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Show 35 BILLION: . S. Mut Recapture WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS FDR Tightens Living Cost Controls; Allies Push All -Tunisia Offensives As Rommel Speeds Retreat Northward; Draftees Status Altered in New Plan Released by Western Newspaper Union. -fci .LJ ANTI-INFLATION: 'Hold the Line' President Roosevelt's "hold the line" anti-inflation order served blunt notice on all special economic groups that competition for higher prices and wages must end, because the resulting conflict would not only result in inflation but "breed disunity dis-unity when unity is essential." Banning further wage increases except to correct substandard living liv-ing conditions virtually freezing employees em-ployees to their present jobs and extending ex-tending price controls to all cost-of-living commodities, the President's order centered a four-pronged attack at-tack on inflation. The order provided: pro-vided: 1 No further wage increases beyond be-yond the Little Steel formula of 15 per cent over rates on January 1, 1942; 2 Immediate ceilings on all commodities affecting the cost of living; 3 No hiring of new employees employ-ees by employers, except in accordance accord-ance with War Manpower commission commis-sion regulations, to prevent employment employ-ment of workers at higher pay than they received in previous jobs; 4 Stabilization of rates of common carriers and public utilities. RUSSIA: Quiet on Donets As reports had persisted that the Germans were moving many fresh divisions to the Russian front for a new offensive, the Red forces took the initiative in the Kharkov area and seized several favorable positions posi-tions south of Izyum, thus widening widen-ing the Soviet bridgehead on the south bank of the Donets river. Following their failure at Izyum, the Germans were reported massing strength in the Balakleya sector. A Moscow communique reported that quiet had again descended on the Smolensk front after a lightning Russian thrust that resulted in the capture of several strongly held villages vil-lages northeast of the Axis stronghold. strong-hold. Engagements were but a prelude to bigger movements, for both sides were massing their forces for new major actions once the spring-thawed spring-thawed ground became firm again. TUNISIA: Fox in the Open Rommel's retreating Afrika Korps had been faced by Allied armies on three sides after "The Fox" was uprooted up-rooted from his El Akarit positions and chased into the open plains of Tunisia well north of Gabes. The seriousness of the crisis for the Axis was reflected in Italian communiques which admitted that Italo - German forces were being C HESTER C. DAVIS .... 'spending power a peril.' The government will have to recapture re-capture $35,000,000,000 in surplus spending power if present price and wage controls are to combat inflation infla-tion effectively, Chester C. Davis, food administrator declared. A banker as well as an agricultural agricul-tural leader, Mr. Davis recommended recommend-ed higher federal taxes and sharply increased investments in war bonds to relieve the strain of "too much purchasing power" on a declining supply of consumer goods, including includ-ing food and other living items. "This is no 10 per cent war," he declared, referring apparently to the treasury's campaign to get 10 per cent of salaries invested in war bonds. KEYNES' PLAN: To Sidetrack Gold Following closely on the heels of the United States treasury's proposal pro-posal for a $5,000,000,000 postwar international in-ternational stabilization plan came Lord Keynes' proposal for a world credit institution "designed to expand ex-pand world trade and serve as a genuine organ of truly international government." Unlike the American plan, the British fiscal expert's program would subordinate gold as the postwar post-war international medium of exchange. ex-change. The announcement of Keynes' proposal made in a British white, paper said "the purpose of the clearing union is to supplant L::j: d gold as a governing factor, but not dispense with it." Financial observers viewed the Keynes' plan as a trial balloon. Their idea was that a compromise between the American and British viewpoints would be ultimately arrived ar-rived at. Under the Keynes' plan the clearing clear-ing union would have executive offices of-fices in New York and London. It would operate as a bank of nations, with creditor nations allowing their balances to accumulate as deposits, while the union would lend these deposits for short periods to debtor nations, just as a commercial bank operates. FRANCE: U. S.-Britain Agree DRAFT: Classes Reshuffled As local draft boards speeded the reclassification of registrants, in accordance ac-cordance with new selective service regulations, the fathers of children born before September 14, 1942, found themselves the sole occupants of class 3-A. All other men of draft age were being placed in one of the following classes: 1-A Subject to immediate induction; induc-tion; 2-A Deferred because of occupation oc-cupation in activities directly supporting sup-porting the war effort, or "vital to the maintenance of civilian health and welfare; 2-B Deferred because of occupation in war plants; 2-C or 3- C Deferred because of essential agricultural work; 3-D Deferred because their induction would cause extreme hardship to dependants; 4- F Mentally, morally, or physically physical-ly unfit for service. , PACIFIC FRONT: Air War Continues Aerial warfare on the north and east extremities of the Pacific battle front provided for weeks the only activity in this theater. In the north American army bombers escorted by fighters continued con-tinued their daily assaults on Jap positions in the Aleutians, bombing