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Show r. 7-i WEEKLY MEWS AMALYS1S f U. S. Heavy Bombers Blast Balkans, Hammer German Industries in France; Jap Forces Advance in India Theater; Congress Studies New Draft Problems (EDITOR'S NOTE: When opinions are expressed In these columns, they are those of , Western Newspaper Union's news analysts and not necessarily of this newspaper.) Released by Western Newspaper Union. I SOUTH AMERICA: 'Money to Burn South America's huge accumulation accumula-tion of gold and foreign exchange, , of which dollars form the greatest part, looms as another factor in the promotion of economic activity in the postwar world. Because South American countries have been sending the U. S. and other nations more goods than they have been able to buy back, the U S. department of commerce reported re-ported they have built up a cash balance of over 2 billion dollars, which will be available for foreign trade when warring powers return to civilian production. In 1943, the department reported, the U. S. bought $1,300,000,000 worth of goods in South America, ' while selling only approximately $800,000.-000, $800,000.-000, thus leaving the Latin countries with a cash balance of nearly $500,-000,000. $500,-000,000. ' PENICILLIN: New Plants Costing $20,000,000, 21 new penicillin penicil-lin plants in the U. S. and Canada soon will go into the production of sufficient quantities of the magic drug to meet the needs of 250,000 severe cases and 2,500,000 milder ones of the armed forces. Despite the increase in production, penicillin only will be available to civilians who cannot be treated with the sulfa drugs. New methods have been developed for making penicillin and, costs have dropped 84 per cent within a year, but because the drug is derived from a mold which still must be grown and only small quantities can be refined re-fined at a time, demands continue to surpass supplies. GREAT BRITAIN: Act Against Strikes Plagued by strikes which resulted in a loss of 1,000,000 working days in March, the British government drafted draft-ed an order under whiph incitement of labor unrest would be a criminal offense. v Even as the government considered consid-ered drastic action, 70,000 miners in Yorkshire remained idle over deductions deduc-tions from their wages for coal for their homes, and over 20,000 shipyard ship-yard workers were on strike in Bel-. fast in protest of the Jailing of aircraft air-craft shop stewards for participating in unauthorized walkouts. While the government moved to check the strike wave, the Trades Union Congress warned British labor la-bor that continuance of work stoppages stop-pages would imperil an Allied victory. EUROPE: Aid Russ W-ith Allied troops in Great Britain Brit-ain poised for the jump into western Europe, U. S. bombers took to the air to blast the Balkans in conjunction conjunc-tion with the Russian armies' advance ad-vance into Rumania. In the English Isles, an electrical tenseness was reported as Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower's high command com-mand was said to have set the zero hour, and Allied planes continued to roar over the channel to blast Nazi defenses and industries in France and Germany. As the Russians edged toward the vital Rumanian oil fields of Ploesti, U. S. bombers thundered over the city from the south to blast railway tank cars filled for the long haul to western Europe. U. S. bombers also dropped explosives on aircraft factories fac-tories and railroad yards of the Hungarian Hun-garian capital of Budapest. In Italy, heavy artillery bombardments bombard-ments punctuated bitter ground sparring below Rome at Anzio and Cassino. Psychological War Leaving no stone unturned, the Allies Al-lies have been showering Axis Europe Eu-rope with propaganda leaflets as well as bombs in an effort to undermine German morale and encourage underground un-derground resistance in occupied countries. Flashy leaflets have told the Germans Ger-mans that their surrender during the last war left most of their industries in-dustries intact, while continued resistance re-sistance in this war will only result in the complete demolition of their factories. Other leaflets have condemned con-demned Nazi officials for failing to provide for evacuation of the civilian civil-ian population from bombed areas. Small newspapers dropped in France have informed the people of guerrilla activity, and of the Allied objectives in bombing Nazi targets in the country, while similar publications publi-cations dumped over Holland have pointed up America's war effort and the heavy assaults on Berlin. GOP Favorite Republicans boom Gov. Tom Dewey (left) as Wendell Willkie steps out. GOP: Willkie Quits Stormy petrel of the Republican party since 1940, big, blustery Wendell Wen-dell Willkie withdrew his bid for. leadership of the