| Show WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS russians cheered by Us S war pact pledging support of second front nations nation scrap rubber pile grows y Us S information units consolidated EDITORS NOTE when opinions are expressed la in these columns they are those of the news analyst and not necessarily of 0 this newspaper released by western newspaper union ALEUTIANS foggy details when the jap radio announced that nipponese troops had made a landing on the aleutian islands there was no immediate denial by the U S government for the navy had to wait for the fog to clear in that area to check these claims when the weather turned better it was found that enemy landings had been made on the island of attu aatu at the extreme tip of the island group which stretches off alaska in the pacific ocean also jap ships had put into kiska harbor on an island nearer the north american main land navy operations were called into play immediately to squelch any threat of a jap drive for alaska it was believed that the landings took place at the time of the first raid on dutch harbor and about the same time as the beginning of the midway island battle rear admiral john H towers U S navy chief of the bureau of aeronautics classed the jap thrust as of no real importance and figured that it could even become a liability to the enemy WAR information gets an overhauling at long last there came word from washington that all the information functions of the government agencies were being consolidated by the creation of an boffl office ice of war information to be headed by elmer davis well known writer and radio commentator all the duties and activities of the office of facts and figures the office of government reports th the e division of information for the office of emergency management and the foreign information service of the coordinator co of information will be under the authority of the new office according to a white house announcement no further director davis will have full authority to eliminate all overlapping and duplication and to d discontinue is in any department any in informational activity which is not 1 1 1 X A 4 ile I 1 V I 1 01 lq I 1 BYRON PRICE to collaborate avith dat is necessary or useful to the war effort 11 under policies laid down by th president this office will issue directives to all departments and agencies of the government with respect to their informational services this means that while the various agencies and departments will still continue to operate their acrivi activities ties must now conform to such direction as the office of war information may give them the presidential order provided for close collaboration between byron price director of censorship and davis to facilitate the prompt and full dissemination of all available information which will not give aid to 10 the enemy HOUSING 4 conversion loans with a term as long on 9 as seven years a new ty type pe of war conversion loan up up to is available for converting an existing structure into additional living accommodations for war workers in war production areas this new type loan was announced by federal housing ho using commissioner ferguson erguson at the same time it was revealed that during the first five months of 1942 new dwellings were started in war housing areas new home programs generally are from 35 to 45 per cent lower than a year ago RUSSIA diplomacy and death in russia even as the citizens army took up arms to defend to the death their city of sevastopol word came from washington moscow an and london that gave them cause for 0 cheer although their immediate fate fat was wa s darkened it was the vord 4 that the soviet union and the ahe united states had reached a full understanding with regard to the urgent tasks of opening a second european front in 1942 after a conference between russian foreign commissar molotov and president roosevelt in washington methods of speeding U S war aid to russia were developed and the fundamental problems of postwar post war operation cooperation co to safeguard peace and security were decided upon the state department of the united states had further good news for 7 M P X MOLOTOV in full accord with F D R the russian people it was that a lease lase lend agreement similar to that signed between the U S and britain as well as china had been entered into with the soviet the good news from london was that russia and britain had signed a 20 year mutual assistance pact but in the sevastopol area and around kharlov the nazis continued their pounding at russian lines civilian morale was good said moscow reports BOTTOMS UP for jap navy eight japanese aircraft carriers at least half of that count rys known carrier power were sunk or so badly damaged in the midway and coral sea battles that they will be unfit for early action informed naval sources have estimated based on issued by b y the U S army and navy and allied headquarters capital ship losses of japan and the united states from december 7 up to and including the midway adway battle are as follows JAPAN 1 battleship I 1 seaplane tender 4 aircraft carriers IG 16 cruisers UNITED STATES I 1 battleship 1 seaplane tender I 1 aircraft carrier I 1 cruiser the official concern only those ships whose loss I 1 is S unquestioned unofficial reports include ships whose loss though unverified is fairly certain TREASURE HUNT this time rubber although it was only one cent a pound that fact stop americans from stripping their homes garages and factories of every available pound of idle and to them useless rubber the rubber salvage program got under un der way upon president roose order collected by the nations gasoline filling stations the scrap rubber is being transported to central collection points by petroleum industry trucks and sold to the rubber recovery corporation undersecretary of war patterson atterson P reported that army and rubber navy crude requirements during the 21 months after april 1 1942 will be tons compared with the present U S reserve of tons he said he hoped the difference would be made by the synthetic or program rubber coordinator synthetic newhall stated that the program will produce tons in tn ae e rest ot of 1942 tons t ons during 1943 and VENGEANCE promised czechs czecho by president in a broadcast from london I 1 czechoslovakian holo akian president eduard benes promised that following the war military law including the death penalty will be imposed on all nazis responsible for the bestial destruction in the czech nation benes declared flatly that on the first day of victory the policy of personal responsibility would be carried out mercilessly against all exponents of the nazi party and the reich ab government on 41 it czech territory beginning with the former protector baron von neurath all leaders of the gestapo and SS for eduard benes lations mat ions and all germans in the political and military administration of bohemia and moravia in washington jan masaryk czechoslovakian vice premier and foreign minister urged destruction of several german villages by air bombardment in retaliation for the wiping out of the czech town of lidice ladice lidice ladice was eradicated as a i reprisal measure for the killing of reinhard heydrich reich protector for bohemia and moravia to my mind said masaryk it should be ten teeth for one and ten eyes for one CHINESE FRONT hancheng Nan cheng falls on the chinese front the japanese drive in province had advanced miles and forced the defenders to evacuate the town of nan cheng bringing the japanese within niiles miles of closing the gap between their eastern and western forces dispatches stated that the ch chinese inese had recaptured the town of tsung jen approximately halfway half way between hanchang Nan chang jap base and hancheng Nan cheng A comei news agency report claimed that japanese troops advancing v anding rapidly have occupied Kwang feng 18 miles southwest of bushan japanese forces northeast of wu ning were reported to be under severe attack and akyi west of the jap base of hanchang Nan chang was under SYNTHETIC RUBBER and cracking 9 0 U S chemists have perfected a new petroleum cracking pr process icess for making high grade aviation gasoline that should also help break the bottleneck in synthetic rubber production according to the war production board the same refining plant turning out aviation gas would be able also to turn out butadiene a vital ingredient in making synthetic rubber according to this announcement although both these products come from the same petroleum base up to now they have been produced in separate operations plants which can handle the production of tons of synthetic rubber from butadiene will be in use before january 1 1943 but until this new process was discovered there were grave doubts as to whether or not a sufficient supply of butadiene to keep them going could be supplied it is believed that the new process will permit just that LIBYA tanks at bobruk bir haaheim in libya had fallen and the british thought this might slow somewhat the desert thrust of the nazi forces aimed at bobruk but on came the tank army of col gen erwin rommel forgotten was the fact that last year the british had held that city throughout the libyan campaign and had made history during its siege there were mine fields and strong barbed wire defenses stretching almost 15 miles around the city and at its back door was the mediterranean sea but it was at the center of the land front that rommel threw his heaviest tanks these th e se were met by british soldiers at the controls of american made general grant tanks most successful weapons yet found to harass the mechanized units of the enemy there was some speculation specula tio n at first as to whether or not rommel might try a flank thrust to reach the sea to the east or west of the city but from the start of the battle the fate of bobruk hinged on a frontal drive itself this fact stood out experts said because rommel was wail intent on taking the city itself and thus a british avoid the risk of leaving leavin 9 it as sore S spot pot as it proved to be last year |
