| OCR Text |
Show WEEKLY NEWS AMALYSIS .. Jap Naval Losses Off Midway Island Strengthen U. S. Position in Pacific; Terrific Bombing Attacks by British Stun Nazi's War Effort in Rhineland (EDITOR'S NOTE When opinion! are expressed In these columns, they are those of the news analyst and not necessarily of this newspaper.) Released by Western Newspaper Union. v I t i A, - ; . V ; . ' . ' i - ' 4f - 1 I '''' ' f' ' . ' ' ! I , ' V v " ' S - This unusual photo shows representatives of the British commonwealth common-wealth gathered at the Washington airport to welcome Sir Owen Dixon, new Australian minister to the United States. Left to right: Walter Nash, New Zealand; Sir Owen Dixon, Australia; Ralph W. Close, Union of South Africa; Sir R. I. Campbell, British embassy, and Leighton McCarthy, Canada. I LIBYA: Tank Tangle The battle of Libya entered its most violent phase as thousands of tanks took part in a raging fight in the desert at Knightsbridge. Two heavy German tank attacks were repulsed as the British struck another an-other dent in the Axis salient in their lines south of Tobruk. Marshal Erwin Rommel was reported re-ported in the Knightsbridge area 15 miles south of Tobruk, directing his men in a desperate attack against the hard-fighting British. The Nazis were sent reeling back south and west of Harmat, six miles south of Knightsbridge. Experts looked upon Harmat as an extremely important position since it was near an escape gap in the British mine field. With the British in possession, there could be no wholesale Axis escape. GAS RATIONING: Revolt in House The congressional fight against nationwide gasoline rationing broke into the open when Rep. Jed Johnson John-son of Oklahoma introduced a concurrent con-current resolution opposing such a step until the house gets proof that the move is necessary. The resolution declared that there is a surplus of oil in Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma and other producing states and that nationwide rationing would cripple the war effort. The War Production board proposed the rationing program to conserve rubber rub-ber rather than gasoline, of which there admittedly is no shortage. The Johnson resolution was submitted sub-mitted following a boisterous caucus session of 100 members of the house. The resolution instructed Rep. Richard Rich-ard M. Kleberg of Texas, who was elected chairman, to appoint a committee com-mittee of five house members to confer con-fer with a similar committee of the senate to take necessary steps. YOUTH AGENCIES:. House Acts At the same time as the house of representatives refused to abolish the National Youth administration, this branch of congress voted to end the life of Civilian conservation corps. The1 standing vote on NYA was 118 to 62 in favor of retaining the agency. Voting was on the specific motion by Rep. Everett M. Dirksen (R., 111.) to cut $49,700,000 from NYA funds in its current appropriation. His plan would have restricted NYA activities to a $5,000,000 student-aid training program for the next year. FOOD: . Neiv Control In wartime, food for fighting men is always of prime impqrtance. With this fact in mind the government has now moved to assure ample supplies of U. S. forces and the armed units of United Nations. Creation Cre-ation of a nine-member food requirements require-ments committee headed by Secretary Secre-tary of Agriculture Claude Wickard has been announced by the War Production Pro-duction board. This agency has been granted power to designate what foods may or may not be produced; what commodities com-modities are to be allowed for import im-port or export; and to regulate the distribution of foodstuffs. While attention was thus being drawn to the nation's food supply, the department of agriculture was quick to declare that it should not be assumed that shortages of food SEA RAID: On Australia The cities of Sydney and Newcastle Newcas-tle on Australia's southeast coast were shelled by Japanese forces in the first sea raid on that country's mainland since the beginning of the war. Termed "nuisance" raids by General Gen-eral MacArthur's headquarters, these first attacks caused little damage dam-age and there were few casualties. Submarines were used for the attack. at-tack. At Sydney the shells whistled over the city so fast it was impossible to estimate their number. Newcastle Newcas-tle was shelled for 30 minutes. Both cities were blacked out and residents resi-dents hustled to their air raid shelters. shel-ters. The attacks came only a week after four of the enemy's midget submarines were destroyed as they attempted a sortie into Sydney's harbor. Also in the same week three and possibly four other subs were destroyed in the southwest Pacific. Pa-cific. , Increased submarine activity off the lower Australian coast was believed be-lieved to be aimed at cutting Allied Al-lied communications afjd supply lines as well as an attempt to divert United Nations' naval units from the more major scenes of action, I.E., between Alaska and Hawaii. SECONDFRONT: In Germany' s Air The stunning effect of the monster RAF bombing raid upon Cologne became be-came known to the world when the first newspapers from that historic Rhineland city reached neutral territory. ter-ritory. Cologne, as its people knew it, is forever lost, according to the dispatches. dis-patches. Whole quarters of the town are empty, and a Stockholm newspaper, news-paper, quoting a German