Show 0 weekly news analysis speed up of U S war production and russ gains cheer allies by edw ird C wayn EDITORS NOTE when opinions opia ioas ue re expressed is in then columns they jr re those of ef the news new analyst tin lyst sad and not necessarily of this newspaper THE WAR up and down the war had become an up and down affair with the russians winning all along their huge front the british gaining victories in north africa with the germans on the run and the japanese generally in the ascendancy on the philippine and singapore fronts but taking a continued whipping at the hands of the chinese such was the situation ais as there was no longer any question but that the large and well equipped army of the united states was on the move to join battle actively in in the war though the detailed whereabouts of that participation was still a closely guarded secret estimates of when the tide of the battle of the forces against the japanese in the southwest pacific would change varied considerably some observers felt it would be weeks others months some who were more pessimistic felt it would be a year before enough american pressure could be brought to bear to produce a definite change in the battle but that victory would be won to in the end nobody seemed to doubt they watched the united states moving troops and ships producing faster and faster more powerful armaments moving to put new soldiers and sailors into uniform and could see but one result eventual victory perhaps in 1943 RUSSIA brightest spot the russian front continued to furnish the brightest picture from the allied standpoint moscow had begun to report mass surrenders of german troops without fighting the reds also reported large masses of nazi soldiers in rapid retreat to the southwest from the upper central front abandoning much war material the sieges of sevastopol and leningrad have definitely been broken and their garrisons had swept out beyond the city borders to engage retreating germans and to attempt to form junctions with other russian troops the radio broadcasts picked up from germany tacitly admitted the situation was serious one described jt it as a crisis but one with which adolf hitler will know how to deal hitler was believed tobe planning some sort of major coup but the nature of it could not be guessed at he also was variously reported as facing tremendous internal pres V w X two tivo government officials on edge JESSE JONES LEON HENDERSON price ad tor r and secretary of commerce pic as he appeared before aured ired sitting on desk as he listens to the senate committee on small business representative dingell of michigan he and representatives of thi the charging barging that the army was build retail automobile trade are in search ing ag new production plants while for means to cushion the economic econom ii many others were idle shock which car dealers face sure as a result of his break with von Brauc hitsch there also had been reports that crack german reinforcements were being flown by gliders to the russian front to attempt to bolster the cracking nazi defenses MAC ARTHUR tough only fragmentary reports at wide intervals testimony to the increasing difficulties of communications were coming from the philippines some military commentators saw hope for general macarthur and his defending forces if they could hold out for three weeks more but this was admittedly problematical ma how much in the way of supplies and munitions the macarthur army had was one question another was how long these supplies and munitions would continue to get to him admittedly the filipino american troops had all the advantage of terrain and superior position the mar ivales mountain range which they were defending was lofty provided much natural fortification and tactically was the planned line of defense from the outset this worked out as planned for years in figuring a japanese invasion of luzon it had been figured that the defenders would fall fail back on the lofty heights above corregidor and manila bay and fight it out there for years the filipino army had been maneuvering in these hills and their officers know the country like the backs of their hands the heights make airplane st especially dangerous and difficult at all events macarthur had still been holding on and america was betting on him and his troops to do their best to the last ditch MALAYA ATALAYA at all costs while the british were seriously being forced backward and ever backward in malaya losing losin c the capital of the federated malay states kuala alampur sir henry the commander in the singapore defense made the statement that the british plan was divided into two general parts first the slowing or stopping of the japanese attack second the turning of the ariti british sh to the offensive and driving the invaders out he said we are now engaged in the first of these activities returning british wounded however paid tribute to the fighting qualities of the japs and members of commando groups said that when confronted with the cold steel the japs would scramble up into tall trees from which they would hurl grenades on the british like monkeys with explosive coconuts they were said to be adept at hiding in small places and that at ti times les furious fire would come from directions in which it did not seem possible that soldiers could find cover RAP RAF activity over the peninsula was constantly on the increase however and american made bombers some of them flown by eagle fliers with the volunteer chinese air force were bombing japanese bases in in thailand and indochina indo china from burmese flying fields the picture was not generally optimistic in malaya but it was regarded as far from hopeless at least at present production on home front all over the united states groups of workers were getting together and adopting resolutions to speed up their effort and some factories