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Show WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS American Troops Taking Beating In Korea; Mobilization of U. S. Manpower and Industry Forecast (EDITOit'8 NOTK : Whrn opinion are expressed In Ihese columns, they arc those of Western NewMpuper LnJun'a newt analyst and not iieceaaurilv of this newspaper.) Korea Commander ! ECONOMY: i Profits and Prices As the Korean war roared intc its fourth week much of the news was being made on the home front in the form of profits and prices. Government agencies announced after-tax profits of American manufacturing manu-facturing firms as a whole wer nearly five percent higher in til first quarter of 1950 than in th fourth quarter of 1949. At the same time the prices ol foods, especially meat and coffee, took an upward swing that made many consumers catch their breaths. At least one congressman, Representative Rep-resentative Klein of New York, demanded de-manded an investigation of high living costs and profiteering. He went so far as to charge bakers and dairies with "soaking the consumer con-sumer without conscience." "Meat prices are threatening to turn this country into a nation of vegetarians and ruin the cattle raising states," he said. Also on the economic front, the Federal Reserve Board said preliminary pre-liminary figures show that industrial indus-trial production reached a new postwar peak in June. Production was estimated at about one percent higher than the previous pre-vious postwar peak of October-November, 1948, and 17 percent above the level of June, 1949. Some highlights on the net profits pro-fits report: 1. After-tax profits were $100,-000,000 $100,-000,000 higher in first-quarter 1950 than the preceding quarter, but unchanged from the 1949 first-quarter mark of $2,400,000,000. 2. The rate of return on stockholders' stock-holders' equity was 12 percent in first-quarter 1950 against 11.6 in last year's fourth quarter and 12.8 in its first-quarter. 3. Dividend payments to stockholders stock-holders totaled $1,000,000,000 against $1,700,000,000 in last year's fourth quarter and $900,000,000 in first-quarter first-quarter 1949. 4. Profits per dollar of sales rose to 6.2 cents from 6 in last year's fourth quarter and 6.1 in its first quarter. 5. Setasides for federal - Income taxes amounted to $1,500,000,000 in both the 1950 and 1949 first in fourth-quarter 1949. EDUCATION: No One Flunks A new trend in education 100 percent promotion of pupils in the lower grades is reported by educators. edu-cators. Educators won't come right out and say no one flunks any more in the lower grades on the ground that some elementary pupils still need the threat of failing to spur them on, but it's true that fewer are flunking. The new trend seems to be based on four points: 1. Little is learned by repeating. repeat-ing. 2. Failure merely discourages and does not aid pupils. 3. There is no reliable way of determining failures. 4. Real failures cannot do the work, no matter how often they repeat. re-peat. This is a long jump from the days of reading, writing and arithmetic and the rule of the hickory stick. The educators sum up their report: re-port: "Nonpromotion is an admission of an inadequate school program and has no place in a school where children are motivated properly and work to the level of their capacities. capaci-ties. "What is looked on as a pupil failure may be a teacher, super' visor, or administrator failure." Into Battle KOREA: Gl's Take Beating As the Korean battle went Into the fourth week it became apparent to every American that U.S. troops were taking a beating. They were outnumbered; tanks were inferior and too few; guns and bazookas could not pierce the 12-lnch armor of the Russian made tanks. They were pinned to foxholes fox-holes by tanks, artillery and mortars; mor-tars; overwhelmed by massed infantry, in-fantry, sniped at from the sides and rear by infiltrating columns. Taejon, provisional capital of South Korea, was abandoned after the Kum river line was broken by thousands of fanatical Communists wno charged American positions without regard to casualties. They overran first aid stations, killing patients and chaplains, and for every one the Americans killed, ten took his place. American forces began a slow withdrawal which appeared would halt some 35 miles southeast of Taejon where a range of hills offered of-fered a natural defense position. Whether or not they held this position posi-tion would depend upon reinforcements reinforce-ments and the continued flow of guns, tanks, and ammunition. No matter how optimistic a view an observer was inclined to take, the situation appeared serious. ser-ious. As has often been the case in the past? Americans greatly underrated under-rated North Korea's military strength and fighting determination. Facts of the situation indicated: North Korea had 10 to 15 divisions 100,000 to 250,000 men, with replacements re-placements handy from the armies of Communist China when needed. At least 200 tanks, with replacements replace-ments also available from Russia, and almost unlimited supplies behind be-hind the lines in Siberia and in Manchuria. United States would need eight full divisions, perhaps 250,000 men. The inadequate supply of tanks and heavy artillery in the Pacific would have to be remedied. The one bright spot in the picture was the work of the U.S. air force which had knocked out tanks, bombed and strafed troop concentrations concen-trations and supply lines, and driven driv-en the North Korean planes from the air. But military observers pointed out that air power will greatly increase in-crease the chances of victory, but the Korean war, as has been the case In all wars, will be won by the soldier who fights through mud and rain and cold and heat. The foot soldier has not been replaced with push-button warfare, as yet. McCarthy: Called a Liar Senator Joseph McCarthy, who has had more front-page publicity in the American press than any one man in a number of years, has made the front pages again, but not to his liking. The senator, still screaming charges of communism in the state