe inthe the program are loyal to the United ACTUALLY UNION activity in all ll at atomic mic plants with the exception exception exception tion c 0 of the one at Oak Ridge has been curtailed curtailed sharply since the atomic bomb project was launched Never Nevertheless Nevertheless a 3 number of ot unions have tried to keep active in the hope that the curbs on union organizational work would be eased in the future A congressional committee had heard testimony from a de self scribed former Communist that the United Electrical Workers was the largest Communist dominated organization or or- 1 in the United States WHIZ Rocket Plane It wasn't the sort of subject that Stuart Symington cared to be very specific about but the air secretary I did hint in an Air Force association speech that the US U.S. X X-l rocket pow f ered research plane might have I blasted through the air nir at a n speed of from to 1000 miles an hour SYMINGTON MADE this startling star star- I lung semi disclosure in an oft hand manner Enumerating achievements achieve ments by the air force during the past year he made mention of at an airplane flying hundreds of miles faster than the speed of sound which is miles per hour at sea level AS ORIGINALLY designed the tho X X-l was supposed to reach a speed of 1107 miles an hour at feet altitude and 1700 miles an hour at feet AS FAR AS is known only two X X-l type planes now are in operation operation opera opera- tion by the government one government one by the theair theair theair air force and the other by the national national na na- na advisory committee for aero acre Five other X X-l models are on order order order or or- der and a new and drastically different different dif dif- dif dif- ferent design the X 4 is awaiting trial flight BIG LIFT To Berlin Despite the smug Russian belief that Berlin could not be supplied from the air the American air lift to the blockaded German capital has been spectacularly successful DURING THE first 90 00 days of the great aerial portage American transport planes flew more than tons of food fuel and medicine medi cine into Berlin since the Sov Soviets ets clamped on their blockade in mid mid- June Air force headquarters at Wiesbaden Wies Wiese baden said its planes had flown more than 15 million miles through good weather and bad along the narrow air corridors from the western west west- em ern zone of Germany to keep the heart of Berlins Berlin's isolated western sector beating IN THE FIRST 90 days flights were made with the air cargo including tons of coal tons of food and tons of other necessary items A typical hour 24 period in the air airlift airlift lift lilt has about flights carrying more than tons of supplies into the besieged city EXPORTS Up or Down Predictions by the department of agriculture that U. U S. S grain exports during the current crop year may top last years year's record by nearly four million tons was expected to give rise to a cabinet tilt tiff over over how much grain should be shipped overseas over over- seas There are two schools of thought Charles Charles CharlesF F F. F Brannon secretary of ofa a agriculture ure gri cul ure favors increasing exports exports exports ex ex- ex- ex ports to prevent possible surpluses in the U. U S. S that might lead to an expensive price support program SECRETARY OF Commerce Charles W W. Sawyer on the other hand insists that grain shipments should be cut to a minimum in order order order or or- der to keep food prices down in this country He argues also that Europe Eu rope would be better off of to use its dollars for industrial machinery rather than food According to the agriculture department de de' department the worlds world's big exporting countries probably will have about 10 per cent more grain to spare this year than in 48 1947 when exports topped million tons THE DEPARTMENT added that thai the U. U S. S is again likely to provide provide pro pro- vide nearly hall hail of the total world trade to Last year the United States ex cx ported slightly more than 15 million tons tons nearly nearly 44 per cent of all in ingrain th grain exported PEARY Left a Note A United States expedition to the Arctic last summer found documents left there in 1905 1005 by Rear Adm Robert E. E Peary discoverer of the North Norih Pole a recent state department depart ment announcement has disclosed The brief brie r port contained no ex explanatory explanatory details It said As ii il is usual on northern e expeditions 1 editions I Peary's notes found in hi the cairn calm I were replaced by appropriate docu ments meats |