Kiska and blasting Attu. Largest scale action of all occurred oc-curred near Guadalcanal, where American airmen destroyed 37 out of 98 Jap planes and bombers which attacked U. S. shipping. Americans lost seven of their own planes in the encounter. U.S. NAVY: Billions for Building Further evidence of the navy's determination de-termination to build itself into unmatched un-matched global power was seen in President Roosevelt's request of congress for a $24,551,070,000 appropriation appro-priation for the fiscal year 1944 the largest amount ever sought for the nation's sea-fighting forces. The President asked for $6,230,-000,000 $6,230,-000,000 for new warships; $1,830,000,-000 $1,830,000,-000 for maintenance and repair of GEN. BERNARD MONTGOMERY . . . outfoxes Rommel. steadily overpowered along the entire en-tire Tunisian frpnt. The long-hoped for junction of American and British forces had intensified in-tensified Rommel's plight, for now General Montgomery's British Eighth army was not only pressing him from the south, but its advance units now joined directly with General Gen-eral Patton's Second American army corps were menacing his flanks from the east. ' To the north, General Anderson's British First army had moved to close off Rommel's Rom-mel's movements for a possible union un-ion with the Axis forces of Gen. Von Arnim. In routing Rommel at El Akarit, General Montgomery took the Nazis by surprise with a night attack that blazed its way forward under the screen of 500 cannon and scores of tanks and reinforced by hundreds of planes overhead. In the first break-through the Eighth army had gathered in 6,000 Axis prisoners. As the battle picture became When British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden announced he had invited in-vited Secretary of State Cordell Hull to visit London and said he was satisfied sat-isfied there is "complete agreement" between Britain and the United States on the "future policy toward France," he took a long step toward settling the troublesome North African Afri-can political situation. Seemingly on the point of settlement, settle-ment, the problem had been intensified intensi-fied once more when the Fighting French took umbrage at Allied Commander Com-mander Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower's Eisenhow-er's request that Gen. Charles De-Gaulle De-Gaulle delay his projected visit to Algiers for conferences with Gen. Henri Giraud. Military men had viewed the Eisenhower request as a perfectly logical action. With the battle for Tunisia. at its height, the time was not right for political discussion, since the entire time of the French, British and American leaders in North Africa was occupied in winning win-ning the campaign. BLACK MARKETS: clearer, tne contriDutions oi ijenerai Patton's American forces emerged importantly. Prior to the historic junction with the British Eighth army after piercing the Axis armies' ar-mies' flanks, the Americans had held up most of Rommel's armored forces in the El Guettar region, weakening his defenses and making easier the task of the British at El Akarit. BLOCK-BUSTERS: Work Well Done The penetrating eyes of British reconnaissance cameras confirmed reports of RAF bomber pilots that "block-busters" have done their work well in laying waste industrial areas of Berlin. Photographs taken after one recent re-cent raid disclosed that 30 important impor-tant war factories had been destroyed de-stroyed or damaged. The devastation devasta-tion was concentrated mostly in areas south and southwest of the center of Hitler's capital, a report by the air ministry disclosed. Railway repair shops, freight yards and the Templehof airfield were among objectives damaged. ADM. ERNEST J. KING . . . more battle-wagons for him. ships and $3,476,000,000 for guns, ammunition and armament. While only $1,640,000,000 was requested for airplanes, a backlog of about $4,000,-000,000 $4,000,-000,000 in orders will provide adequate ade-quate numbers of fighting craft. Meat supply Scarcer Black markets were blamed by the i department of agriculture for the reduced marketing of livestock for slaughter in recent weeks. In recent weeks, a department report re-port noted, government buying agencies agen-cies and civilian consumers dependent depend-ent on federally inspected plants have experienced difficulty in obtaining obtain-ing meat. While the report did not disclose how great a reduction in inspected in-spected meat supplies stemmed from the black market operations, it described it as "fairly large." Meanwhile seven meat packing firms operating in the East and Middle Mid-dle West were indicted by a federal grand jury in Newark, N. J.. 0n charges of conspiracy to violate meat price regulations and meat quota restrictions. EUROPE: Axis on Alert The defense of Europe against the forthcoming Allied invasion was increasingly in-creasingly occupying the attention of Axis leaders, reports from the continent con-tinent indicated. The Germans were said to be undertaking anti-invasion maneuvers in Belgium and Holland Intelligence reports reaching Allied governments said the German and Italian high commands had met at Brenner pass to discuss the defense of Italy. SUPER-FUEL: The formula for making a super-fuel super-fuel which can deliver 40 miles to the gallon in postwar automobiles will be available to all gasoline manufacturers man-ufacturers as the result of a federal court decree in Newark, N J The process had hitherto been the ex elusive property of the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey Thirty-three giant production units now are built or building for turning turn-ing out the fuel, the Standard company com-pany disclosed. At present the prod-uct prod-uct is being used for war purposes |