GOP, while New York's Gov. Thomas E. -Dewey was assuming the position through a popular pop-ular draft. Willkie' s sudden demise and Dewey's Dew-ey's ascension were occasioned by progressive Wisconsin's elections for delegates to the Republican national convention in Chicago, June 26. Although Al-though Willkie actively campaigned through the state, he failed to win even one delegate, while Dewey, who had asked that his name be withdrawn with-drawn from the election, won 18. Since Wisconsin has long been noted not-ed for its liberalism, Willkie deliberately delib-erately selected it as the grounds for a test fit Republican sentiment, basing his bid for delegates on a program for heavier war sacrifices and extensive U. S. cooperation in world affairs. DRAFT: 26-29 Next Both selective service and congress con-gress struggled over the problem of supplying the military services with younger men and maintaining record rec-ord war production, with continued emphasis on shifting 4-Fs in unimportant unim-portant work to essential occupations. occupa-tions. Referring to the decision to only defer key industrial and agricultural workers in the 18 to 25 age group, Draft Director Lewis B. Hershey declared de-clared that the same policy would next be extended to the 26 to 29 class. In seeking to channel 4-Fs into necessary work, the house military affairs committee called upon selective selec-tive service to obtain a list of essential essen-tial occupations and manpower shortage short-age areas for use in guiding the employment of 4Fs, who would face induction into a labor battalion if failing to take vital jobs. State Inductions ' With 1,265,000 men, New York is scheduled to lead the states in the number of soldiers and sailors to be inducted by July 1, with Pennsylvania Pennsylva-nia with 904,000, and Illinois with 700,000, ranking second and 'third. Other states with high totals include in-clude California with 667,000; -Ohio with 610,000; Texasrith 554,000, and Michigan with 452,000. Nevada with 11,000 is scheduled to contribute the smallest amount of men, with Wyoming and Delaware with 23,000, the next lowest. PACIFIC: Eye Stilwell While U. S. bombers continued to pummel Jap defense outposts in the Pacific, British troops strived desperately des-perately to check the enemy's stubborn stub-born advance toward the American operated Bengal-Assam railroad, 80 miles within India. Working over the whole Jap outpost out-post system in the Pacific, navy fliers fli-ers pounded the enemy's storage and defense installations on Truk in the Carolines, while army airmen repeated re-peated heavy attacks on the Nips' supply base of Hollandia in New Guinea, feeder point for barges operating op-erating along the coastline. Seeking to cut the Assam-Bengal ; railway feeding Lieut. Gen. Joseph i Stilwell's U. S.-Chine.-e troops fight- ing to carve out a new supply road i to China in northern Burma, the : Jap attack in India was concentrated concentrat-ed in the nigged hills above Imphal. AGRICULTURE: Egg Supports To bolster sagging egg markets, War Food Administrator Marvin Jones told a group r of mid-western sen-; sen-; I ators led by Sena- ! tor Wherry .(Neb.), jt- I that WFA planned i I to support prices by i " ' I purchases of from 1: V. ' I 27 to 32 cents per zf I dozen in distressed f j. j areas where han- j dlers paid producers produc-ers a 'minimum of Sen. Wherry 26 cents a dozen. Declaring that the WFA's biggest problem was disposal of the eggs, Jones called upon the congressmen to support legislation for sale of perishable commodities below parity levels. At present, perishables per-ishables cannot be sold at such prices until they evidence detriora-tion, detriora-tion, with the result that rot often sets in, Jones said. If the civilian population would eat one more egg per week per person, the surplus egg problem would be largely solved, Jones, added. Although aaquate storage space has been found for frozen eggs, Jones said, production has been influenced in-fluenced by manpower problems. Wherever possible, the government has increased its contracts for the product, he said. , Canadian Oats Seeking to relieve the tight feed situation, the War Food administration administra-tion has arranged for the importation importa-tion of 20,000,000 bushels of Canadian oats by May 15 via rail and the Great Lakes. Under the plan, U. S. railroads would immediately send 75 cars daily into the Canadian interior for the grain, with 25 more to be sent later, if domestic needs for the cars are not pressing. The rails would carry the oats to Duluth, whence they would be routed to Chicago and Toledo To-ledo by boat. From 15 to 20 days generally would be required for the round trip, officials estimated. Because competitive bidding between be-tween the two cities would bring Canadian grain above the U. S. price ceiling, the