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Show GD-(!QUtD KAJ Att 0REWPAft50N Washington, D. C. SECRET BRITISH WEAPON Britain's new secret anti-aircraft weapon, which is described as neither neith-er "gun, ray, nor balloon," is the most ingenious defense instrument the war has yet devised, according to military reports received here. It consists of a shell which when fired by an anti-aircraft gun, explodes ex-plodes at a desired level and releases re-leases a new kind of gas. This gas has the same density as air and does not dissipate. It holds together and constitutes a sort of invisible balloon. The gas is harmless except ex-cept when it explodes, and then it possesses tremendous destructive power. Explosion is by ignition. An airplane air-plane engine roaring through one of these gas masses ignites it and causes an explosion which tears the plane to pieces. That is the way the British are reported to be using it. ... NEW AID FOR BRITAIN Another historic move to aid Great Britain, almost as significant as the destroyer-islands deal, is now on President Roosevelt's desk. It is a plan to sell to the British 30 merchant vessels owned by the United States government and now tied up in the James river, Virginia. The vessels, built during the World war, are desperately needed by Great Britain because of her severe se-vere shipping losses in submarine and aerial warfare. In the once-scorned James river fleet, controlled by the maritime commission, are the only ready-made ready-made vessels in the world today that can be purchased in quantity. The fleet consists of 92 ships of about 8,000 to 10,000 tons each. The engines en-gines are in fair condition, having been turned over periodically by the navy. However, considerable repairs will have to be made to other parts of the ships by the British, totaling $165,000 each. The British plan to offer about $30 a ton for the vessels, which is considered con-sidered high in view of the fact that they will have to spend $165,000 or about $20 per ton for repairs. The total price paid to the United States for the ships will be in the neighborhood neighbor-hood of $8,000,000, while the total British repair bill will be about $5,000,000. FROM MISSOURI One of the greatest publicity drives in U. S. political history is about to be launched. From thousands of billboards, posters, window signs, movie screens, radios and sound trucks, the voters of the country will be bombarded with arguments, slogans and oratory until November 5 as to why Wendell Willkie should be elected President of the United States. The campaign will be under the auspices of the Republican national committee, but its real authors are a group of live-wire St Louis business busi-ness men headed by bustling Edgar Queeny, president of the Monsanto Chemical company, one of the biggest big-gest such firms in the country. An original Willkie booster, Queeny has been giving a large part of his time to the job of electing him. He lunches daily with a score of politically smart friends, and it was at these informal powwows that the nation-wide publicity plan evolved. Originally Missouri was to stage the show alone, but the national committee was so impressed with its possibilities that Queeny was asked to apply it to the entire country. coun-try. He responded with characteristic character-istic zip. Through his influence, five leading advertising firms went to work with the agency that handles the Monsanto Mon-santo account the Gardner Advertising Adver-tising company of St. Louis, and assigned as-signed two representatives to each state to explain the drive to local G. O. P. chiefs. One particular point to be explained ex-plained was that the cost would be too large for the national committee com-mittee to bear under the Hatch act and that the state organizations would have to carry the load. The advertising contact men have reported re-ported back that without exception the state headquarters are willing to raise and spend the necessary funds. . MERRY-GO-ROUND For admission to a press conference confer-ence with Secretary of War Stim-son, Stim-son, newsmen must be equipped with identificatioB cards, colored bright red. Colonel Ward Maris, able press relations re-lations officer of war department, is literally behind the eight-balL Planted on his desk is a billiard balL marked with the figure eight Hefty Rep. Frank Fries of Illinois, one-time miner, is leading the battle to save the federal mine inspection bill from being shelved in the house mines committee. Sponsored by Sen. Matt Neely of West Virginia and Rep. Kent Keller of Illinois, the measure is being stymied by an undercover un-dercover fijrbuster. "The Republican." official organ of the Young Republican National federation, urges Willkie to name four or five cabinet members now. and campaign not with a two-man ticket but with a six or seven-man ticket. |