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Show WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS Air Raids Soften Europe for Invasion; Decisive Allied Moves Against Japan Forecast in Washington Strategy Meet; WLB Regains Wage Boost Authority fF;DITOIt'S NOTE: IV hen opinions are expressed In these columns, thev are those of Western Newspaper Luton s news analysis and not necessarily of this newspaper.) I Released by Western Newspaper Union. . 1 . A "3 r " ' ' C A - j - it ' !"' I"1 w"-fsw:V!M?v-A-- I With activity against the Japs on all eastern fronts forecast by recent Washington conferences, Allied air attacks against the enemy loom large in the tactical picture. Above are shown four American-trained Chinese pilots looking over the instrument panel of a P-40, in company with Maj. Grant Mahoney of the U. S. air force in China. SUBMARINES: Allies' Defense Groics The Allies were making steady progress against Hitler's hitherto most potent weapon the submarine. Decreases in monthly shipping losses by the United Nations and the preponderance of ocean-transported Allied munitions and supplies in North Africa at the victory finale were indicative of this. Evidence of how the Allies were successfully applying air and sea power plus grit and stout hearts against the Nazi subsea peril abounded In epic report issued by the British admiralty describing how navy escort ships and Royal Canadian Cana-dian Air force planes had sunk or probably sunk 10 German submarines subma-rines In an eight-day battle in the Atlantic. Characterizing the action as the biggest single Allied victory against U-boats, the admiralty report said that planes, destroyers, frigates, corvettes, cor-vettes, cutters and sloops joined in the battle continuing day and night for eight days. As many as 25 enemy en-emy submarines were in action at one time. The battle finally turned in favor of the convoy. "Some damage dam-age was suffered," the admiralty said, "but the majority of the merchantmen mer-chantmen reached port in safety." MERGER: Wire Giants Unite Improved telegraph service for those engaged directly in the war and for the general public in the post-war period was forecast as a result of the merger of Postal Telegraph Tele-graph Inc., and Western Union Telegraph Tele-graph company. Together the two companies do a business of about $145,000,000 a year and their combined assets will approach ap-proach $500,000,000. Culminating negotiations and discussions dis-cussions covering more than 20 years, the merger was made possible pos-sible by recent congressional action and by approval of the Federal Communications Com-munications commission. Under the terms of the agreement, Western Union will acquire all assets and all business of Postal Telegraph and assume its liabilities and obligations, including the amount owed by Postal to the Reconstruction Finance corporation cor-poration at the time of the closing of the agreement. CURB: War Plant Building Ordering a halt on virtually all war plant construction which cannot can-not be completed by October 1, the War Production board announced that the nation now has enough industrial in-dustrial plants to produce the materials ma-terials required to beat the Axis. Meanwhile the board had directed a widespread conversion of machine plant tools and other existing facilities facili-ties to the production of more urgently ur-gently needed goods. Calling its action ac-tion a "significant milestone in the war program," the WPB said that men and materials released by its new directives would be channeled elsewhere into the war program. WPB officials estimated that construction con-struction of between $500,000,000 and $1,000,000,000 in new war plants would be halted, even if it were necessary nec-essary to dismantle partially completed com-pleted ones. Many machine tools orders will be cancelled, and tool plants will be converted to the production pro-duction of "things that shoot." The announcement emphasized that there "has been no easing-off in the demand for critical materials; materi-als; there is on the horizon no indication in-dication whatever of a lessening in the demand for labor." LIFELINE: For Small Business Hope for financial aid for small store owners, operators of gasoline and service stations and other small businesses adversely affected by the war was held forth by the Reconstruction Recon-struction Finance corporation in announcing an-nouncing a loan program. Jesse Jones, secretary of commerce, com-merce, said the program would be in the hands of the RFC Mortgage company. The company, he added, is ready to consider loans against real estate, including stores, privately private-ly owned gasoline and service stations sta-tions and business properties generally gen-erally that have lost their earning power by reason of wartime restrictions restric-tions and regulations. Mr. Jones announced that three types of loans will be considered: participation loans; refunding loans; and care and preservation loans. OFFENSIVES: Europe and Asia Both Not only Allied smashes against Hitlerite Europe, but decisive campaigns cam-paigns against Jap-held domains in Asia and the South Pacific in weeks to come were on the United Nations' war timetable scheduled by President Presi-dent Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill in their Washington conferences. con-ferences. That activity against Japan would be stepped up on a major scale was indicated by two developments. One was the presence at the Washington conferences of Commander-in-Chief Sir. Archibald Wavell of India, Admiral Ad-miral Sir James Somerville, the Eastern fleet commander, and Sir Richard Peirse, the India air commander. com-mander. The other was the disclosure disclo-sure that Admiral William F. Hal-sey Hal-sey and Gen. Douglas MacArthur had met to co-ordinate future operations op-erations in their areas. Indicative of