producing war materials were reporting as much as 70 per cent added output since the declaration of war ships of war were being launched and put into commission as rapidly as possible the liberty ships were going into the water at scores of shipyard ways wright field dayton ohio received 1 d several large new gliders for I 1 test gliders said to have a wing aspre sp re of 80 feet probably capable of transporting soldiers in large numbers swiftly they had been put under test their pilots from the new schools which are training men to manage these ships which possibly may be towed in trains to be released over territory in which it is desired to land troops in the invasion of crete germany used hundreds of them reportedly landing troops that way also large numbers of light f field guns and ammunition the newest glider training school is at twenty nine palms calif turning out classes every tour four weeks the students being already graduate pilots the gliders were so large that in in transporting them from factory to wright right field by trailer truck they had bad to be broken into two assemblies PRICES control controversy controvert Cont rovers y the price control bill finally was passed but in such a form that it was said to have been a major defeat for the administration although the senate passed it 83 to 1 the farm relief amendment passed only 55 to 31 As the bill went into conference it provided according to opposition senators such possible farm price raises that the cost of living could reasonably advance 25 per cent before the price control administrator could do anything about it the bill provided for no direct governmental control over wages a fact which caused senator nye who had voted for the russell amendment for farm relief to be the sole senator voting against the completed bill he claimed that the failure to handle wages would make the whole bill ineffective it was cited that under this bill it would be reasonable to expect butter at a dollar a pound eggs at over a dollar a dozen wheat at a bushel cotton at 21 cents and similar price increases opponents of the measure claimed it would be impossible to halt wage increases hence industrial price inflation it if food and farm commodity prices went to such levels tin ear ri T ff en fg TROY N Y dr donald A 4 wilbur of rensselaer polytechnic institute is shown testing a sound detector hastily constructed in the institutes physics laboratory to determine how effectively such cheaply built devices might be adopted throughout the country by air raid spotters A few boards a phonograph horn a microphone and a bat tery operated amplifier and ear phones are the ingredients of the detector that can pick up the sound of bombers five to ten miles distant i DEFENSE reorganization president roosevelt recognized growing congressional di Ss tion over the civilian defens debei comprised of mayor LaGuar dand dirand mrs roosevelt and while he did not take La Guardias title of director away from him he brought dean james M landis of the harvard law school down to washington to take actual charge the house had made discreet representations to the president that mayor major laguardia as head of the nations largest city had bad plenty to do to see that new yorks defense situation was cared tor for and had no time to see to the country as a whole they also hinted around that mrs roosevelt could only be considered a part time executive and that the OCD needed hard work and full time they recommended it be put into the hands of the war president Roosevel ts ansbe an s dean landis but in the mean n Tune ime lin the house voted an inquiry into the manner in which the problem had been handled mayor laguardia mrs roosevelt and paul V mcnutt had been summoned to testify SHORTAGES U S feels pinch one after another shortages of various commodities and manufactured products began to be felt and the average american began to feel the pinch of war as he never had felt it even at the height of the last world war some of these shortages could be traced to bojack jack ut of raw material from the sou th pacific pac cc others athers to the demands of the war var upon industry still others on both first came the rubber shortage and the consequent rationing of tires directly due to the philippine situation second was the abrupt ending of production of new passenger cars and commercial trucks I 1 and the rationing of them in line with this came difficulties in delivering milk and other commodities in larger cities and towns the cutoff cut off in sugar caused a price rise and the government moved to buy in the major portion of the cuban crop in many cities this precipitated a panicky purchasing of sugar with the result that grocers started ratio rationing ning it themselves it also was reported that there soon would be instituted the rationing of spark plugs and an d batteries probably of other ma manufactured goods associated with the auto industry the auto factories were going full blast into straight war production AFRICA touch Is lost i the rommel forces in nd na rica were retreating so fast U tw pursuing british were unable to maintain contact with them it was being reported from cairo the british also laid this fact to the excellence of the german rear guard and the fact that huge mine fields had been laid it also was pointed out that a combination ol of sand and rainstorm had aided the nazis to escape yet the german retreat was not entirely successful for the mobile mobil units of the british tank regiments were taking a considerable toll and the latest report had indicated that rommell might be forced into making another stand at ras el alli aili the british now in considerably superior numbers and equipment and with mastery in the air 11 to 10 come to grips with the ene e where short of tunisia anam an d in a definite ie finite victory voll released by western newspaper |