Show THIS WEEK IN DEFENSE president roosevelt sent identical letters to president lewis and to th the c steel company company representatives senta tives benjamin fairless Fairl eugene grace and frank purnell stating tat work in the captive mines must recommence the issue in dispute does docs not justify a stoppage of work in a grave national crisis the president asked the four leaders to allow the matter of the closed shop in the captive mines to remain in in status quo for the period of the national emergency or else to accept final arbitration he said any agreement reached would have no effect on the closed shop agreement already in effect with regular commercial mines mines lease lend aid the department of agriculture reported nearly pounds of agricultural commodities costing almost were delivered to representatives of the british government for lend lease shipment from the beginning of operations in april up to october 1 animal protein products including evaporated orated milk dried milk cheese eggs pork and lard made up the most important groups of commodities arming of merchant ships president roosevelt signed the legislation to repeal the three key sections of the neutrality act the president also requested from congress a new appropriation for the navy including for defense installations on merchant ships navy secretary knox said the first armed U S merchant vessels will be plying the sons seas within a week lie ile said ships plying both the atlantic and pacific ic will be armed the arming of the ships will require three to four fou r months to complete the navy will put gun crews of from 12 to 18 men an all ships as fast as they are arc armed NAVY the navy announced capture by the US cruiser omaha in atlantic equatorial waters of the german ship odenwald Odon wald which was saili sailing tig under U S colors the disguised merchant ship was in its way fro from III yokohama to bordeaux with a cargo of tons of war rubber and american made automobile tires secretary knox told his press c conference 0 n the odenwald was one of a I 1 number of german vessels which had been chartered to japanese in interests te rests three destroyers a submarine and the battleship indiana were launched making a total of three battleships 18 destroyers and 11 submarines launched so far this year the three destroyers were five months ahead of schedule and the submarine three months army health the war department announced the death rate in the army from disease now is less than one tenth what it was in 1917 18 and the venereal disease rate is less than half what it was at that time the chief of army morale osborn said most of the USO buildings will be in use by christmas the army also field houses are being built in 37 camps to furnish furnished additional dit ional recreational facilities during ing winter winter months coke and coal fuel coordinator ickes reported coke production during the first 10 months of this year was 16 per cent greater than during ane corresponding period last year A record production of 65 million tons is ed for the complete year of 1941 mr ickes also said production of pennsylvania anthracite coal thru i october 1941 was nine per ce cent nt 1 I 1 bove the corresponding period at f 1940 if the percentage is maintained he said total 1941 production will approximate 56 million tons the largest since 1934 |