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Show . WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS New Allied Air Blows Take Heavy Toll Of Jap - Held Airports in New Guinea; Nelson Warns of War Production Cut; U. S. to Control Truck, Taxi Operation (EDITOR'S NOTE: When opinions are expressed in these columns, they are those of Western Newspaper Union's news analysts and nt necessarily of this newspaper.) Released by Western Newspaper Union. , , 1 j LAVAL PROTESTS: Madagascar Occupation Even as the British advanced on Tananarive, inland capital of Madagascar, Mada-gascar, pro-A,xis Frenchmen were demanding a "blow for blow" reprisal re-prisal against England in retaliation for the invasion. Britain's reasons for the occupation occupa-tion of Madagascar were speedily set forth. They charged that the island had supplied Japanese submarines sub-marines for raids in the Indian ocean and the Mozambique channel; that German spies had operated there with the help of Vichy French officials, and that Jap planes had made reconnaissance nights over the southern end of the island. The state department in Washington Washing-ton was quick to endorse the British campaign to take the French possession pos-session out of the sphere of Axis influence. Pierre Laval in Vichy was equally quick to protest the American endorsement. He said that defending forces were "very insufficient, in-sufficient, and I regret it." He admitted ad-mitted that the French on the island were putting up mere token resistance resist-ance as a matter of "honor." And, as usual, little attention was paid to the almost chronic complaints com-plaints of Laval. 3-A DRAFT: 'Inevitable' "If Hitler landed on the beach now, this afternoon, there would be no question in the minds of wives in sparing their husbands." With that statement, Maj. Gen. Lewis B. Hershey, national draft director, di-rector, made it clear to the nation that the need for man power in the armed services has made inevitable the drafting of now deferred husbands hus-bands with dependents and war production pro-duction workers. "We will have to come to the realization real-ization that there are not enough single men, that there are not enough married men without dependents, de-pendents, for the mobilization of, say, between 10 million and 13 million mil-lion in the United States," Hershey said. The above picture appeared in the Japanese propaganda magazine, "Freedom," and was brought back to this country by an American repatriated re-patriated in the recent diplomatic exchange of nationals. The Japs describe de-scribe this picture as showing a part of the 1,300 Americans captured at Wake island on their way to a prison camp in Kagawa province. The black uniformed officer is identified as Commander Winfield Scott Cunningham, Cun-ningham, ex-garrison chief at Wake. The picture is being used by the enemy as propaganda. ENFORCED LABOR: In France Passing one of the most drastic laws in French history, the Petain government established the principle princi-ple of forced labor and total dictatorship dicta-torship over employment. The law, originated by Pierre Laval, La-val, states that every Frenchman between the ages of 18 and 50 and every French woman between 21 and 35 are subject to be called up '"to effect all labors which the government gov-ernment will judge useful in the highest interests of the nation." The law contains no limitations as to where the laborers could be shipped. Every man must prove to the government gov-ernment that he Is engaged in work "useful to the country's needs," or be subject to assignment elsewhere. Employers may not hire workers unless they are provided by the government gov-ernment labor service. GAS RATIONING: Discomfort, Not Defeat Approximately 27,000,000 motorists motor-ists throughout the nation have made drastic changes in their driving driv-ing habits and, faced by a matter of "discomfort or defeat," are preparing prepar-ing for further restrictions. When Bernard M. Baruch's special spe-cial rubber committee handed its hard-hitting report to Mr. Roosevelt, the President was ready to act. His opening gun was an announcement that "as rapidly as arrangements can be made" he would put into effect ef-fect a set of recommendations submitted sub-mitted by the committee. These included in-cluded nation-wide gasoline rationing ration-ing and severe restrictions on civilian civil-ian motoring. Strategists RUSSIA: Nazi Advance While Nazi troops besieging Stalingrad Sta-lingrad battled for a decision the German air force was reported to be concentrating its attack on Volga shipping, rail and highway communications commu-nications as far southeast as Astrakhan, Astra-khan, where the Volga flows into the Caspian sea. The Russian high command announced an-nounced that re-enforced German troops had made a further advance southwest of Stalingrad. German broadcasts told of Nazi troops entering en-tering the southern part of the city after capturing additional fortifications. fortifica-tions. However, the Russians claimed they were holding firm to the west. The Red communique reported a new enemy drive on the western bank of the Don river, south of Voronezh, Voro-nezh, employing an entire infantry division and 100 tanks. The Germans Ger-mans were said to have lost 2,000 officers and men. In the Volkhov sector east of Leningrad the Germans Ger-mans were reported battling for