dispatch, reported that all the property of at least 10,000 persons had been destroyed de-stroyed completely. The central district dis-trict of the city was ruined and damage reached far into the city's outskirts. The Koelnische Zeitung, Cologne newspaper, said: "Those who survived the night . . . and who on the morrow looked at the city were fully aware that they had bade farewell forever to their Cologne, because the damage is enormous and because the integral part of the character and even the traditions of the city are gone forever." for-ever." While; the Cologne bombing was followed by a 1,000-bomber attack on Essen, home of the great Krupp armament plants, a complete picture pic-ture of the damage to that industrial center is lacking. However, England Eng-land was jubilant over these "second "sec-ond front" activities. The initial raid on Essen was followed the next night by a second "mopping up" raid, employing an estimated 400 bombers. MIDWAY: Melee "Pearl Harbor has now been partially par-tially avenged. Vengeance will not be complete until Japanese sea power pow-er has been reduced to impotence. We have made substantial progress in that direction." With these blunt, stirring words, Adm. Chester W. Nimitz, commander command-er in chief of the Pacific fleet, announced an-nounced a decisive United States naval na-val victory at Midway Island. In a remarkable demonstration of the coordinated co-ordinated power of the three American Ameri-can services navy, army and marines ma-rines a Japanese invasion fleet was repulsed with the greatest losses of the current war. From 14 to 17 Japanese warships were sunk or damaged, according to early reports. Included were two or three aircraft carriers sunk and one or two lost; three battleships damaged, four or six cruisers damaged, dam-aged, three transports damaged and one destroyer sunk. Continuing attacks at-tacks on the fleeing enemy made it impossible to state whether the ships bombed in pursuit had been damaged dam-aged previously. t the conclusion of the four-day i jm J action, Adm. Ernest J.' King, commander com-mander in chief of the American fleet, hinted that the United States has a chance to knock out Japan as a sea power. The battle, he said, may determine the outcome of the war in the Pacific. Hawaii, he said, "must be held at all costs," because it is the keystone key-stone to the entire Pacific defense system. Midway, 1,312 miles from Pearl Harbor, is a vital outpost in the Hawaiian defense. U-BOAT MENACE: On the Run? Axis submarines operating along the Eastern seaboard have been driven out into the Atlantic, according accord-ing to Chairman Carl Vinson (Georgia) (Geor-gia) of the house naval affairs committee. com-mittee. His disclosure came in a formal statement which added that the "anti-submarine warfare organization organiza-tion has passed through its period of growing pains and is now well established and functioning effectively." effec-tively." "In dealing with submarines we have a tough and clever enemy," the statement said, "and it does not pay to be unduly optimistic. However, How-ever, the fact remains that in the last few weeks the submarine has largely withdrawn from our eastern seaboard and is operating farther at sea . . ." "The committee has ' full confidence con-fidence that we shall defeat the submarine." V-MAIL: For Soldiers V. S. army units in England and Northern Ireland are now using a new and unique mail system for contacts with the United States. Known as V-mail, this system provides pro-vides that letters may be dispatched to a central station, censored and then photographed on small rolls of microfilm. Under army direction these rolls are then sent to the United States where they are developed and photostatic pho-tostatic copies are presented to the postal service and sent through regular reg-ular mails to the addressee. Value of plan lies in the fact that microfilm saves cargo space in eliminating mail shipments. POISON GAS: Another Warning Within V month after Winston Churchill had warned Germany that any use of gas warfare by the Nazis would be met with the same tactics. President Roosevelt has warned Japan Ja-pan that" if she persists in using gas against China the U. S. wifl retaliate re-taliate in "kind and full measure." This statement by the President came as a confirmation of reports that Japan was using noxious gases in battles with the Chinese. CLAUDE WICKARD Heads nine-man committee. or rationing of most foods are in prospect. An analysis of the step however would indicate that this new board might eventually find it necessary to make rather definite changes in the eating habits of U. S. civilians. While the total supply of food for 1942 is expected to be the largest on record and more than enough for U. S. needs plus the demands of England and Russia, it is conceivable conceiva-ble adjustments in normal food production pro-duction and consumption may become be-come necessary. PRODUCTION: Indication that U. S. military production pro-duction was hitting its full stride was gathered from the statement by Undersecretary of War Patterson to the effect that the army now has all the weapons it can send abroad under present shipping conditions and also enough to arm every soldier sol-dier in the U. S. This was true, he said, despite the fact that almost twice as many light arms are required re-quired per man since the development develop-ment of parachute troops. |