department, was called a liar by three Democratic members of a senate investigating subcommittee. Lt. General Walton II. Walker, Walk-er, a tank expert from Texas and commander of the Eighth Army, has been named to the top command post In Korea. Walker gained fame as commander com-mander of the 20th corps in Patton's Third Army. MOBILIZATION: Is It Near? Many observers are wondering if complete mobilization of this country's manpower and industrial strength is in prospect for the near future., Some believe it is, unless the world situation takes a sudden and unexpected turn for the better. Within a matter of hours after this writing, President Truman was expected to go before congress and outline for the American people steps deemed urgent to cope with the Korean war. He was also scheduled sched-uled to speak over a nation-wide radio hookup and tell Americans ju.it where we stand. One official predicted the President Presi-dent would: 1. Request new military funds or contract authorizations totaling $5,000,000,000 to $6,000,000,000. 2. Propose legislation authorizing 160,000 more men for the army above the present legal limit of 837.00 and 60,000 more for the Navy, which now cannot exceed 006.83:' An increase may also be orden d for the 502,000-man air force. HOME FRONT: Controls Likely Observers on the home front are predicting limited controls to back up an intensified military campaign in Korea. At this writing the controls had not been asked for, but observers pointed out that anti-inflationary action was becoming more urgent with each day. They predicted President Truman would ask for them within a very short time. A request for higher taxes, to cover an expected jump in military mili-tary spending, was held to be inevitable. in-evitable. Government officials were predicting pre-dicting privately that President Truman would ask congress: 1. Power to allocate by voluntary volun-tary means, or more drastic measures mea-sures if necessary steel and a few other basic metals. 2. Authority to put quantity ceilings ceil-ings on the production of automobiles, automo-biles, television and radio sets and other, civilian products consuming large quantities of metal, so that the demands of these industries will not interfere with arms production or create a "g r a y. market" in prices. 3. Restoration of consumer credit controls. By tightening up on easy-payment easy-payment credit for automobiles and other consumer goods, it is hoped that some of boom-level buying demand de-mand may be removed from the market. LABOR: Mobilization Urged At least one labor leader, William Wil-liam Green, president of the American Federation of Labor, has demanded all-out preparedness for any eventuality, including moboli-zation moboli-zation of labor. "We find ourselves facing a situation situ-ation with the implication of a third world war .... If war is localized now, we know it is only a question s? - ' : Reporting their conclusions from a four-month inquiry, they attacked the Wisconsin Republican in terms of harshness rarely used in the senate's history. They accused him of conscious falsehood and of serving serv-ing the interests of the Communists by raising baseless suspicion among the people of the country. They cleared every person McCarthy Mc-Carthy accused of being a Communist. Com-munist. The Republican members of the subcommittee, Senators Hicken-looper Hicken-looper and Lodge, declined to sign the report. The Democrat members termed McCarthy's charges "a fraud and a hoax perpetrated on the senate of the United States and the American people " Their report said, in part: "They tMcCarthy's charges) represent rep-resent perhaps the most nefarious campaign of half truths and untruth un-truth in the history of this republic. For the first time in our history we have seen the totalitarian technique tech-nique of the big lie employed on a sustained basis. "The result has been to confuse and divide the American people, at a time when they should be strong in their unity, to a degree far beyond the hopes of the Communists Com-munists themselves, whose stock in trade is confusion and division." SOVIET UNION: An Olive Branch Although no official announcement announce-ment has been made, it is believed In many quarters the Soviet Union has offered terms for settling the Korean war. It is a bloody and wilted wilt-ed branch the Russians are holding hold-ing out to the United Nations. After the sugar coating of diplomatic diplo-matic language is penetrated, it seems Russia would be willing to call off the affair after China ii eated in the United Nation!. or time until tne inevitable happens. Only adequate preparedness can safeguard us," Green said. He added: "We cannot send our soldier to the fighting front without with-out training equipment and regular regu-lar supplies .... We must provide pro-vide quick transportation which will increase mobility .... There will be no side lines secure from bombing bomb-ing .... There must be mobilization mobiliza-tion of labor." Electoral College In what observers believe to be one of the strangest line-ups in rrodern political history, the house killed, 210 to 134. the proposal that would have made a presidential election more nearly reflect the popular vote. The senate approved the constitutional consti-tutional amendment last spring. The measure needed a twe thirds vote. Had it passed, it would have needed approval by states. The realities of the Korean war were impressed on Americans Ameri-cans in every walk of life as this country's soldier went into action in Korea. Scenes like the one above were grim reminders re-minders to Americans that the foot soldier is still the workhorse work-horse of war. A group of U.S. soldiers above are Hearing the front. HENRY WALLACE: What Now, Little Man? Henry Wallace, who calls himself a progressive but who has been the darling of the Communist press since his visit to Russia, now finds himself consigned to the ranks oi Wall Street buccaneers by the Daily Worker. Observers are wondering what will be the next utterance of this muddled thinker who was once the Vice-President of the United States and greatly liked? |
