Show weekly news analysis first landings on italy foreshadow crackup of fortress europe europea EDITORS NOTE when opinions are 1 l expressed in these columns they us are those of 01 western nappe Ns ppe baioa U sew news analysts and sot not necessarily of 01 tin this newspaper INVADE EWADE ITALY fortress assaulted four years to the day following great Brit BAt ains declaration of war on germany allied troops set toot foot on the italian mainland with allied bom bombers bers blasting roads and rails with speedy dive bombers swooping low to smash at defense positions and with warships covering transports and barges british and canadian troops and under er gen bernard montgomery were the first to swarm ashore at reggio calabria facing the allies tor for the first time on their home grounds axis troops fought bitterly with german soldiers lending the italians a hand at the command of gen dwight eisenhower Elsen hower were more than seasoned american british and canadian troops in process of mobilization in north africa were approximately frenchmen for whose equipment the U S government already had biad furnished the allies struck even as german spokesmen pointed to the mass of shipping assembled in north african ports before the first allied soldier set foot into hillers Hit lers vaunted european fortress bombers tore up railroads and highways in southern italy to impede troop movements to meet the invasion BERLIN in ruin once herman goering proudly boasted that not one bomb would drop on berlin today germanys germanas Germ anys no 2 nazi walks the streets of the city where gaunt and blackened walls and piles of brick and mortar rise in ghastly silhouette on all sides bombed 72 times staggered by a series of gigantic RAF raids ber berlin lin has been visited by all the horror of modern modem war entire districts have been wiped out the extensive railroad system girdling the city has been crippled and gas electric and telephonic utilities have been disrupted after each big raid following the latest assaults people were reported homeless and efforts were speeded up for the evacuation of residents thousands have beau killed and injured to protect berlins essential in finx austry 1000 nazi fighter planes rose to combat latest RAF attacks huge six inch barrel antiaircraft anti aircraft guns mounted in concrete threw up barrages of steel shells RUSSIA germans fall back high in the kremlin dark and mysterious josef stalin grimly received the battle reports all along the southern front german troops were falling back 41 to the banks of the bulging river russian armies reclaimed more and more of the josef stalin stala coal and iron of the donetz basin they recovered vast stretches of the wheat and cotton belt of the ukraine at adolf hillers Hit lers headquarters the nazi war chiefs spent tour four days in conference while german field dispatches stated that defensive fighting was being conducted accord ing to plan the result of the hitler meeting was said to be the decision to retreat to the shortening of their line would enable the germans to mass their troops more thickly along the th e whole front ra ft to gen dwight eisenhower Eisen bower left fell command of the allied forces which made their first direct assault on hillers Hit lers european fortress with landings on the italian mainland british and canadian troops spear headed the invasion under gen bernard montgomery right PEACE IN 43 hope of pope calling on the leaders of the warring nations to appreciate their tremendous responsibility for the fate of the people pope pius XII appealed to them to answer man kinds common prayer for peace bread and work recalling the tragedy 0 of f broken treaties agreements and promises that preceded the war pius XII implored the nations leaders to develop a sincere program tor for peace because of the savage turn the conflict has taken as a result of the destructiveness of modem warfare pius XII said men have come to question whether continuation of hostilities tili ties can still conform to national interest or remain reasonable and justifiable concluding pius XII hoped that 1943 would not end without the warring populations being comforted by the prospect of brotherly reconciliation and peaceful industrious reconstruction he hoped this could be brought about by the wisdom of the different leaders casualties dead missing with heavy fighting still to get under way american casualties in the war to date total more than with of these either dead or missing the rest were wounded the ardys casualties number of these were killed wounded of whom have left the hospital or returned to duty missing and prisoners of the navys casualties were killed 2533 wounded missing 2246 prisoners the marines reported total casualties of with 2005 dead 2501 wounded missing and 1195 prisoners FOOD more meat civilians were assured of bigger meat supplies with the war food administrations order lifting the quotas on packers slaughter for september and october under the order packers will be able to butcher and distribute pork veal lamb and mutton freely but they still will have to set 40 per cent of beef production aside for the services the order also provided that packers must continue payment of support prices tor for hogs decided on the order to avoid congesting packing houses later in the season and relieve the tight feed situation supplies up record meat and fowl production Is expected to lift the total U S food output tor for 1943 approximately 5 per cent over last year and 32 per cent above the prewar pre war average balancing a 9 per cent drop in grain and other crops will be an estimated 10 per cent boost in livestock marketing however government claims to the food supply will hold civilian consumption to present levels in making its predictions the department part ment of agriculture reported that continued droutha in the southwest and sections ot of the midwest threatened late crops in some areas the department said pastures dried up and stock died from lack of water conditions were described as especially serious in arkansas and oklahoma GAS ickes sees famine s stepping boldly to the microphone harold ickes thrust out his big chin and told america that unless it pulled in its belt and curtailed essential driving it faced a serious gasoline famine declaring that impending military operations 1 would require increased fuel supplies ickes warned that a continued draw on gasoline reserves harold L ickes would re duce necessary stocks tor future use casting a gloomy eye over the country the old curmudgeon as ickes likes to be called saw only temporary comfort for california ELECTRIC electricity ITt electric production has risen to an all time high of more than 57 million kilowatt hours a week an increase of 19 per cent