Show WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS by edward C wayne japanese lose heavily at when dutch and Us S forces unite compromise price control passes Addi additional tiona I 1 food rationing forecast EDI EDITORS T OR S NOTE when opinions ar la in theme ahe columns they are those of the news new analyst and n not 0 necessarily of this newspaper new piper tRe ini leased by western newspaper I 1 1 17 1 T 04 ap om there was no sightseeing for these axis evacuees es from south america as they went through the panama canal zone to the united states part of the group of persons including seven german and seven italian diplomats are pictured de barking from the special train which carried them across the isthmus uncle sam took no chances of any axis sig sightseeing lit seeing which would have been possible had the passage been made boat first victory americans had hailed the battle of straits as the first definite american victory over the japanese worked out in conjunction with the indomitable dutch the action amounted to the virtual fil trapping of a large jap convoy in in the straits I 1 probably heading for a frontal assault on java or sumatra and its virtual decimation with heavy losses in men and ships for the nippon forces the fight lasted several days and a number of japanese warships were engaged by light american naval vessels including destroyers and submarines and by considerable forces of airplanes one of the earliest ships sent to the bottom in the engagement was a jap aircraft carrier and if she was not sunk she was immobilized by a direct torpedo hit and that meant she was useless as a carrier this meant instant air supremacy for the american dutch forces and they went to work without mercy one vessel after another was destroyed and as others were damaged and the japs attempted to keep their convoy intact by sa s1 slowing owing their pace to that of the slowest vessel they were hopelessly trapped it apparently took more than six days for the japs to negotiate the less than mile journey through ahr ough the straits and the toll was upward of 31 vessels the engagement showed several things that strong air reinforcements had arrived from the united states into the area that they were being deployed effectively to prevent a further southward japanese invasion of the east indies that american naval units once at grips with the japs could give a good account of themselves that the early toll of two ships a day could easily be enlarged to a deadly amount of shipping an amount which the japanese could not lose and continue their pace in the south pacific PRICES bill passed the passage of the compromise price ce control bill setting ceilings on 74 commodities brought to a head a situation which now was in the hands of the government namely inflation of commodity prices from this point on it would be a criminal offense to sell anything above the ceiling price the senate vote had been at a higher ratio than the house 65 to 14 president roosevelt had been expected to name leon henderson to the post of price administrator set up in in the bill henderson had been doing what he could along this line from his office and had been placed in the war productions board under nelson all hendersons previous work wherever it did not conflict with the ceilings in the bill immediately was validated and became the law of the land just as though congress itself had announced the ceilings maximum penalties were one year in prison and a fine for willful violations of the law A fight had been expected against henderson on the grounds that the former administrator had been close to the president who himself had been chief critic buthe bill LUZON macarthurs Mac Alac Arthurs fight though macarthurs Mac Arthurs men were admittedly in position it had become evident that he was getting at least some reinforcement as his latest had told of american fighter planes and also of the work of PT boat squadrons in bay and at other points probably near corregidor but it had not been believed that macarthurs Mac Arthurs army had any airplanes left therefore his report that curtis P 40 fighters had downed a number of jap bombers led many to think that they might have been flown in there from a distant base how many of the japanese estimated luzon army of was able to get at MacArthur macarthurs Mac Arthurs Is men in their tiny front on bataan peninsula was a problem as many of them naturally would have to be holding the rear and supply lines against constant harassment of guerrilla bands of filipinos RATIONING to increase additional rationing was deemed deemed a certainty with the placing of sugar on a pound a week basis in fact it was known that those who controlled the priorities were frowning even on some of the civilian defense activities among these were the indiscriminate knitting of sweaters which was said to have a bearing on a possible shortage of wool another was the selling of commodities modi ties in tin bials cans when they could be otherwise packaged or sold in bulk amon among 9 the list was baking powder beer biscuits candy confectionery cereals and flour chocolate and cocoa coffee dog food petroleum products spices spice s and condiments and tobacco shipbuilders Ship builders were being asked so to design their ships that they could use steel of the type milled for automobiles somewhat narrower plates leon henderson would be in charge of retail rationing and james S knowlson in charge of that which occurred in industrial quarters it was announced RUSSIANS find going goin za tougher As the russians announced that the last live german had been removed from moscow province and that the invaders in the area were trapped and doomed and as they swarmed ever closer to blensk they reported that the nazi resistance was growing stiffer this the red high command said was to be expected but they drew much cheer from the fact that one victory was following another still and that the general tactical campaign P was shaping up well one expert in red tactics said much credit credit was being given t to a new russian system of putting n g fairly heavy artillery into the front line with the infantry this he pointed out was a bold procedure but one which the germans with nothing heavier than trench mortars in the front line were finding it difficult to combat the russians have 46 mm min guns and some in the front lines and though they are not so mobile they are even being handled by manpower when horses cannot be found to draw them reinforcements for 10 areas the arrival of a confide considerable rable force of american troops in northern ireland had been an exciting bit of news which the press leaped on with avidity and which brought from the white house the statement that this was but one of six eight or ten areas to which reinforcements had been sent pressing the president for more information newsmen succeeded in getting the revelation that help is being rushed with all possible speed into the pacific war theater nothing was said officially about the identity of the northern ireland troops but the fact that a major general was named commander and that his staff included brigadiers led many to believe it was at least a division news dispatches from ireland passed by censorship used the words from their training ground in louisiana and the fact that they had come from midwestern homes but this was as close to identification as the war department would permit president devalera criticized the sending said his government should have been consulted but though president roosevelt recalled that devalera was a warm personal friend he expressed no sympathy with his viewpoint the soldiers were there reportedly eager for a crack at the nazis and getting accustomed to british fare living livine conditions and toe the president was positive in stating that aid of the strongest sort was being poured into the pacific paci fic theater of the war and war department estimates of the total manpower of the japanese in that area was I 1 men ROMMEL drive halted the counter drive by gen erwin brommels Rom mels troops in libya which had hurled the british back over considerable ground to a former battleground tle ground near benegasi Ben gasi had apparently been halted with a terrific blast of air power causing the germans huge losses As churchill told the house of commons that the german italian casualties had been three times that of the british his cohorts in north africa had just finished a devastating blow to the germans which many believed had halted them in their tracks the advance from Aged abia to near benegasi had found the germans forced to halt for a time to organize their supply services and the british took advantage of this respite to do the same but the RAF moved forward to attack the supply lines and reported the destruction of literally hundreds of vehicles including tanks and that they had reduced the german rear to utter and hopeless confusion miscellany MISCELLA NY new york joseph lash friend of mrs roosevelt and one of her for whom a naval cornei commission S ciofi had been sought and refused had been changed from 1 H I to 1 A and had not claimed or as asked ked deferment washington the justice depart merit ment has ordered the removal of all enemy aliens from vital defense areas throughout the nation |