Commodity Credit corporation cor-poration might purchase the oats directly from Canada for resale ai lower prices in the U. S. TEttrACT ooooooooo VNNNNA Nine of 10 British women in the 19-45 age group are In the armed forces or war work. i ITALY: Political Unanimity Liberated Italy's six anti-Fascist parties were prepared to participate in a new government when King Victor Emmanuel abided by his reported re-ported decision of retiring as actual ruler and designating his son, Prince Humbert, as his lieutenant to represent repre-sent his interests.. In settling this knotty problem of at least temporarily preserving the institution of the monarchy while still satisfying the demands of the anti-Fascists that the king get out, the king's advisors fell back on an old precedent in Italian history. Although the Communists who are reportedly .vying for control of the defense and police ministries in any new Italian government, recently declared de-clared their intention of cooperating cooperat-ing with the king, other anti-Fascist elements held fast to their contention conten-tion that his removal was requisite to the establishment of a strong democratic administration in the state. U. S. TREASURY: Record Receipts Boosted by receipts of $5,161,000,000 for quarterly income tax payments, the-treasury collected $6,573,000,000 in March, but expenditures also were at a record level of $8,525,-000,000, $8,525,-000,000, leaving a deficit of $1,952 -000,000. Of the heavy expenditures in March, $7,726,000,000 went directly for , war activities, topping the November, 1943, peak of $7 541 -000,000. . During March, $268,000,000 in war bonds was redeemed, representing 38 per cent of the month's sale of $708,000,-000. Plans for the Fifth War Loan drive to get under way June 12 call for a goal of $16,000,000,000, about $730,-000,000 $730,-000,000 less than was actually raised during the Fourth campaign. Of the total, . individuals will be asked to purchase $6,000,000,000 worth of bonds, more than they bought during dur-ing the last drive. TRAIN BANDITS In shades of Mexico's more turbulent turbu-lent days of three decades ago, Mexican Mex-ican highwaymen have gone back into business, concentrating on trains bringing back native laborers enriched with hard earned wages from six months of agricultral work in the U. S. Armed with machine guns and pistols, pis-tols, 60 bandits reportedly held up a train in Sinaloa province, hoistins $100,000 from 600 homebound agri-cultural agri-cultural workers and making a clean getaway. NEW FOOD Food made from blood drawn from living animals is being fed to Russian hospital patients with gratifying grat-ifying results, it is reported. The blood is dried and powdered, then mixed with such ordinary items as porridge, spaghetti, crackers, cocoa and coffee. For a long time blood of dead ant mals was used, but the blood of liv ing animals is much richer in sug ars salts, phosphorus and vitamins Cows, sheep, camels and reindeei were bled for the tests. HIGHLIGHTS . . . th e week's news BUTANE FOR AUTOS: A Los Angeles An-geles man charged with installing equipment in automobiles to permit them to use unrationed butane gas instead of gasoline, has been indicted indict-ed by the grand jury. Butane is a material in the production of synthetic syn-thetic rubber. Some equipment was .sold for as high as $1,000. At least 40 persons have bought the outfits, it is alleged. GLOBAL AIRLINES: New air routes, established under the pressure pres-sure of war, will reduce distances between points in the United States and foreign countries. Many of the routes will pass over the Arcti circle, cir-cle, trimming off thousands of miles. It will be possible, for instance, to fly 7,700 miles from New York to Chungking, China, by way of the polar route, instead of 11,700 miles by way of San Francisco and Honolulu. Hono-lulu. New equipment permits passenger pas-senger planes to travel safely at temperatures as low as 60 degrees below zero. PARALYSIS: A vaccine to prevent pre-vent infantile paralysis may be in process of development at the Mayo foundation in Minnesota. Dr. Carl Rosenow states that he has identified identi-fied the organism, which he says is a streptococcus in one stage of its growth. He is working on a serum prepared from streptococci and has had some success in making clinical tests. SOUVENIRS: Silverware, napkins, nap-kins, fringe from curtains, tassels almost anything that can be sneaked out, is taken from the White House by souvenir-seeking guests, thn housekeeper of the executive mansion man-sion reveals. Rationing of small articles has made the matter a real problem. FARM MACHINERY: Quotas of farm machinery that will be allowed for Canada have beeiv decreased slightly. Among items orKihe lowered low-ered schedule are potato planters power take-off corn binders, and feed mixers. |