over this time last year 0 POTATOES rOTA TOES idaho russet potatoes tor for january delivery sold at a n new ew peak price for the year at a hundred pounds on the chicago exchange recently RAILROADS income of all class I 1 railroads tor for july is estimated at a decline as compared with june and with july 1942 0 0 FOOTBALL two more well known colleges have decided to drop football at least fo for r the duration they are lake forest university lake forest ill and washington and jefferson college washington pa NORMANDIE the luxury liner normandie raised and being refitted remitted re fitted as an airplane carrier after being burned and sunk in new york harbor may be returned to the french the commissioner of merchant marine affairs for the french committee of national liberation intimates motorists and predicted that heavy usage in the east would drain that section of gas in a few days As for the southwest and midwest ickes said they were living on borrowed time so far as gasoline was concerned RATION POINTS raise values to conserve the very limited supply of canned goods the war food administration has increased the point values on 13 items three dried fruits previously on the tree free list are now rationed point values on eight items have been lowered canners predict a smaller pack in fruits and vegetables in the face of increased demand from military and lend lease officials as well as civilian buyers canned peaches pears apples and cranberries in particular have been moving off dealers shelves too swiftly spokesmen said vegetables in cans or bottles that were raised in point value include beans of all kinds corn peas s spinach pin and tomato sauce raisins prunes and dried apples have been returned to the ration list BOOM TIMES farm income rises As a result mostly of increases in receipts from food grains and vegetables farm income for july approximated I 1 billion dollars to bring earnings for the seven months of 1943 to 9 billion million dollars the department of agriculture reported in july government payments amounted to 35 million dollars while tor for the seven months they totaled million dollars according to the department income from food grains and vegetables during july was more than seasonal while the decrease decrease in receipts from livestock was less retail sales high sales continued to keep ahead of prices during the seven months of 0 f 1943 the department of commerce reported while mile sales were per cent greater than in the period prices were only per cent higher although business maintained an active level there were signs that shortages of merchandise might begin to affect total business interns in terms of dollars based on cost values inventories ven tories were 22 pendent per cent lower in july than they were a year ago highlights HIGHLIGHT S in the weeks news FIRE FIGHTERS the first of a fleet of ten railroad firefighting fire fighting cars has been delivered to the new york central RR HR the fire cais cars will be stationed in areas where water is scarce to protect vital shipments of oil and other inflammable goods 0 0 0 ILLEGAL CORN SALES three men in malvern iowa were fined for violating the office of price administration ruling on corn sales they sold yellow shelled corn at three cents a bushel above permitted prices between april 30 and july 16 0 0 0 FARM LAND values of farm land in the seventh federal reserve district which comprises much of the middle west centering at chi cago were up 8 per cent in the second quarter as compared with the first quarter of 1943 a report shows iowa land marked up the largest gain 11 per cent A large proportion were for cash bankers say 0 0 HELIUM A new helium plant in new mexico has been named the navajo after the indian tribe on whose reservation the factory stands helium gas Is Import important apt in warfare to inflate barrage balloons SOUTH PACIFIC bomb jap outpost taking off from two aircraft carriers american bomber and fighter planes flew over the japanese air and radio base of ma marcus us island and ripped up its a aj 5 fuel dump and communication stal lations approximately 1250 miles southeast of tokyo marcus island serves as japans stepping stone to her great naval base of and other S south 0 u t h pacific cin fic possessions from w which h i c h the american supply auppl line can be menaced attack on marcus was seen as prelude to large scale action to wipe out the outposts from which the enemy could slash at the enlarged american fleet in its broad ening operations in new guinea the U S air force operated cooperated co with ground troops closing on Sala maua by blasting the supply depot of cadang nerve center tor for japanese resistance in the entire area DADS DRAFT ol 01 p showdown in co congress agress streaming back to washington for the reconvention of congress the nations coes were wera heading straight for a showdown on the entire manpower question include ing the drafting of pre pearl harbor fathers under a bill I 1 proposed by senator burton K wheeler the induction of dads burton barton K would be post wheeler boned until january 1 1944 to enable congress to go over the whole manpower situation to definitely determine the need for calling fathers such a congressional inquiry also would be concerned with meeting the nations problem for supplying an additional 2 workers for essential industries dus us tries MINERS to court for pay their plea for pay for underground travel time rejected by the war labor board the united mine workers filed suit in federal court in birmingham ala for such pay under present conditions the miners work on a 35 hour week in refusing the miners request for underground travel time pay the said that under the fair labor standards act they were not entitled to extra compensation until the work week exceeded 40 hours decision in the birmingham case will determine the under underground around travel time pay issue for miners throughout the entire country employment to drop after war within the first year after p pek is concluded unemployment wil td ts J to about six millions not 12 toro 0 millions as chany many commentators predict this is the opinion of A W president of the international statistical bureau he estimates that about workers now in manufacturing will be discharged in the first postwar year about are now engaged in factory work mr figures that industrial production as a whole will decline about 35 per cent assuming that the german phase of the war ends early in 1944 part of this downturn will result from a shorter work week and shutdowns as factories reconvert to peacetime goods to prevent 1944 unemployment from turning to real depression in 1945 he said would require a g gw ern mental policy that would a swift return to peacetime released by western newspaper union |