a 12-mile stretch of the important Leningrad-Vologda railway. Brighter reports came from the deep Caucasus. German troops in the mountainous region around Moz-dok Moz-dok were said to be "withdrawing northward." Observers noted that recent snows in the Caucasus may have caused the withdrawal and said that the 'Axis may -have re-linguished re-linguished hope of reaching the Caspian Cas-pian sea in that area before winter. RAIDS ON BRITAIN: From the Stratosphere Germany's third new weapon for daylight bombing raids against England Eng-land was revealed in London with a disclosure that Nazi substratosphere bombers, equipped with supercharged super-charged Diesel motors, have made several daylight attacks on Great Britain. The first of these bombing raids on Britain were made from altitudes of approximately 40,000 feet. The bombers were modified Junkers 86-P's equipped with experimental pressure cabins. Others used were four-motor Heinkel 177's, carrying eight tons of bombs, equalling the capacity of Britain's biggest bombers, bomb-ers, and the bomb-carrying Focke-Wulf Focke-Wulf 190's. The latter planes are primarily fighters and they are able to speed low over coastal targets, getting away before the fast British Spitfires can get at them. PRODUCTION CUT: Faced by Industry In a straight-to-the-point speech, Donald M. Nelson, chairman of the War Production board, warned the nation that we are not winning the war and that, although the nation's production is not what it should be, shifts must be made in material allotment al-lotment that will enforce layoffs and production changes. He pointed out that further cuts in materials for civilian use and shifts in materials from one war product to another would be made to balance war production, and said such cuts and assignments would result in enforced layoffs for men and women intent on production for victory. PACIFIC FRONT: Action Continues Allied bombing attacks against Japanese bases in New Guinea continued con-tinued with smashing blows taking a heavy toll in the battle area. Lae and Salamaua were targets for the main attacks. Two bombers were destroyed on the ground at the Lae airdrome, where 17 tons of bombs were dropped on installations. The communique stated that ground action in the Owen Stanley mountain range, where the Japs were halted about 40 miles north of the Port Moresby base, was confined con-fined to patrol activity. Meanwhile, the battle of the Solomons Solo-mons seemed to have settled down to a battle of supply lines. The United States and Australia have poured planes and . supplies in to the marines on Guadalcanal and Tulagi against Japanese sea and air opposition. oppo-sition. The Japs have not attacked in force since the major battle on August Au-gust 24 and 25, when U. S. forces defeated de-feated an enemy invasion force of more than 40 ships. They have continued con-tinued their occasional bombing forays for-ays and attacks with light naval craft. Recently the Japanese have bombed from high altitudes, using delayed action bombs. MORGENTHAU: Lauds Bond Sales Flatly denying that he regards the voluntary war bond sales program as a "failure," Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau declared de-clared in a statement to the war savings staff that the treasury "will continue to rely upon voluntary lending for a large part of our financing." The secretary's statement was made following a recent press conference. con-ference. He said: "The impression seems to have spread that I regard the voluntary war bond program as a 'failure.' This is not only a distortion distor-tion of anything I have said on the subject, but it is also an injustice to the' handreds of thousands of devoted de-voted volunteers in all parts of the country. TRANSPORTATION: JJ. S. Control Before the' operators of 5,000,000 trucks, 154,000 busses, and 50,000 taxicabs can obtain gasoline, tires or parts after1- November 15, they will be forced to show "certificates of war necessity." Government control of these vehicles ve-hicles as a conservation measure was announced by Joseph B: Eastman, East-man, director of the Office of Defense De-fense Transportation. Eastman said the certificates for commercial vehicles ve-hicles would require a tire check every 5,000 miles, or every 60 days whichever occurs first. Certificates, Certifi-cates, he indicated, would be issued to all types of trucks and vehicles built primarily for transporting property and passengers and others available for public usage, such as ambulances and hearses. The control measure was inaugurated inaugu-rated to limit the use of vehicles to operations necessary to the war effort, or to the essential domestic economy. r Maj. Gen. Russell Maxwell, left, head of the U. S. forces in the Egyptian Egyp-tian battle zone, works out a tactical problem with Sir Allan Brooke, chief of the British Imperials general gen-eral staff. This picture was made at Middle East headquarters in Cairo. INDIA'S PROBLEM: More Complex The Indian problem appeared more complex than ever with the statement by Mohammed Ali Jin-nah, Jin-nah, leader of India's Moslem league, that the Moslems would not be prepared to enter a provisional government unless their demand for "Pakistan," or the establishment of a separate Mohammedan state, was met. The demands made doubly difficult Britain's job of placating Indian factions long at odds with each other. |