the trend toward decisive de-cisive American action was a Tokyo radio report that strong U. S. forces had invaded the Jap-held island of Attu in the Aleutians. Observers believed that future moves on Japan might take on a nutcracker character. One prong would close in on Nippon from the east, via Halsey's and MacArthur's combined forces in the Pacific. The other would squeeze Japan's flank from the Indian ocean and the India-Burma front, using the combined commands of Wavell, Somerville and Peirse. TRADE PACTS: Green Light by House Surviving debate and the threat of crippling limitations, President Roosevelt's reciprocal trade program pro-gram was extended by the house of representatives for a term of two years. As debate had divided on party lines and the Republicans had supported sup-ported a series of amendments which the Democrats charged would have been "a kiss of death" to the entire program, Speaker Sam Ray-burn Ray-burn had rallied support sufficient to insure favorable action. While gaining main support from Republicans, Repub-licans, the amendments were offered by Democratic Congressman West of Texas, only New Deal member of the house ways and means committee commit-tee to oppose extension of the act. Reciprocal trade pacts have been negotiated with 27 nations in the last nine years. CANNING: Kitchens Defined A definition of "home canning" was released by the Office of Price Administration to allay housewives' fears about giving up rationing points for foods processed in cooperative co-operative centers now being organized organ-ized in many parts of the country. The OPA defined "home canned" foods as those processed "in a kitchen kitch-en primarily used for the preparation prepara-tion of meals, or in a kitchen used to demonstrate preparation of such meals" such as in a school or home economics center. If a farmer has a separate building build-ing where he customarily does his canning, he must get permission from his ration board to use it. POSTWAR: 'A Mighty Flow' Envisioning a "mighty flow of goods and materials" to war ravaged rav-aged areas in the coming peace era, Jesse Jones, secretary of commerce, said that the United States should welcome and encourage the development develop-ment of other nations when the war is over. "Today private business, as well as government is determinedly planning plan-ning for a postwar period that 'ill be so economically sound that peace can be permanent," he said. RUSSIA: Donets Flares Aneiv Even as the Red army had continued con-tinued its methodical, grinding drive against the line of German fortifications fortifica-tions outside Novorossisk, last Nazi-held Nazi-held bastion In the Caucasus, other Russian forces to the north in the Donets river valley had opened fierce attacks near Lisichasnk, about 125 miles southeast of Kharkov. For weeks, Soviet dispatches had reported trainload after trainload of German troops rolling eastward to the Russian front. But Hitler had kept his moves for what would be his last chance offensive well masked. In the action near Lisichansk, gateway to the eastern Donets basin, the Russians said the enemy had tried a wedge-shaped drive into Russian-held territory, but this thrust was pushed back. In pursuing the retreating Nazis the Red troops were able to establish themselves on a hill of "great tactical importance." AIRRAIDS: Bombs Write History Cologne and Dortmund had suffered suf-fered destructive Allied air raids that dwarfed the damage visited on London by the Luftwaffe in the battle bat-tle of Britain, but it remained for Duisburg, center of German war and transportation hub of the Nazi's defense de-fense of western Europe, to be smashed by the heaviest aerial assault as-sault in all history. The RAF was the Allied instrument instru-ment of destruction. It was estimated esti-mated that as many as 2,000 tons of bombs were dropped. The heaviest previous raid ever made anywhere was that on Cologne, on May 31, 1942, when 1,000 bombers were employed em-ployed and more than 1,500 tons of explosives were rained on the Nazi city. An attack on Dortmund had reached the intensity of the Cologne foray, but the Duisburg raid was the heaviest of all time. That the Duisberg raid was but a prelude to what Nazi-held Europe might expect was indicated by devastating forays which followed immediately. American Flying Fortresses For-tresses continued the marathon by making their own heaviest attack since the war began on St. Omer and Meaulte in northern France. Meanwhile in the East the Russian air force took the initiative away from the Nazis, while Red planes smashed at German communications communica-tions at Warsaw, capital of Poland, and its suburb of Praga. In the Mediterranean area, U. S. bombers strafed airfields and shipping facilities fa-cilities in Sicily and on the Italian invasion coast WAGE BOOSTS: WLB May Act The War Labor board got back some of its discretionary authority to make wage adjustments. James F. Byrnes, economic stabilization director, di-rector, announced the new policy in a directive specifying that the board may now raise wages "to aid in the prosecution of the war or correct gross inequities." Mr. Byrnes, however, qualified his action with the limitation that such wage adjustments must not cause price rises or stand in the way of price reductions. The new policy directive was issued is-sued in response to the WLB's appeal ap-peal for clarification of its position as a result of President Roosevelt's recent "hold the line" anti-inflation order. The board had complained that it was virtually stripped of all discretionary powers in wage cases, since the President's order had limited lim-ited its actions. , While restoring authority to eliminate elimi-nate "gross inequities" Mr. Byrnes' directive did not restore to the board the power to correct "inequalities" which it held prior to the President's "hold the line" ordei. |