Show W washington di 0 AM AID TO RUSSIA it Is now permissible to reveal that several severa I 1 months ago about tons of shipping were tied up in the persian gulf waiting to be unloaded this represented a super attempt to aid russia and although some ships hips were tied up lor for weeks it was not the fault of the war shipping administration or the army this was an attempt to show good faith to russia when she was under ter rifle siege when the battle of stalin grad was to in the balance in some cases ships rode at anchor SO 60 and 60 days in the gulf of persia waiting to unload their crews idle basic reason for this delay is that port facilities along the gulf of persia are bac backward k w rd if not medieval there were no modern docks or cranes and to unload locomotives without cranes is almost impossible also the railroad running north from fram basra to the caucasus is a meandering affair never completely finished originally nall y built to reach the shahs shags hunting lodge rather than port facilities on the caspian very little had been done by the british to improve this line until american engineers got busy even before pearl harbor when we first started sending aid to russia hussla american railroad men were rushed to basra but it was a tough job and was still unfinished last fall and summer at that time the nazis were knocking our Mur mansk convoys off norway into smithereens so to keep faith with russia ships were piled into the gulf of persia today the situation though still difficult Is greatly improved in tact fact hard hitting lew douglas dynamo of the war shipping administration tra tion has pepped peeped up unloading facilities cili ties to in india south africa and other bad bottlenecks where previously U S ships had to wait three and tour four weeks to unload WORRIED OVER RAILROADS certain washington officials acquainted quain ted with railroad operation are worried about temporary breakdowns of the transportation sy system tem and consequent serious delays to iii moving moving war materials while it Is admitted that the railroads are doing a grand job there Is no overlooking the fact that the burden Is proving too heavy most serious is the situation to in westward freight traffic the coun arys railroads were built with the idea of moving traffic eastward with bigger facil faculties ties as traffic moves east but today with a pacific war to supply the westward movement is greater than ever breakdowns have occurred 0 on n singie track western lines requiring re routing to in a circuitous manner with delays of days and weeks in some cases A transcontinental freight movement which once was accomplished in five days is now requiring ten and fifteen the remedy seems to be an increase to in the centralized control of traffic this smells like government operation from the railroads point of view and they shy away from it but officials to in who have no railroad connections regard such control as necessary for the wartime job note the burden lor for meeting these problems falls on the shoulders of V V boatner director of the division of railroad transport to in the boatner has now shifted to a without compensation basis so he can act as consultant for the railroads and be paid by them while still officially working tor for the government ern ment FARMER CHENNAULT freshman rep charles E mckenzie of louisiana expected to get a firsthand first hand baad report on the war to in the far east when he shook hands with his bis most distinguished constituent gin gen claire chennault leader of american forces to in china who is visiting to in the united states but the fighting tiger almost floored mckenzie by inquiring hows farming down home I 1 cant wait to get back to my plantation mckenzie replied that he be had just returned from louisiana that farmers ers to in his district were doing very well considering the shortage of labor and machinery did you see my place in colcor dla dia parish asked chennault anxiously you bet general replied mckenzie and I 1 can report th that at it is one of the most beautiful and best regulated plantations to in louisiana id like to lav live a there myself on the banks of lake st john note while chernault chennault is aawar at war his louisiana farm is being managed by his bis wife and children MERRY GO G ROUND fl 41 the carpet to in the state department reception room where secretary hull holds press conferences J is s bordered with swastikas swa if fl william B lewis chief of OWIs radio bureau resented Ti times mels calling him smooth dapper and one of the soap salesmen to in OWL he called calle d times washington bureau thre threatening bening to write letters of protest to important people one to us said fells felix belair jr head of the bureau if its lt good well print it |